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 | |
Earl Boen | ... | Nagilum (voice) | |
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Charles Douglass | ... | Haskell |
Colm Meaney | ... | Transporter Chief |
While en route to the Mogana quadrant, the Enterprise comes comes across a unique phenomena for the first time. It appears as a black void, with no matter or energy readings of any kind. As the Enterprise approaches the entity, it envelops the ship completely. They find however that they are unable to leave and when a Romulan vessel suddenly appears, Picard and the crew realize that something is amiss. Unable to move or leave and facing a lifetime as a prisoner of Nagilum, who wishes to experiment on them, Captain Picard decides there can be only one solution to set them free. Written by garykmcd
The whole setup for this episode is quite good. We have a mysterious void in space where the Enterprise finds itself buried. Since there is nothing on the sensors, there is no escaping it. Add to this, the illusions of a Romulan battle cruiser that actually fires on the ship and a federation starship which has no crew. It is obvious something is toying with the crew. Soon a sort of cat-like face appears on the screen. It is the chosen representation of an alien force that sees the Enterprise as a mere curiosity. It has no respect or concern for the crew. It even kills a bridge officer to watch him die. It is hard to enjoy an episode when the forces working against the crew are so unfathomable that there is no strategy to counteract them. The best Picard can do is to destroy the ship. He and Riker initiate the destruct sequence. The crew gets twenty minutes to get its affairs in order. The entity continues to toy with them. I guess saying enough is enough is the last resort for Picard. Still, the universe is so complex and the villains are around every corner (are there corners?). This episode is clever and dramatic and does keep our attention. Perhaps that's all we can ask for.