Angel One
"Angel One" | |
---|---|
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 14 |
Directed by | Michael Ray Rhodes |
Written by | Patrick Barry |
Featured music | Dennis McCarthy |
Cinematography by | Edward R. Brown |
Production code | 115 |
Original air date | January 25, 1988 |
Guest appearances | |
| |
"Angel One" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was first broadcast on January 25, 1988, in the United States in broadcast syndication. It was written by Patrick Barry and was directed by Michael Ray Rhodes.
Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, an away team visits a world dominated by women to search for survivors of a downed freighter, while the crew of the Enterprise suffer from the effects of a debilitating virus.
The episode was intended to be commentary on
Plot
The
Beata reveals that they are aware of four male survivors of the Odin who have caused disruption in their society, and are considered fugitives. Beata requests Riker stay with her (and later requests that he order Troi, Data, and Yar to track down the survivors' camp and their leader Ramsey (Sam Hennings), while staying and dining with her). After some back and forth, Data concludes Ramsey and the survivors of the Odin would have platinum with them, and Angel One is naturally devoid of platinum, allowing the Enterprise to easily detect them. Meanwhile, Riker dresses in the garb given to him for his dinner with Beata, Troi and Yar tease him for dressing in clothes that sexualize him and in some ways demean him, not knowing that Riker is only doing so to win favor with Beata. He insists he's only honoring the local customs, acknowledges Beata's beauty and claims to find the loose, revealing garb rather comfortable.
The Enterprise searches while in orbit around Angel One. Doctor
When confronted by Data, Yar, and Troi with rescue, Ramsey and his men (having taken wives and started families during the intervening seven years) refuse to leave. Geordi informs Yar of the medical situation on board and that more Romulan ships have been detected near the Neutral Zone. Meanwhile, Riker learns from Beata that their social structure had already started collapsing, though Ramsey and his men have served to accelerate its decline. Riker argues that it may just be the course of evolution taking place. On the Enterprise, systems are becoming harder to maintain with more crew succumbing to the virus. Geordi (after a friendly reminder from a sniffling Worf (Michael Dorn)) remembers that in command, he must delegate tasks so as to remain on the bridge. Dr. Crusher finds that the virus is an airborne organism that produces a sweet aroma to entice inhalation, after which it becomes viral once inside the body.
Riker gets up to date with the situation, then decides that, while Ramsey and his group are at large and refusing to leave the planet, there is little they can do. Before leaving, they find that one of Beata's assistants, Ariel (Patricia McPherson), was secretly married to Ramsey. Ariel was followed by Beata's guards to their camp, where they arrested the survivors and their families. The Away Team attempt to explain to Beata the reason for Ramsey's refusal to leave. Beata and her council reject his reasoning and threatens to execute them the following day. After failing to convince Ramsey and his group to leave with them, Riker contacts the Enterprise in hopes of transporting Ramsey and his group without their consent (despite it being a violation of the Prime Directive, and almost certainly an end to his career), but Dr. Crusher (while treating an incapacitated Geordi in the Captain's chair) refuses to allow anyone to beam aboard for fear of their getting infected, but allows Data, an android, to return. Riker orders Data to take command and get the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone before it's too late.
The following morning, the away team is invited to witness the execution of Ramsey and his followers. Moments after Riker rejects their invitation, Data makes contact and informs them that there is a 48-minute window in which Dr. Crusher has to find a cure and Riker must defuse the situation on the planet, before the ship must leave for the Neutral Zone. On the planet, Ramsey and his men are prepared to be executed by disintegration despite Ariel's pleas, while Dr. Crusher discovers a cure for the virus. Riker is prepared to have the away team and the Odin survivors beamed to the Enterprise, then attempts to dissuade Beata, stating their execution is only bound to create martyrs which would only worsen her situation. Beata reconsiders, then announces that she will stay the execution but Ramsey, his men, their families, and any who support them, are to be banished to the far side of the planet. She explains that, while their banishment will not stop the fall of the oligarchy, it will slow it down enough that Beata will not be around to see its end. She then compliments Riker on his wisdom, a surprise to her for a mere male.
