Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation

Synopsis: Dr. Crusher falls in love with an alien who is a joined species. This episode is an illustration of how we fall in love through projecting our internal ideal of a mate onto an individual. It also shows us what can happen when the person that we project that ideal upon turns out to… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 23: “The Host”

Synopsis: The Enterprise plays host to two guests, Lwaxana Troi of Betazed and Dr. Timicin of Kaelon II. In this episode, viewers can see two very different ways of being in the world, that of the extrovert and the introvert, and how both are equally valid. In “Half a Life” the extremely extroverted mother of… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 22: “Half a Life”

Synopsis: Captain Picard feels he must speak out when an admiral comes aboard his ship to investigate a traitor and turns it into a witch hunt. Just as this episode shows us what happens when a society becomes too one sided, there is a problem in our psyches when we become one-sided, when we identify… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 21: “Drumhead”

Synopsis: Vash comes aboard the Enterprise to attend an archeological symposium, followed shortly thereafter by a visit from Q. In this episode Q comes to visit Captain Jean-Luc Picard, to repay a debt he owes him for helping him get his Q powers back. When Q visits he brings with him the energy of the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 20: “Qpid”

Synopsis: After being struck by a power surge from an alien probe, Lt. Barclay obtains superhuman mental acuity. As the title to this episode suggests, “The Nth Degree” can be interpreted in depth psychological terms as an illustration of inflation, that is identifying too closely with the god-like power that one can feel when one… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 19: “The Nth Degree”

Synopsis: Lt. La Forge is infected with a parasite that reproduces by taking over the host body. In my last post, on the episode “Night Terrors” I wrote that “from a depth psychological perspective, the devastating effects of not being able to dream can literally be seen as this field’s worst nightmare. Depth psychology by… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 18: “Identity Crisis”

Synopsis: The Enterprise becomes trapped in a rift in space that seems to be causing her crew to be unable to dream. From a depth psychological perspective, the devastating effects of not being able to dream can literally be seen as this field’s worst nightmare. Depth psychology by definition concerns the study of the unconscious… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 17: “Night Terrors”

Synopsis: The Enterprise becomes a surrogate mother for a previously unknown life form after Captain Picard ordered the destruction of its parent to save the lives of his crew. This episode is an illustration of various archetypal energies that are universal. That of the senex, the wise old man or father figure; the puer, the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 16: “Galaxy’s Child”

Synopsis: Commander Riker is injured while undercover on a first contact mission and Captain Picard is forced to take extraordinary measures to ensure his safe recovery and the peace on the planet. This episode is a lesson of what happens when the best laid plans go awry. And it is also a lesson in the… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 15: “First Contact”

Synopsis: Lt. Commander Data is ordered to deceive the crew of the Enterprise in order to save them. In “Clues” the crew becomes increasingly distrustful of the one individual on board that they feel they can count on, the android second officer, Lt. Commander Data. They trust him because they know that he has been… Continue reading Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 14: “Clues”