New Generation Episodes - Season 2

by Jonathan Burt (JEB2@vaxa.york.ac.uk) 1 November 1991
Original Ideas (well almost original) Jonathan Burt.
"Dworf", Peter Richards co-writer providing the original inspiration.

Season Two of 'Star Trek - The New Generation'

2:01 HALLEUJAH, JESUS! (PART II)

Picard wins his way back into favour by saving the Enterprise. He lectures God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit on the values of logic and the illogic nature of destroying the Enterprise. This speech, much assisted by Mr Spock, lasts 40 minutes and bores God into letting them all go.

2:02 DAY OF THE FERIFFIDS

The Ferengi have grown a space spore which is fatal to humans. Can Riker phaser the lethal plants out of the space lanes before it is too late?

2:03 THE BOOKCASE

Riker reorganizes the Enterprise's chaotic library.

2:04 NO-HOPER

Inexplicably Wesley has failed all his academy exams and has taken to drugs to compensate for his feelings of inadequacy - especially after his girlfriend has made some choice comments. Riker, with Lt Comm Picard at his side, warps right back to Earth to investigate and uncovers a snide plot aimed at deflating Wesley's ego.

2:05 ADMIRAL ON THE BRIDGE

The Enterprise receives a state visit from an old friend - no less than Admiral James T. Kirk! Despite the fact that he is 135 years old, Jim Kirk still finds the energy to pinch Troi's bum, fondle "Bones" Crusher, have passionate sex with Tasha and fight Data in a lover's feud. Real trouble, though, begins when the Admiral overrules Captain Riker when Romulan Commander Padlock's ship drops by to take on emergency rum rations. Can Riker prevent Kirk from saying those dreaded words - "Fire all phasers"?

2:06 PLAGUE SHIP OF MONTANA

Doctors Selar and Crusher must learn a thing or two about quarantine procedures when the Enterprise inadvertently crashes into a Montanan Plague Ship, upon which all hands are dead. The infection spreads all round the Enterprise, and the survival of a thousand rests on Keleyr, whose knowledge Dr Selar can tap into. An antidote is found, but too late to save 106 crew - including Lt Commander O'Brien.

2:07 FUNERALS

Captain Riker promotes Picard to full Commander to help with the funeral arrangements. Unfortunately the torpedo bays cannot cope with so many coffins needing to be fired out into space and break down. Much chaos ensues as Geordi attempts to repair the systems. Not the best of times for the Cardassians to attack in part of their plan to take over the Universe.

2:08 CIRCUMSION

In a touching Klingon ceremony, Worf must circumsize his son Alexander with the fearsome weapon he used to kill Duras in 'Reunion'. The boy's mother, Dr Selar/Keleyr, being a Vulcan, half human and half Klingon, is not so keen on the idea, pointing out the drastic consequences if Worf should slip.

2:09 CHILDREN

A quiet episode consolidating the new family aspects on board the Enterprise and to allow the crew to recover from recent hectic events. Worf suggests they all go to Disneyland, a place he liked as a boy. So off they warp. Beaming down with the surviving offspring (most were killed by the plague) Captain Riker determines to have a nice time. He meets Mickey Mouse, Troi dances with Donald Duck, Wesley falls in a pond, and Picard strikes a bizzare relationship with Pluto the Dog. Meanwhile on the Enterprise, Tasha is sulking after the latest failure with Mr Data.

2:10 THE SKULL

Warping through space at half impulse, the Enterprise meets a terrifying new race, driving a ship shaped like a skull. It locks on tractor beams, but Riker, by rotating shield frequencies and ordering all engines to reverse, manages to fly his ship away. However, as Guinan warns, the Skulls will probably not stop there. They know where they are, and they will be coming ...

2:11 OLD BOOT

Riker discovers one of his old boots is missing. Worf must lead a full security investigation, but cannot find the missing articles. In the mean time a strange howling noise is heard along the Enterprise's corridor. Despite intense inquiries, Riker and Picard cannot ascertain what is going on. This episode leads into the next classic ...

2:12 HOUND OF THE RIKERS

Data, fascinated by Sherlock Holmes, finally leaves Tasha alone long enough to compare the features of 'Old Boot' to the detective's greatest case. Donning deerstalker and pipe, Data with Commander Picard as Dixon Hill sets out to solve the mystery. They are only just in time to save Captain Riker from a savage attack by a hologrammatic dog, controlled by an ancient Sulu who had stowed away on the ship to extract revenge for getting so old. All is solved, and Sulu is made young again by being put into Mister Data's rejuvenation machine (see 'The Rejuvenation part III').

2:13 DISMEMBERMENT

Dr Maddox ('Measure of a Man') finally persuades Data to let him take him apart in the hope of reanimating his daughter Lal ('The Offspring'). Despite tearful protests from Data's girlfriend, Tasha Yar, the operation goes ahead and succeeds in reactivating Lal. There are many touching scenes as Lal greets her friends amongst the crew - but her father still lies in pieces in the operating theatre.

