Up The Long Ladder 

An antiqued distress signal leads to two lost 22nd century Earth colonies, each facing doom in different ways, one by fire, the other by prolonged cloning.

Director:

Winrich Kolbe

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Melinda M. Snodgrass

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 (credit only)
Diana Muldaur	...	Doctor Pulaski
Barrie Ingham	...	Danilo Odell
Jon DeVries	...	Prime Minister Granger (as Jon de Vries)
Rosalyn Landor	...	Brenna Odell
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien

Storyline

When Starfleet receives an Earth-like distress signal from deep in space, the Enterprise is sent to investigate. Picard suspects the Earthlings in question may have originated with the SS Mariposa, which settled a group of Utopians hundreds of years ago. He is intrigued at the odd mix of equipment they carry. When they arrive and realize that solar flares from the planet's sun will kill them, the Captain orders the colonists removed to the Enterprise for their safety. When the refugees mention another group they originally separated from, the ship travels to the Mariposa colony, made up entirely of clones from their five original survivors. Elsewhere, Worf collapses at his station on the bridge and Dr. Pulaski tries to diagnose what may be wrong with him. He's less than pleased to learn that he has the Klingon version of the measles.

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Plot Keywords:

distress beacon | medical emergency | four word episode title | distress signal | mysterious signal | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final episode to air before the release of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989).

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Goofs

The back story for WWIII and the formation of the United Earth government is inconsistent with other references throughout the Trek universe. Here these events are said to have happened in the 22nd century, most other Star Trek references place them in the 21st.

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Quotes

Commander William T. Riker: There is something damn odd going on here.

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Connections

Featured in Star Trek: The Next Generation: Shades of Gray (1989)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Might be the silliest episode of TNG

People get so up in arms about this episode, but unless you have a stick way up your rear, it's more hamlessly silly than it is truly insulting to anyone. I laughed multiple times, but mostly in a "why is this in a Star Trek episode?" sort of way.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 May 1989 (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