Title: Unnatural Selection
Airdate: 1/30/1989
Plot Summary
The Enterprise receives a distress signal from the USS Lantree, a supply vessel. Unfortunately by the time they arrive, they find the crew all dead of old age. Quarantining the ship, they track it’s last location to Darwin station, a genetic research laboratory. They find all the personnel there are also suffering from the same disease. It’s discovered they have some genetically created “children” all of whom look in their twenties, but the oldest is only 14. It’s suspected the children have caused the disease since they exhibit no symptoms but Pulaski and the researches don’t believe it.
Picard will not endanger the ship, so Pulaski compromises and takes one of the children to a shuttle so she can examine him. Once out of stasis, Pulaski contracts the disease within minutes. It turns out the children’s enhanced immune system is so aggressive, it actually sees normal humans as hosts and attacks them. Can the Enterprise come up with a way to save Pulaski and the researchers?
Make It So
Picard and Pulaski butt heads frequently this episode, though as it turns out, he’s correct. The only mistake he made was letting Pulaski go to the shuttle and sure enough, she’s infected. He does come up with the idea of using DNA instead of the transporter trace to cure her.
Number 1
Riker helps Data find some Pulaski DNA in her quarters. In this case, a hairbrush.
Fully Functional
Data fortunately was not affected by these genetic kids and this disease. This really make Naked Now even more ridiculous. It’s this sort of thing that makes Data really useful.
Today Is A Good Day To Die
Worf wants to board the Lantree. Worf was wrong. Worf is also pretty pissed that the 12 year old they beam down looks like he’s 30 and nearly phasers him.
Phase Inducers
Geordi gives Kate the idea to use the shuttlecraft to do her tests.
Counselor Cleavage
Troi works with both Picard and Pulaski to help them deal with the other. Though when Picard asks Troi if Pulaski’s dedication to her work could affect her judgement, Troi doesn’t believe so. Well missed on that one, didn’t ya Deanna?
Doctor Not Bones
This is Pulaski’s episode. She decides to push against Picard and assumes he’s not going to take her seriously. Weirdly, her previous ship captain says she’s a great admirer of Picard’s career but she sure never acts like it. She ends up getting the old age disease and has to go through the transporter to make her ok again.
Shut Up, Wesley
Wesley pilots the ship and looks troubled when he stands to commerate the Lantree.
Canon Maker
When it’s apparent that the disease is with the kids because Pulaski gets it on the shuttle, Data takes the shuttle down to the planet. He then beams back up to the ship later. While I have no issue with Data going back up to the ship (they even make sure he has no life forms on him just in case), why didn’t he take back up the shuttle? I almost put this under breakers but the more I thought about it, the more this makes sense. Those immunites are airborne and could still be on the shuttle. Plus they didn’t keep the Lantree, instead blowing it up rather than risk anymore people dying. So leaving the shuttle on the planet might be a smart choice. Better safe than sorry.
The prefix code makes a return of sorts. Not a 6 digit key, but instead Picard has to go to his ready room, obtain the codes with his clearance, and then they use that info to take over the Lantree. It’s a nice bit of technical continuity.
Pulaski’s reputation preceded her, apparently she wrote a paper or a book that was somewhat famous.
Canon Breaker
Wait, it’s ok to create genetically enhanced people now? I thought the whole Khan thing put the kibosh on that centuries ago. Indeed, they took great pains to stop that sort of thing in Enterprise. I suppose laws can change over centuries but given how we would see the crew react to other genetically modified beings, plus the fact that Bashir in DS9 was nearly kicked out of Starfleet for being such a being, not sure why these scientists aren’t in prison.
Worf was wrong to want to board the Lantree, but don’t they have spacesuits anymore? Or hazmat suits? For that matter, Pulaski could’ve been in a suit like that in the shuttle. That way when she let the kid out of his shrink wrap, she could’ve tricordered the air for a while and probably seen the antibodies running around in the cabin.
A Little Bloody Nose
An entire ship died and was blown up to prevent any possibility of contagion.
Technobabble
You can use the transporter trace, or a sample of DNA, to restore a person to what they were before they get a DNA disease. I should call this a canon breaker, but for two reasons. One, they put a lot of effort into it and had to really fuck with the transporter to do it. Two, they already did this on the animated series episode The Lorelei Signal. Also this episode really gives O’Brien time to shine so once again, I’ll allow it.
They put location beacons and quarantice notices on the Lantree, both to find it again and warn any possible ships to not board her. I really liked that little detail.
Styrelyte is apparently something you can put someone in for suspended animation. Later on it would just be to put someone in stasis and didn’t seem to use a plastic shell. Wonder if it was invented after this episode.
Please Repeat Your Communication
“Doctor, god knows I’m not one to discourage input, but I would like to finish my sentences once in a while.” – Picard finally giving Pulaski a little guff for being rude.
Library Computer
This is the first time we get O’Brien’s name. His first name will take a while longer.
I Know That Guy:
Patricia Smith plays Dr. Sara Kingsley, a solid working actress from the 50s into the late 90s.
What It Means To Be Human – Review
This is a well executed episode with a lot of fun Trek technobabble with the transporter, a race against the clock with a disease, and some good character moments between Pulaski and Picard. So why does it suck?
Because for this whole thing to happen, you not only have the Darwin researchers being stupid with a pile of arrogance on the side, but Pulaski to be just as stupid as them. It’s all done to let Picard and her have character moments but they shouldn’t have been necessary. She’s a good doctor as we’ve seen and will see some more, so pulling this stunt with the genetic kid was beyond stupid. Indeed in this article, I came up with a way that could’ve been somewhat safer than what she did.
I just cannot overlook how dumb everyone had to be to get us to this point, at least Pulaski and the researchers.
The rest of the crew kept coming up with solutions though. Picard with the DNA, O’Brien with the transporter trace, even Geordi and the idea of the shuttle. Deanna was no help to either Picard or Pulaski. Really the women in this episode were a bunch of dummies that should’ve stayed in the kitchen.
Wonder if Gene himself wrote this one.
At least when she realized she was wrong, she took the blame completely, called herself out on not looking before she leapt, and refused to allow the Enterprise to endanger itself anymore than she already did. I did appreciate that.
I also liked the destruction of the Lantree, taking the time to do it with respect and solemnity as it deserves.
And really, this is still better than how they handled most season 1 episodes. It’s just that the quality has already improved so this really annoyed me.