2:14 DATA THE RIPPER

Dr Maddox reassembles Data, but omits to say he made a bit of bodge up of the job. When Data arrives on the Enterprise, his return coincides with the start of a series of grisly murders. Who can the psychotic murderer be, and why has Data developed a twitch?

2:15 LAL, LAL BABY

All is sorted out when Lal realises that the murderer is not Data but his brother Lor, who has mysteriously invaded the Enterprise. Lor is restrained by Worf and handed over to Dr Maddox for punishment for his horrendous crimes.

2:16 AND FOR STARTERS

Captain Riker is cooking for himself again - but a Fray Bentos can of steak and kidney pie defeats his can opener, and it looks as though starvation is on the menu.

2:17 GEORDIS

The holodeck goes wonky and starts churning out thousands of Geordis. The crew is threatened when the Geordis start to breathe too much oxygen. Captain Riker is faced by a dilemma - do the Geordis constitute a new species, and can he phaser them all without getting the real Geordi?
JNT (Producer of 'Star Trek - the New Generation'): "This is a fantastic episode for Levar Burton, who plays literally thousands of roles here. Geordi had been very underused earlier in the season, and we hope this will make for it."

2:18 ORANGEJUICE

Now it is the turn of the food dispensers to go wrong. The Enterprise is flooded by Orangejuice and the crew are in danger of drowning if Captain Riker cannot drink enough of it in time.

2:19 DWORF

Mysterious machine failures continue. In a transporter cock-up Worf and an away team return to the Enterprise only half size and Dr Crusher is unable to stop them shrinking steadily, while Selar/Keleyr is too upset to be of assistance. Meanwhile the Geordis who have put the rest of Engineering out of a job investigate the breakdowns.

2:20 HIV POSITIVE

A war with the Romulans is narrowly avoided as Captain Riker uses his mediatory skills to defuse an explosive situation. This was caused by the transmission of the AIDS virus to the Romulan race by an Enterprise crewmember during an illict sex session.

2:21 TELEPHONE CALL

Worf, still half size, runs out of patience with the Enterprise's telephones. Every time he tries to ring his parents to tell them of his unfortunate plight, he finds the phone is either broken, engaged, out of use, or occupied. Finally in a Klingon rage, Worf smashes them all up. He is becalmed up security officer Tasha Yar and the first officer Picard lets Worf use his own private phone to make the call.
JEB (Executive Producer on 'Star Trek - the New Generation'): "This definitely mirrors my own frustration with the telephones where I work."

2:22 QUESTIONS

Q returns, and at last we witness the confrontation between Guinan and the mysterious episode. As the producer commented "This is a classic piece of writing, and at last we ask a lot of questions about the relationship between Q and Guinan. Admittedly we don't answer any, but this is deliberate. Not answering questions helps to weave a lovely tapestry of mystery which we are so keen to build up in this series, and always leaves the way open for a sequel should we see fit."

2:23 WHERE NO SKULL HAS GONE BEFORE

As Guinan had predicted, the Skull is back. However, in its usual curiously cringing manner, it has come to make peace. Negiotations however are upset by the arrival of a space cloud, wishing to revenge itself upon the Skulls who are an ancient enemy due to persistent efforts to make contact. Captain Riker is faced with a dilemma - to protect Skulls or keep the Prime Directive. The producer: "We hadn't done a PD story for a while, and this is the best yet!"

2:24 DELETING FILE SPACE

More mechanical break downs. This time it is Data who goes wrong and almost flies the Enterprise into the Black Hole of Tartarus. Dr Crusher can do little for the second officer; meanwhile Picard is annoyed to get blackcurrant squash instead of Earl Grey Tea out of the continually malfunctioning food dispenser. When Data wakes up, his memory is lost. He doesn't recognise Tasha, and has to go back to basics.

2:25 RO-BOT

Mysterious mechanical hands pull switches in a mysterious cubed shaped ship. On the Enterprise, Ensign Ro immediately goes bonkers and steers the ship hard a starboard at warp nine. When Worf and Tasha finally overcome Ro, the Enterprise is isolated, in a distant part of the galaxy, and Ro is found to be a robot, controlled by outside influence. But who can it be?

2:26 BORGDOM

Riker hardly has time to consider the problem before the Borg warp into view and demand, as usual their surrender. Riker sends Picard over with Geordi to check out the Borg ship while he does the usual things like rotate shields and reverse engines. Once there, one or two of the Geordis find a machine breaking device the Borg used on the Enterprise to sap morale and bring to the confrontation. Fortunately the Geordis work out how to turn it on the Borg, who being part machine, break down themselves. They are just in time to save the Enterprise, again.