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The Survivors

Episode aired Oct 7, 1989
TV-PG
45m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

3.8K

YOUR RATING

John Anderson and Anne Haney in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Action Adventure Sci-Fi

The Enterprise responds to a distress call from Rana IV, a Federation colony that is under attack from an unknown alien ship. When they arrive, they find the entire surface of the planet des... Read allThe Enterprise responds to a distress call from Rana IV, a Federation colony that is under attack from an unknown alien ship. When they arrive, they find the entire surface of the planet destroyed, save for a single house and two occupants.The Enterprise responds to a distress call from Rana IV, a Federation colony that is under attack from an unknown alien ship. When they arrive, they find the entire surface of the planet destroyed, save for a single house and two occupants.

Director
- Les Landau
Writers
- Gene Roddenberry
- Michael I. Wagner
Stars

See production, box office & company info

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

3.8K

YOUR RATING

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Photos16

Brent Spiner and Wil Wheaton in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, and LeVar Burton in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, and John Anderson in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Michael Dorn, Patrick Stewart, John Anderson, and Anne Haney in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Marina Sirtis in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Gates McFadden in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, Wil Wheaton, LeVar Burton, and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
John Anderson's wife had recently died when he worked on this episode. He later described his role in this episode as one of the hardest he ever had to play.

Goofs
When the Enterprise is under attack the second time, Worf says that the shields are down three times in a row after each attack. The shields were never brought back up after the first time. There is no need to announce again that they are still down.

Quotes
Kevin Uxbridge: [of Rishon] I saw her broken body. I went insane. My hatred exploded. And in an instant of grief... I destroyed the Husnock.
Doctor Beverly Crusher: Why did you try to hide this from all of us? Was it out of guilt for not helping Rishon and the others when they were alive?
Kevin Uxbridge: No, no, no, no, no, you-you don't understand the scope of my crime. I didn't kill just one Husnock, or a hundred, or a thousand. I killed them all. All Husnock, everywhere. - Are 11,000 people worth... 50 billion? Is the love of a woman worth the destruction of an entire species?

Connections
Referenced in Inglorious Treksperts: The Best of All Worlds: Trek's Greatest Seasons (2022)

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

User reviews26

Review

Featured review

8/10

Deceptively heartfelt

A season 3 highlight, 'The Survivors' is classic TNG exploration with a shot of pathos. The crew happens upon a planet, decimated by a holocaust, but with two tenants still alive. Why were they spared? That, along with the massive warship that's patrolling the planet are the burning questions.

I don't want to give anything away (beyond Picard's solving the riddle and unloading a twist ending), but the reason behind all of this is a tragic one, brought about by pain and loneliness. One aspect that's noteworthy is the location shooting (this is a pretty episode), but in the end, it's also a bitter pill.

8/10

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