Booby Trap (episode)

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"Booby Trap"
TNG, Episode 3x06 Production number: 40273-154 First aired: 30 October 1989
←	53rd of 176 produced in TNG	→
←	53rd of 176 released in TNG	→
	{{{nNthReleasedInSeries_Remastered}}}th of 176 released in TNG Remastered
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Teleplay By Ron Roman and Michael Piller & Richard Danus Story By Michael Wagner & Ron Roman Directed By Gabrielle Beaumont
43205.6 (2366)
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While investigating a 1,000-year-old derelict ship, the Enterprise gets caught in the same booby trap that doomed the vessel a millennium ago.

Contents 1 Summary 1.1 Log Entries 2 Memorable Quotes 3 Background Information 3.1 Video and DVD releases 4 Links and References 4.1 Guest Stars 4.2 Special Guest Star 4.3 Co-Stars 4.4 References

[edit] Summary

While the Enterprise is investigating the remains at Orelious IX, they discover a Promellian battle cruiser. When the away team returns, a Menthar booby-trap begins to drain the power reserves of the Enterprise, which is unable to move, to create deadly radiation. Lt. Cmdr. La Forge tries to come up with a solution using the help of a holodeck recreation of Leah Brahms, the engineer who built the warp engines of the Enterprise. La Forge has the computer recreate the personality of Dr. Brahms (whom he falls in love with) to facilitate the interaction. The key to get moving lies in the time-differential between action and reaction, but to be quick enough, total control over the ship has to be turned over to the computer which, according to simulations, is unable to successfully escape the field.

In the meantime, the others try to use information gathered from memory coils on the ancient Promellian ship to come up with a way to combat the problem. They discover that the asteroids have been booby-trapped with aceton assimilators. It is impossible to destroy the asteroids while they absorb the energy of the fired phasers.

It turns out the Human brain will bring the final solution. Instead of trying to overpower the engines, a minimal energy boost and minimal thrusters were used to drift the ship clear from the booby-trapped field, while shutting down all non-essential systems. Captain Picard takes the conn and is successful in using the asteroid's gravitational field and the Enterprise's thrusters to catapult the Enterprise clear. Picard then orders the destruction of the ancient ship to prevent it from luring any more victims.

[edit] Log Entries

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2366
• Captain's log, Cleponji

[edit] Memorable Quotes

"It is exactly as they left it Number One, in the bottle."
(dumbfounded looks from Data and Worf)
"The ship in the bot– Oh, good Lord. Didn't anybody here build ships in bottles when they were boys?!"
"I did not play with toys."
"I was never a boy."
(Picard sighs)
"I did, sir."
"Thank you, Mister O'Brien. Proceed."
(Riker gives O'Brien "the look" after the transport.)
"I did. I really did. Ships in bottles, it was great fun."

- Picard, Worf, Data and O'Brien

"Always room at the bar for another broken heart.'"

- Guinan

"I'm attracted to bald men."

- Guinan

"Is it possible... that we've fallen into the same snare that killed them? A 1,000 year old booby-trap?"

- Picard

"I'm not used to people questioning my judgment."
"And I'm not used to dying!"

- Leah Brahms and La Forge

"If we resist, we die. If we don't resist, we die."

- Riker

"You have used the asteroid's gravitational pull as a slingshot. Excellent!"

- Data to Picard

[edit] Background Information

• In this episode, Guinan tells Geordi La Forge that she's always been attracted to bald men, because a bald man was once very kind to her. In "Time's Arrow, Part II", Captain Picard (on an away mission to the past), meets Guinan and takes care of her when she gets hurt.
• This is the first episode directed by Gabrielle Beaumont and the first episode directed by a woman.
• Initially Picard was to have been involved with the simulated Leah Brahms. Michael Piller suggested the change to the "more logical choice" of La Forge. (ST: TNG Companion)
• Originally the holodeck set was to have been a mockup of a warp engine, but time constraints forced the more limited set shown. (ST: TNG Companion)
• Some of the graphics seen in Drafting Room 5 include a topographic map of Mintaka III from "Who Watches The Watchers" and a graphic from Doctor Paul Manheim's lab on Vandor IV in "We'll Always Have Paris".
• The Galaxy-class model seen in the drafting room is shown with all three shuttlebay doors open (or missing).
• In the episode "All Good Things...", Picard makes reference to O'Brien's hobby of building model ships. Without revealing he was from the future, Picard says he read the notation in his Starfleet file.

[edit] Video and DVD releases

• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 27, 21 October 1991.
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 3.2, 3 April 2000.
• As part of the TNG Season 3 DVD collection.

[edit] Links and References

[edit] Guest Stars

• Susan Gibney as Leah Brahms
• Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien

[edit] Special Guest Star

• Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan

[edit] Co-Stars

• Albert Hall as Galek Sar (credited as "Galek Dar")
• Julie Warner as Christy
• Majel Barrett as computer voice (uncredited)
• Guy Vardaman as Darien Wallace (uncredited)

[edit] References

14th century AD; aceton assimilators; asteriod; Astral V Annex; battle cruiser; Bonaparte, Napoleon; Chaya VII; Chaya system; Cleponji; Coco-no-no; crossbow; Daystrom Institute; dilithium crystal chamber; Drafting Room 5; Ferengi cargo ship; fungilli; fusion reactor; Galaxy-class; gypsy; Hungarian Rhapsody; hyronalin; image processor; inertial dampener; intermix ratio; Kavis Teke elusive maneuver; Lang cycle fusion engines; fusion reactor; Mars Station; mechanical clock; memory coil; Menthars; outpost; Orelious IX; Orelious system; Passive Lure stratagem; personal log; power transfer tunnel; Promellians; Promellian battle cruiser; radiation poisoning; Outpost Seran T-1; Theoretical Propulsion Group; Theoritical Propulsion log; three-dimensional chess; tricorder; Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards; violin; warp field generator

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Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3

Next episode: "The Enemy"