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Recap / Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E21 "The Drumhead"

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Worf: Sir, the Federation does have enemies! We must seek them out! Picard: Oh, yes. That's how it starts. But the road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think. Something is wrong here, Mister Worf. I don't like what we have become.

Original air date: April 29, 1991

Things are tense aboard the Enterprise . A few days ago, an explosion in the engine room put the warp core out of commission and several crew members in sickbay. Sabotage is suspected, and all signs point to J'Dan, a Klingon scientist currently serving aboard the Enterprise as part of the Federation–Klingon Officer Exchange Program ( Remember that? ). Starfleet Intelligence has discovered that several design specs and schematics of Enterprise systems have fallen into Romulan hands right about the time J'Dan started serving aboard. J'Dan denies the charges, naturally, but his behavior during and immediately after the inquiry raise suspicions. Troi detects that he's hiding something, and as Worf escorts him back to his quarters, J'Dan tries to bribe him: he's got powerful friends back on the Klingon homeworld, he claims, and if Worf would help him escape the Enterprise he could see what he could do about that whole family disgrace thing Worf has. Fortunately for him, Worf has enough presence of mind to wait until they've gotten back to his quarters before sucker-punching J'Dan and promising him that he'll expose his spying ways.

A short time later, the Enterprise receives a visitor. Starfleet Command has been watching the situation and have deemed the threat of espionage significant enough to warrant a formal investigation. To that end, they have plucked legendary intelligence expert Admiral Norah Satie ( Jean Simmons ) out of retirement, and with her arrival the investigation kicks into full gear. Security footage of the explosion indicates a sudden catastrophic failure of the dilithium chamber's hatch, which could well be the result of sabotage. Furthermore, Worf has discovered that J'Dan's personal hypospray has been modified to download information from the Enterprise 's computer and encode it into a biological sequence. Several people who have left the Enterprise while J'Dan has been serving there have since mysteriously disappeared. It would seem that J'Dan has been using random people as "data mules," injecting them with the encoded information, and then directing his accomplices to abduct them. Satie is so impressed by Worf's work that she requests that he be part of her investigation team, and that he lead the interrogation of J'Dan.

Confronted with this new evidence, J'Dan cracks, admitting that he's a spy for the Romulans and a traitor to the Empire. However, he still claims to know nothing about the warp core explosion. It's a puzzling thing that he refuses to admit to this in the light of the rest of the evidence against him, but that sets Satie's suspicions off. She finds it hard to believe that J'Dan was acting alone, and if he was in fact telling the truth, then he might not be only spy aboard the Enterprise . She continues her investigation, focusing on the Enterprise medical team, as they were the ones with the most frequent contact with J'Dan. Picard is uneasy with the course the investigation is taking, but Satie assures him that it's just a routine inquiry. And that she and he are a team, the Enterprise and her crew are his command, and she will not step on his toes.

The investigation proceeds, and it soon uncovers a suspect: Simon Tarses, a quarter-Vulcan medical technician who most often attended to J'Dan when he came into Sickbay for his regular checkups. During his interview, Tarses is cooperative but extremely nervous. And Sabin Genestra, Satie's Betazoid aide, senses that he's hiding a very big secret.

Satie immediately recommends that Tarses be watched and his movements restricted, but Picard disagrees. There is no evidence that Tarses is really a spy; all they've got to go on is a Betazoid's read of his emotions and, well, who wouldn't be nervous in his situation? Before this argument can go much further, LaForge checks in. The engine room is clear, and he and Data have finished their investigation. The explosion was not due to sabotage. The chamber hatch failed due to metal fatigue. It was an accident. The fact that it happened at the same time there was a spy on board was a complete coincidence .

This doesn't stop Satie, however. She's convinced Tarses is hiding something, she's determined to root it out. She calls him back for another inquiry — and this time she opens the hearing to the public. Genestra tears into Tarses, firing off hostile question after hostile question, even outright lying about the cause of the explosion, until finally he makes his biggest accusation: the secret Tarses has been hiding is that he lied about his heritage on his Starfleet application. His grandfather wasn't Vulcan; he was Romulan .

This whole situation is now leaving a bad taste in Picard's mouth. First he speaks to Worf about it. But Worf believes that the Admiral has the best interests of the Federation at heart, and he's adamant about working with her to root out these Romulan collaborators. Then Picard speaks to Simon Tarses privately, to get to know the man a little. He finds that all Simon is really guilty of is being too enthusiastic about joining Starfleet; lying on his application was his way of trying to head off any questions about his loyalty (ironically, the very thing that led to all these questions now). And now, Tarses laments, the career he worked so hard to build is done.

Finally, Picard confronts Satie. This has gone on long enough, he says. He will no longer cooperate with her investigation, and if she refuses to stop interrogating his crew, he will go to Starfleet Command directly. Satie counters with the fact that Starfleet Command authorized her to do this, and furthermore, the head of Starfleet Security, Admiral Thomas Henry, is on his way to the Enterprise to personally observe the further investigations. The inquiries will continue with Henry in attendance — and Captain Picard himself will be the next one on the stand.

When Picard takes the stand, he's immediately called to account for nearly every black mark on his record, from his occasional bending of the Prime Directive to his assimilation by the Borg. At this point, Worf finally realizes this is getting out of hand and tries to defend his captain, but he's smacked down by Genestra, who calls his loyalty into question due to his family's alleged collusion with the Romulans. Picard responds to these accusations by quoting the words of Aaron Satie, renowned Federation judge and Norah Satie's father, regarding personal freedom and suppression of rights.

Picard quoting her beloved father's words back to her makes Admiral Satie go berserk , launching into a scathing tirade that exposes her as a paranoid tyrant. The crowd turns against Satie, and Admiral Henry leaves the room in disgust without a word. Realizing how unhinged her outburst made her come across as, an embarrassed Satie slumps deflated back in her seat. Sabin hurriedly declares a recess as the crowd leaves the room.

The hearings are stopped, Admiral Henry leaves, and Admiral Satie is sent back out to pasture. Worf and Picard discuss the events of the last few days, and Worf beats himself up for allowing himself to be Satie's tool. Picard assures him that he wasn't alone, that those who spread fear in the name of righteousness are not always easy to spot. And that the cost of freedom from tyranny is to always be on guard against people like her.

Tropes featured in "The Drumhead" include:

