Series: Star Trek: TNG
Episode: 4.24 The Mind’s Eye (05/27/91)
Rating: 5/5
Redshirt Status: 0/1/34
Notable Guest Stars:
John Fleck (Taibak) Fleck appears in three Star Trek series, including playing a reoccuring role on Star Trek: Enterprise as Silik, a Suliban agent they often come across. He has also performed in Babylon 5, a contemporary of TNG and DS9. He also is known as being a part of a suit against the National Endowment of the Arts and wining in the Supreme Court.
Larry Dobkin (Kell)- Dobkin was a director, actor, screenwriter, and radio personality. He originally entered the Star Trek world as a director, filming the episode “Charlie X”. He has a long list of credits, including getting to play Simon Templer in the earlier TV/Radio productions of The Saint.
Denise Crosby (“voice of Romulan commander”)– Crosby is back, but this time playing Sela, Tasha’s daughter. Of course we don’t know that yet, so she is only “The voice of the Romulan Commander” at this time.
Edward Wiley (Vagh)- Wiley will appear once again in Star Trek on DS9 as a Cardassian. He has several film and television credits, and worked with quite a few other Star Trek Alum
Review:
Remember a season or two ago when we saw what might have been a mirror universe version of the Enterprise, where Tasha Yar sacrifices herself to help the Enterprise C hold their ground against the Romulans?
We now get to start seeing some of the repercussions of that decision. Although to the audiences that were watching this at the time of its broadcasting wouldn’t have known that. One benefit of seeing this 30 years after the fact is that We all know that Sela exists. This episode just gives a hint of her existence.
The episode starts with Geordi on his way to Risa for a vacation. I have to ask – doesn’t anyone ever go to another planet? Like surely Risa is not the only vacation spot in the universe. Unfortunately for Geordi, it doesn’t matter if it is or not, he won’t be having a vacation. Instead, he’s strapped to a chair and mentally manipulated by the Romulans. It reminds me a little of A Clockwork Orange, but then perhaps the Manchurian Candidate has a similar scene.
Geordi is sent back to the enterprise with weeks of Risan vacation time in his memories. They are false memories and hide that he has been conditioned to be receptive to the patterns the Romulan agents send him. They want him to disrupt the Federation/Klingon alliance, to make them both weaker.
There appears to be a B plot in this episode, but as the episode continues they begin to blend together so that you realise its actually the same plot all along.
This episode is actually pretty darn good. It actually shows a little aftermath of events, abit in a small scene at the very end. It was written well, and the story was good. The acting was also very well.
I’m going to give this a 5/5. As I said, its well written, well acted, and has a bigger stake in the overall arc of the show.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Rene Echevarria and Ken Schafer
- Directed by David Livingston
- Inspired by the 1962 Frank Sinatra film The Manchurian Candidate. This film was remade in 2004 staring Denzel Washington (in Sinatra’s role) and Liev Schreiber. Both films have amazing casts, so they may be worth a watch.
- Title is derived from Hamlet.
- First appearance of Sela, Tasha’s daughter.
- They finally give Majel Barrett credit for voicing the computer. Only took five years.
- This episode has several connections to Enterprise. John Fleck appears in Enterprise as Silik, and Kriosians appear in the episode “Precious Cargo.”
- New phasers.
Pros
- Well written.
- Data’s duductions aren’t as widely a jump as they usually are.
Cons:
- Poor Geordi is having a hell of a year. But honestly, this couldn’t have worked with any other character.
Screencap via CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 