Lonely Among Us 

While distracted by two antithetical races applying for Federation membership, the Enterprise picks up a sentient entity that can alternately possess either man or machinery.

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), D.C. Fontana (teleplay by)

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Commander William T. Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lieutenant Geordi La Forge
Denise Crosby	...	Lieutenant Tasha Yar
Michael Dorn	...	Lt. Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher
John Durbin	...	Ssestar
Colm Meaney	...	Security Guard 1
Kavi Raz	...	Singh

Storyline

Heading for Parliament, the sector's neutral conference planet, the Enterprise transports peace delegates from two malevolent races, the carnivorous Anticans and the reptilian Selay, both of which want to join the Federation but can't stand each other long enough to occupy neighboring suites. Traveling past a mysterious energy cloud, something curious boards the ship, jumping between machinery and crew members, as if seeking a suitable host and learning about the ship without revealing itself. The crew catches on slowly, as nobody seems seriously affected by the highly intelligent host entity (except Wesley's engineering mentor Singh, killed in a warp technology energy surge).

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Plot Keywords:

alien delegation | delegation | reptilian humanoid | dress uniform | medical emergency | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 October 1987 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First episode of the series to feature the Starfleet dress uniforms. These dress uniforms also are worn throughout the series runs of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995).

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Goofs

Mr. Singh, dead, his eyes wide open when Mr. Worf spots him, but his eyes shut tight when Mr. Worf reaches him.

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Quotes

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [confused, having been beamed back out of the energy cloud] What the devil am I doing here?
Commander William T. Riker: Sounds like our Captain.

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Connections

Referenced in The Toys That Made Us: Star Trek (2018)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Hey, You, Get Offa My Cloud!

Picard and the crew are overseeing the negotiations between to embittered rivals. There seems little chance that anything is going to get done. During this time a cloud is entered which alters the resolve of many significant crew members. Each of the principles seems to have a go at a new existence, acting strangely or putting forth dangerous actions and ideas. Somehow this cloud is responsible for this alteration. It is fortunate that there are those on the crew that are able to interpret things properly. Commander Data must act because for all his good intentions, Picard fall victim to the forces of the cloud. This type of dangerous entity is ongoing in many episodes. Also, it is up to someone other than Picard to come forth and deal with the issues. This is seldom done in these efforts. Good episode but somewhat derivative.