Suddenly Human

Episode aired Oct 13, 1990
TV-PG
46m

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

3.5K

YOUR RATING

Marina Sirtis, Patrick Stewart, Chad Allen, and Sherman Howard in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi

On a mission to an alien training mission, they discover one of its trainees to be a human.On a mission to an alien training mission, they discover one of its trainees to be a human.On a mission to an alien training mission, they discover one of its trainees to be a human.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

3.5K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
Geordi La Forge appears only for a very brief scene, which is actually stock footage. Prior to the filming of The Best of Both Worlds Part II (1990), LeVar Burton had had surgery and couldn't make an appearance.

Goofs
Data clearly checks his cards when playing the card game. As an android, he would not need to check what cards he has; they would be committed to memory. He could, of course, be 'mimicking' human behavior. In reality, he was checking so that viewers at home could see his hand.

The "mimicking" statement is accurate. Data has often indicated his desire to be "more human" as is exemplified by the conversation when Wesley's face is covered with a banana split.

Quotes
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Ever since I was a child, I've always known exactly what I wanted to do: be a member of Starfleet. Nothing else mattered to me. Virtually my entire youth was spent in the pursuit of that goal. In fact... I probably skipped my childhood altogether.

Connections
Edited into Star Trek: The Next Generation: Force of Nature (1993)

Soundtracks
Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User reviews25

Featured review

6/10

Patrick Stewart rescues it

Enterprise encounters a human boy raised by a different species.

This is an okay episode with good performances.

The story has some interesting themes, particularly the cultural clash aspects and the question of wellbeing of an individual in this type of situation.

For me it is portrayed with some contrivances and instances of over explanation. Do we need Troi to address Picard's role dealing with the situation? Is it even the correct approach? Does it feel forced into the story to fit Picard's character development? Would Worf have been a better fit to lead the story? Is the eventual "I've learned something today" speech simplistic or even necessary? Has Picard been portrayed as too astute a leader in previous episodes to accept he would not see the right course of action from the start? Why introduce a certain character only to disregard her at the story's resolution?

I think these aspects plus some others tend make the characters and plot feel a bit silly for getting to the extreme situations they are faced with.

That being said the performance of Patrick Stewart (as always) lifts the material significantly. So much so you can buy into most situations because he is such an engaging actor. He is supported well by Sherman Howard in certain scenes. Chad Allen does his best with the material he has in the key role of Jono, but the emphasis is more on the conflict between Enterprise and Talarians than the effect on his character.