The Child 

Deanna is impregnated by a unknown alien life-form, and Dr. Katherine Pulaski joins the Enterprise as the ship's new Chief Medical Officer.

Director:

Rob Bowman

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Jaron Summers

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Patrick Stewart	...	Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Cmdr. William Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lt. Worf
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Cmdr. Data
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher
Diana Muldaur	...	Doctor Pulaski
Seymour Cassel	...	Lt. Cmdr. Hester Dealt
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Guinan
R.J. Williams	...	Ian Andrew Troi
Colm Meaney	...	Transporter Chief
Dawn Arnemann	...	Ms. Gladstone
Zachary Benjamin	...	Young Ian Andrew Troi
Dore Keller	...	Crewman

Storyline

The ship has a new chief medical officer, Dr. Katherine Pulaski, now that Beverley Crusher has been made head of Starfleet Medical. The Enterprise is on an emergency mission to collect plague samples for analysis but Counselor Troi unexpectedly finds herself pregnant. She also finds her pregnancy advancing very quickly with conception to birth expected to take no more than 48 hours. Once born the child, whom Troi names Ian Andrew after her father, grows at a rapid rate proceeding through childhood in a matter of hours. Meanwhile Guinan, who tends the bar in Ten Forward, a crew lounge, gives Wesley Crusher some advice.

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Plot Keywords:

immaculate conception | impregnation | season premiere | hangar bay | shuttlecraft bay | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Promotions: Geordi rises in rank from lieutenant junior grade to full lieutenant.

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Goofs

Asked about her past, Guinan makes a false statement. Wesley; People say you're very old. Guinan; Oh? Wesley; And that you knew Captain Picard when he was on the Stargazer. Guinan; No, I never knew the captain till I came on board (Enterprise). Guinan's statement is false. She and Picard met in San Francisco in 1893.

In Times Arrow (S5 E27) Picard time travels back to San Francisco in 1893, Guinean and Picard meet there in 1893.

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Quotes

Counselor Deanna Troi: [right before giving birth] You don't have to do anything, Data. Just be with me.
Dr. Kate Pulaski: There's nothing to be nervous about.
Lt. Commander Data: Nervous? I find this very interesting.

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Connections

Featured in Star Trek: First Contact Review (2009)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

According to IMDb, Miss Sirtis disliked this episode...but I thought the concept was amazing and highly original.

Often, I have found that when my reviews for "Star Trek: The Next Generation" it's usually because I dislike a show and others haven't. However, this is an unusual case where I loved a show that was generally disliked or at least scored in the mediocre range. And, interesting, Marina Sirtis (who starred in this particular episode) especially disliked it! Yet, I thought it was terrific.

When the show begins, the Enterprise passes through space and an alien presence enters the ship. However, it looks more like a tiny glowing light and is not detected. Now here's where it gets weird-- the light impregnates Counselor Troi and soon the new doctor, Dr. Pulaski, informs the Captain. Soon, things get even weirder, as instead of the normal 10 month gestation period for Betazoids, the child is delivered (pain-free and without all the icky amniotic fluids) only a few days later! Soon, the child has grown to appear about age 8 within a day!!! At the same time, however, a very dangerous load of plasma plague is taken aboard and the child might just pose a risk to this cargo.

I loved the concept of an alien race creating a link to humans through an impregnation--talk about a first contact! To me, it's one of the more interesting concepts I've seen in the series. While I felt a tiny bit disappointed how it all resolved itself, it still worked very well and made for an interesting and emotionally-charged episode. I especially liked Ms. Sirtis' acting--watching her cry and emote was quite nice, as it expanded her otherwise limited range on the show.

By the way, I felt a little bad for Diana Muldaur in this and subsequent episodes. Her task of substituting for Gates McFadden's character wasn't easy at all. But, the writers sure made it a lot tougher with the dialog they saddled her with when it came to Data. She comes off as surprisingly clueless and insensitive towards him-- referring to him as 'it' and acting rather patronizing towards him. In hindsight, I don't think this was a wise decision. Having her be curious and even a bit taken aback would have worked, but in the Trekkie 24th century, she seems out of step due to her prejudices towards him.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 November 1988 (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