The Inner Light (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

"The Inner Light"
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
Episode no. Season 5
Episode 25
Directed by Peter Lauritson
Teleplay by
Story by Morgan Gendel
Featured music Jay Chattaway
Cinematography by Marvin Rush
Production code 225
Original air date June 1, 1992 (1992-06-01)
Guest appearance(s)
Episode chronology

"The Inner Light" is the 125th episode overall and the 25th episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. The episode was written by freelance writer Morgan Gendel based on his original pitch. Gendel is credited as writer of the story and co-writer of the teleplay with Peter Allan Fields. It is the penultimate episode of the season and was first broadcast on June 1, 1992.

In the story, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is struck with an energy beam from an alien probe. While minutes pass for the rest of the crew, Picard experiences 40 years as Kamin, a humanoid scientist whose planet is threatened by the nova of its sun. Picard learns that the purpose of the probe was to keep alive the memory of Kamin's race long after the death of their civilization. The probe also contains Kamin's flute; Picard, having mastered it as Kamin, finds he retains the skill to play it. He keeps it as a memento for the remainder of the series.

The episode is widely considered by critics and fans as one of the best episodes of the entire Star Trek franchise.[1][2][3][4] In 1993, "The Inner Light" won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. The flute melody, featured prominently in the episode, was composed by Jay Chattaway and has since been re-arranged for a full orchestra.[5] The episode is also a favorite among both fans and members of the show's cast and crew.[6]

Plot

On stardate 45944.1, the Enterprise has just finished a magnetic wave survey of the Parvenium System, when they find an unknown probe that scans the ship and directs an energy beam at Captain Picard, rendering him unconscious.

Picard wakes up to find himself on the surface of Kataan, a non-Federation planet. A woman identifies herself as his wife, Eline, telling Picard that he is Kamin, an iron weaver recovering from a feverish sickness. Picard talks of his memories on the Enterprise, but Eline and their close friend Batai try to convince Picard that his memories were only dreams, and acclimate him into their society as Kamin. Picard begins living out his life as Kamin in the village of Ressik, starting a family with Eline, and learning to play the flute. Kamin spends much time outdoors studying nature. As the years pass, he begins to notice that the planet is suffering a worldwide drought owing to increased radiation from the planet's sun. He sends reports to the planet's leaders, who seem to ignore his concerns.

Meanwhile, on board the Enterprise, the crew continues attempts to revive Picard. They try to block the influence of the probe, but as a result Picard nearly dies, so they are forced to let it continue. They trace the rocket's trajectory to a system whose sun had gone nova 1,000 years before, exterminating all life in the system.

Years pass and Kamin grows old, outliving his wife. Kamin and his daughter Meribor continue their study of the drought. They find that it is not temporary; extinction of all life on the planet is inevitable. Ultimately, Kamin confronts a government official who privately admits to him that the government already knows this but wish to keep it a secret to avoid a panic. The official gravely points out to Kamin that they only just recently managed to successfully launch artificial satellites using primitive rockets: their race simply does not possess the technology level needed to evacuate even a small colony's worth of people before their planet is rendered uninhabitable.

One day, while playing with his grandson, Kamin is summoned by his adult children to watch the launch of a rocket, which everyone seems to know about except him. As he walks outside into the glaring sunlight, Kamin sees Eline and Batai, as young as when he first saw them. They explain that he has already seen the rocket, just before he came there. Knowing that the planet was doomed, the planet's leaders placed the memories of their culture into a probe and launched it into space, in the hope that it would find someone who could tell others about their species. Picard then realizes the entire context: "Oh, it's me, isn't it?", he says, "I'm the someone...I'm the one it finds."

Picard wakes up on the bridge of the Enterprise to discover that while he perceives many decades have transpired, only 25 minutes have passed. The now inactive probe is brought aboard the Enterprise and the crew finds a small box within it. A somber Riker gives the box to Picard who opens it to find Kamin's flute. Picard, now adept at the instrument, plays the melody he learned during his life as Kamin.

Title

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Morgan Gendel named the episode after "The Inner Light", a song written by George Harrison and released by the Beatles as the B-side of their 1968 single "Lady Madonna". The lyrics of Harrison's song were based on the 47th chapter of the Tao Te Ching, which reads:

Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows. Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; gave their (right) names to things without seeing them; and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so.

