Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Synopsis: The Enterprise is gripped by an advanced ancient computer program. “Contagion” is about the health of the Enterprise’s computer systems, and in that regard, the vessel of the Enterprise can be seen as analogous to the human psyche. This is especially true when it comes to the Enterprise’s engines, which utilize a blend of… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 11: “Contagion”

Synopsis: The Enterprise is tasked with providing transportation for a young female alien back to her homeworld in order to bring peace to it. In my last post, I mentioned the concept of anima or animus projection onto another individual as the way in which individuals fall in love. In “The Dauphin” this is manifested… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 10: “The Dauphin”

Synopsis: When Lt. Commander Data refuses to be disassembled for an experiment he feels is unadvisable, Captain Picard defends his choice in a legal hearing. The title of this episode “The Measure of a Man,” while it might be alluding to a quote from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it is an unfortunately… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9: “The Measure of a Man”

Synopsis: Participating in an officer exchange program First Officer Riker serves aboard a Klingon vessel while Benzite Ensign Mendon serves aboard the Enterprise. The officer exchange program that is central to the plot of “A Matter of Honor” illustrates a couple different ways to handle being confronted by a disruptive problem. In the episode, the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 8: “A Matter of Honor”

Synopsis: The USS Enterprise receives a distress call from the USS Lantree and discovers a mysterious aging disease. In “Unnatural Selection” we see what happens when the conscious ego becomes inflated by identifying with god-like powers and believes that it can improve on nature. In the act of responding to the distress call from the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 7: “Unnatural Selection”

Synopsis: The Enterprise receives a distress call from Gravesworld and responds to it to try to rescue one of the greatest intellects in the universe. In “The Schizoid Man” we see how the unconscious can take over even the most rational Logos-driven egos when it wants to survive. When the landing party responds to the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 6: “The Schizoid Man”

Synopsis: The Enterprise is tasked with delivering a mediator with a very unusual way of communicating to a warring planet in order to negotiate a truce between the factions. In “Loud as a Whisper” viewers experience a physical manifestation of how a complex works in our psyche. It also can be seen as an analogy… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 5: “Loud as a Whisper”

Synopsis: The Enterprise rescues the captain of a small cargo carrier and learns that he is an integral part of the relations between two planets. In “The Outrageous Okona” the character of Captain Okona is described by Counsel Deanna Troi as being a rogue, but without malicious intent. This could very well describe Hermes, the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 4: “The Outrageous Okona”

Synopsis: When the Enterprise arrives early for a rendezvous with another Starfleet vessel, Lt. Commander Data and Lt. Commander La Forge decide to use the time to solve a mystery in the holodeck. The holodeck in Star Trek: The Next Generation I can see as a physical manifestation of the place that James Hillman called… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 3: “Elementary, My Dear Data”

Synopsis: The Enterprise becomes ensnared in a hole in space and an entity within it that wants to experience all kinds of death. This episode reflects how the conscious ego, here manifested in the crew of the Enterprise, reacts when encountering the unconscious within one’s psyche. When the crew of the Enterprise first acknowledge the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 2: “Where Silence has Lease”