• 10-Minute Retirement : Admiral Satie is called out of retirement for this investigation. She later tells Picard that the last four years of her life have been devoted solely to her duty, suggesting she hasn't been out of the game long at all.
• Whether J'Dan actually did have help smuggling information off the Enterprise is never established; Satie uses the possibility to justify her continued witch hunt, but by Picard's admission, J'Dan succeeding alone might have been extremely difficult, but not impossible.
• Sabin twice brings up the false charges against Worf's father, but it's never made clear if he personally believes them; Worf dodges the question, and Sabin only brings it up later to discredit Worf and Picard.
• Amoral Attorney : Sabin Genestra, although even he thinks that Satie's rant at the end is going too far .
• Aside Glance : When Picard learns that there may be a collaborator on board, he reacts by looking into the camera and grimacing at us.
• Believing Their Own Lies : It's implied that Satie only brings up charges against Picard to discredit him for standing up to her, but as she rants at him during her Villainous Breakdown , she openly accuses him of colluding with Romulans, suggesting that at some point, she started to actually consider him a traitor.
• Berserk Button : Satie remains in control of herself at the hearing until Picard quotes one of her father's famous speeches about civil rights. Then she absolutely loses it .
• Biodata : J'Dan conducted his espionage using this technology. He modified a hyposyringe with an optical chip reader, and would use that to transform digital information from the ship's computers into amino acid sequences. Then he would inject someone without their knowledge, and the information would be carried in their bodies in their bloodstream as inert proteins, which could be extracted at any time by another spy.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing : While their intentions are arguably good, both Satie and Sabin prove to be far nastier individuals than their initially professional and reasonable demeanors suggest. Satie, in particular, acts quite friendly towards Worf and Picard until they start questioning her, at which point she becomes downright venomous.
• Blatant Lies : While questioning Tarses, Sabin claims that the damage to the warp core was caused by a corrosive chemical that Tarses had access to. As Picard points out, it was an accident caused by defective equipment.
• Bottle Episode : It takes place entirely on the Enterprise , with little in the way of special effects. Rebuffing executive demands for a Clip Show , the writers came up with a much better concept that could still be brought in under budget.
• Break Them by Talking : Picard delivers one of his famous speeches near the end of the hearing, leading to Satie's Villainous Breakdown as she spits back a flurry of invective, surrendering any credibility. Picard: You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured... the first thought forbidden... the first freedom denied... chains us all irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom... and warning. [Satie starts looking like a volcano about to erupt] The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today— Satie: [jumps to her feet] How dare you! You, who consort with Romulans, invoke my father's name to support your traitorous arguments? It is an offense to everything I hold dear! And to hear those words used to subvert the United Federation of Planets! My father was a great man! His name stands for integrity and principle! You dirty his name when you speak it! [Admiral Henry gives Satie an angry, disappointed glare ] He loved the Federation! But you, Captain, corrupt it! You undermine our very way of life! I will expose you for what you are! I've brought down bigger men than you, Picard!! [Henry stands up and silently walks out ] Satie: [ visibly shaken ] ...I have nothing more to say. [sits down looking devastated]
• Bribe Backfire : Not a monetary bribe, but J'Dan offers to have some powerful friends help restore Worf's honor in exchange for his help escaping the Enterprise . Worf responds with an Offhand Backhand , followed by: Worf: [holding J'Dan against a wall] I don't know how you transferred secret information to the Romulans, but I will find out . And when I inform the Klingon High Council, they will put you to a slow death .
• Broken Pedestal : Picard is initially thrilled to have the revered Admiral Satie on board to assist their investigation into a possible saboteur on the Enterprise , but his pedestal is quickly broken when Satie starts ruthlessly persecuting his crew, including the captain himself.
• Bullying a Dragon : Genestra quite unwisely attacks Mogh as a Romulan spy in front of his son, nearly resulting in Worf providing a physical demonstration to Genestra of what he thought of Genestra's accusations. Fortunately Picard prevents Worf from doing so.
• Call-Back : "The Drumhead" references quite a few previous episodes. Satie supposedly helped ferret out the conspiracy in " Conspiracy ". J'Dan offers to fix Worf's discommendation, and Satie brings up Mogh's supposed collusion with Romulans, both referencing " Sins of the Father ". Satie's accusations against Picard include his assimilation by the Borg in " The Best of Both Worlds " and his unwitting delivery of a Romulan spy back to her people in " Data's Day ". All this continuity might be a relic of the original concept as a Clip Show .
• Conflicting Loyalty : Sabin and Satie accuse both Tarses and Worf of having conflicting loyalties due to Tarses having a Romulan grandfather and Mogh being branded a traitor by the Klingon Empire.
• Daddy's Girl : Norah Satie loved her father a great deal and inherited his love for the Federation. Unfortunately, this gets harshly deconstructed as her patriotism twists into zealotry and she forgets her father's lesson about what happens when the citizens' rights are trampled. Picard reminding her of this ends up pushing her over the edge.
• Dastardly Whiplash : Picard mentions to Worf how villains of this sort are easier to spot than the Bitch in Sheep's Clothing , thus providing this episode's Aesop .
• During Picard's questioning, Satie has the gall to ask if Picard has completely recovered from his experience with the Borg in "The Best of Both Worlds" . Picard says "Yes, I have completely recovered", with a glare that could punch a hole in any Borg cube .
• When Sabin throws Mogh's (alleged and untrue) collaboration with the Romulans into Worf's face, Worf looks like he's about to strangle Sabin until Picard talks him down.
• Admiral Henry gives Satie one during her Villainous Breakdown before he walks out.
• Satie treats Picard as a criminal because of the Mind Rape he suffered from the Borg. Can you say " Victim-Blaming "?
• The Fantastic Racism with which Satie (and Sabin) treat Tarses certainly has resonance with any number of Real Life examples of people hated and distrusted for their ancestry or race, such as the treatment of Americans of German and Japanese descent during World War II . This is only underscored by having the admiral who walks out of the court proceedings in disgust being portrayed by a black actor. The fact that Tarses is mistreated despite only being one-quarter Romulan also brings the One-Drop Rule to mind.
• Don't Answer That : When Sabin demands that Tarses admit that his paternal grandfather was a Romulan, rather than a Vulcan, Riker, acting as his legal counsel, tells him not to answer. Discussed later between Worf, who believes that Tarses' refusal to speak is in itself an indication of guilt, and Picard, who tells him he can't think that way; Tarses is innocent until proven guilty and cannot be made to incriminate himself; the entire point of the Seventh Guarantee (an equivalent of the US's Fifth Amendment) is that a person may invoke it and not have their guilt presumed.
• Dramatic Irony : During the final hearing, Genestra questions the wisdom of Worf — the son of a Romulan collaborator — serving as Picard's Chief of Security. Only Picard, Worf, and the audience are aware of the truth of those revelations (that Mogh wasn't a traitor and that Worf accepted Discommendation to save the Empire from a House of Duras-instigated civil war). While it's not outright stated, Worf seems to recognzie the bitter irony that his heroic sacrifice — one which Picard supported — is now being used as a weapon against his own Captain.
• Dramatically Missing the Point : Picard quotes Admiral Satie's father on the topic of how paranoia and restricting freedoms can cripple a society, Satie's only response is to be infuriated that Picard dared to quote her father in the first place.
• Worf is willing to follow Satie's hardline tactics until she cites the incident with the Romulan spy (something that Worf knows for a fact was just a case of Picard being deceived and outplayed) as "proof" of Picard's supposed duplicity.
• When the head of Starfleet Security, the guy whose job is to be paranoid, thinks you're going too far...
• Evil Is Petty : After Picard makes his intentions to fight Satie's witch hunt clear, the very next scene has Satie issue an order for Picard to be subjected to a hearing, implying that she's willing to ruin his career out of pure spite. During said hearing, she omits important context (such as the Enterprise being hopelessly outnumbered during the incident with the Romulan double agent) to paint him in the worst possible light and brings up Picard's experience with the Borg, accusing him of having "caused" the resulting devastation, making it clear that the point of the hearing is to discredit Picard rather than serve actual justice.
• Admiral Satie is genuinely baffled at why Picard wants the hearings to stop, seeing his moral objections as an attempt to block her noble efforts and a sign that he is, at best, disloyal, and at worst, a full-on traitor. In fact, when Picard tries to drive home the point of how dangerous Satie's way of thinking can be, Satie simply brushes it off until Picard quotes her own beloved father on the topic, which only makes Satie angrily accuse him of sullying her father's good name rather than give the words themselves a moment's thought.

• Fair-Weather Friend : Worf and Sabin work together very well at first. Then when Worf speaks up for Picard when he finds himself in Satie's crosshairs, Sabin is quick to turn on him and bring up his father's alleged betrayal at Khitomer.
• Anti-Romulan sentiment plays a significant role in this episode. Satie's suspicions about Tarses are based solely on his ancestry, not his personal feelings or political leanings. Ironically, she proves that he was right to fear discrimination based solely on being one-quarter Romulan.
• J'Dan claims to be a victim of this , that he's being accused of espionage and sabotage just because he's Klingon. Of course, he is guilty of espionage, but not sabotage.
• A Father to His Men : Picard puts his ass directly on the line to defend Crewman Tarses, a member of the Enterprise crew that he'd never even spoken to (at least, not on-screen).
• Sabin mentions the charges against Worf's father during their first conversation, claiming to have briefly considered Worf a possible security risk because of it. When Worf stands up for Picard during the hearings, Sabin immediately throws the charges against Mogh in Worf's face to discredit him.
• After being informed that the supposed sabotage was a genuine accident, Sabin remarks "I find that difficult to believe", despite the empirical, physical evidence, foreshadowing how irrational Satie's hunt for a conspiracy will prove to be.
• It is obvious to anyone but Satie that Admiral Henry is not a fan of these proceedings from the start. Whenever the camera cuts to him, the look on his face becomes more sour as it sinks in to him that he was dragged here for a paranoid rant into a non-existent conspiracy. It's when Satie declares that a captain as respected and admirable as Picard is a traitor that Henry finally has enough and walks out.
• In his Motive Rant , J'Dan denounces the Klingons' alliance with the Federation and insists the Romulans would be more worthy allies. With the help of Klingon insiders, the Romulans will later plot to break the alliance by way of an assassination attempt and then become silent partners in a civil war .
• Freudian Excuse : Worf seems to have this going on. The disgrace of his family due to the accusations of his father collaborating with the Romulans drives him to prove his loyalty and hatred of the Romulans even more, falling under Satie's influence very easily. It's when Genestra brings his family history up against him that he finally realizes he's on the wrong side.
• General Ripper : Admiral Satie, renowned for her zeal in sniffing out conspiracies, goes loco looking for Romulan collaborators. Apparently, being famous as a conspiracy-uncoverer makes one pretty paranoid in one's old age.
• Halfway Plot Switch : The first half does indeed focus on the investigation and what J'Dan is up to, but he reveals himself soon enough, and after laying seeds in the first half, the story takes a much darker turn into Satie's pathological obsession with investigating the crew. When Tarses ends up in her crosshairs, the issue becomes the security of the state versus the rights of its citizens, with Satie arguing the former while Picard defends the latter.
• He Who Fights Monsters : Satie already has experience at defending The Federation from conspiracies, such as the one with the mind-control parasites . That time, there was a conspiracy to deal with. This time, however...
• Hiding Your Heritage : Simon Tarses is one-quarter Romulan, but hides it by claiming that he's part-Vulcan instead. As Romulans and Vulcans are related, this holds up to the usual scrutiny, until Sabin decides to dig deeper and demonstrates exactly why Tarses was right to fear people finding out .
• Hoist by Her Own Petard : Satie's decision to bring Admiral Henry into the investigation backfires when Henry shuts her down for going out of control.
• Hypocrite : Before he gets on her bad side, Satie assures Picard that the two of them are equal partners. No sooner does Picard argue that the hearings should be stopped does Satie reveal that she's been reporting directly to Starfleet the entire time, smugly stating that she doesn't need to keep him in the loop.
• Hypocrisy Nod : When Picard refuses to accept Tarses's guilt based on "nothing but Betazoid intuition", Satie promptly points out how much he often relies on Troi's intuition in similar situations — and to Picard's credit, he concedes the point, and says he's going to reconsider that going forward.
• Improperly Paranoid : There is a spy on board working for the Romulans, but he's found quickly and had nothing to do with the malfunction. Yet Satie is still willing to destroy the careers of every single person on board the Enterprise with her witch hunt just to make sure. Picard ends up destroying her career instead by proving to her superiors that she's running on sheer crazy.
• Informed Ability : Picard initially talks about Satie as if she were a master investigator, but this doesn't actually come through on-screen. By the time she can take an active role in this investigation, Worf has already figured out how J'Dan committed espionage; her efforts to expose a supposed conspiracy only serve to ruin a good man's career and ultimately disgrace herself.
• Insane Admiral : Satie goes completely out of control in her Witch Hunt . Fortunately, Henry is there to shut her down.
• Insane Troll Logic : Satie's case against Simon Tarses is built on him having been in J'Dan's company once or twice, and him having lied about the species of his grandfather (claiming him to be Vulcan, rather than Romulan).
• Iron Lady : Norah Satie is poised, dignified, and unwavering in her convictions, up until her Villainous Breakdown .
• Jerkass Has a Point : Satie's not exactly wrong to point out that — on paper and without context, at least — there are a lot of alarming incidents on Picard's recent service record.
• Jerkass Realization : Worf, at the end of the episode, realises that he was swept up in Satie's paranoia, and is disgusted with himself for having helped her.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope : Picard realizes that "the road from legitimate suspicion to rampant paranoia is very much shorter than we think".
• Kangaroo Court : Satie turns the hearings into this until Henry shuts her down. The episode's title refers to the trope, as Picard recalls "drumhead trials" being performed on battlefields with no justice in sight. Picard: This is not unlike a drumhead trial. Worf: I do not understand. Picard: Five hundred years ago, military officers would upend a drum on the battlefield, sit at it, and dispense summary justice. Decisions were quick, punishments severe, appeals denied. Those who came to a drumhead were doomed.
• As soon as Worf speaks up in Picard's defense, both Satie and Sabin ignore his previous help; Satie implies that he was partly responsible for the Romulan double agent's escape, and Sabin goes as far as to bring up the false charges against Worf's father. Worf: The Enterprise could have been captured by the Romulans! Captain Picard did the only thing he could. Satie: Really, Lieutenant? And where were you when this traitor was on board the Enterprise ? Where was ship's security? Sabin: Don't you think it's questionable judgment, Captain, to have a security officer whose father was a Romulan collaborator?
• Satie throws Picard's assimilation by the Borg in his face, using it to try and discredit him and suggesting that he should be held responsible for the deaths at Wolf 359. Satie: Tell me, Captain, have you completely recovered from your experience with the Borg? Picard: [ Death Glare ] Yes, I have completely recovered. Satie: It must have been awful for you, actually becoming one of them, being forced to use your vast knowledge of Starfleet operations to aid the Borg. Just how many of our ships were lost? Thirty-nine? And a loss of life, I believe, measured at nearly eleven thousand. One wonders how you can sleep at night, having caused so much destruction. I question your actions, Captain. I question your choices. I question your loyalty.
• Kirk Summation : Satie should've listened, but she didn't. Picard: I'm deeply concerned about what is happening here. It began when we apprehended a spy; a man who admitted his guilt and will answer for his crime. But the hunt didn't end there. Another man, Mr. Simon Tarses, was brought to trial, and it was a trial, no matter what others choose to call it. A trial based on insinuation and innuendo . Nothing substantive offered against Mr. Tarses, much less proven. Mr. Tarses' grandfather is Romulan. And for that reason his career now stands in ruins. Have we become so... fearful, have we become so cowardly, that we must extinguish a man because he carries the blood of a current enemy ? Admiral, let us not condemn Simon Tarses, or anyone else, because of their bloodlines , or investigate others for their innocent associations. I implore you; do not continue with this proceeding. End it now.
• Knight Templar : Admiral Satie. She genuinely loves the Federation and has devoted her life to its service. Unfortunately she lets paranoia and a desire for the spotlight get the better of her. As she pushes the investigation into paranoid territory, she tells Picard with pride that she has nothing in her life but her duty — no family, no friends, no home. Given that she's also supposed to be retired, we can understand (though not agree with) her zeal to keep investigating.
• Living Lie Detector : The Betazoid Sabin Genestra is used as this during investigations. Picard is uncomfortable with Genestra's readings being used as factual evidence, but Satie counters that Picard himself trusts Troi's readings enough to make decisions. Picard says that perhaps he is wrong to do so .
• Lying to the Perp : Sabin pulls this on Tarses, claiming that the warp core explosion was caused by chemicals that Tarses had access to (even though it was an accident). Tarses refuses to cop to anything.
• Mandatory Line : Because Jonathan Frakes was directing the episode, Riker's role is limited to appearing in the teaser, acting as Tarses' counsel during his hearing, and appearing in the background of a few other scenes.
• Married to the Job : Satie notes that she's spent her life traveling from place to place doing her job and has no friends.
• Motive Rant : J'Dan finally admits to passing information to the Romulans, saying that they would make better allies than The Federation . J'Dan: The blood of all Klingons has become water! Since the Federation alliance, we are turned into a nation of mewling babies! The Romulans are strong. They are worthy allies. They do not turn Klingons into weaklings, like you! [looks at Worf]
• Simon Tarses, after getting publicly humiliated by Sabin, is just wallowing in remorse for lying to Starfleet. Picard takes it upon himself to try and talk it out with him and understand him, since it's clear Tarses is hardly any sort of malicious person. It's no use, since Tarses is too shaken up.
• Worf's reaction at the end. Worf: I believed her. I... I helped her. I did not see what she was.
• Satie's reaction as well, once she realizes how badly she just screwed herself.
• Nervous Wreck : Poor Simon Tarses looks like a bundle of nerves every time he's on the stand, and it's hard to blame him, especially once Sabin starts laying into him. When we last see him in the episode, talking with Picard, he's at his lowest, utterly terrified and wracked with guilt.
• Not Me This Time : J'Dan eventually does admit to having been a spy for the Romulans but denies sabotaging the warp core. This causes everyone to realize that wasn't his doing, since if he decided he had nothing to lose and confessed to one crime — which will result in his execution once he's remanded to the Klingons — why would he lie about another?
• Not So Stoic : Admiral Satie is perfectly poised and reasonable-sounding throughout the investigation, letting her deputy Sabin handle the shouting and Perp Sweating — up until Picard quotes her father, sending her into her Villainous Breakdown .
• The Paranoiac : Admiral Satie fits this to a T. Even when the evidence conclusively proves that there was no sabotage, she refuses to give up on the idea of a conspiracy aboard the Enterprise . She brushes off any criticism of her methods, disregarding it at best or considering it obstruction of her righteous efforts, and when challenged, she refers to her father's teachings and the personal sacrifices she has made, rather than considering that she might be in the wrong. She also demonstrates the controlling nature (she subverts Picard's authority on his own ship and goes over his head even before she starts suspecting him), self-righteousness (see Knight Templar , above), xenophobia (particularly of Romulans), and self-importance (" I've brought down bigger men than you, Picard! ") associated with the personality type. Her relentless badgering of Tarses and insinuation that Picard should be considered responsible for the actions of Locutus demonstrate a distinct lack of empathy, as well.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : Admiral Henry turns out to be one. When Satie exposes herself as a lunatic, he withdraws his support by leaving the hearing in the middle of her tirade. He then gives orders ending any further hearings into the matter so that Satie cannot later resume them.
• Red Herring : The warp core explosion. Turns out there is such a thing as coincidence — though if it hadn't happened, J'Dan may never have been investigated and exposed in the first place.
• Remember the New Guy? : According to Picard, Admiral Satie was instrumental in exposing the alien parasite infiltration back in Season 1's "Conspiracy" , despite not appearing or being mentioned in that episode.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here : Admiral Henry decides he's had enough of the hearing and walks out, ending it.
• Played for Drama , when Satie realizes that she's pissed off Admiral Henry, and thus ruined herself, with her Villainous Breakdown . Satie: [hushed tone] I have nothing more to say.
• Simon Tarses after getting publicly humiliated by Sabin. Also Played for Drama . Simon Tarses: [extremely shaken up] On the advice of my counsel, I refuse to answer that question, in... in that the answer may... s-serve to incriminate me . [buries face in hands]
• Smug Snake : Once Satie and her staff turn their sights on Picard and the crew, they lose all politeness and act blatantly disrespectful to him and his officers. At one point, Satie's aide Nellen strolls onto the Enterprise bridge and summons the captain to the committee for questioning, with a smirk on her face as she does so.
• Sole Survivor : Satie says 39 ships were destroyed at Wolf 359. Given that 40 ships were said to have engaged the Borg cube, it would appear a single ship survived. (According to unconfirmed sources, it was the Endeavor under Captain Amisov.)
• Stock Legal Phrases : Tarses invokes "The Seventh Guarantee" of the Federation Constitution, which appears to be the Federation equivalent of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States: protection from self-incrimination.
• Tautological Templar : Admiral Satie gets along fine with Picard until he tries to stop her paranoid witch hunt against Simon Tarses, at which point Satie seems to decide that the only reason Picard wouldn't support her is because he must be a traitor himself . When Picard throws Satie's father's words in her face, she flies completely off the handle, totally ignoring the actual meaning of what Picard was saying and angrily accusing him of treason and boasting of having brought down "bigger men than [Picard]", making it clear that she considers him a traitor purely for challenging her.
• There Are No Coincidences : Subverted . The Klingon spy had nothing to do with the core explosion, which really was an accident. Satie, however, seems to believe in this trope.
• Title Drop : Picard compares Satie's hearing to a "drumhead trial", explaining how this was a summary court-martial where defendants got short shrift, the name derived from its often being set up on the spot using a drum as a seat for the presiding judge.
• When J'Dan offers to restore Worf's family name for his cooperation in betraying the Federation, Worf casually steps inside J'Dan's quarters and waits for the door to shut before pummeling the man.
• When Satie brings up Picard's assimilation by the Borg, he gives her an ice-cold Death Glare , but keeps his voice level and calm despite clearly being enraged.
• Uneven Hybrid : Simon Tarses claims to be one-quarter Vulcan courtesy of his paternal grandfather, although he is actually one-quarter Romulan . This is more politically than biologically significant, since Vulcans and Romulans are technically the same species. Tarses himself appears to be human except for slightly Pointy Ears and tapered sideburns reminiscent of Spock's.
• Unperson : J'Dan says this was Worf's fate on the Klingon homeworld.
• Villainous Breakdown : Satie has an epic one at the end of Picard's hearing, leading straight to a...
• Villainous BSoD : She simply sits down and says "I have nothing more to say..."
• The Voiceless : Henry doesn't speak a word on-screen, but his face and actions say everything.
• The fate of J'Dan's "data mules" is never revealed, or for that matter if they were willing accomplices or just unsuspecting victims. Although, considering it was likely the Tal Shiar doing the abductions, maybe we're better off not knowing.
• It's hard not to wonder about whatever became of Simon Tarses, as his final fate is never commented on outside of Picard acknowledging that regardless of the outcome of his own hearing, Tarses' career will likely be in ruins. note  Some pre-Coda Star Trek Expanded Universe works state that Tarses' Starfleet career was brought to an end by Satie's investigation. Most other works state that Tarses was given a formal reprimand for lying on his application to join Starfleet but that he was allowed to continue his career. These novels state Tarses was admitted to Starfleet Academy on Captain Picard's recommendation and also continued his medical studies to become a full medical doctor.
• Witch Hunt : Satie is absolutely determined to root out any possible traitors, whether or not the targets of her persecution are actually innocent be damned.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E20 "Qpid"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S4E22 "Half a Life"

