Tapestry 

When Captain Picard's artificial heart fails, he is offered the rare opportunity to go back in time and set right the mistake that lead to his demise.

Director:

Les Landau

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Ronald D. Moore

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Patrick Stewart	...	Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Cmdr. William Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge (voice)
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Ned Vaughn	...	Ensign Cortan 'Corey' Zweller
J.C. Brandy	...	Ensign Marta Batanides
Clint Carmichael	...	Nausicaan #1
Rende Rae Norman	...	Penny Muroc (as Rae Norman)
John de Lancie	...	Q
Clive Church	...	Maurice Picard
Marcus Nash	...	Young Jean-Luc Picard
Majel Barrett	...	Enterprise Computer (voice)

Storyline

Captain Picard incurs serious wounds in a fight, even his artificial heart is gravely damaged. While Dr. Crusher wrestles with the medical consequences, his mind meets Q, who presents him to a parade of people who fell victim to Picard's actions and neglects, from his father and fellow cadets to himself, and offers him the possibility to have a 'second chance' without causing disaster by upsetting time. After Picard's initial refusal claim to have no regrets, Q forces him to acknowledge he made stupid mistakes and fix at least the adolescent one that got him stabbed and slapped in the face as an Academy graduate, or die and be stuck with Q for eternity. His error had been to help fellow Ensign Corey return the cheating at a pool game to a Naussicaan, a strong, badly tempered race, while ruining a friendship by having an affair. This time he stops Corey fighting and dying, but is deemed a coward, losing both friendships, and returned to the Enterprise an an inconspicuous Junior Grade ...

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Plot Keywords:

what if | omnipotent alien | nausicaan | stabbed through the heart | jean luc picard character | 

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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:

13 February 1993 (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

Portraying the afterlife caused some technical problems. With John de Lancie in a white robe on a white background, the production crew were concerned that Q would appear as a floating head. Both actors were aware of the difficulties in the shot, and even de Lancie felt it made his performance in some scenes more subdued than usual. The staff thought this was perfect for a more serious Q episode.

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Goofs

Q tells Picard it's two days before his encounter with a Nausicaan sword. But its actually a knife he gets stabbed with.

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Quotes

Jean-Luc Picard: Q, even if you have been able to bring me back in time somehow, surely you must realize that any alteration in this timeline will have a profound impact on the future.
Q: Please, spare me your egotistical musings on your pivotal role in history. Nothing you do here will cause the Federation to collapse or galaxies to explode. To be blunt, you're not that important.

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Connections

References Star Trek: The Next Generation: Samaritan Snare (1989)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

There is no playing it safe

'Tapestry' hits on the very real (and almost universal) human trait of regret; that need to do it all again for a different outcome. And there is a distinctly Dickensian ring to this. But one of the reasons I think this episode is so effective is that it gives Q (somewhat the perpetrator of all of this) some serious dramatic weight. I have to admit, I've never been hot on the character; he's usually played impishly and for comedic effect. But here, his disgust with humanity is played beautifully, and De Lancie's scenes with Stewart are a pleasure.

The other reason is the pivotal turn - the wax-on, wax-off scene that brings it all together. Seeping Picard in science green and coasting on an adequate career is indeed jarring, and just about the clearest reminder that those things we regret are integral to who we are.

It's an incredibly potent episode.

9/10