Identity Crisis
- FIRST SHOWN (US)
- 25 March 1991
- ON
- First-run syndication
- STARDATE
- 44664.5
- DIRECTED BY
- Winrich Kolbe
- PRODUCTION NO.
- 192
WRITTEN BYTeleplay by Brannon Braga; story by Timothy De Haas
Geordi's former crewmates from an old away mission to Tarchannen III are vanishing one by one, and he and his friend Susanna Leijten may be next.
Red alert: the full plot, ending included. Haven't watched yet?REVEAL SYNOPSIS
Lt Cdr Susanna Leijten, Geordi La Forge's former crewmate on the USS Victory, comes aboard with worrying news. Members of an away team the two of them served on years earlier, at Tarchannen III, have been deserting their posts, stealing shuttlecraft and disappearing. The Enterprise follows the trail to the planet. Then Leijten falls ill: her veins turn blue and her body starts to change, and Dr Crusher finds a parasite rewriting her DNA. Reviewing the old mission recordings on the holodeck, Geordi spots a shadow with no source, an invisible being, and soon begins transforming himself. He slips away to the planet's surface. Leijten, cured once the parasite is removed, joins the search and helps reach him before the change is complete. Geordi is saved, but the other lost crewmates cannot be brought back, and Picard has warning beacons placed in orbit.
- 01Leijten's full Tarchannen makeup took four artists six hours to apply, reportedly the longest makeup job ever done on The Next Generation.
- 02The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Makeup for a Series.
- 03The flashback scenes correctly use the season one and two style uniforms and early phaser designs.