New Ground (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Last updated
"New Ground"
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 10
Directed by Robert Scheerer
Story bySara Charno
Stuart Charno
Teleplay by Grant Rosenberg
Featured music Dennis McCarthy
Production code210
Original air dateDecember 30, 1991 (1991-12-30)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"A Matter of Time"		Next →
"Hero Worship"
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5
List of episodes

"New Ground" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Contents

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, Worf is less than thrilled when his foster mother, Helena, arrives with his son Alexander. Although Helena and Worf's foster father, Sergey, had agreed to raise the boy after K'Ehleyr's death, Helena now reports that Alexander is having a difficult time adjusting to his new life, and they're not as young as they used to be; he needs to be raised by his father on the Enterprise. Predictably, Worf and Alexander have a difficult time as well adjusting to one another, a situation aggravated by a ship-based experiment that becomes life-threatening. Georgia Brown, who played Worf's foster mother, died just 5½ months after the episode aired.

Plot

The Enterprise is scheduled to assist with a trial run of soliton wave technology, which has the potential to allow vessels to travel at warp speed even if they are not equipped with warp drive engines. Worf receives a message from Helena Rozhenko, his human foster mother, who requests to visit and bring his son Alexander. He is surprised to learn that Helena intends to leave Alexander with him on the Enterprise; she and her husband Sergey are having too much trouble caring for the boy in their old age, and she feels that he needs to be raised by his father.

Soon after Alexander is enrolled in the ship's school, his teacher voices concerns to Worf about his behavior, such as lying, bullying other students, and taking their toys. Tensions between father and son rise after Alexander refuses to admit stealing a model during a class field trip and Worf finds it in his pocket. Worf decides to send Alexander away to a Klingon school, but Counselor Troi persuades him to reconsider, pointing out that Alexander may be acting on feelings of abandonment since his mother is dead and he has been in the care of the Rozhenkos instead of his father.

A distortion during the soliton wave experiment damages the Enterprise and destroys the test ship. The wave is on a collision course with a colony on Lemma II, and is growing in power and speed so quickly that its impact will destroy most of the planet. La Forge recommends that the Enterprise pull ahead of the wave and fire photon torpedoes to dissipate it, but before it can do so, a fire breaks out in a laboratory where Alexander has sneaked in. Worf and Riker find him pinned under debris and rescue him just in time for the Enterprise to fire the torpedoes and prevent the colony from being destroyed.

Dr. Crusher diagnoses Alexander with smoke inhalation and a broken leg and assures Worf he will be fully recovered after an overnight stay in Sickbay. Worf softens his attitude toward Alexander and invites him to stay on the Enterprise, saying that it will be an even greater challenge for both of them than the Klingon school. Alexander accepts the offer as a way of honoring his mother's memory.

Releases

The episode was released in the United States on November 5, 2002, as part of the season five DVD box set. [1] The first Blu-ray release was in the United States on November 18, 2013, [2] followed by the United Kingdom the next day, November 19, 2013. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i> American science fiction television series

Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry. It originally aired from September 28, 1987, to May 23, 1994, in syndication, spanning 178 episodes over seven seasons. The third series in the Star Trek franchise, it was inspired by Star Trek: The Original Series. Set in the latter third of the 24th century, when Earth is part of the United Federation of Planets, it follows the adventures of a Starfleet starship, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), in its exploration of the Alpha quadrant and Beta quadrant in the Milky Way galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worf</span> Fictional character from Star Trek

Worf, son of Mogh is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise, portrayed by actor Michael Dorn. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), seasons four through seven of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), and the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard, as well as the feature films Star Trek Generations (1994), Star Trek: First Contact (1996), Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).

"Redemption" is a two-part episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Parts I and II of "Redemption" comprise the 100th and 101st episodes of the series, also being the fourth season finale and the fifth season premiere.

"Force of Nature" is the 161st episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the ninth episode of the seventh season.

"Homeward" is the 165th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the 13th episode of the show's seventh season.

"Sins of the Father" is the 65th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the 17th episode of the third season.

"Heart of Glory" is the twentieth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, first broadcast March 21, 1988. The story was created by Herbert Wright and D. C. Fontana and was made into a script in two days by executive producer Maurice Hurley. The episode was directed by Rob Bowman.

"Affliction" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on February 18, 2005. The script was written by Mike Sussman from a story by executive producer Manny Coto. It was the second episode of Enterprise to be directed by Michael Grossman. The episode is the first of a two-part story, which concludes with "Divergence".

"Ethics" is the 116th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The 16th episode of the fifth season.

"Family" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 76th episode overall. It was originally released on October 1, 1990, in broadcast syndication. It was written by Ronald D. Moore, from an idea by Michael Piller. It featured additional work taken from a spec script by Susanne Lambdin. "Family" was directed by Les Landau.

"Reunion" is the 81st episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the seventh episode of the fourth season.

"The Bonding" is the fifth episode of the third season of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 53rd episode overall, first broadcast on October 23, 1989.

"A Fistful of Datas" is the 134th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the eighth episode of the sixth season, which premiered in the United States on November 9, 1992. Its title is a play on the title of the Sergio Leone "Spaghetti Western" film A Fistful of Dollars.

Rightful Heir is the 149th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 23rd episode of the sixth season.

"Aquiel" is the 139th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 13th episode of the sixth season.

The Minds Eye (<i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>) 24th episode of the 4th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation

"The Mind's Eye" is the 98th episode of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 24th episode of the fourth season. David Livingston made his directoral debut at the helm of this episode.

"Firstborn" is the 173rd episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The 21st episode of the seventh season. It was broadcast on television in April 1994.

"Hero Worship" is the 111th episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. This is the 11th episode of the fifth season, directed by series' castmember Patrick Stewart. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry died during the filming of this episode.

"Birthright" is a story spanning the 16th and 17th episodes of the sixth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 142nd and 143rd episodes overall.

References

  1. ↑ Ordway, Holly E. (November 5, 2002). "Star Trek the Next Generation – Season 5". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  2. ↑ Miller III, Randy (November 19, 2013). "Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Five (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on August 15, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  3. ↑ Simpson, Michael (November 11, 2013). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 Blu-ray Review". Sci-Fi Now. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.