Patrick Stewart has often spoken about his favorite episode in Star Trek: The Next Generation. While many episodes have become iconic in fans’ minds, the fifth season episode ‘The Inner Light’ has often been regarded as the best episode of TNG and on some occasions, the entire franchise.
The episode won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation. However, its deep philosophical ruminations and Picard’s solo act have received much fanfare. Writer Morgan Gendel was reportedly brought in as a freelance writer and had to go above and beyond to make his pitch come to life.
Patrick Stewart’s Favorite Star Trek: The Next Generation Episode Was Written By A Freelancer
While the original Star Trek series focused on the Golden Trio Kirk, Spock, and McCoy, the spinoff show The Next Generation focused on the ensemble crew of the USS Enterprise-D, with equal importance given to all members of the crew. However, one episode gave Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard ample scope to perform solo.
The episode ‘The Inner Light’ saw Picard being hit by an alien probe and his consciousness being transported to the memories of a scientist named Kamin. While time in the Enterprise only lasts 25 minutes, Picard experiences forty years in the life of Kamin, as he marries and has kids.
While there were many episodes which focused on Captain Picard’s journey, ‘The Inner Light‘ made viewers invested in forty years of a person’s life only for it to be depicted as a memory. The risk was high with such a deeply philosophical episode that dealt with not just sociopolitical issues but also deeply personal ones. However, the writing came through and the episode has often been regarded as one of the best of the franchise.
Writer Morgan Gendel was reportedly brought on board the episode as a freelance writer. Knowing that the team usually decided on an emotional theme and then brought in the tech writers to bring in the science, Gendel mentioned that he had to go above and beyond to impress the showrunner, Michael Piller. Gendel said to Trek Movie,
I thought as an outsider I had to really come in and knock their socks off with some tech or sci-fi thing that they hadn’t thought of... What [Piller]was doing is that the Writers Guild has a rule that you can’t ask for free work. You can’t say, ‘We like this and you are going to be hired but you’ve got to come in and do all this and prove it.’ The way he got around that is to say, ‘This isn’t ready so I am basically saying ‘no,’ but if you on your own want to come back and make it better, there is an open door.’ So with a nod and a wink he was saying, ‘This is yours to lose, but you’ve got to make it work.‘
The writer mentioned that he took a huge risk by continuing to work on the idea without getting paid and also navigating the WGA rules.
The Flute In The Inner Light Was Initially Ridiculed By TNG Showrunner
One of the most iconic artifacts in the Star Trek universe is the Ressikan Flute that Captain Picard finds in his dream state. The flute made an appearance in multiple episodes and the tune Picard plays has become iconic. Morgan Gendel mentioned that the flute was kept as a simple reminder for Picard about what he learned.
However, showrunner Michael Piller reportedly did not accept the flute initially and even ridiculed it,
I pitched it in one day and Michael – may he rest in peace, he had his good side and his difficult side – he just sort of humiliated me in the room. Like, he thought it was going to be Herbie Mann doing a jazz solo or some hippie thing. He just made terrible fun of me and he thought it was ridiculous and I went home really distraught over this.
However, later the showrunner returned the next day and said he thought about it and approved the concept.
Star Trek: The Next Generation is available to stream on Paramount+.
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