"Star Trek: The Next Generation" Shades of Gray (1989)

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator)
Maurice Hurley (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987)

Original Air Date:

15 July 1989 (Season 2, Episode 22)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Riker is injured on an away mission and is infected with a "virus" that binds to his nerves. The virus...

Plot Keywords:

Captain | Security | Mother Son Relationship | Space Shuttle | Outer Space

Cast

Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lieutenant Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf (archive footage)
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher (archive footage)
Diana Muldaur	...	Doctor Pulaski
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien

Company:

Paramount Television

Trivia:

The final appearance of Dr Katharine Pulaski, played by Diana Muldaur, in the series.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Riker sees things in flashback that he couldn't possibly remember. Like scenes aboard the Enterprise while he's off ship at the time. He even sees subtitles in flashback at one point.

Quotes:

Commander William T. Riker: [about the tenacity of the Rikers] My great-grandfather once got bitten by a rattlesnake. After three days of intense pain... the snake died!

"Shades of Grey"

I am going to go out on a limb, and actually defend "Shades of Grey" as a good clip-show episode, which delved into the life and death struggle of Commander William Thomas Riker who was battling a terminally fatal disease.

The scenes from the flashback sequences were implemented quite well with the mood Riker was in such as when he was reliving his romantic episodes such as "11001001," "Angel One," and "Up the Long Ladder." Tragic moments were highlighted such as Tasha's death in "Skin of Evil," as well as elements of pulse-pounding danger in "Heart of Glory," "Conspiracy," and the aforementioned "Skin of Evil." Riker also exhibited courage under fire by telling some humorous jokes such as "An ancestor of mine was bitten by a rattlesnake once...after 3 days of intense pain, the snake died." This episode highlighted the psychological ordeal of Will Riker under extreme duress. And, YES, I am biased in my opinion in proclaiming "Shades of Grey" as a solid episode, because at the time of its original airing, my face was covered in sweat, wondering whether or not Riker would pullout of it alive and live to see other great, galactic, outerspace adventures beyond the final frontier...

Of course, in subsequent years, I seem to have formed a singular opinion of this particular episode...but, if an award should go for "the best clip-show episode in the history of television," then I believe that this episode should be highly regarded in that respect.