The Inner Light (30 May 1992)

Picard awakes to find himself living in a small village where he is a well-known member of the community who is suffering from a delusion of being a starship captain.

Director:

Peter Lauritson

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (creator), Morgan Gendel (teleplay),

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi (credit only)
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Margot Rose	...	Eline
Richard Riehle	...	Batai
Scott Jaeck	...	Administrator
Jennifer Nash	...	Meribor
Patti Yasutake	...	Nurse Alyssa Ogawa
Daniel Stewart	...	Young Batai

Storyline

Not long after the Enterprise approaches an unknown buoy or satellite, Captain Picard falls unconscious on the bridge. He awakens in a village where he is married but also something of a village eccentric who thinks he is a spaceship captain by the name of Picard. His wife Eline tries to soothe him and his good friend Batai does not judge him. He lives a full life, has children and grows old. The planet he is on is dying however, suffering from a long and seemingly permanent drought. On board the Enterprise, the crew does its best to revive their unconscious captain but to no avail.

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Plot Keywords:

24th century

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Details

Release Date:

30 May 1992 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the flute was auctioned, the directors didn't "factor in the emotional fury generated around it." It was in such high demand by collectors. Denise Okuda, a Star Trek scenic artist commented "That's the item people say they really have to have, because it is so iconic to a much-beloved episode." The flute eventually went for an astounding $48,000.

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Goofs

Picard is shown looking down into the valley of Ressik holding a straw hat in his left hand. In the next shot, taken from the front, the hat is missing.

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Quotes

Capt. Picard: [on his flute] When did I learn to play this?
Eline: I'm afraid you never did, dear. You do keep trying.

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Connections

Referenced in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Lessons (1993)

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Soundtracks

"Star Trek: The Next Generation End Credits"
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User Reviews

One Of The Next Generation's Best

I will admit that I am not a die-hard Star Trek fan. I am more of casual fan who watches the show occasionally and nabs the occasional DVD. In fact before watching this on the recently released "Alternate Realities" DVD box set, I really don't think I had seen this episode before. I say that with regret because out of the many episodes of The Next Generation I have seen, I would have no issue with calling this one of the best i have seen if not the best.

For one thing there's the performance of Patrick Stewart. Stewart gets to step out of his role of Jean-Luc Picard to play Kamin, a simple man living in simple world. Stewart portrays first Picard then to Kamin and the truth is that if it wasn't for the occasional scenes on the Enterprise the transition would be complete because even though Stewart plays both roles they are completely different people. It's a fantastic performance to say the least and a true shame that Stewart wasn't even nominated for an Emmy for this performance.

Around Stewart is a terrific supporting cast. There the villagers made up of Richard Riehle and Scott Jaeck in speaking roles who both do well. Then there's Kammin's family including Jennifer Nash as his daughter Meribor and Patrick Stewart's own son Daniel Stewart as Batai. The true standout though of the supporting cast is Margot Rose as Kamin's wife Eline. Like Stewart, it is a shame that Rose wasn't even nominated for an Emmy Award because she gives an excellent performance.

Yet behind all the excellent performances there lies the script. Writers Morgan Gendel and Peter Allan Fields created a story that while set on another planet is more of a human drama then it is a science fiction story. True it has science fiction elements all in it (it wouldn't be Star Trek without them) but these two writers in this script reveal a basic truth about science fiction: a science fiction story is only as compelling as the human story within it. The Inner Light be lack space battles but it has more then enough heart to make up for it and is all the better for it.

From the performance of Patrick Stewart to the supporting cast and the script, The Inner Light is a first rate episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. That is because, that while it may be lacking in the seemingly prerequisite space battles and aliens, it has a fascinating human drama playing out not beneath it all but at the forefront of it all. In fact, The Inner Light is all the better for it. If you want to see what makes a great science fiction story see this episode.