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Published Apr 24, 2021

Spencer Garrett Looks Back At The Drumhead

The actor tells us about being intimidated by Patrick Stewart, getting caught by the TNG cast at his day job, and trying to figure what the heck a Romulan was before YouTube existed.

StarTrek.com | ShutterStock/Eugene Powers

You’ve seen Spencer Garrett in dozens upon dozens of TV shows as well as in big movies like Air Force One and Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood . Back in 1991, he was a young, green actor who landed the plum role of crewman Simon Tarses in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Drumhead,” directed by Jonathan Frakes.

Written by Jeri Taylor based on a story by Ronald D. Moore, “The Drumhead” — which celebrates its 29th anniversary this month — took the persecution of the Salem witch trials and 1950s McCarthyism and put it in a 24th-century setting. Originally intended as a money-saving “ bottle episode, ” it became a TNG favorite, and a must-see episode for fans prepping for the Star Trek: Picard premiere.

StarTrek.com

We spoke to Garrett about playing Tarses in “The Drumhead,” Weiss in Voyage r’s “Flesh and Blood,” and the friendships he formed with the TNG cast.

StarTrek.com: What did you know about Star Trek before you got the role?

Spencer Garrett: My only knowledge of it was that my godfather, an actor named Liam Sullivan , was on the original show. On TOS, he was on an episode called “ Plato’s Stepchildren .”  Do you know that one?

I know all of them, so yes. [Laughs]

SG: When I was cast, he dug out an old VHS copy of his episode, and I put it in my VHS player and I watched it, and that was probably the first time that I had seen any episode of Star Trek since I was a little kid. I was like, “Wow, this is a cool show.”

So how did you prepare for the role?

SG: I was trying to do as much research as I [could]. I mean, what is a Romulan? What does a Romulan act like? I had no clue. There was no YouTube back then; I was trying to find reruns of TOS, and started watching Next Generation to try to get the vibe and the tone of the show. I was asking friends of mine, Martha Lee, my cousin, “What’s a Romulan? How is a Romulan different from a Vulcan?”

I was all of the sudden in this completely foreign world. And I think it was the scene in the trial, where I’m being interrogated by Bruce French, the actor who was representing Jean Simmons’ character, and I started crying, in the scene. And we ended up having to go back and re-shoot that scene because Rick Berman, the exec producer, said, “No, a Romulan would never cry. He would be emotionless.” So we went back and re-shot that scene without me crying.

What was the atmosphere like on set while you were filming?

SG: It was great! I’m sitting next to Michael Dorn as he’s getting his head put on, they’re gluing his face on. Patrick’s to my right, and Jean Simmons, and — I mean, you’ve got to remember, this is really one of my first jobs with a significant role as a guest actor in a TV series, I hadn’t really done a heck of a lot before that. I was kind of like a kid in a candy store.

I remember the vibe being very welcoming. And I was treated like a veteran.

What was it like working with the cast?

SG: Doing those scenes with Patrick in his quarters... I remember being a little intimidated, and a little scared. And Jonathan Frakes, it might have been one of his earliest directing gigs, he was so gentle and loving, and just really wonderful with me. He’s, coincidentally, one of my favorite directors to act for ever since we did that episode because he just loves actors... being one himself and having been a very successful actor even before Star Trek , we just had a great rapport and a great vibe.

When I got cast, and I heard that Jean Simmons was going to be in the episode, I expected to see the guy from KISS when I walked into the makeup trailer. I was like, “The guy with the tongue from KISS, what a trip! I wonder what alien he’s gonna be playing!”

And then I walk in, and it’s J-E-A-N Simmons , from Guys and Dolls , and Spartacus . And she was probably in her late 50s, early 60s (and of course she was iconic to me even then, ‘cause I’ve been a movie junkie my entire life) and this gorgeous woman, who I’d known from her early films, had a mouth like a sailor. [I was] instantly crazy about her, because this gorgeous, genteel English actress, and she’s talking like a truck driver. We had a lot of fun together.

She was so chilling and scary in those scenes with me in the trial. But she was wonderful. It was a great experience.

What did you think of the final episode?

SG: I love the episode. I love what it was saying, first of all. I loved the writing. My interpretation of it at the time was “this is very much a metaphor for what’s going on with AIDS in the world right now.” The writing was wonderfully subversive and slyly political in its way.

That’s an interpretation I haven’t heard. When people talk about this episode, most of them focus on civil liberties and to McCarthyism. I’d love to get more specific about how it connected to the AIDS crisis for you.

SG: When Picard came to my defense, essentially his defense of me was, “Let’s not denigrate this man, let’s not convict him because he has tainted blood.” That was my takeaway in terms of the AIDS crisis. I mean there’s definitely a McCarthy-ist vibe that flows underneath all of it. You can interpret it that way as well.

To me, it was about me having tainted blood, and me being “the other” and me being ostracized because I had this otherness about me. And you could see Jean Simmons as a McCarthy character. Or even a Reagan-like character, if you want to get that deep with it.

