The Child (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

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"The Child"
Rob Bowman
Written by
Featured musicDennis McCarthy
Cinematography byEdward R. Brown
Production code127
Original air dateNovember 21, 1988 (1988-11-21)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2
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"The Child" is the first episode of the

Maurice Hurley
.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, ship's Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) becomes pregnant by an alien entity and gives birth to a mysterious child. This causes problems for the Enterprise, which is transporting dangerous plague strains. The child's presence on the ship begins to endanger the crew due to effects on a virus sample being transported by the ship. It sacrifices its physical body, turning back into an energy being, telling Troi why it visited before departing.

Being the first episode of the second season, "The Child" was the first episode to feature

Rob Bowman was allowed to use additional camera equipment to improve the style of filming, resulting in a change to the opening shot of the episode. It was watched by 10.9 million viewers, but critics held a negative opinion of the episode saying that there was no ongoing effect to Troi. Further criticism also compared the means of the character's pregnancy to rape
, and stated that the reactions of the other crew members were irrational.

Plot

The new Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur), is brought aboard the Enterprise as it prepares to travel to Aucdet IX in order to take on dangerous virus samples, which will be carried to a Starfleet Medical station hoping they will be able to devise a cure for a plague epidemic in the Rachelis System. After taking aboard the new doctor, the ship is traveling at sub light speed when a ball of energy passes in through the hull, eventually settling in the womb of Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) wonders why the new doctor hadn't checked in with him, and locates her in the Ten Forward lounge, where the bartender, Guinan (Whoopi Goldberg), works. Picard finds Doctor Pulaski talking with Troi about her unexpected pregnancy. The senior officers meet to discuss the pregnancy. The fetus is developing at an accelerated rate and would be fully developed in 36 hours. Troi does not know who the father is, but was aware of a "presence" entering her body the night before. Though the senior staff debate terminating the pregnancy, Troi decides she will carry the child to term.

The Enterprise arrives at Aucdet IX to pick up the plague samples, which are stored in a highly secure storage vessel. Troi gives birth to an apparently normal boy, whom she names Ian Andrew after her father. Ian continues to develop rapidly; within a day, he appears as a four-year-old child with corresponding mental faculties. When asked if he is ready to explain who or what he is, Ian responds "not yet." Having completed the transfer of the virus samples, the Enterprise heads for the Starfleet Medical station. En route, the crew finds one of the plague strains is growing inexplicably; should it continue growing, it will rupture the storage vessel and result in the catastrophic exposure of all on board.

They discover that an unknown source of Eichner radiation is causing the growth. Ian (R. J. Williams), now appearing as an eight-year-old, confides to Troi that he is the source of the crew's problems and will have to leave. Troi realizes Ian is dying and calls for medical assistance. Ian dies in Troi's arms, and returns to his energy form. The energy being contacts Troi's mind, and explains that he impregnated her in order to discover what it was like to be human. With Ian gone, the plague sample returns to normal and the crew continues on their mission.

Meanwhile, Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) has been trying to cope with leaving the Enterprise to join his mother on Earth after her promotion to director of Starfleet Medical. After receiving guidance from Guinan, he decides he wants to remain on the Enterprise.

Production

Phase II

The origins of an episode based on a female crew member becoming pregnant first materialized in Gene Roddenberry's initial pitch for Star Trek: The Original Series. Entitled "Infection", the episode was described as "A female crew member is discovered to be pregnant, and the growing realization it could be the larvae of an alien, using her body like some insects plant their eggs in other living insects."[1] A similar idea was created for the television series Star Trek: Phase II in the late 1970s. Jaron Summers pitched a premise for "The Child" in a meeting with Jon Povill, Roddenberry's assistant, and producer Harold Livingston. Povill suggested changes in the meeting, and Summers subsequently submitted a revised draft treatment. Livingston asked Povill to rewrite it,[2] and he did a complete rewrite in the space of a week.[3] Livingston was subsequently so impressed with his efforts that he demanded Roddenberry make Povill story editor. Roddenberry refused, until Livingston threatened to quit if Povill didn't get the job. This changed Roddenberry's mind, but Livingston found that it seriously damaged their working relationship.[2]

The story would have seen the Deltan,

womb and the Enterprise was the second.[3] The series was cancelled as it went into initial production for the pilot, "In Thy Image",[4] with that being rewritten as Star Trek: The Motion Picture.[5] The script for the Phase II version of "The Child" was later reprinted in full in Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens' book Star Trek: Phase II: The Lost Series (1997).[6] Povill and Summers adapted the script for use in the fan-series Star Trek: Phase II, also known as Star Trek: New Voyages. Povill also directed the episode.[7]

The Next Generation

A dark haired woman sits, looking to her left.
Marina Sirtis (pictured) was pleased with the episode as she felt her character was overlooked during the first season.

