The Chase (episode)

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Picard tries to finish his old archaeology teacher's monumental last mission: solving a puzzle that leads Humans, Romulans, Klingons and Cardassians to the secret of life in this galaxy, revealing the origin of humanoid life.

Summary

Teaser

Captain Picard receives an unexpected visit from Richard Galen, a reclusive professor, and personal mentor of his, from Starfleet Academy. Galen gives the captain a rare archaeological gift, a Kurlan naiskos, and encourages him to take a leave of absence from Starfleet to go on an expedition of vast importance to the galaxy.

Act One

Picard mulls it over, but knows that he can never leave the USS Enterprise-D. He informs Galen that he cannot go with him, and receives a bitter rebuke from his former teacher, who immediately leaves on a shuttlecraft for his next destination.

Not long after, the Enterprise receives a distress call from Galen's shuttle, as it is under attack by a Yridian. They barely retrieve the professor and destroy his attackers. Unfortunately, Galen dies in sickbay – telling Picard with his last breath that his earlier rebuke had been too harsh.

Act Two

Picard abandons the ship's current diplomatic timeline to follow the clues listed in Galen's database. After mulling over the data, stumped, they finally realize that his course had taken him through a star system with no current inhabitants, but with a planet capable of sustaining life.

When they arrive, they find the planet's atmosphere being destroyed, killing all life on the planet.

Act Three

They have one other clue, and proceed to yet another star system where they are confronted by two Cardassian warships, prepared to attack in order to protect the planet for only their scientific mission. Immediately, a Klingon Template:ShipClass attack cruiser decloaks, making the situation all the more tense.

Act Four

Picard decides to invite the commanding officers of each vessel to the Enterprise to discuss the situation. He plays his cards, relating that the Enterprise crew has determined that Galen's research leads them to believe that a computer program has been written and scattered throughout the galaxy, being stored in the genetic code of organisms on certain planets. An uneasy truce is forged between the three powers so as to share the data the three factions contain. However, chief engineer La Forge discovers that the Enterprise's defensive systems have been tampered with – rightfully anticipating deception on the part of the Cardassians, Picard and Klingon captain Nu'Daq decide to tamper with their data a bit prior to the meeting. All three factions meet on the Enterprise to view the star chart inferred by the data points. Immediately, Gul Ocett transports off of the Enterprise and begins firing on both the Klingon vessel and the Enterprise.

Act Five

The Enterprise makes a good show of being damaged, and then heads to the proper coordinates with Nu'Daq.

Once at the final planet, they transport to the surface to take tricorder measurements of lichen growing in an ancient seabed. Suddenly, the Romulans appear, insisting that everyone leave the premises. Covertly, the away team takes readings of the lichen, and find their tricorder reconfigured to display a holographic image of a humanoid, explaining that her civilization existed in the galaxy alone, thousands of lonely years before any of the others developed. As such, they spread their genetic material to other planets, in the hopes of creating a rich ecosystem of Humanoids who could fulfill the joys of finding and integrating with alien cultures that these first beings never had. Most parties seem disgusted at the thought of a common progenitor.

Back on board the Enterprise, Picard receives an unexpected message from the Romulan commander. In light of the recent events, he expresses his opinion that Humans and Romulans are not so dissimilar after all, and hopes that one day, the two powers could stand together in friendship.

Memorable quotes

"Dream not of today."

- Professor Richard Galen, to Picard

"Until we assemble it, we will never know its purpose."
"He's right. As far as we know it might just be a recipe for biscuits!"
"Biscuits? If that's what you believe, then go back to Cardassia, I will send you my mother's recipe."

- Picard, Gul Ocett, and Nu'Daq

"My upper spinal support is a polyalloy designed for extreme stress. My skull is composed of cortenide and duranium."

- Data, explaining to Nu'Daq why he was unaffected by a Klingon head-butt.

"That's all!? If she were not dead, I would kill her!"

- Nu'Daq, expressing his disappointment about the message

"It would seem that we are not completely dissimilar after all; in our hopes, or in our fears."
"Yes..."
"Well then perhaps, one day..."
"...one day..."

