The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Romulan scout ship. When Geordi LaForge and Ro Laren attempt to beam back with a defective part, they are apparently killed in a transporter malfunction. In truth, they've become victims of an experimental technology being tested by the Romulans -- a phasing cloaking device that renders something not only invisible, but able to pass through solid objects. Now Geordi and Ro must find a way to communicate from "beyond the grave" and warn the crew before Romulan sabotage destroys the Enterprise.
It seemed that no one really knew going in quite how difficult this episode would be to pull off, in terms of the visual effects. On paper, the technique was actually quite simple: film an actor on a blue screen, then insert them into other footage as a "ghost." But episode director David Carson noted that this took longer than anticipated, in part because a certain level of quality would be expected by the audience. By this point, he said, everyone had seen the movie Ghost; they had to achieve a similar look on a television budget.
In the end, getting the actors to pass through other objects required frame-by-frame animation of a sort, selecting exactly what parts of their bodies should be visible and which should be hidden. The finished episode had 20 shots with this "ghostly" effect, and more than a dozen costly disruptor beams on top of that. And all that was before the episode's specific space scenes -- a Romulan ship ejecting its warp core, then receiving an energy transfer from the Enterprise. Though all of this would be considerably easier today in the age of CG, it was expensive and tedious at the time.
But apparently, no one ever really questioned going to all this effort, because of the quality of the story it was servicing. Showrunner Michael Piller had been feeling that Romulans were a bit overused, but two similar pitches that came in convinced him to give them another shot. He assigned writer Ronald Moore to fuse the two ideas together into one, and praised Moore's finished script. Producer Rick Berman also loved the episode, calling it a "great piece of science fiction" -- though he hated the admittedly cheeky title.
The high concept is fun. The playful scenes of Geordi and Ro passing through objects are entertaining. The big chase sequence between Ro and a phased Romulan adversary is fantastic. Even if this was all the episode offered, it would be enough. But there's also a tremendous amount of emotional, character-driven material too, and that's what really puts the episode over the top.
Originally, the episode was to have featured Geordi and Counselor Troi. The switch to Ro was apparently made because the writers felt Troi had already had enough action in the season. Actress Marina Sirtis clearly lost out there, but using the newer, Bajoran character really was a boon for the story. With Ro, the episode is really able to explore the spiritual aspect of the situation in a way that would have felt out of character with Troi.
For a brief time, Ro really embraces the idea that she's in the afterlife, and that she has to achieve closure with the life she has left behind. It leads to a pair of touching scenes -- one where you sense how much the Enterprise has become a home for a person who has never really had one before, and another where Ro voices how much Picard means to her. At the end of the episode, Ro is left clearly shaken by her experience, rethinking her beliefs. This is all about as close as The Next Generation ever gets to taking on religion -- at least, without framing it as dogmatic superstition. It was a small taste of what the Bajorans and Deep Space Nine would later be able to present.
The episode also turns out to be wonderful for Data. Believing his best friend to be dead, Data takes on the task of planning the memorial service. Several outstanding scenes result. When Data speaks to Worf about death, we not only get the very interesting Klingon perspective on the subject, we get Data's profound and affecting speech about how Geordi taught him what friendship really means. It all culminates in a joyous celebration for a funeral (which Geordi loves), and another brilliantly subtle beat by Brent Spiner. When Geordi returns and Data says simply: "Geordi, it is good to see you," it's a perfect delivery. Data isn't emotional, but we the audience sure feel it anyway.
Other observations:
- You can very quickly pierce the premise of the episode with some nitpicky questions. Why don't Geordi and Ro fall through the floor as easily as they pass through the walls? (A question that's thrown especially in your face when you see Geordi resting on the steps of the transporter platform.) If regular matter passes through them, then what and how are they breathing? I think it's very much for the best that the episode doesn't waste time trying to explain away things like this, but admittedly it means this episode has a higher "just go with it" factor than most.
- Chief O'Brien is nowhere to be seen. It's possible this was because Colm Meaney was unavailable for filming that week, but I suspect the real reason was to preserve the competency of his character. What would have been worse for O'Brien, losing two people on his watch, or not realizing that in fact he hadn't lost them?
- Patrick Stewart deftly handles a great little story about Picard meeting a young, eager-to-please Geordi.
- Jonathan Frakes gives a hilarious and entertaining reaction as, mid-trombone solo, Riker sees Geordi and Ro reappear.
No comments:
Post a Comment