S5.E6

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The Game

Episode aired Oct 26, 1991
TV-PG
45m

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

Ashley Judd and Wil Wheaton in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Action Adventure Sci-Fi

Wesley Crusher returns to the Enterprise on vacation from the Academy only to discover a mysterious alien game infiltrating and controlling the crew.Wesley Crusher returns to the Enterprise on vacation from the Academy only to discover a mysterious alien game infiltrating and controlling the crew.Wesley Crusher returns to the Enterprise on vacation from the Academy only to discover a mysterious alien game infiltrating and controlling the crew.

See production, box office & company info

IMDb RATING

7.4/10

3.3K

YOUR RATING

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Photos28

Ashley Judd in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Wil Wheaton and Patti Yasutake in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Katherine Moffat in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Was the first episode to air after Gene Roddenberry's death on 24th October 1991.

Goofs
Since the game uses a visual interface, and works through the eye, and optic nerve, Geordi should have been immune to its affects, since his eyes and optic nerves don't work, and the game could not have been altered to work through his VISOR. However, the game is sending information to the brain, via the optic nerve. The VISOR 'sees' the same visible portion of the spectrum as others' eyes and sends the information to his brain. There is therefore no reason why the device shouldn't affect him too.

Quotes
Counselor Troi: I never met a chocolate I didn't like.

Connections
Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Fictional Video Games in TV (2015)

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

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

6/10

Awkward balance of serious and creepy

'The Game' has good intentions - mind control, that time-honored trope of scifi - and it's even served up as a classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers tale (how can you go wrong with paranoia?). But there's an inherent silliness to the execution of the game itself that's dissonant with the rest of it. It's easy to suggest brain-washing if the device is tapping into the frontal lobe, but do they really need the implied orgasmic satisfaction? That just makes it all very weird.

But if you can get past that, this is a good vehicle for Wesley to save the day . . . and kiss Ashley Judd, which is an undeniable win. I don't actively oppose this episode, and there are some positives (like Crusher getting the upper hand on everyone else), but it's such an oddball game to (very nearly zombify the crew of Starfleet's flagship.

6/10

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