I was very much involved with several AIDS relief projects back then, and I remember the script speaking strongly to me when I read it. I was aware of what the writers were trying to do.

Did getting that role on such a big show change your career at the time?

SG: Not really. I got the job, and then there was sort of a lull. I worked a little bit here and there, but I was still catering, and waiting tables, doing what I could to make ends meet. I got a job working at a restaurant in Silver Lake in L.A., which at the time, wasn’t really the bustling hipster place that it is now. I thought, If I’m going to wait tables, work at a restaurant, I’m going to take a gig at a place that’s not trafficked by people in my industry.

The very first night I worked there — I’m not kidding, the first night I worked there on the floor as the maître d, in walks Frakes, LeVar, Brent Spiner, Whoopi Goldberg, and Michael Dorn. They had a jazz night at this restaurant, and these guys came in on a regular basis — they played there every Thursday night. I think Frakes played the trombone, Spiner played the piano, Whoopi came to watch, they all hung together. So they walked in the door, and they saw Simon Tarses there as the maître d, and I thought, “Well this is fucking humbling.”

That’s hilarious! How was their performance?

SG : They were terrific! They came in every Thursday night. And they all became [my] friends. I knew after we did the episode that Jonathan and I would have a rapport that would last beyond that, but I became friends with Brent and Whoopi; we’ve all worked together at various points over the years as well.

But it was just so strange to see them come in there: I mean, oh God, I picked this restaurant where I can get away from all the Hollywood types, and in walks the cast of the show that I had just worked on.

Let’s talk about Voyager ! How did you get cast in “Flesh and Blood”?

SG: I’d always wondered if they were going to bring Tarses back in some other iteration. I was jonesing to do another one. I would run into Rick Berman or Ken Biller or Brannon Braga — who’s a neighbor of mine, still lives around the corner from me — and every time I would see them, it would be like, “Yeah, we’re gonna get you back here somehow.”

Ken Biller, who was showrunning Voyager , said, “I’ve got a role for you. It’s not Simon Tarses. You’re going to come back as a hologram. But it’s a terrific part. You get to carry a gun, and emerge out of this murky swamp.” I said, “I’m in.”

At that point, nine years later, I had become a full-on fan. I’d seen every episode of TNG, and every episode of Voyager , and every episode of Deep Space Nine , so I was psyched to play the character in Voyager .

I was living in an apartment literally right across the street from Paramount Studios, so I would walk out my front door and walk across the street onto the Paramount lot. And there was not a lot of makeup involved in that! So it was a pretty easy gig.

I remember that when we broke for lunch, instead of eating the catered lunch food, I would run back to my apartment across the street and grab a nap in my own bed.

In your uniform?

SG : Sure! I’d throw a sweater on, over my spandex — my polyester uniform. I still have my badge.I swiped a couple of things. I’ve got three or four pairs of ears [from “The Drumhead”], which are kind of worse for wear now, and I have a couple of badges that were velcro’d to my suit. I remember saying to the costume person at the time, “Can I have one of these?” And he just said, “I’m gonna look the other way. I didn’t see anything.”

Standing waist-deep in that swamp, what was that like? You had to rise up out of it.

SG: Over and over and over and over again. We shot that swamp scene on the Warner Brothers lot, and it was freezing cold. There were three or four of us in the water, and I had to keep going down under water. It was just so bloody cold, I forget what time of the year it was, but probably six o’clock in the morning. They don’t heat that water, and it was just nasty. The water was murky, and god knows what all crap was in there. [Laughs] I just remember scrubbing myself down hard at the end of that two days of filming.

I remember thinking at the time, “I’m gonna get sick.” And I did. I got sick from the cold water, and whatever germs were in that swamp.

Your scenes were separate from most of the rest of the cast, did you get to spend any time with them?

SG: I don’t think so. I knew Robbie McNeill a little bit, but we didn’t have any stuff together. When he got Voyager , I was doing a show that nobody had ever heard of called Hitz , with Andrew Dice Clay. Robbie and I met at the Upfronts in New York, for our respective shows. He was there with Kate Mulgrew, you know, this very sophisticated bunch of actors, and I’m there with Andrew Dice Clay (laughs), and this motley bunch for this really bawdy wonderful/awful sitcom that lasted one season, and I remember turning to Robbie and I said, “You’re gonna be on this ride for a long time, well beyond this, you know that.” And he was like, “Oh, I know.”

He’s also a terrific director. Actors love working with Robbie much the same way they love working with Johnny Frakes.

How would you say has Star Trek fandom affected you?

SG: Years later, when I started to get some recognition for some work that I had been doing over the years, the first thing that people would say is, “You’re Simon Tarses, from ‘The Drumhead’.” It was always shocking to me; I’d racked up a pretty good body of work at that point, and every time, to a person, everyone would say “Simon Tarses from ‘The Drumhead’.” So that’s when I realized Oh my god, this thing has a footprint.

And when I went to the first convention a couple years ago, the reaction to me being there was so lovely. People came to me and said, “We’ve always wondered when you were going to show up at one of these things, what took you so long?” The fandom of Star Trek , the fact that it has endured this long and that it’s so strong… it’s such an extraordinary community. It’s a very cool thing to be a part of.

We talked a bit our mutual love of the show Better Things , and the conversation found its way into this fun story about several actors who, like Spencer, had also appeared on one Star Trek or another .

SG : Speaking of character actors, there’s a group of us that meets for dinner every Sunday night, once a month, the last two years. And we call ourselves “the CADS,” it’s the Character Actors Dining Society. It’s me, Steven Weber…

He was on Star Trek .

SG: Yes, also on Star Trek !  Richard Kind—probably not on Star Trek , Alfred Molina, Kevin Pollack, LeVar is part of it, Laurence Fishburne. Titus Welliver who’s on the show Bosch [and was on Voyager .] Danny DeVito has joined us. Oh, and Michael McKean is a part of it.

Michael was also on Star Trek .

SG: Was he really?

You have to see his Voyager episode. It is the creepiest… he is unbelievable in it. He’s the centerpiece of the whole episode and rightfully so.

SG: He’s a phenomenal actor.

Last month, I was in Chicago doing Chicago PD, and I couldn’t make it. So all these guys are dining, and it’s LeVar, and Alfred Molina, and Weber, and Richard Kind, and Kevin Pollack, and McKean, and maybe a few others, and they were here at a restaurant in L.A. And Patrick Stewart showed up. He was having dinner at the next table, and he’s like [in a pretty good Patrick Stewart impression], “Well look at this motley crew.” And he came over and joined them. I was so bummed. I would’ve just freaked if I saw him.

View this post on Instagram From my mates @eric_mccormack @levar.burton @wumpyinc @realrichardkind @fredmolina9953 #JasonAlexander @michaelnouriofficial #MichaelMcKean @kevinpollak123 @wearepressure #LaurenceFishburne #covid19 #grateful #heroes A post shared by Spencer Garrett (@spencergarrett1) on Apr 8, 2020 at 12:05pm PDT

(The CADS say thank you to health care workers)

So, what do you have coming up that you’re excited about? You’ve had a pretty good year.

SG: Yeah, I had a fun year last year. I did the Tarantino film Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood , I did Bombshell .

Had you worked with Quentin Tarantino before?

SG: I had not. That was a treat. We shot that entire scene in about an hour, just me and the two guys [Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio]. And when the movie was coming out last summer, I was standing in line waiting to get a table in a restaurant and there was a tap on my shoulder, and I turned around, and I said, “Oh hi, Leonardo DiCaprio.” ‘Cause you know, you don’t see that every day. And he said, “Dude, I just saw the trailer, it’s coming out tomorrow.” He said, “And you’re in the trailer.” And I said, “Oh that’s great, I’m happy to know that.” And he’s like, “No no, you are the trailer.” And the trailer came out the next day and I was all over the thing.

I had a podcast called America 2.0 with Laurence Fishburne and Kate Walsh, and Patrick Adams from Suits that became the number one podcast in the country last year. It’s a political drama, like The West Wing . We’re developing that into a television show right now.

That’s amazing.

SG: Yeah, pretty exciting stuff. And Fishburne is on board. I mean, god knows when everything is going to get moving again. Everything’s shut down.

And the most exciting thing that I’m looking forward to is an HBO series called Showtime . It’s about the early 1980s L.A. Lakers, with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Pat Riley and that whole gang. And I play Chick Hearn, he was the broadcaster for the Lakers for fifty years. We were supposed to start filming our ten episodes at the end of this month, and that’s been shut down. Whenever life gets back to normal, we’re going to go into production on that.

So, some fun irons in the fire when the more important fire in this world is hopefully extinguished.

This interview has been edited and condensed. You can check out Spencer's coronavirus fundraiser show, Quarantine The Show , on InstagramTV where he i s raising money for the SAG/AFTRA Foundation's COVID-19 relief fund helping actors in need.