The away team return to the ship and Picard, already recovering from the virus but hardly having a voice, orders the ship to the Neutral Zone at high warp.
Production
Producer
Michael Ray Rhodes directed the episode as part of a deal with
Reception
"Angel One" first aired in the United States in broadcast syndication on January 25, 1988.[1] It received an 11.4 rating, meaning that it was seen by 11.4 percent of all households. This was an increase from the previous week's "Datalore" which received a rating of 10.3.[8]
Several reviewers re-watched the episode following the end of the series.
James Hunt for Den of Geek said that the episode was not as bad as "Code of Honor", but that it contained "almost every terrible cliché seen in TNG's first season in one episode". He summed up, "We've seen all of this before, and it was barely interesting the first time around. The second time, it's just tedious. A horrible episode on so many levels."[10] Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club said that he was not sure what the reversal of gender roles in the episode was meant to achieve. He described the virus subplot as "absurd" and gave the episode an F grade.[11]
The episode was included in several worst episode lists, including in one compiled by Scott Thrill for Wired magazine,[12] and it was ranked the fourth worst episode by Jay Garmon at the website TechRepublic.[13] In 2019, Screen Rant ranked "Angel One" among the top 10 worst Star Trek episodes based on IMDb rankings.[14] They also ranked it the fourth worst episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation based on IMDB ratings, which was 5.7 out of 10 at that time.[15]
Home media release
The first home media release of "Angel One" was on
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h Gross; Altman (1993): p. 163
- ^ a b Nemecek (2003): p. 27
- ^ Weinbaum, Batya (March 22, 2000). "Sexual Generations: Star Trek: The Next Generation and Gender". Utopian Studies. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved March 18, 2013. (subscription required)
- ^ DeCandido, Keith (August 4, 2011). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "The Neutral Zone"". Tor.com. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Award Database". Emmys. Retrieved April 1, 2013.
- ^ a b Wheaton, Wil (March 28, 2008). "Star Trek: The Next Generation: Angel One". AOL TV. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ Grant, Brigit (December 12, 1996). "The Space Girls". The Daily Mirror. Retrieved March 18, 2013.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ "Star Trek: The Next Generation Nielsen Ratings - Seasons 1-2". TrekNation. Archived from the original on October 5, 2000. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ DeCandido, Keith (June 20, 2011). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "Angel One"". Tor.com. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
- ^ Hunt, James (January 4, 2013). "Revisiting Star Trek TNG: Angel One". Den of Geek. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Handlen, Zack (April 30, 2010). ""The Big Goodbye"/"Datalore"/"Angel One"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Thrill, Scott (September 25, 2012). "The Best and Worst of Star Trek: The Next Generation's Sci-Fi Optimism". Wired. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Garmon, Jay (September 23, 2011). "The five worst Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes EVER!". TechRepublic. Retrieved March 18, 2013.
- ^ "The 10 Worst Star Trek Episodes Ever According To IMDb". ScreenRant. June 30, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ "10 Worst Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, According to IMDb". ScreenRant. September 13, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ "Star Trek – The Next Generation, Episode 15: Angel One (VHS)". Tower Video. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Periguard, Mark A (March 24, 2002). "'Life as a House' rests on shaky foundation". The Boston Herald. Archived from the original on June 10, 2014. Retrieved October 13, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ Shaffer, RL (April 30, 2012). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Beams to Blu-ray". IGN. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
References
- Gross, Edward; Altman, Mark A. (1993). Captain's Logs: The Complete Trek Voyages. London: Boxtree. ISBN 978-1-85283-899-7.
- Nemecek, Larry (2003). Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion (3rd ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-5798-6.
External links
- "Angel One" at IMDb
- "Angel One" at Memory Alpha