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Lonely Among Us

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"Lonely Among Us"

"Lonely Among Us" is the seventh episode of the syndicated science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Written by D. C. Fontana, based on a story by Michael Halperin, and directed by Cliff Bole, it was first broadcast November 2, 1987.

The series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, a non-corporeal alien entity takes possession of various Enterprise crew member's minds, including Captain Picard's.

Plot

The Federation starship USS Enterprise, under the command of Captain Jean-Luc Picard is en route to the neutral world of Parliament with delegates from two warring planets in the Beta Renner system, the reptilian Selay and the canine Antican, when the ship encounters a strange energy cloud. Unseen by the crew, Lt. Worf is zapped with strange energy as the ship passes the cloud, causing him to become violent. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Crusher sedates Worf and brings him to Sickbay, but she is also infused with the same energy as she examines his body. Dr. Crusher begins to act oddly to those around her and goes to the bridge, asking questions about the ship's navigational functions. When she questions Lt. Cdr. Data at one of the science stations, the energy sparks between her and the computer console, leaving Dr. Crusher slightly confused as to why she's on the bridge. The ship suddenly starts to have malfunctions and Captain Picard orders Assistant Engineer Singh to investigate the cause. Singh is later found dead near a computer link, and Picard orders a murder investigation, considering the alien delegates to be prime candidates. Meanwhile, Counselor Troi evaluates both Worf and Dr. Crusher, finding neither recall their strange behavior.

The ship suddenly drops again out of warp, and as Picard investigates the readouts on the helm pad, the strange energy transfers into him. The bridge crew becomes suspicious of Picard's actions after noting that all Enterprise systems are back to normal and that Picard has ordered them to return to the cloud. The senior officers attempt to plead with Picard to undergo a medical examination and to step down from command, but he refuses. When they return to the cloud, Picard announces that they had picked up an entity previously when they passed the cloud, and now Picard and the entity are one. Under its influence, Picard plans to transport themselves back into the cloud, and he shoots energy at the bridge crew when they try to stop him. They are unable to prevent Picard from beaming off the ship. However, Counselor Troi senses Picard's essence nearby, and Picard himself manages to signal the crew through the ship's computers. Data is able to reverse the transport, reconstituting Picard without the entity. After determining that Picard is himself again, lacking the memories since he was taken over by the entity, the Enterprise continues onto Parliament.

Notes

This is the first episode to feature the TNG-era dress uniforms.

This was the first episode of the Star Trek franchise to feature actor Marc Alaimo who would gain later fame as the Cardassian Gul Dukat on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to "Lonely Among Us".
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