According to Gendel, the song "captured the theme of the show: that Picard experienced a lifetime of memories all in his head."[7]

Ressikan flute

Replica of Ressikan flute by Morgan Gendel

The brass Ressikan flute resembles, and has a similar sound to, a penny whistle or a tin whistle. It is considered a lasting reminder of Picard's virtual life on the planet throughout the rest of the series. Picard's flute could occasionally be seen in its box sitting on his desk. It plays a role in the episode "Lessons" where Picard develops a romantic relationship with a stellar cartographer assigned to the Enterprise, Nella Daren, who encourages his musical side, and with whom he performs a duet version of the "Inner Light" theme.[8] Earlier in the season, a scene shows Picard practicing Mozart on the flute in the beginning of "A Fistful of Datas". Its final appearance was in a deleted scene from Star Trek Nemesis; Lieutenant Commander Data picks it up and examines it while discussing human life with Picard. The original placement of this scene was to have been immediately following the wedding ceremony shown in the opening scenes. The simple theme that Picard plays on the flute was later developed into a full orchestral suite for the 30th anniversary of Star Trek.[9]

From October 5–7, 2006, the Ressikan flute was one of the items up for bid at the Christie's official studio auction of Star Trek memorabilia. The prop flute, which cannot actually be played, was originally estimated to have a sale price of US$300. Auction directors admitted that their estimates for many items did not "factor in that emotional fury generated around this kind of material".[10] The estimate was later raised to $800–$1,200 on Christie's web site.[11] In the days leading up to the auction, Denise Okuda, former Trek scenic artist and video supervisor, as well as co-writer of the auction catalog, said: "That's the item people say they really have to have, because it's so iconic to a much-beloved episode."[12] The final bid for the flute at the auction was US$40,000. Including the additional 20% fee Christie's collected on all items from the winning bidder, the total price for the flute was $48,000.[11]

Critical reception

This episode won the 1993 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation.[13] The award was given at the World Science Fiction Convention in San Francisco. "The Inner Light" was the first television program to be so honored since the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" won in 1968. The other Hugo Award-winning Star Trek episodes are "The Menagerie" (the only two-part episode of the original series) and "All Good Things..." (the series finale for The Next Generation).

The episode is the favorite episode of actors Patrick Stewart,[14] who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard, and Wil Wheaton, who played Ensign Wesley Crusher. Star Trek writer Susan Sackett notes that it is also her favorite episode even though it is not one she wrote.[15] "The Inner Light" was ranked among the top five episodes in a "viewers' choice" marathon that was broadcast just before the premiere of the series finale.

Notes

  1. ↑ Batai, the son of Kamin, is played in a guest appearance by Daniel Stewart, the real life son of Patrick Stewart (Kamin/Picard). In the plot, Kamin's son was named after Kamin's long-time friend Batai, played in the episode by Richard Riehle.

References

  1. ↑ "Jammer's Review: "The Inner Light"". Jammersreviews.com. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  2. ↑ Handlen, Zack (2011-05-12). ""The Inner Light"/"Time's Arrow, Part I" | Star Trek: The Next Generation | TV Club | TV". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  3. ↑ "Five Big Issues Raised by "The Inner Light"". Tor.com. 2012-05-16. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  4. ↑ Garmon, Jay (2012-03-15). "The five best 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' episodes of all time". TechRepublic. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  5. ↑ "Video of the Day: Orchestral Inner Light". TrekMovie.com. Retrieved 2012-11-17.
  6. ↑ Stewart, Patrick (2015-08-20). "Patrick Stewart Reddit AMA".
  7. ↑ Gendel, Morgan (2006). "Comments on "Inner Light Sources"". Soul of Star Trek.
  8. ↑ Nemecek, Larry (2003). "Sixth Season: Lessons". The Star Trek, The Next Generation Companion. Simon and Schuster. p. 241. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
  9. ↑ The Best Of Star Trek: 30th Anniversary Special! Gnp Crescendo
  10. ↑ Two to bid up! First auction of ‘Star Trek’ stuff MSNBC Archived September 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. 1 2 Christie's 1778-0537, Picard's Ressikan Flute, Star Trek Propcollector.com at the Star Trek Auction Listings Archive
  12. ↑ Puente, Maria (2006-09-26). "Boldly bid where no fan has bid before". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  13. ↑ "Chronicle". The New York Times. 1993-09-07. See also: "1993 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society.
  14. ↑ Harris, Will. "A Chat with Patrick Stewart". Bullz-Eye.com. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  15. ↑ Presenter: D. J. Grothe, Producers: Thomas Donnelly and Paul Kurtz (29 May 2009). "Susan Sackett – The Secular Humanism of Star Trek". Point of Inquiry. 24:11 minutes in.

Further reading

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