Thine Own Self (episode)
From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.
| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
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| This article is written from the Real World point of view |
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| "Thine Own Self" | ||
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| TNG, Episode 7x16 Production number: 40277-268 First aired: 14 February 1994 | ||
| ← | 167th of 176 produced in TNG | → |
| ← | 167th of 176 released in TNG | → |
| ← | 309th of 726 released in all | → |
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| Teleplay By Ronald D. Moore Story By Christopher Hatton Directed By Winrich Kolbe | ||
| 47611.2 (2370) | ||
Data suffers amnesia in a primitive society while Troi applies for a promotion.
Contents |
[edit] Summary
Dr. Beverly Crusher in charge of the night shift on the USS Enterprise-D. Counselor Deanna Troi arrives on the ship after having attended a class reunion at a starbase. A conversation ensues between Crusher and Troi in which the main subject is Crusher's past decision to apply for the rank of Commander, a rank which she does not need for the post of Chief Medical Officer.
Lieutenant Commander Data is commonly in charge of the night shift, but he is out on an away mission. A deep space probe containing radioactive material has crashed on a planet, Barkon IV, hosting a preindustrial civilization. Due to Data's android nature, he is the one best suited for the mission. He is hailed by the Enterprise's bridge, but no response is received by them. The bridge's staff is not overly concerned, as the radioactive nature of the fragments Data is supposed to collect on the planet are expected to disturb any received and sent messages.
Crusher says that Data can wait for a few days before being picked up by the Enterprise, as the ship has to deliver medical supplies to a colony.
Data is seen walking into a Shakespearean village on the planet he is on. His appearance suggests that he has been through some rough experiences, his hair is messed up and his uniform is dirty and ripped in places. He is also carrying a box reading "Radioactive". As he enters the Shakespearean village, he is encountered by two Barkonians, a middle-aged man and his young daughter. The child, Gia, is told by her father to go ahead, but she hides behind a wooden wheel. Her father, Garvin, speaks to Data, who at first is only able to emit non-vocal sounds and later only repeat what Garvin has said. Data soon recovers enough to state that he has no idea who he is. All he knows is that he walked to the village from the mountains outside it.
Garvin and his daughter take care of Data because of his amnesia. Because they do not know his name, they call him Jayden, after initially having suggested that his name might be "Radioactive" since it was written on the case. Talur, a scientist and supposedly doctor, takes a look at Data and proclaims that he is not ill despite the amnesia, and that his pale appearance is because he is an Iceman, a humanoid who belongs to the mountains outside the village. Data is dressed in Garvin's old clothes and taken to the village's blacksmith. The blacksmith shows interest in the metal fragments Data had collected, and offers to buy half of them. There is also an incident at the blacksmith's and a heavy object falls on a man's leg. The villagers cannot lift it, but Data does with ease. Later, Talur says that his strength is something he shares with all Icemen, that they have to use their strength to fight off the wild beasts that roam the mountains.
Data gets along well with Garvin and Gia and one day he follows Gia to Talur's school. Talur teaches the Barkonian children about the elements; sky, fire, rock and water. She says that wood is combustible as it contains fire, and when exposed to a flame, the fire within the element comes to life. When the fire is put out, air is released as smoke.
Data is not convinced that this philosophy is correct. He voices his opinion, that he knows fire is not an element, and that wood is composed of many different chemical compounds of which none is fire. Talur shakes his words off, telling the children that his amnesia make them unable to trust him.
On the Enterprise, Troi asks Commander Riker if she is allowed to take the Bridge Officer's Test. Riker wonders why, and is told that she has considered it off and on for over two years, but was motivated by her class reunion. She is allowed to take the test and does so at the holodeck.
Geordi La Forge and Worf are the senior officers in the simulation, where the insulation of the antimatter chambers is breaking down. Troi has to make fast decisions, but fails. Riker tells her that all parts of the test went well for her, except for that last and most important part of it, resulting in Troi failing the whole test.
At Barkon IV, Garvin begins to feel weak and ill, and later becomes sick. Talur ordinates that he should take a fast walk in the crisp air, but it has no effect, and he starts to show signs of radiation sickness. Talur does not know how to handle his symptoms, involving hair loss and third degree burns all over his body. She gives Gia some herbs, and hopes that they will help Garvin to recover. Data is not satisfied with the treatment Talur suggested, so he starts to investigate Garvin's illness closer. He constructs the equipment he needs, including a 500x magnifying glass and a Geiger counter. He studies cell samples from both Garvin and Gia, who also has started to show symptoms of radiation sickness. Talur comes with suggestions, that maybe Data is the one to have brought the sickness to the village, but it is only after Data has examined a pendant of Gia's closer that he comes up with the cause to the villagers' sudden illness. The pendant was made by the blacksmith, who bought the radioactive metal from Data, and a large piece of the metal is the pendant itself. This also explains why the blacksmith has fallen ill as well. Data places the metal before the indicator of radioactivity, and discovers that the metal is the cause to the sickness. The indicator consists of a wooden frame and a linen cloth. The cloth has been treated with a liquid Data took from a lamp in Garvin's house. When exposed to a candle, the cloth illuminates, and when the metal is present, the cloth is illuminated by green dots scattered over the surface. This told Data that the metal emits invisible particles, which however can be blocked by the radioactive-labeled box he brought to the village. He tells Talur to collect all of the metal fragments in the box, while he tries to find a cure.
