The Naked Now
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 5 October 1987
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- 41209.2
- DIRECTED BY
- Paul Lynch
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 103
WRITTEN BYTeleplay by J. Michael Bingham; story by John D.F. Black & J. Michael Bingham
J. Michael Bingham is a pseudonym for D.C. Fontana. John D.F. Black wrote the original series episode “The Naked Time”, of which this is a sequel.
A distress call from a science vessel watching a star collapse leads the Enterprise to a ship of dead crewmen, and a contagion that strips away every inhibition.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
The Enterprise answers garbled messages from the SS Tsiolkovsky, a science ship observing the collapse of a supergiant star. The away team finds its crew dead: some vented into space, others frozen at their posts. Soon after Geordi La Forge returns, Dr Crusher identifies an infection passed by touch that behaves like intoxication, removing people's inhibitions. Data finds a record of a similar illness aboard Captain Kirk's Enterprise, but the old cure does not work. The infection spreads quickly: Tasha Yar seduces Data, Picard loses his reserve around Crusher, and an infected Wesley takes over engineering, using a recording of the captain's voice and a force field. Crewman Shimoda pulls out the isolinear chips that control the engines. As a fragment of the star heads their way, Crusher finds a cure, Data restores the chips, and Wesley's tractor beam trick buys the time they need to escape. Picard credits Wesley with saving the ship.
- 01A deliberate sequel to the original series episode “The Naked Time”. John D.F. Black has a story credit on both.
- 02Brooke Bundy makes her only appearance as Sarah MacDougal, the first chief engineer of the Enterprise seen in the series.
- 03The Tsiolkovsky model was a redress of the USS Grissom from Star Trek III. A copy of Michael Okuda's dedication plaque was sent to the Tsiolkovsky museum in Kaluga.