Template:Realworld As the Enterprise explores a nebula, a little girl's imaginary friend becomes terrifyingly real.
Summary
Clara, a little girl who just moved to the USS Enterprise-D with her father, who is stationed there, is lonely and creates an imaginary friend named Isabella to keep her company. One day, to her surprise, her imaginary friend becomes real.
Clara and Isabella spend all their time together. Increasingly, Isabella gets Clara into trouble by leading her into off-limits places and by having her do things she knows are wrong. Generally others on the ship cannot see Isabella although Worf sees her when Clara and Isabella run into him in a corridor when they aren't paying attention. Eventually Isabella gets Clara into enough trouble that Clara leaves her friend alone to go play with others, such as Worf's son Alexander. When she returns, Isabella is angry and says, "When the others come, you can die along with everyone else."
Clara works up the courage to talk to her father, who then talks to the captain. The crew learns that Isabella is actually an energy-based lifeform whose home is the nebula outside the ship. Picard finds Isabella in the arboretum and talks to her about Human parenting. Isabella argues that the adults were cruel to Clara, and Picard explains that rules are for her protection, and even Clara will make some rules for her children when she grows up. Isabella is convinced, and allows the ship to pass safely through the nebula.
Memorable Quotes
"So, what are we gonna call this nebula? FGC 47 just doesn't have the proper ring to it."
"Why don't we call it Sutter's Cloud?"
"No, I was thinking about something more along the lines of the La Forge Nebula. It has sort of a majestic sound, don't you think?"
"Given the selections, I prefer FGC 47."
- - Geordi La Forge, Daniel Sutter and Data debating over naming a nebula
"It is interesting that people try to find meaningful patterns in things that are essentially random. I have noticed that the images they perceive can sometimes suggest what they are thinking about at that particular moment. Besides, it is clearly a bunny rabbit."
- - Data, to Guinan as they stare at the nebula clouds
"Can you only communicate by threatening a small child?"
- - Picard, appealing to Isabella to show herself
"Sounds scary!"
"Oh it was! Especially when he smiled."
- - Clara and Guinan, talking about Guinan's imaginary Tarcassian razor beast
Background Information
- Noley Thornton later appears in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as Taya in "Shadowplay".
- In early drafts, Isabella was much more benign and curious than in the finished episode. This was changed when Michael Piller decided that the resulting storyline was too similar to "The Child".
- Earlier scripts did not have Guinan appearing in this episode at all. When Whoopi Goldberg became available, her character was written in only one day before shooting began. The cloud-watching scene with Data was originally written for Crusher and Troi, and later Guinan and Troi. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
- The episode was filmed between 26 February 1992 and 5 March 1992 for seven days with possible second unit insert shoots later. All scenes were filmed on Paramount Stage 8, 9, and 16.
- Several contest winners visited the sets on 26 February 1992 and 28 February 1992. On 27 February 1992 several licensing and merchandising people visited the set and the winner of the Quality Television auction Tony Riccardi visited the sets on 2 March 1992. On the last day of shooting, 5 March 1992, guests from Warner Bros. visited the set as well as personal guests of Leonard Nimoy, namely Irving and Barbara Ostrov and Sybil Nimoy.
- First UK airdate: 17 May 1995
Video and DVD releases
- Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 61, 15 March 1993.
- UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 5.7, 2 December 2002.
- As part of the TNG Season 5 DVD collection.
Links and references
Starring
Also Starring
- LeVar Burton as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge
- Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
- Gates McFadden as Doctor Beverly Crusher
- Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
- Brent Spiner as Lieutenant Commander Data
Guest stars
- Noley Thornton as Clara Sutter
- Shay Astar as Isabella
- Jeff Allin as Daniel Sutter
- Brian Bonsall as Alexander Rozhenko
- Patti Yasutake as Alyssa Ogawa
- Sheila Franklin as Felton
And Special guest star
Uncredited co-stars
- Michael Braveheart as Martinez
- Carl David Burks as Russell
- T. Cruz as Lopez
- Dickinson as Vulcan boy
- Christie Haydon as a command division ensign
- Mark Lentry as a civilian
- Lorine Mendell as Diana Giddings
- Michael Moorhead as a science division ensign
- Keith Rayve as a command division officer
- Richard Sarstedt as a command division ensign
- Dru Wagner as an operations division officer
- Christina Wegler Miles as a command division ensign
Stunt double
Stand-ins
- David Keith Anderson - stand-in for LeVar Burton
- Candace Crump - stand-in for Whoopi Goldberg
- Joshua Henson - photo double for Brian Bonsall
- Mark Lentry - stand-in for Jeff Allin
- Nora Leonhardt - stand-in for Marina Sirtis
- Tim McCormack - stand-in for Brent Spiner & Jeff Allin
- Lorine Mendell - stand-in for Sheila Franklin & Gates McFadden
- Richard Sarstedt - stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
- Dennis Tracy - stand-in for Patrick Stewart
- James Washington - stand-in for Michael Dorn
References
arboretum; Brentalia; Champs Elysees; exozoologist; FGC 47; FGC 47 lifeform; grape juice; graviton field; hot chocolate; Jokri River; Kryonian tiger; La Forge, Silva; La Forge, Edward M.; Maschinenmensch; McClukidge; Mintonian sailing ship; Modean system; nasturtium; neutron star; O'Brien, Keiko; Paris; pancake; papalla juice; purple omelet; rabbit; Risa; Romulan Neutral Zone; Samarian coral fish; Tavela Minor; Tarcassian razor beast; Ten Forward; thermal interferometry scanner; trionium; turbolift
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