The Arsenal of Freedom 

The Enterprise encounters a planet long dead, but technical equipment still functions for the purpose of selling off its arsenal, along with self sufficiency.

Director:

Les Landau

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Richard Manning (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 (credit only)
Vincent Schiavelli	...	The Peddler
Marco Rodríguez	...	Captain Paul Rice
Vyto Ruginis	...	Chief Engineer Logan
Julia Nickson	...	Ensign Lian T'Su
George De La Pena	...	Lt. Orfil Solis

Storyline

The Enterprise encounters a message from a planet offering to sell them arms. The messenger, essentially a holographic image, invites them to the planet below. There, the away team led by Commander Riker comes under attack from a myriad of weapons leading Captain Picard and Dr. Crusher to also beam down to the planet. They too are attacked and Dr. Crusher is seriously wounded. Aboard the Enterprise, Lt. Laforge is left in command for the first time in a crisis situation. He not only has to deal with being under attack from these unknown weapons systems, but also deal with a colleague who feels he should be given command of the ship.

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Plot Keywords:

voice over narration | u.s.s. enterprise ncc 1701 d | outer space | alien planet | starship | 

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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:

9 April 1988 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 46 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Les Landau, whose first assignment as director was this episode, remembered, "...the episode..., was in creative turmoil and going through a massive, last-minute rewrite. In five years, that was the only time the company had to shut down because there was no shooting script to be shot. I was familiar with the sets, cast and crew, so although the script was late in appearing, I had all the knowledge and background to go ahead and do my job. To this day, 'Arsenal' still stands out as one of the better shows, certainly one of the shows with the most production value of any we've ever done. Fortunately, all the elements fell together on that first day. I had the total support of the cast, crew and company to go ahead and do the best job possible. The cast was, and has always been, totally supportive of working with and for me, and I can't say enough about their cooperation."

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Goofs

When Dr Crusher is injured, Captain Picard tends to her injury. Only later when she believes she has lost a lot of blood does she tell the Captain of her leg injury.

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Quotes

Captain Paul Rice: Tell me about your ship, Riker. It's the Enterprise, isn't it?
Commander William T. Riker: No, the name of my ship is the Lollipop.
Captain Paul Rice: I have no knowledge of that ship.
Commander William T. Riker: It's just been commissioned. It's a good ship.

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Connections

Featured in No Small Parts: Vincent Schiavelli (2014)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Allows for Some Nice Character Development

This episode creates challenges for the entire crew. A hologram character, speaking like a used car salesman, draws the Enterprise to a planet. Upon arrival, the away team is confronted by a hostile force. Weapons that float in the air are able to fire on the crew and surround Will in a kind of electronic cocoon. Jean Luc and Beverly beam down to help out but while trying to outrun the hostile forces they fall into a pit where Dr. Crusher is badly injured. This allows these to characters to show the love they have for each other as Picard cares for her, trying to keep her alive. The others are left to their own survival. Meanwhile, the planetary force goes after the Enterprise and Geordi is put in charge, there being no one else that can do the job. He is shown to be green, lacking in confidence. This is a very personal episode and while he conclusion a little weak, it is a very nicely done effort.