April 26th, 1993, "The Chase"
Ah yes, the episode that should've either been expanded into two episodes or ditched the assembled aliens.
No fiver
The Episode
Captain's log, Stardate 46731.5. We are in the midst of the Volterra nebula, a stellar nursery. Our three week mission is a routine analysis of several dozen protostars in various stages of development.
Grrr. I get that the Enterprise is a great all-purpose mobile laboratory, but the flagship should never be doing three-week missions floating around a nebula. This is prime science vessel territory.
DATA: Captain, I have completed the spectral evaluation of the outer shell. Our survey of this protostar is complete.
PICARD: Ensign, lay in a course to the next one, three quarters impulse.
I'm going to be generous and say that they need to clear the protostar's gravity well before they can engage warp. Even so, I do question why three-quarters impulse would be safer than full impulse in this case.
PICARD: Green polychrome over the eyes, and the eyes themselves are closed. This is third Dynasty. From the workshop of the Master of Tarquin Hill.
GALEN: Well done.
Memory Beta says that the Master of Tarquin Hill was a Trill and that Kurl was a Trill colony world. Well, that's weird. Sorry, but I don't buy the Trill being a warp-capable race for over a thousand years.
GALEN: Go ahead.
PICARD: You mean it's complete?
(Picard raises the top half of the pot to reveal a cluster of little pots inside it)
I still remember Picard's facial expression when he reveals the inner statues.
PICARD: Will, the Kurlan civilisation believed that an individual was a community of individuals. Inside us are many voices, each with its own desires, its own style, its own view of the world.
I like to think that this isn't supposed to refer to multiple personality disorder, just that our personalities get compartmentalized into various roles. We all have our "work self", "school self", "family self", etc. Some people have more trouble than others switching between these mindsets.
Captain's log, supplemental. It's been over thirty years since I last saw my archaeology professor.
Picard graduated in 2327. It's now 2369. Assuming that he was Galen's student at the Academy, that's more like forty years. Oops. Unless you're going to try to convince me that he went back for more classes at a later date.
GALEN: Are you familiar with micropaleontology?
PICARD: Yes, it's the study of fossil records at the microscopic level.
Once you get microscopic, I'm not sure you can call it "paleontology" anymore. A different branch of historical biology, perhaps.
PICARD: I'm deeply honoured that you'd think of me, but I have responsibilities.
GALEN: To History. What if you could have helped Schliemann discover the City of Troy, or been with M'Tell as she first stepped on Ya'Seem.
Heinrich Schliemann was a German businessman in the nineteenth century. As an archaeologist he was an amateur, focusing on ancient Mediterranean civilizations in particular and the Greek sites mentioned by Homer in particular. Prior to his work people were looking in the wrong spot for the ancient city of Troy. He found another incorrect Troy before finding the real one.
I actually remember Schliemann for something other than Troy. Louisa May Alcott mentions him in the concluding paragraphs of her Little Women book series:
It is a strong temptation to the weary historian to close the present tale with an earthquake which should engulf Plumfield and its environs so deeply in the bowels of the earth that no youthful Schliemann could ever find a vestige of it.
PICARD: I couldn't leave the Enterprise. But the offer raised in me certain feelings of regret.
CRUSHER: That you could have been an archaeologist and not a starship Captain?
PICARD: No, not really. I'm not sorry for the path I chose.
As SF Debris says, it's good that they didn't go down this cliched path. The Road Not Taken is a screenwriting crutch that is rarely used well.
Although it does make you wonder why the Atlantis Project was so tempting to him, that's not his area of science.
GALEN: You're like some Roman centurion out patrolling the provinces, maintenancing a dull and bloated Empire.
I'm not sure how well this metaphor works. There's a screed to be had here, but I won't be writing one.
WORF: A Yridian destroyer.
A Yridian destroyer? Those weak information merchants who would collapse in a stiff breeze? THEY built a warship?
TROI: I meant, how's it going with you?
PICARD: If I had gone with him.
You would've died, too. Maybe you're a better pilot and gunner than Galen was, but at best you would've bought a bit more time. Not enough to save Galen.
PICARD: Counsellor, this is not simply a case of me taking the Enterprise and its crew on some wild goose chase to purge myself of guilt and remorse. I will not let Galen's death to be in vain. Now, if that means inconveniencing a few squabbling delegates for a few days, then so be it. I will take the full responsibility.
Y'know for someone with Picard's skill as a mediator, this is a little cold-blooded.
PICARD: There's only one planet in the Kurlan system capable of supporting life. Loren Three.
You do realize that planets capable of supporting life NOW aren't necessarily able to support life billions of years ago, and vice-versa, right?
OCETT [on viewscreen]: My name is Gul Ocett. Identify yourselves and state your business in this star system.
(tara ra boom di ay - it's Linda Thorsen under the latex)
Chakoteya must be a fan of The Avengers, she was Steed's companion afterD Diana Rigg (Emma Peel) left.
RIKER: We used the inertial dampers to simulate complete shield failure.
I have no idea how this is supposed to work given my expertiese in Treknology.
PICARD: The programme has been activated. I think it's reconfiguring the tricorder.
NU'DAQ: We die together, Brother. Tash Koh Tah.
PICARD: It's modifying the emitter diode to project something.
Yeah, this is complete nonsense.
(the tricorder projects a hologram. It's Salome Jens in a blank latex head, the first but not the last she will wear on Trek)
It's sad how many people think that the Progenitors HAVE to be related to the Founders due to the recycled actress.
ROMULAN [on monitor]: Captain, my ships are leaving orbit for Romulan space. Until our next encounter.
PICARD: Until then.
ROMULAN [on monitor]: It would seem that we are not completely dissimilar after all, in our hopes, or in our fears.
PICARD: Yes.
ROMULAN [on monitor]: Well, then. Perhaps, one day.
PICARD: One day.
As stated on the Heartwarming page over at TV Tropes, this bit can tie back to "The Defector" and even "Balance of Terror". "In another reality, I could have called you friend."
Memory Alpha
* Ronald Moore considered making it explicit that the Progenitors were the Preservers, but decided to not make it direct. It was made clear in the novel Federation and the Shatnerverse, neither of which will remotely fit into even the regular novelverse canon. Star Trek Online finally made it explicit, for whatever definition of "canon" you want to apply to STO.
* Ocett is the only female Gul ever seen in canon.
* This is the first time Klingons, Romulans, and Cardassians were in the same episode.
* Picard discarding the naiskos in Generations was mentioned. I must admit that it seems odd that something as fragile as the naiskos was kept on the ship. At least the Mintakan tapestry he kept on his chair was more durable than a clay statue.
Nitpicker's Guide
* In "Lessons" the stars outside Picard's quarters moved towards the ship (i.e. his quarters are near the bow). In this episode the stars move across the window (i.e. his quarters are on the starboard side). Phil suspects that after the Nella Darren fiasco Picard had to change quarters.
* Wouldn't the Federation have laws against plundering ruins? The naiskos really do belong in a museum after all. Of course, this observation made me imagine Picard in Indiana Jones clothese, hehe.
* The odds against all of the races occupying the area seeded by the Projenitors having the same technology level is incredible.
* Salome Jens' projection has a shadow! This isn't likely to be a solid hologram, after all.