Laurie Ulster (she/her) is a freelance writer and a TV producer who somehow survived her very confusing adolescence as the lone female Star Trek fan in middle school. She's a writer/editor and was the Supervising Producer on After Trek.

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The Federation Starship Enterprise is on a peaceful mission in the neutral zone when a powerful explosion rocks its hull. After assessing the damage, a Starfleet Admiral arrives to investigate and begins to question the crew, believing that a member of the crew is a security risk. As the investigation unfolds, the Admiral’s interrogation methods become increasingly intrusive, and the crew is forced to confront some uncomfortable truths about themselves and their crewmates.

As the Admiral’s investigation deepens, the crew begins to fear that their own actions will be called into question and eventually, the Admiral puts Captain Picard on the hot seat. Picard is determined to defend the integrity of the ship and its crew, but as the investigation continues, he must face deeper questions about the nature of justice and the dangers of power.

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‘star trek: the next generation’ — the 25 greatest episodes.

We boldly go — and revisit the top episodes from 'TNG' and the Enterprise-D.

By Aaron Couch , Graeme McMillan September 21, 2016 6:00am

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How do you follow up one of the most beloved sci-fi TV shows of all time? 

The cast and crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation can answer that question in a way few in Hollywood can, with the voyages of the Enterprise-D managing to step out of the considerable shadow cast by the original crew.

Patrick Stewart (Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Riker), LeVar Burton (La Forge), Michael Dorn (Worf), Gates McFadden (Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Troi) and Brent Spiner (Data) brought Star Trek to new heights  over seven seasons and 178 episodes.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Star Trek this month, The Hollywood Reporter counted down the  top 100 episodes of  Star Trek  across all six TV series. Every day through Friday, we're breaking that list down even further — ranking the episodes by individual series.

Here, you'll find the cast and writers behind TNG sharing what makes these episodes the best of what the crew had to offer. 

Related Stories

'star trek': 100 greatest episodes, 'star trek': 20 greatest episodes from the original series, "conspiracy".

It turns out, sometimes it pays to be paranoid. Picard and Riker discover an alien infestation, with parasites preparing to slip into the Federation by taking over officers. The episode culminates with Riker and Picard teaming up to take down the possessed Lt. Commander Remmick (Robert Schenkkan ) to explosive results. It's the favorite episode of TNG property master Alan Sims, who had to use all of his talents for the hour. "Creating the tongue puppet parasites, the live worms that were eaten by Riker to puppeteering the queen parasite that burst out of Dexter Remmick's host body … What an episode,"  recalls Sims. 

"Skin Of Evil"

Tasha Yar's death famously came from actress Denise Crosby's desire to leave Trek (though she would later return as an alternate timeline version of character and then, the character's daughter, Sela ). It's shocking for killing off a main character, and her funeral gives us an early example of Data's journey to understanding humanity. 

"Phantasms"

Patrick Stewart stepped behind the camera to direct TNG 's Halloween episode, which saw Data begin having nightmares — and gave viewers one of the most iconic and schlocky scenes in Star Trek history: the cellular peptide  Troi cake (with mint frosting!).

"The Offspring"

If Data's creator Noonian Soong  could create an android — why couldn't Data do the same? The surprisingly funny and touching episode showed Data dealing with loss after he creates — and loses — a daughter. The episode marked the directorial debut of Jonathan Frakes (Will  Riker ), who would go on to be among the most prolific actor-turned-directors in Trek history. 

"They were always capable, but you saw the progression of them becoming not just good directors — but becoming really good directors," Michael Dorn ( Worf ) says of working with costars  Frakes and LeVar Burton ( Geordi La Forge) as directors. 

Brent Spiner gets to show off his considerable acting chops in this episode, playing Data, his brother Lore, and their creator Dr. Noonien Soong — who has called his sons home to say goodbye as he nears death. There's a real sweetness to Lore, who is genuinely upset when he learns Dr. Soong is dying, though that's undone when Lore attacks his father later in the episode, which also introduces the notion of Data's emotions chip. 

"The Pegasus"

The shine starts to come off Commander Riker in this episode in which he's forced to come to terms between the demands of his duty to the Enterprise, and to his former commanding officer, who is up to no good. In many ways, this episode feels like a mix between the holier-than-thou TNG and the less perfect original series, giving Riker's blind loyalty to his superiors a long overdue exploration. Of course, his former superior officer is none other than Terry O'Quinn , showing both slightly more hair and slightly more humanity than he would as Lost 's John Locke. 

"Cause and Effect"

Forget going back to a period of Earth's history to hang out with Mark Twain — this Next Generation time travel story from writer Brannon Braga  sees the Enterprise-D crew stuck in a loop that leads in their deaths over, and over. The teaser, showing the Enterprise being destroyed, may just be the greatest opening in Star Trek history. 

"Frame Of Mind"

If David Fincher  had directed a Star Trek episode in the early 90s , perhaps it would have been something along these lines. The episode sees reality blur as  Riker  is imprisoned in an alien insane asylum and told he has committed murder. Jonathan Frakes  gives a stellar performance of a tortured Riker that is unlike anything viewers saw in the show before or after. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xRqXYsksFg]

The crossovers between The Next Generation and the original series were remarkably few, as if those working on the new show were fully aware of the potential that it would be overcome by nostalgia. This late-era episode — which brought James Doohan's Scotty back from the void to deal with the fact that most of those he knew were now gone — threatened to be every bit as sentimental as that synopsis sounds, but managed to avoid that fate thanks to some nice performances from Doohan and LeVar Burton's Geordi LaForge , and a great script from future Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore.

"The Lower Decks"

"Have you ever had a dream of working on the Starship Enterprise? I know — like every night!" says  The Guardian 's Hoffman of one of his favorite Next Gen episodes. "This season 7 Next Generation episode offers a glimpse at what life is like for the members of the crew who are off to the side, the ones who aren’t sure if Captain Picard knows their name and, yes, the ones who are in the most danger during away missions."

"The Drumhead"

Star Trek always struck gold when Picard entered the court room, and in this episode he spoke out after one of his crew was the victim of a witch hunt, partially for being a quarter Romulan (not Vulcan, as he said on his Starfleet Academy application). Admiral Norah Satie (Oscar nominee Jean Simmons) conducted a trial, and makes it into an indictment of Picard himself.

"Jean Simmons was a joy to work with," recalls Michael Dorn , who rates the episode as his favorite from his Next Generation years. "If you watch the very ending, it's a very cool scene between Picard and Worf , basically talking about how you have to be on guard from people like Satie . Constantly."

"Parallels"

By the final season of TNG , the series was beginning to strain to find new stories to tell about the much-loved cast. On the face of it, audiences had seen the basic concept of "Parallels" before — a crew member finds themselves traveling to a different dimension without any control — but what makes this episode special isn't just the insight it provides into the usually all-too-insular Worf , but also the thrill of seeing so many "What If"? versions of familiar ideas from the series' past. As the series headed towards its conclusion, it was a surprisingly graceful, and fun, way to provide fan service without ruining the show as a whole. 

Having successfully defined the Borg as an almost unbeatable hive mind of destructive force, "I, Borg" sets out to do the seemingly impossible and humanize them. The result is something that speaks as much to Star Trek 's inherent humanist outlook, as one Borg is given his individuality back while Picard and Guinan are forced to overcome their own prejudices against the enemy that in some ways ruined both of their lives. More ethically tricky than a lot of TNG , it's to be lauded for showing how flawed the leads can be — and also raising the specter of the many deaths the Enterprise was responsible for in "The Best of Both Worlds" two-parter . 

"As a kid watching Star Trek I would never have imagined that I would be the first Borg to define an entire alien race- playing Hugh has shaped my life in so many great ways, proud to be a part of the legacy," says guest star Jonathan Del Arco .

"Redemption Parts I & II"

The original series may have primarily been the Kirk, Spock, Bones show, but The Next Generation was able to truly have seven leads — each getting his or her own time to shine multiple times a year. Next Generation celebrated its 100th episode by delving deeply into Worf's story, examining a family dishonor that has plagued him. It's a complicated and undeniably badass arc, seeing Worf resign from Starfleet, Picard navigate the tricky waters of a Klingon civil war, and the Enterprise bridge crew temporarily commanding their own ships. For good measure, there's the return of Denise Crosby as Sela , Tasha Yar's half-Romulan daughter, born after the "Yesterday's Enterprise" version of Yar went back to the past. 

"The Measure of a Man"

The emotional touchstone of Next Generation was Data's quest to understand humanity, and there's no more poignant example than the android's very sentience being put on trial — with Picard and Riker  finding themselves on opposite sides of a trial for Data's rights and life. 