The village's blacksmith enters the house later, together with another villager. They attack Data and tear off a piece of skin from his head, exposing his internal circuits and flashing lights. The two villagers become scared and ask him what he is, but Data cannot answer the question due to his amnesia. The villagers retreat, scared, and Data is left in a confused state.
On board the Enterprise, Troi is studying the ship's technical specifications when Riker enters her quarters. He tells her that she has failed the Bridge Officer's Test three times, and that she cannot do it again. She protests and says that she will take it as many times as she has to in order to pass it. Riker tells her that she shall not, that she does not possess the qualities expected from an officer on the bridge. He also says that no matter how much he likes her, his first duty is toward the ship. His last words before his exit makes Troi think, and she rushes to the holodeck.
After having entered the holodeck, Troi starts the test's simulation again. She is in engineering, and the antimatter is about to leak out of its container. She asks La Forge if he can repair the damaged parts. The Worf hologram says that La Forge never will survive the operation, but Troi orders the holographic La Forge to repair the damage anyway. Riker enters and tells Troi that she has passed the test, that it was a test to see if she could order someone to his death.
At Barkon IV, Data has come up with a cure to the radiation sickness. He gives it to Gia, telling her that it worked on her father's cellular samples and that her father is recovering. Data says that he has to give it to the entire village, but that they never will trust him due to his exposed android nature. Gia offers to help, but is told that she will not be trusted either. As the village's well is the only water source, Data decides to pour the cure into it. At night, Data exits Garvin's house and reaches the well. As he is about to pour the cure into the water, the villagers appear. They say that it was Data who made them sick, that he brought the plague to their village. Data pours the cure into the water, but is then stabbed in the back by the blacksmith with a long pole. The blacksmith is shocked with electricity and Data collapses onto the ground, the pole going through his torso.
Gia stands before a tombstone with Barkonian letters. Cosmetically altered to appear Barkonian and dressed up in Shakespearean clothes, Crusher and Riker approach her, asking her if she has seen a friend of theirs, pale with yellow eyes. Gia nods and speaks about Jayden in past tense. Crusher wonders why, and is told that Data is dead, and that the tombstone is his. Gia says that she did not know his name, so they called him Jayden, and wonders what his real name was. Gia also says that Data was killed because he was different and the villagers were scared by him, despite his efforts to cure the villagers of the sickness the metal fragments caused. Riker wonders where the fragments are and is told that they are buried in the woods. After Gia has left, Riker suggests that Data can be beamed up from his resting place directly onto the ship, together with the metal fragments.
In the Enterprise's sickbay, Data is repaired and put on-line again. Picard asks him if he remembers what happened, and Data says that he was recovering the information from the probe when he was shocked by it. He suggests that it overloaded his positronic net, and that as a result, he has no memory from that moment on. He says, though, that his clothes suggest that he had been through quite an adventure. Troi also tells Data that she will be his superior officer from that moment forward, as she was promoted during Data's absence.
[edit] Memorable Quotes
"Congratulations, you just destroyed the Enterprise."
- - William Riker to Deanna Troi, after a failed Bridge Officer's Test
"Mr. Radioactive?"
- - Garvin when trying to find a name for Data
[edit] Background Information
- In this episode Deanna Troi is promoted from lieutenant commander to commander.
- The events of this episode bear a striking resemblance to the Goiânia accident.
- Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) only appears in the final scene and has only one line of dialog ("What's the last thing you remember?"). This was as a result of Patrick Stewart having taken time off to appear in his one-man version of "A Christmas Carol" in London while the episode was filmed.
- Worf and Geordi La Forge only appear in this episode as holograms.
- The title is taken from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet: "This above all: to thine own self be true", which Data quoted to Commander Riker in TNG: "Hide and Q".
- The philosophy that items contain four different elements ("humors") was common to the beliefs of European civilizations of medieval Earth, however, the breakdown is different: earth, fire, air, water, compared to the rock, fire, sky, and water of the Barkon civilization.
- This episode marks the last time that Will Riker plays his trombone on the series.
- This is the first time the left side of Data's face is destroyed. It would happen again in Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection.
[edit] Awards
- This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Art Direction for a Series.
[edit] Video and DVD releases
- UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 84, 25 July 1994.
- As part of the TNG Season 7 DVD collection.
[edit] Links and References
[edit] Guest Stars
- Ronnie Claire Edwards as Talur
- Michael Rothhaar as Garvin
- Kimberly Cullum as Gia
- Michael G. Hagerty as Skoran
- Andy Kossin as the Barkonian apprentice
- Richard Ortega-Miro as Rainer
- Michael Braveheart as Martinez (uncredited)
[edit] References
anvil; arithmetic; Barkon IV; Barkonian; blacksmith; Beverly Crusher; Garvin; Gia; holodeck programs; Jayden; USS Lexington (NCC-61832); memory; probe; radiation; radiation poisoning; Rainer; William T. Riker; Skoran; Talur; Starbase 231; Taranko colony; Vellorian Mountains
[edit] Chronology
- 2362
- Beverly Crusher takes the bridge officer examination and is promoted to commander.
- 2368
- Deanna Troi is left in command of the Enterprise-D after the ship is hit by two quantum filaments. After being unprepared for command prior to the incident, she begins to consider becoming a bridge officer afterwards. (TNG: "Disaster")
- 2370
- The Enterprise-D dispatches Data to recover the crashed probe.
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