The Survivors
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 9 October 1989
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- 43152.4
- DIRECTED BY
- Les Landau
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 151
WRITTEN BYWritten by Michael Wagner
A whole colony has been wiped out, except for one elderly couple and their house. Why were they spared, and why will they not leave?
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Answering a distress call, the Enterprise finds the colony on Delta Rana IV in ruins and its people dead. Only the green, untouched home of elderly Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge survives, and they refuse to leave. A mysterious warship appears, attacks and vanishes, while Troi is tormented by a tune from Rishon's music box that drowns out everything else in her mind. Picard grows suspicious and sets out to force the truth. Kevin confesses that he is a Douwd, an immortal being of immense power who had lived as a human for love of his wife. When the Husnock attacked, he refused to use force, and Rishon died fighting alongside the colonists. In a moment of grief and rage, he wiped out the entire Husnock species. The Rishon the crew met is his recreation, and the music shielded his thoughts from Troi. Picard concludes that no law can judge such a crime, and leaves Kevin alone with his memories.
- 01Michael Wagner's only solo writing credit on the series, from his brief spell as head writer.
- 02John Anderson had lost his own wife a year earlier and almost turned the role down.
- 03The exterior scenes were shot at a Malibu beach house, giving the crew a rare day on location.