THE ORAL HISTORY OF STAR TREK: TNG’S BEST EPISODE: “THE INNER LIGHT”

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This week, one of the greatest Star Trek episodes of all time celebrates its 25th anniversary. On June 1st, 1992, a fifth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation called “The Inner Light” hit the airwaves, and instantly became one of the most beloved episodes of the series. In fact, as the years have gone on, “The Inner Light” has become hailed as one of the greatest episodes of any Star Trek series ever, not just TNG, and that’s saying a lot for an episode that features no space battles, no familiar alien bad guys, no time travel, nor any other Trekkie hallmarks.

In the episode, named after a song by the Beatles, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) is struck unconscious by an energy beam from an alien probe. While only minutes pass for the Enterprise crew, the probe makes Picard experience 50 years of lifetime as Kamin, a scientist whose planet Kataan is threatened by the nova of its sun and the planet’s upcoming extinction. During this second life he marries, has children and grandchildren, and makes a whole new identity for himself.

Toward the end of Kamin’s “lifetime,” Picard — who never forgets his real life in Starfleet — learns the purpose of the probe and the five decades of virtual life that was given to him: to keep alive the memory of Kamin’s race long after the death of their civilization. Jean-Luc becomes a living time capsule.

It’s a timeless, poignant story, and on the occasion of the show’s silver anniversary, we got a chance to chat with screenwriter Morgan Gendel, about the legacy of this classic episode, its inspirations, and how there was very nearly a sequel episode.

Check any list of best Trek episodes and “The Inner Light” is on it. But according to Gendel, the acclaim didn’t happen quickly. “It happened kind of gradually. It wasn’t like I woke up one day and it was what it is now” He said of the show’s high esteem in fan circles. “It kept crawling up the ladder over the years. It wasn’t an overnight thing.”