Episode #161: Force of Nature
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Episode #161: Force of Nature
FORCE OF NATURE - episode #9 of 7th season / Air Date: 11/15/93
written by Naren Shankar; Directed by Robert Lederman
The Enterprise-D is searching for signs of a missing ship, the Fleming, in a region of space known as the Hekaras Corridor, a slim portion of space that offers safe travel for warp-driven starships; the surrounding space is filled with Tetryon particles of some such thing, which is dangerous for warp fields. Enterprise-D comes upon a disabled Ferengi ship; the Ferengi, of course, accuse Picard & Starfleet of sabotaging them. It turns out, however, that a Hekaran brother-sister team of scientists is responsible for setting mines in the area which damage any ships moving around there.
The sister scientist is especially intense about her viewpoint: her research has shown that warp propulsion from vessels like Enterprise-D actually damages the fabric of space, causing rifts. This effect is slow by the standards of human life, projected to get really bad after several decades of starships zooming through there, but it's cumulative - the Hekaran's home planet is already beginning to feel the effects. Or so she says. Picard acts reasonably, stating that he will have Starfleet scientists begin to look into this, but he's way too slow for the female scientist.
This episode feels like a barely veiled jab at how present-day technology may be slowly damaging our planet, Earth. The story here really paints the entire Trek franchise into a corner; if warp technology truly does damage space, the entire prospect of ever-expanding exploration and advancement is permanently hobbled. It all looks like someone wanted to put the brakes on Roddenberry's conception - hey, maybe we're advancing too quickly; let's step back. It also seems unlikely - nothing like this was realized in the 22nd or 23rd centuries (TOS) of space exploration?
On top of all that, it's even mentioned towards the end that not all space-faring races will abide by the new 'rules' of warp drive and I don't think this whole idea was followed up on in future series (DS9, Voyager) or the films. It seemed like an interesting idea on paper, at first glance, but on 2nd thought... There are also several scenes in this episode of Data & La Forge discussing Data's cat, Spot, and efforts to train the feline. This might have been OK for one scene, but this goes on way too long. Spot was turning into a big supporting character on TNG by this point, perhaps as a metaphor for some observation on the human condition; I like cats... but they're not what I watch TNG for. BoG's Score: 5.5 out of 10
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