Power Play (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

Last updated
"Power Play"
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 15
Directed by David Livingston [1]
Story byPaul Ruben
Maurice Hurley
Teleplay by René Balcer
Herbert J. Wright
Brannon Braga
Featured music Jay Chattaway
Production code215
Original air dateFebruary 17, 1992 (1992-02-17)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Conundrum"		Next →
"Ethics"
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 5
List of episodes

"Power Play" is the 115th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation . It is the 15th episode of the fifth season.

Contents

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, alien entities take over the minds of Data, Troi, and Miles O'Brien.

The story begins when the spaceship picks up a distress signal, and upon investigation seems to be coming from the USS Essex, a spaceship lost two hundred years earlier. [2]

The episode is noted for having five different writers involved in the story and screenplay. [3]

Casting

This episode includes Rosalind Chao playing Keiko, who also appeared in episodes such as "Data's Day", "The Wounded", "Disaster", and went on to have a recurring guest role in Star Trek Deep: Space Nine . [4]

Plot

The USS Enterprise detects a distress call at a moon known as Mab-Bu VI. Lt. Commander Data discovers that the USS Essex was lost in the region over 200 years ago. Picard sends Riker, Data and Troi to the surface. Riker injures his arm during the shuttle crash. Transporter Chief Miles O'Brien later is able to beam to the planet's surface with a power booster to enable all 4 to beam back to the Enterprise. Three orbs of light enter the bodies of Data, Troi, and O'Brien, while a fourth refuses to enter the injured Riker.

After returning to the Enterprise, Data, Troi, and O'Brien take control of the ship and take hostages in Ten Forward. Troi claims that she is Captain Bryce Shumar of the Essex, and Data and O'Brien are her crewmates. She claims their spirits were trapped in the electromagnetic fields of the moon and asks that the Enterprise take their bones back to Earth for burial.

Dr. Crusher determines that the pain receptors in Riker's broken arm repelled the entities possessing the others. La Forge, Crusher, and Ro devise a plan to separate the possessive entities from the crew members' bodies by inducing pain then trapping them in a containment field. However the plan fails when Data suddenly moves out of the attack area. Picard suggests Troi, Data and O'Brien relocate to Cargo Bay Four with hostages. [5]

Troi reveals that the moon is a penal colony, and she, Data and O'Brien are in fact prisoners and not crew of the Essex. They had previously attempted to possess the crew on the Essex to escape the colony, but the ship crashed during the attempt. O'Brien transports hundreds of other prisoner entities to Cargo Bay Four to possess the Enterprise crew and escape, but the bridge crew traps them in a containment field. Picard threatens to blow the cargo bay hatch and kill the prisoner entities (and themselves). Troi, Data and O'Brien relinquish their hosts and Worf beams all the entities back to the moon. The crew recover from the experience.

Reception

In 2011, The A.V. Club gave this episode a B− grade, suggesting it was "pretty good but not great". [2] Keith DeCandido of Tor.com gave the episode a 7 out of 10 rating. [6]

In 2013, it was described as "rousing action yarn" with "delightfully malevolent " acting performances by the cast in the book Star Trek FAQ 2.0 (Unofficial and Unauthorized): Everything Left to Know About the Next Generation, the Movies, and Beyond. [3] They praised it as one of the most exciting episodes of the season, bringing together adventuresome writing with good acting. [3]

Releases

The episode was released in the United States on November 5, 2002, as part of the season five DVD box set. [7] The first Blu-ray release was in the United States on November 18, 2013, [8] followed by the United Kingdom the next day, November 19, 2013. [9]

Related Research Articles

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

Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and related TV series and films, portrayed by English actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid, and has the psionic ability to sense emotions. She serves as the ship's counselor on USS Enterprise-D. Throughout most of the series, she holds the rank of lieutenant commander. In the seventh season, Troi takes the bridge officer's examination and is promoted to the rank of commander, but continues as counselor.