"Even though I was hardly in the episode, I thought it encapsulated everything that was good about Star Trek, " recalls recalls Marina  Sirtis  ( Troi ), of her favorite episode from TNG .

"Elementary, Dear Data"

Holodeck episodes became a mainstay of Star Trek beginning with Next Generation — and the greatest contribution to this genre came courtesy of Data's love of Sherlock Holmes. Geordi asks the computer to create an adversary who could beat Data, and the computer grants that wish in the form of the sentient Moriarty (Daniel Davis). 

"I was twenty years old when we began to boldly go and twenty three years later, I was going with them," recalls Davis, a fan from the days of the original series. "I was sent sides for an episode of The Next Generation called 'Elementary, Dear Data.' I auditioned for the role of Professor James Moriarty and two days later I was on the holodeck with Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton. It was a brilliant script that combined the Sherlock Holmes and Star Trek mythologies. But it was mostly Star Trek , and presaged the questions of reality vs. virtual reality, computer generated consciousness, whether self awareness is all that is required to define our humanity."

"Ship in a Bottle"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqd8q6hwacM]

Daniel Davis had already established himself as one of Next Generation' s greatest villains with his turn as Moriarty  in season 2, and he cemented his status with the sequel, which raised even greater questions about the rights of artificial intelligences and the nature of reality. The holodek program is initially able to outsmart the likes of Data and Picard — who ultimately grants Moriarty  his wish to live in the real world, though he in fact will continue to live in a holographic simulation in a Matrix -level twist that predates the 1999 film by years. 

"It was an extraordinary thing to be a part of and five years later, I was able to revisit the character and some very mind bending plot twists," recalls Davis of his work on Next Generation . "The cast and crew were as great a pleasure to work with as any I've known in my career. And thanks to the world of conventions, I'm able to enjoy reunions with them from time to time. Cogito Ergo Sum! Happy Anniversary, Live Long and Prosper."

"All Good Things"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4JYtsD1ms]

Trying to sum up seven years' worth of adventures seemed like a tall order for the show's grand finale, but writers Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore pulled off the near-impossible with a story that doesn't just send Picard spinning through time into the past of the series and the future of the characters, but goes all the way back to the pilot of the series to reveal that everything really had been leading up to this moment, but no-one had realized it just yet. Add in some fond farewells from familiar faces and great performances from the regular cast, clearly relishing their last chance to play on TV together, and you have arguably the best series finale of any of the Star Trek s.

Parting is such sweet sorrow, ad veteran  Trek  producer Ronald D. Moore recalls his first meeting with Patrick Stewart years earlier on set of the writer's first episode, "The Bonding."

"He was very gracious meeting this young writer and in my enthusiasm, I pitched him the story for the next episode I was writing," says Moore. "He listened with a smile, then said, 'Lovely. Just bear in mind that the Captain doesn’t do nearly enough screwing and shooting in this show,' and then he walked away."

"Chain of Command, Parts I & II"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCkoQL-6cdc]

There! Are! Four! Lights! The two-part "Chain of Command" manages to mix another bravura performance by Patrick Stewart — the second episode, which focuses on Picard being tortured by the Cardassians , is compelling viewing thanks to the interplay between Stewart and David Warner as Gul Madred — with a sly commentary on the status quo of the show itself, with Picard's surly temporary replacement ( Ronny Cox's Edward Jellico ) finally letting Deanna Troi wear a real Starfleet uniform and calling some of the regular cast out on their storytelling tropes. A victory lap from when the show was at its peak.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yAlUTxkoWQ]

No alien race in Star Trek history has been as terrifying as The Borg — and it all began with Q flinging the Enterprise to the other side of the galaxy. The hive mind villain's terror would only increase with "Best of Both Worlds" — and subsequently lose some of its mystique as the Borg was further explored with "I, Borg" and in Voyager . But it all begins here, where the Borg is at the height of its mystique. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHoPLhpw2g4]

Not many shows would be gutsy enough to start an episode by killing off the leading man, but TNG was in the middle of its imperial period, and knew that Picard could be magic-ed back to life via the omniscient Q at any point. He does indeed return, but with a twist — given the opportunity to change his past by Q, he takes it and finds himself a lesser man as a result. Essentially "It's A Wonderful Life," Trek -style, the episode reveals more about what makes Picard tick (literally; the Macguffin is his artificial heart) and plays out as a morality tale about letting go of regrets over past experiences. 

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuzoxcErOc8]

The episode followed the traumatic events of "Best of Both Worlds" and allowed Picard to deal with the trauma of being made into a Borg pawn who murdered thousands of people. Pausing to consider a previous episode was a rarity for Trek at the time — as the show went from adventure to adventure without stopping to reflect on what had come before. It contains the best Picard monologue of the series — but not everyone was a fan of the episode. 

"Gene Roddenberry hated it. He wanted to throw it out," Ron Moore, then a young writer on Next Generation , told THR last year . "We all met in Gene's office and Gene just said 'this isn't the 24th century.' 'These brothers reflect outdated, 20th-Century modes of childhood development. Mankind had solved these kind of issues by then. I hate this.' " Fortunately for us, the episode made it to air. 

"Yesterday's Enterprise"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y1v_DdpprE]

Considered one of the greatest sci-fi stories every told on television, the story grew from  Next Generation 's unusual policy of allowing the submission of unsolicited story pitches. Writer Trent Christopher  Ganino  pitched the story and ultimately shared a credit with Eric A.  Stillwell , then a production assistant on  TNG . This Next Generation tale explores what would happen had a key historical event not kept the peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. It turns out, Picard would be in charge of a militarized version of the Enterprise, and Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) would still be alive. The Enterprise-D teams up with the Enterprise-C, whose crew ultimately decides to return to their own time to sacrifice their lives to defend a Klingon  outpost, thus restoring the universe to its proper timeline. Tasha goes with them … and later we learn gave birth to a daughter. 

"The Inner Light"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQKp27ZDuCk]

Without doubt the best Star Trek episode named after a George Harrison song — although who could forget Enterprise 's third season classic "Wah-Wah"? — this episode is a poignant showcase for Patrick Stewart, who gets to live out the remainder of Jean-Luc Picard's life in just 40-odd minutes after the captain is transported into the life of an alien scientist after being zapped by a probe on the Enterprise bridge. Watching him grow old against the backdrop of a dying planet is one of the most beautiful things TNG managed during its seven year run. No wonder this episode won the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.

"The Best of Both Worlds Parts I & II"

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRC7cTq_Agw]

The two-part episode was the first (and many consider the greatest) cliffhanger in Next Generation history, seeing Picard abducted by the Borg and forced to be its de facto head, Locutus . The arc introduced layers of psychological complexity to the show and would pay off with 1996's  Star Trek: First Contact , considered the finest TNG film. 

"All of us were quite thrilled they had the balls to leave Picard on the Borg cube," Jonathan Frakes told THR last year for the arc's  25th anniversary. "It's commonplace now. Shows like Lost and House of Cards — they'll kill off a regular and think nothing of it. This was 1990. It was not commonplace to be killing off any of your series regulars. That was a big "who shot J.R." type of plot."

'Star Trek': The Story of the Most Daring Cliffhanger in 'Next Generation' History

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The Drumhead Stardate: 44769.2 Original Airdate: 29 Apr, 1991

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After forcing Tarses to confess that he is in fact part Romulan, the witch hunt continues and Satie begins to question Picard's loyalties. Does Picard's resistance to her investigation make him guilty of treason?

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• Language ‏ : ‎ English, French
• Package Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.32 x 4.19 x 1.12 inches; 6.13 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ Beaumont, Gabrielle, Becker, Robert, Bole, Cliff, Bond, Timothy, Burton, LeVar
• Release date ‏ : ‎ May 23, 1995
• Date First Available ‏ : ‎ September 29, 2006
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Burton, LeVar, McFadden, Gates
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Paramount Studio
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ 630407526X

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Norah Satie

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Rear Admiral Norah Satie was a female Human Starfleet officer of the 24th century . She was the daughter of renowned Starfleet judge and civil liberties advocate Aaron Satie . Until she was discredited in 2367 after allowing anti- Romulan xenophobia to degrade her impartiality and conduct, she was also a renowned investigator.

• 1 Early life
• 2 Starfleet career
• 3.1 Early successes
• 3.2 Growing paranoia
• 3.3 Downfall
• 4.1 Background information
• 4.2 Apocrypha
• 4.3 External link

Early life [ ]

When she was a child, her father would pose a question for her and her elder brothers to debate at every dinner. Her father loved it when she outsmarted them with a subtle point of logic , which she did many times.

