Series: Star Trek: TNG Episode: 6.18 Starship Mine (3/29/1993 Rating: 4/5 Redshirt Status: 8/11/46
Notable Guest Stars:
Tim Russ (Devor) – Tim Russ will become better known to you all when we get to Voyager. He plays one of the main characters, Tuvok. More recently he has appeared on Orville, a Star Trek homage.
Marie Marshall (Kelsey)- Marshall has guest starred in several shows over the years, including The Pretender, Babylon 5 and Silk Stockings. The latter two were ongoing roles in the production. She also worked on As the World Turns, playing Denise Darcy for two years in the mid Eighties.
David Spielberg (Commander Calvin “Hutch” Hutchinson) – To be honest, I haven’t seen much of what he has been in, but he had a big part in this episode, so it felt wrong to exclude him. I have heard of The Practice, so I’ll point that one out.
Glenn Morshower (Orton)- He has been on quite a few of my favorite TV shows over the years. He had a recurring role on CSI Miami, X-men First Class, JAG, X-files, West Wing and Criminal Minds. He also appears on Voyager and Enterprise. However his most known credit is apparently the show 24, which I have never seen.
Tom Nibley (Neil)- Nibley had a short career in acting, mostly in the late 80s and 90s. He has appeared on some shows I have seen, including Days of Our Lives and The Golden Girls. His last credited role (according to IMDB) was in 1998.
Patricia Tallman (Kiros) – She is known for her roles on Babylon 5, Night of the Living Dead (1990), and several Star Trek shows. She has appeared both as an actress and as a stunt performer. She performed Laura Dern’s stunts in Jurassic Park. She also owns her own Adventure corporation called Quest Retreats.
Tim de Zarn (Satler) – He has appeared on several TV series I have watched growing up, including Dr. Quinn, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, and of course a few episodes of Star Trek. He also appears in the 2002 film Spiderman (my first exposure to Spiderman) playing Mary Jane’s father. Recently he guested on Better Call Saul.
Review:
The alternative episode title could have been “Careful what you wish for”. The crew of the Enterprise all head off the ship for a baron pulse (why this is needed is either never mentioned or I simply missed it) since it is fatal to humanoid life (I don’t know if pets and plants had to evacuate too.
The senior staff is made to attend a reception party with the overly chatty Commander “Hutch” Hutchinson. Data however ends up learning alot about small talk, watching the Commander, although whether Hutch was appreciative of that or not remains secret. I think he was getting annoyed towards the end.
When the commander mentions that they have horses available for riding, Picard eagerly leaves to go back and get his saddle so he could take a ride on a horse. Everything was fine till Pirates got involved.
While leaving the ship, Picard comes across Tim Russ, who is not Tuvok at the moment, but a regular human and kicks his ass.
Basically this whole episode is Picard Kicks Everyone’s Ass. Its probably Picard’s most violent episode bar ones that involve the Borg. Eight people die in this episode. Aside from the cast regulars, and the two hostage takers, everyone dies.
And some are on Picard, which is interesting. The start of the episode had Devor (Tim Russ) telling Picard he wouldn’t kill him and Picard agrees after he knocks him out. But by the end of the episode Picard has been involved in the death of 6 people. The other two deaths were done by other people.
Interesting Notes:
- Written by Morgan Gendel
- Directed by Cliff Bole
- This episode was inspired by Die Hard and other similar stories.
- Originally the role of Kelsey was offered to Robin Curtis (the second Saavik)
- References Mot, the Barber although we never see actual Mot
- References Mr. Ed.
Pros
- Picard gets to kick ass
- Beverly gets to show off her tech skills
Cons:
- Picard kills 6 people, and some of them he had to know where going to die so its not completely unintentional
- Some of the hostage scenes were a bit flat.
Screencap via CygnusX1.net
Sokorra Lewis 