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

William Thomas "Will" Riker is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe appearing primarily as a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation, portrayed by Jonathan Frakes. Throughout the series and its accompanying films, he is the Enterprise's first officer, and briefly captain, until he accepts command of the USS Titan at the end of Star Trek: Nemesis. He is the husband of Deanna Troi.

The Best of Both Worlds (<i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>) 26th episode of 3rd season and the 1st episode of the 4th season

"The Best of Both Worlds" is the 26th episode of the third season and the first episode of the fourth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It comprises the 74th and 75th episodes of the series overall. The first part was originally aired on June 18, 1990, and the second on September 24, 1990 in broadcast syndication television.

The Battle (<i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>) 9th episode of the 1st season of Star Trek: The Next Generation

"The Battle" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and was originally aired on November 16, 1987, in broadcast syndication. The episode was written by Herbert Wright, based on a story by Larry Forrester, and directed by Rob Bowman.

"Hide and Q" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and originally aired on November 23, 1987, in broadcast syndication. The story was originally written by Maurice Hurley but went under numerous re-writes by the show's creator Gene Roddenberry. The episode was directed by Cliff Bole, and saw the return of John de Lancie as Q.

"Angel One" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was first broadcast on January 25, 1988, in the United States in broadcast syndication. It was written by Patrick Barry and was directed by Michael Ray Rhodes.

"Manhunt" is the nineteenth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 45th episode overall, originally broadcast on June 19, 1989.

"The Arsenal of Freedom" is the twenty-first episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, originally aired on April 11, 1988, in broadcast syndication. The teleplay was written by Richard Manning and Hans Beimler, based on a story by Beimler. The episode was directed by Les Landau.

"Peak Performance" is the twenty-first and penultimate episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 47th episode overall, first broadcast on July 10, 1989.

"The Quality of Life" is the 135th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the ninth episode of the sixth season.

"Schisms" is the 131st episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the fifth of the sixth season. It was originally aired on October 19, 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where Silence Has Lease</span> 2nd episode of the 2nd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation

"Where Silence Has Lease" is the second episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 28th episode overall. It was originally released on November 28, 1988, in broadcast syndication. Directed by Winrich Kolbe, it was written by Jack B. Sowards.

"Disaster" is the fifth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 105th episode overall. It was originally released on October 21, 1991, in broadcast syndication.

"Genesis" is the 171st episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the 19th episode of the seventh season. It was directed by series cast member Gates McFadden, her only directing credit to date.

"Gambit" is the 156th and 157th episodes of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, which are the fourth and fifth episodes of the seventh season.

"The Price" is the eighth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 56th episode of the series overall.

"A Matter of Perspective" is the 14th episode of the third season of the American syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), and the 62nd episode of the series overall. It was inspired by Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon. The 45-minute episode was broadcast on February 12, 1990 on television. It was written by Ed Zuckerman.

"Ménage à Troi" is the 24th episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 72nd episode of the series overall.

Face of the Enemy (<i>Star Trek: The Next Generation</i>) 14th episode of the 6th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation

"Face of the Enemy" is the 140th episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the 14th episode of the sixth season.

References

  1. ↑ "David Livingston On Directing Star Trek Episodes, Part 1". Star Trek.com. July 2, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Star Trek: The Next Generation: "Power Play"/"Ethics"". The A.V. Club . 7 April 2011. Retrieved 2021-05-04.
  3. 1 2 3 Clark, Mark (2013-06-01). Star Trek FAQ 2.0 (Unofficial and Unauthorized): Everything Left to Know About the Next Generation, the Movies, and Beyond. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN   978-1-4803-5500-2.
  4. ↑ Hise, James Van (March 1994). Deep Space Crew Book. Pioneer Books. ISBN   978-1-55698-335-1.
  5. ↑ ""Star Trek: The Next Generation" Power Play". IMDb.com. IMDb, Inc. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  6. ↑ DeCandido, Keith R. A. (27 July 2012). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "Power Play"". Tor.com .
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ 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.