Satie's father instilled in her over her lifetime a deep devotion to the Federation, teaching her that it was the "most remarkable union ever conceived." She would devote her life to protecting it from forces outside and within. ( TNG : " The Drumhead ")

Starfleet career [ ]

She worked closely with Vice Admiral Thomas Henry for a period of time. ( TNG : " The Drumhead ")

In 2363 , Satie issued Captain Jean-Luc Picard 's orders to take command of the USS Enterprise -D . ( TNG : " All Good Things... ")

In the period from 2363 to 2367, Satie was stationed at multiple planetary and starbase locations. Deeply devoted to her work, she did not see family or have friends.

In 2364 , she played a principal role in uncovering a conspiracy by parasitic beings to invade and conquer the Federation. ((?))

By 2367 , she had retired with the rank of rear admiral . ( TNG : " The Drumhead ")

Investigation aboard the USS Enterprise -D [ ]

Early successes [ ].

In 2367 , she was a member of an ad hoc Starfleet panel established to investigate an explosion near the Enterprise -D's warp core . She was able to get a full confession from the treacherous J'Dan , a Klingon scientist who was on the ship as part of the Officer Exchange Program – but whose true purpose was spying for the Romulans , though he had actually done nothing to cause the explosion. With the help of her Betazoid aide , she also discovered that young crewman and medical technician Simon Tarses had lied on his application to Starfleet to hide his partial Romulan ancestry.

Growing paranoia [ ]

Convinced there were more spies and saboteurs on board and growing increasingly suspicious about myriad unrelated events, Satie began to manifest symptoms of monomania; her determined ambition to rein in a "grand conspiracy" clouded her ability to make sound judgments and caused her to connect past occurrences to a non-existent, complex subterfuge scheme. Her zealousness did not diminish even after Lieutenant Commanders Geordi La Forge and Data presented evidence that the explosion near the warp core was actually an accident caused by neutron fatigue along an undetectable defect in a hatch cover that was installed during the ship's last refit at Earth Station McKinley . In fact, she went so far as to falsely claim that the warp core explosion had evidence of sabotage caused by corrosive chemicals in an interrogation of Tarses that proved excessively aggressive. In that regard, when Tarses' acting counsel, Commander William T. Riker , advised him to invoke his right in the Seventh Guarantee  of the  Constitution of the United Federation of Planets to avoid self-incrimination, Satie twisted its intent into an insinuation of insubordination against the technician that validated her accusations. She later went to expand her accusations, deriding the starship 's operations , its perceived lax security , and in particular, the "non-vigilant" command style – eventually going as far as questioning the loyalty to the Federation of the very same Picard whose orders to take command of the Enterprise -D she herself had issued.

With Picard in the dock, she recounted the tragic tale of the recent Borg invasion, with its outcome of eleven thousand people killed and thirty-nine starships destroyed at Wolf 359 . Because this had happened when the Borg had assimilated Picard into Locutus , she subtly insinuated that he had been somewhat culpable or complicit. This, along with her persecution of Tarses, prompted the captain to remind Satie of her father 's legacy and what he had taught and written in support of free speech and thought, ideals the Federation sought to uphold , which Picard believed she was now – ironically and perhaps unwittingly – undermining.

Downfall [ ]

Picard's invocation of her father's teachings as a defense incensed and enraged her, and in reaction, Satie began ranting with near-hysteria about her perception that Picard had insulted both her and her father, and she proclaimed that she now intended to destroy Picard personally, saying she had " brought down bigger men than [he]! " Satie's furious retort and by-now obvious witch hunting caused Admiral Thomas Henry , who had come to observe the questioning, to become so irritated with this over-the-top behavior that he, without a word and a disgusted look on his face, abruptly walked out during the session. He then suspended the inquiry and disbanded the investigation panel, which ended Satie's disruptive visit to the Enterprise -D.

Picard likened the ordeal to a " drumhead trial ", as he explained to a disconsolate Lieutenant Worf about the dangers of such "trials", as well as the ease for well-intentioned people to let conspiracy investigations to degenerate into them. ( TNG : " The Drumhead ")

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

Norah Satie was played by acclaimed actress Jean Simmons .

According to the script pronunciation guide for "The Drumhead", Satie's surname was pronounced as "sah-TEE". [1]

The final draft script of "The Drumhead" directed her to remain steadfastly composed and statuesque, even during the confusion surrounding her downfall, indicating an unrepentant attitude. This largely plays out in the episode, as she admits no wrongdoing or apology and keeps her haughty, indeed arrogant, composure. [2]

Apocrypha [ ]

In the novel A Time for War, A Time for Peace , Scotty speaks to Admiral Ross about the group being assigned to evaluate the USS Enterprise -E and he mentions to Ross that Sabin Genestra worked for Norah Satie when Captain Picard disgraced her.

In the short story Meet With Triumph and Disaster , which appears in the anthology The Sky's the Limit , Satie is one of the flag officers given a tour of the newly commissioned USS Enterprise -D by its appointed captain, Thomas Halloway .

External link [ ]

• Norah Satie at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

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• User reviews

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before. Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before. Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

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• Trivia Almost everyone in the cast became life-long friends. At LeVar Burton 's 1992 wedding, Brent Spiner served as best man, and Sir Patrick Stewart , Jonathan Frakes , and Michael Dorn all served as ushers. Man of the People (1992) (#6.3) aired on that day.
• Goofs It is claimed that Data can't use contractions (Can't, Isn't, Don't, etc) yet there are several instances throughout the series where he does. One of the first such examples is heard in Encounter at Farpoint (1987) , where Data uses the word "Can't" while the Enterprise is being chased by Q's "ship".

[repeated line]

Capt. Picard : Engage!

• Crazy credits The model of the Enterprise used in the opening credits is so detailed, a tiny figure can be seen walking past a window just before the vessel jumps to warp speed.
• Alternate versions The first and last episodes were originally broadcast as two-hour TV movies, and were later re-edited into two one-hour episodes each. Both edits involved removing some scenes from each episode.
• Connections Edited into Reading Rainbow: The Bionic Bunny Show (1988)

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Screen Rant

Star trek origin movie officially announced by paramount for 2025 release.

Paramount Pictures officially announces the next Star Trek movie at CinemaCon, which will arrive in movie theaters in 2025.

• Paramount Pictures announces new Star Trek movie for 2025, directed by Toby Haynes and written by Seth Grahame-Smith.
• Chris Pine-led Star Trek 4 remains in development, while the new film is an origin story set decades before Abrams' 2009 movie.
• Alongside the Star Trek origin movie, Paramount reveals a packed slate of exciting films for 2025-26 at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

Paramount Pictures officially announces the next Star Trek movie, which is scheduled to arrive in theaters in 2025. As reported in January, the next Star Trek movie isn't the long-delayed, Chris Pine-led Star Trek 4 produced by J.J. Abrams, which remains in development at Paramount. Rather, the next Star Trek movie is an origin story directed by Toby Haynes ( Star Wars: Andor ) and written by Seth Grahame-Smith (A braham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ).

Screen Rant' s Rob Keyes (@rob_keyes) is at CinemaCon in Las Vegas where Paramount Pictures confirmed the next Star Trek movie , currently called Untitled Star Trek Origin Story , to be released in 2025. J.J. Abrams is also producing Untitled Star Trek Origin Story, which takes place decades before Abrams' Star Trek 2009 movie. See Rob Keyes' Tweet below:

Paramount also confirmed Untitled Star Trek Origin Story will begin production later this year for theatrical release in 2025.

Every Upcoming Star Trek Movie & TV Show

Star trek's new movies in theaters and paramount plus explained, star trek is finally making movies again.

After nearly a decade, Star Trek i s back to making movies. Star Trek on Paramount+ has created a television renaissance for the franchise, but the theatrical side of Star Trek overseen by Paramount Pictures has languished in development hell since Star Trek Beyond bowed in the summer of 2016. Toby Haynes' Untitled Star Trek Origin Story is yet another prequel, but as it's said to be set decades before Star Trek 2009, it could very well be set after Star Trek: Enterprise 's mid-22nd century voyages but otherwise be an origin story for both Star Trek 's Prime and alternate Kelvin timelines .

Meanwhile, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek 4 , which is the "final chapter" of the USS Enterprise crew led by Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock, has seen some movement with a new screenwriter, Steve Yockey ( The Flight Attendant ), tackling the long-delayed sequel. Pine and his fellow Star Trek actors, including Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, and Sofia Boutella, have all expressed their eagerness to return if Star Trek 4 can come together.

It's a positive sign that Star Trek movies are finally coming back.

Paramount+ is making their own Star Trek movies, with the recently-wrapped Star Trek: Section 31 awaiting a release date. Starring Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, Section 31 i s the first made-for-streaming Star Trek movie, and it is reportedly set during Star Trek 's "lost era" with connections to Star Trek: The Next Generation. Section 31 could get a sequel if successful, and the Star Trek: Picard spinoff dubbed Star Trek: Legacy may also become a streaming movie instead of a series. However all this shakes out, it's a positive sign that Star Trek movies are finally coming back.

Source: Rob Keyes Twitter