Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

Skin of Evil (1988)

Patrick Stewart: Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Photos 

Quotes 

• Lt. Tasha Yar : [her final words]  Death is that state in which one exists only in the memory of others, which is why it is not an end. No goodbyes. Just good memories. Hailing frequencies closed, sir.

  Capt. Picard : Au revoir, Natasha.

• Capt. Picard : Lieutenant Worf, you're now Acting Chief of Security.

  Lieutenant Worf : I will do my best, sir.

• [last lines] 

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : Sir - the purpose of this gathering... confuses me.

  Capt. Picard : Oh? How so?

  Lt. Cmdr. Data : My thoughts are not for Tasha, but for myself. I keep thinking how empty it will be without her presence. Did I miss the point?

  Capt. Picard : No, you didn't, Data. You got it.

• Voice of Armus : Save your compassion! It's revolting. You offer it like a prize, when in fact, it's an insult.

  Capt. Picard : Because you feel unworthy.

  Voice of Armus : You overrate your gift. You Humans are puny, weak.

  Capt. Picard : But our spirit is indomitable.

  Voice of Armus : And still you die from a flake of my power.

• Capt. Picard : What is it, Number One? What are you seeing?

  Commander William T. Riker : Trouble.

• Capt. Picard : A great poet once said: "All spirits are enslaved that serve things evil."

  Voice of Armus : You do not understand. I do not serve things evil; I *am* evil.

  Capt. Picard : Oh, no. You're not.

  Voice of Armus : I am a skin of evil, left here by a race of Titans, who believed if they rid themselves of me, they would free the bonds of destructiveness.

• Capt. Picard : You say you are true evil? Shall I tell you what true evil is? It is to submit to you. It is when we surrender our freedom, our dignity instead of defying you.

• Lt. Cmdr. Data : [about whether the tar-like oil slick that is Armus is a living creature]  It is possible. It possesses two of the requisites for life.

  Voice of Armus : [his deep, almost demonic voice is heard for the first time]  Very good, tin man!

  [Armus slowly lifts himself like a slimy ghost rising from the dead, before the landing party's very eyes] 

  Capt. Picard : [back on the Enterprise Bridge, Picard becomes concerened]  What is it, Number One? What are you seeing?

  Commander William T. Riker : [grimly; as Armus reaches his full height]  Trouble.

• [first lines] 

  Capt. Picard : [voiceover]  Captain's log, stardate 41601.3. We are crossing through the Zed Lapis sector, where we will rendezvous with Shuttlecraft 13, carrying Deanna Troi, who is returning from a conference. Because Engineering is involved in preventative maintenance on our dilithium crystals, we are presently travelling on impulse power.