Plot Synopsis: The Enterprise gives chase to the Crystalline Entity (I’ll just call it CE) after it destroys a Federation colony. A xenologist who has motivations all her own is assigned to the Enterprise to assist in the investigations.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser is brief but good: Riker is on a planet with professionals making the place ready for colonists–and has practically talked his way into bed with one of them–when the CE shows up! Plot A is about Dr. Marr and the CE, there is no plot B. Riker and Data find some caves and save most (but not all) of the colonists and a specialist, Dr. Marr, arrives. Doesn’t take long to see what a chip Dr. Marr has on her shoulder for Data, who she thinks collaborated with the CE as Lore did. Once we learn her son was killed by the CE it makes sense, even if it’s a somewhat familiar theme to an experienced audience. They learn how to track the CE and follow in the wake of tragedy as the CE strikes again, killing the crew of an alien ship. The moral quandary of the episode becomes clear: should they try to communicate with it, or just kill it? The plot moves along at a solid pace, not exciting but not boring, until it comes to a slightly tragic end. It actually ends on a fairly weak note, and you find yourself thinking, “oh, so that’s how they’re going to end it.”
Favorite Scenes: The initial scene with the CE attacking the colony is pretty cool. Dr. Marr learns Picard wants to communicate with the CE and she is stunned that he wouldn’t want to immediately kill that “monster” and they have a little confrontation in his ready room. There’s another scene about 36 minutes in where Marr asks Data to speak in her dead son’s voice. Watching that scene, and her well-acted reaction to hearing his voice, gives you a good clue about how obsessed and unhinged she really might be.
Use of Cast/Characters: Picard doesn’t do much. Same goes for Worf and Beverly, even though she was on the planet! Riker has a bit more, first losing the woman he was flirting with, and his eventual advocacy for killing the CE. Data plays the guitar? Never seen before, never seen again. We learn a bit more about Data’s containing some of the “more intense memories” of the colonists on Omicron Theta where he was created, and he acts as a kind of surrogate son for Marr… ick. Deanna doesn’t have much to do in this episode, but she does a nice bit of subtle acting at 38:14-15. It’s just a slight lowering of her head, but an attentive viewer will notice she’s indicating an impression that something about Marr’s stated intentions is off. It would’ve been nice if she was the first to warn everyone, instead of just responding that something’s wrong with Marr when Picard finally asks. Ellen Geer portrays Dr. Marr and gives a convincing, almost poignant performance. If I were to nitpick I’d say we should have seen more savage pleasure in her face while the CE was being destroyed, as well as high satisfaction afterward.
Blu Ray Version: Check out 13:21. Beverly hits a button on a display, but there was nothing on it before or after! The guys doing the Blu-Ray remaster forgot to include the text on the monitor in the original episode. The CGI model of the CE is different from the one created for Datalore. There’s enough detail to notice that the old man who falls and is killed is wearing the same yellow shirt Kevin Uxbridge (everyone’s favorite Douwd) wore in The Survivors.
Nitpicks: This may win the prize for the worst, most nonsensical episode title ever. Why exactly did those caves protect the colony builders? We never get an answer to that and we should have, especially since similar caves didn’t protect others. In the 39th minute when the CE approaches Riker raises shields, but why wouldn’t he call for red alert, or at least yellow? There’s no question the thing is deadly. Finally, a tease for the audience is the possibility of communication with the CE. But we already knew that it is possible since we saw Lore directly communicating with it back in season one, about how and when to attack the Enterprise! It wasn’t exactly innocent in that encounter.
Overall Impression: This episode was meant to parallel the classic novel Moby Dick. Like the book, in the end Marr’s quest for vengeance proves her undoing. The episode starts out good, and the teaser sets up high expectations. As we go on there is some debate about what to do with the CE once they catch up to it that could generate some viewer discussion, but everything slides into mediocrity from there. There are a couple of nice moments, but for me this episode doesn’t deliver on its promise of finally having a showdown or confrontation with the CE. There certainly could have been a lot more interesting outcomes than the one we saw. It’s not an outright ‘bad’ episode, but it is a bit of a disappointment. I rate this episode 2 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: Rob Legato discussed the effect for the beam coming down and mowing up the ground and the people in front of it when the CE attacked: “[We] got a regular, ordinary house screen, put dirt underneath it, dirt on top of it and then an air blower underneath that would rake across it so it looked like–when the beam hit, it would spray up all this dirt and then we’d make, basically a patch of scorched earth beneath it.” If you pause at 19:14 you’ll notice Marr is obviously holding the tricorder upside down. Not too bright for a scientist, is she?
Not many know that the Enterprise got a new version of its dedication plaque for season 5. It’s first clearly seen in this episode at about 9:19. The matte painting of the ravaged world Riker and company were on is the same one used in The Survivors. While this episode’s title may be the worst in the history of Star Trek, it’s made even worse by what producer Jeri Taylor says was it’s intended meaning: “a repository of knowledge”, referring to Data! Does anyone think the title refers to Data? Finally, this is one of only four times Data uses his voice to imitate others.
Missable/Unmissable? Though this episode has a couple of good moments it’s missable, pure and simple. The next one is better.