- Romulan Captain to Picard

Background Information

Story and production

Directing The Chase 1 — Jonathan Frakes directs Norman Lloyd

Directing The Chase 2 — Frakes with the alien actors between takes

The final draft script was submitted on 4 February 1993.
The premise of "The Chase" was inspired by Carl Sagan's novel Contact, in which clues to the nature of the universe are discovered in a long calculation of Pi. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
It would take over a year for Joe Menosky and Ronald D. Moore's premise to be written into a workable script. Early drafts were in the manic mood of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, but were shelved for being "too cartoony". The original story would have involved a Vulcan scientist not personally involved with any of the characters. Along with the Klingons and Romulans, this version also included the Ferengi. As Moore recalled, "Riker beams over into this cramped little tiny shuttle, where everyone's yelling and trying to find things and the guy's dead. And then they zip away, and we're off an running with It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. It would have been a lot more comedic." Michael Piller and Rick Berman felt this lacked sufficient character – that there was no real motivation for Picard to join in the chase. It was only with the addition of the death of Picard's mentor that Piller and Berman were sold on the idea. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion; Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
Moore stated that he'd considered, but intentionally did not specify, that the Ancient humanoids were the Preservers from TOS: "The Paradise Syndrome". He added, "but this could be them and be internally consistent." (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
Salome Jens went on to play the recurring role of the Female Changeling in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. John Cothran, Jr. went on to play Telok in DS9: "Crossover" and Gralik Durr in ENT: "The Shipment".
Director Jonathan Frakes was disappointed at not being able to shoot outside. "I think it does look like 'Planet Hell', but that's the way it goes. The money was being spent across the street [at Deep Space Nine]. I don't think it's a secret." However, set designer Richard James noted that it was impossible to shoot outside, as the crew had been unable to find a salt flat without vegetation, as the episode demanded. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
When it appeared that the episode would run short, Ronald D. Moore added a scene in which Mr. Mot is tested by Dr. Crusher as one of the 17 crew members said to come from non-Federation worlds, but this was cut from the final episode. This scene would have thus established that Bolarus IX is not a Federation member. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) The script for this episode, including the deleted scene, can be found here. However the apparently Boralian ambassador would seem to contradict that assertion in "The Forsaken".
The final episode contains no explanation for the destruction of the Yridian ship attacking Galen's shuttle following a single phaser blast from the Enterprise. However, the original teleplay contains a line by Data immediately following the ship's destruction that explains this ("The Yridian vessel was overloading its power generators. That, combined with the phaser blast, caused it to explode"). Yet, even the original teleplay does not explain exactly why the ship was overloading its power generators.
First UK airdate: 22 November 1995

Continuity

As noted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, this episode marks the first time that Humans, Klingons, Romulans and Cardassians appear in the same episode.
This episode is the first to mention one of Deep Space 9's sister deep space stations, in this case Deep Space 4.
Several sources, including the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, state that this episode marks the first appearance of a Cardassian female on Star Trek. This honor actually belongs to "Chain of Command, Part II", where Gul Madred's daughter, Jil Orra, appears. Ocett is, however, the only female Gul ever mentioned or seen in any episode of any Star Trek series.
Despite Picard's obvious delight at being given the Kurlan naiskos in this episode, he casually discards it among the wreckage of the Enterprise-D in Star Trek Generations, in favor of the Picard family album.
The concept of this episode was recycled in the videogame Star Trek: Encounters, with the Enterprise-D being replaced by the USS Voyager, and the competing races being melded into one – the Kazon.
We learn that 17 people aboard the Enterprise are from non-Federation planets. This count probably includes Worf, Ro Laren (assuming she had not yet left for Advanced Tactical Training), the unnamed Bajoran security guard seen briefly in "Descent", and possibly Guinan.

Reception

The production staff dubbed this the most "Roddenberry-esque" TNG episode. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
Jonathan Frakes remarked, "The speech that Salome Jens makes at the end would make Roddenberry very proud I think. It's a great cast and it's wonderful to have all those villains and aliens in one place." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
However, Rick Berman was not overawed by the finished episode. "Conceptually, it's very interesting. I always had some problems with dealing with the whole idea of these kind of prehistoric creatures who are the fathers of us all. It's not Roddenberry-esque, it's very sixties Roddenberry-esque." (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
The episode was previewed at the 1993 StarFest Convention in Denver, Colorado to generally favorable reaction.

Video and DVD releases

UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 73, catalogue number VHR 2731, 22 November 1993.
As part of the TNG Season 6 DVD collection.

Links and references

Starring

Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William Riker

Also starring

LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data

Guest stars

Previous episode:
"Lessons"

Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 6

Next episode:
"Frame of Mind"

The Chase (episode)

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