Entertainment
 

Interface (episode)

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference

Real World article
(written from a Production point of view)
"Interface"
TNG, Episode 7x03
Production number: 40277-255
First aired: 4 October 1993
← 154th of 176 produced in TNG →
← 154th of 176 released in TNG →
  {{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 176 released in TNG Remastered  
← 283rd of 727 released in all →
Written By
Joe Menosky

Directed By
Robert Wiemer
47215.5 (2370)
  Arc: {{{wsArc0Desc}}} ({{{nArc0PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc0PartCount}}})  
  Arc: {{{wsArc1Desc}}} ({{{nArc1PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc1PartCount}}})  
  Arc: {{{wsArc2Desc}}} ({{{nArc2PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc2PartCount}}})  
  Arc: {{{wsArc3Desc}}} ({{{nArc3PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc3PartCount}}})  
  Arc: {{{wsArc4Desc}}} ({{{nArc4PartNumber}}} of {{{nArc4PartCount}}})  

Geordi uses a virtual reality probe to explore a wrecked ship inside a gas giant, but he's preoccupied by the disappearance of his mother's ship.

Contents

[edit] Summary

Geordi La Forge, Data, and Beverly Crusher are testing an interface which allows La Forge to use the VISOR circuitry in his brain, along with an interface suit, to control a probe by remote control. Via this connection, Geordi can use the probe to virtually enter areas that would be too dangerous for actual crew members to enter, and the probe transmits information directly into Geordi's cerebral cortex, providing the sensation that he is actually there.

As the crew prepare to use the probe to investigate the wreckage of the USS Raman, which became trapped in the atmosphere of Marijne VII, Captain Jean-Luc Picard learns from Admiral Marcus Holt that the USS Hera, under the command of Geordi's mother, Silva La Forge, was lost during a routine courier run operating out of Deep Space 3. A massive search mounted by the USS Excelsior and the USS Noble failed to discover any trace of the ship, and all hands were presumed lost. Geordi learns from his father that a memorial service has already been planned for the crew on the planet Vulcan, which seems premature to Geordi.

Despite the apparent loss of his mother, Geordi interfaces with the probe and goes to see if there are survivors on the Raman. He finds that there is no one left alive on the ship. However, Geordi believes that he encounters his mother on the ship, who states that she and the crew of the Hera are actually trapped on the planet's surface. Continued use of the probe soon exposes Geordi to unhealthy levels of neural stimulation, forcing his disconnection from the interface.

Geordi becomes convinced that his mother was on the Raman, and wants to use the probe to communicate with his mother. Dr. Crusher and Picard refuse to allow him to use the interface suit again, and attempt to explain that it is highly improbable that he actually communicated with his mother who was last seen over 300 light years away. Geordi decides to use the interface suit anyway and, with Data's reluctant assistance, returns to the Raman and again encounters the being who appears to be his mother. Geordi eventually learns that she is actually a subspace creature native to the gas giant's lower atmosphere who became trapped when the Raman entered, then left the atmosphere. These creatures inadvertently killed the crew of the Raman in their attempt to communicate, but were able to successfully read Geordi's mind via his interface with the probe. Geordi takes the ship closer to the planet so that she and others like her trapped on the ship can return home.

Finally, Geordi realizes that his mother is in fact most likely dead, and that his encounter with the subspace creature enabled him to, in some fashion, say goodbye to her.

[edit] Background Information

  • This episode contains the first 24th century reference to the USS Excelsior. The next such reference would be made in VOY: "Flashback".
  • LeVar Burton and guest stars Ben Vereen and Madge Sinclair all appeared in the 1977 TV miniseries Roots. Vereen played Burton's character's grandson and Sinclair the wife of his character as an older man, played by John Amos.
  • While they had not actually appeared together in Roots, this episode marked the fourth TV appearance of Sinclair and Burton as mother and son.
  • Joe Menosky's initial story had Riker in the virtual-reality suit, troubled by the death of his father, and seeing scenes of his Alaska cabin. This was changed due to Riker having recently had a mind trip (in "Frame of Mind"), and the logic of using Geordi's VISOR implants. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
  • The scene where Riker consoles Geordi of his loss was written by Jeri Taylor when it was discovered the show was running short. The scene was not filmed until after "Phantasms", three episodes later. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
  • Visual effects supervisor Ronald B. Moore was disappointed that the elaborate probe miniature was only seen once. The episode instead uses the convention of Geordi in place of the probe. Director Robert Wiemer explained that it would have been "emotionally unrewarding" to film the probe with 'Silva' while cutting to Geordi for reaction shots. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)

[edit] Video and DVD releases

[edit] Links and References

[edit] Main Cast

[edit] Guest Stars

And

[edit] Uncredited Co-Stars

[edit] References

47; ammonia; black cluster; Breen; cerebral cortex; Deep Space 3; Doosodarians; Excelsior, USS; Ferengi; God; Hera, USS; interface probe; inverse warp cascade; La Forge, Ariana; lacuna; low stationary orbit; Marijne VII; methane; nervous system; neural synapse; Noble, USS; palio; permanent record; poetry; psychosomatic response, Raman, USS; roller coaster; Starfleet Academy; subspace funnel; tractor beam; trionic initiator; troposphere; VISOR; Vulcan (planet); Vulcan; warp bubble; warp coil; warp field; warp funnel.


Previous episode:
"Liaisons" 		Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 7 		Next episode:
"Gambit, Part I"
Retrieved from "http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Interface_(episode)"
Rate this article: