In its seven seasons, the
TNG crew met a lot of the original crew of the starship Enterprise. The series launched with a cameo by Leonard McCoy and went five years with rumors every year that Leonard Nimoy would once again don the Vulcan ears to play Spock. (He finally did in season five to help promote
Star Trek VI).
And, of course, the two captains of the
Enterprise teamed up on the big-screen in
Generations.
But the best done cross-over from the original series to
Next Generation was the sixth season appearance of Scotty.
Written by Ronald D. Moore, "Relics" is a fun little episode that firmly has its eye on the past while looking toward the future. The
Enterprise crew finds Scotty trapped in a cycling transporter beam. The ship he was on was doomed and Scotty did what he could to survive. At first, Scotty assumes Kirk has come to rescue him, only to find out a few more years have passed.
Scotty is welcomed into the new era of
Next Generation, but soon finds himself out of step and behind the times. His knowledge is nice, but it's all a bit out of date. Scotty has stood still while the universe has aged around him. His friends are all gone and he's feeling a bit out of place.
Of all the appearances of original crew members on
TNG, this is the most poignoint. And James Doohan plays Scotty to the hilt here, showing off some nuances to the characters that he didn't always get to show on the original series. Scotty's struggle to find a way to make a difference and be relevant in the new century is nicely done. The great give and take that Scotty has with Geordi LaForge is one of the episodes real treats and shows they can do a good Geordi episode every once in a while.
And it includes one of my favorite exchanges from
Next Generation.
Geordi: "Yeah, well, I told the captain I will have this analysis done in an hour."
Scotty: "How long will it really take?"
Geordi: "An hour."
Scotty: "Oh, You didn't tell him how long it would REALLY take, did you?"
Geordi: "But of course I did."
Scotty: "Oh, laddie. You got a lot to learn if you want the people to think of you as a miracle worker."
Just like "All Good Things..." was able to win points for paying tribute to
Next Generation, "Relics" wins points for paying tribute to not only
Next Generation, but the entire history and tradition of
Star Trek. It hits all the right notes and you can tell that Ron Moore was a fan of the original show.
Labels: Star Trek The Next Generation 20th Anniversary
posted by Michael Hickerson at 9/17/2007 11:20:00 AM |
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