In response to the success of the first season, Paramount Television increased the budget per episode for Star Trek: The Next Generation, but also changed the financing structure so that funds could be carried over from episode to episode.[8] But due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike, the work on the second season was delayed and the length of it overall was reduced. The producers sought to go into production immediately upon the strike being lifted,[9] so they studied the story ideas put forward as part of Phase II. "The Child" was held up as one possibility, with the position of Ilia in the story changed to become Troi.[10] Sirtis praised this development, as she felt she had been overlooked during the first season due to the presence of both Gates McFadden and Denise Crosby.[9]

Rob Bowman wanted to give the fans of the series a good episode to start the second season, the idea of which Berman agreed with. So Bowman said that his direction "went a bit further" than he would normally[11] in order to compensate for the script difficulties.[11] He was allowed to use additional cameras and equipment to improve the style of filming, including the opening shot of the episode.[10]

Making their first appearances on The Next Generation in "The Child" were Diana Muldaur as Doctor Katherine Pulaski and Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan. Muldaur had previously appeared in episodes of The Original Series as other characters, and had been written in to replace Gates McFadden. Officially, McFadden had chosen to leave as she didn't like her character development, the same reason given for Crosby departing during the first season.

Uhura on The Original Series had inspired her to become an actress. Her agent was initially ignored by the producers, as they did not believe that she wanted to be on the series[15] until Goldberg called them herself. Her character was named after Mary "Texas" Guinan, a prohibition-era speakeasy owner.[16]

Reception

"The Child" was released in broadcast syndication on November 18, 1988. It was watched by 10.9 million viewers, the highest for the series since the first season episode "Too Short a Season", broadcast on February 14 of the same year.[17] Dennis McCarthy's composition for this episode was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in 1989.[18]

In 1995, the episode was described as "uneven" and an "inauspicious start to the second season" by

Hal Schuster in their book The Complete Trek: The Next Generation.[19] They praised the addition of Muldaur and Goldberg, but the lack of a follow-up to the episode was criticised as they felt that the events should have had some type of lasting effect on Troi. It was suggested that either she would want to have a child, or she would be wary of them in general due to the impact of the loss of Ian.[19] Keith DeCandido pointed out several changes at the start of this season in "The Child" that would recur throughout the rest of the run of The Next Generation in his review for Tor.com. These included moving Geordi La Forge to become chief engineer, placing Miles O'Brien as transporter chief and Riker growing a beard. However, he criticised the fact that Worf's calling for Troi to have an abortion was never mentioned again, but added that it was discussed in a non-canon novel, A Rock and a Hard Place by Peter David.[20]

In 2013, James Hunt, in his review for

macguffin.[22]

In 2019, ScreenRant ranked it the 5th worst episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation based on IMDB ratings, which was 5.8 out of 10 at that time.[23]

In 2020, Syfy highlighted this episode for the character of Troi, noting how it gives her a "dramatic moments of crisis" rather than having to more typically offer advice to others, along with "The Loss". They said this was a great performance by Marina Sirtis, but that it was not their favourite episode with her.[24]

Home media release

The first home media release of "The Child" was on

Blu-ray set was released on December 4, 2012.[27]

Notes

  1. ^ Roddenberry (1964): p. 16
  2. ^ a b Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1997): p. 45
  3. ^ a b Gross & Altman (1993): p. 100
  4. ^ Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1997): p. 79
  5. ^ Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1997): p. 111
  6. ^ Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1997): p. 302
  7. ^ "Episode 7 - "The Child"". Star Trek: New Voyages. Archived from the original on February 14, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  8. ^ Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1998): p. 74
  9. ^ a b Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1998): p. 90
  10. ^ a b Nemecek (1995): p. 66
  11. ^ a b c Gross & Altman (1993): p. 173
  12. ^ a b Gross & Altman (1993): p. 171
  13. ^ Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1998): p. 76
  14. ^ DeCandido, Keith (October 31, 2011). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: Second Season Overview". Tor.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Reeves-Stevens & Reeves-Stevens (1998): p. 78
  16. ^ Nemecek (1995): p. 64
  17. ^ "Star Trek: The Next Generation Nielsen Ratings – Seasons 1–2". TrekNation. Archived from the original on October 5, 2000. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  18. ^ O'Neil (1992): p. 416
  19. ^ a b Van Hise & Schuster (1995): p. 37
  20. ^ DeCandio, Keith (August 11, 2011). "Star Trek: The Next Generation Rewatch: "The Child"". Tor.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Hunt, James (April 19, 2013). "Revisiting Star Trek TNG: The Child". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  22. ^ Handlen, Zack (June 3, 2010). "Star Trek: The Next Generation: "The Child"/"Where Silence Has Lease"/"Elementary, Dear Data"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 28, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  23. ^ "10 Worst Episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, According to IMDb". ScreenRant. September 13, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  24. ^ Silliman, Brian (March 30, 2020). "Star Trek: Picard finally gave Deanna Troi the love she's always deserved". SYFY WIRE. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  25. ASIN 6302812216
    .
  26. ^ Beierle, Aaron (May 3, 2002). "Star Trek: Next Generation season 2". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
  27. ^ Miller II, Randy (December 3, 2012). "Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Two (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved July 5, 2013.

References

External links
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