Family (TNG episode)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses of the word family, please see Family (disambiguation).

Star Trek: TNG episode
"Family"

Episode no.	76
Prod. code	178
Airdate	October 1, 1990
Writer(s)	Ronald D. Moore
Director	Les Landau
Guest star(s)	Colm Meaney David Tristan Birkin Samantha Eggar Jeremy Kemp Theodore Bikel Georgia Brown Dennis Creaghan Doug Wert
Year	2367
Stardate	44012.3
Episode chronology
Previous	"The Best of Both Worlds"
Next	"Brothers"

"Family" was the second episode of the fourth season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episode takes place several weeks after the Borg attack on Earth shown in the episode "The Best of Both Worlds".

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Synopsis

In this episode the Enterprise-D is docked at Earth Station McKinley, undergoing repairs and refitting after being seriously damaged by the Borg. During the repairs many of the crew are either visiting family or receiving visits from family members.

Jean-Luc Picard is still recovering after the physical and mental traumas inflicted on him by the Borg. Having made considerable progress with the help of Doctor Crusher and Deanna Troi, he decides to visit his family home, a vineyard run by his older brother Robert in France. Picard meets his nephew and his brother's wife, who he had remained in correspondance with during his Starfleet career. A friend of the family tries to interest Picard in heading the Atlantis project, a research facility under construction on the ocean floor.

Meanwhile, Lt. Worf's foster parents, Sergei and Helena Rozhenkho visit him on board the Enterprise. The two are worried about their foster son, having only just learned about his discommendation. Worf believes that love and support is too human, but appreciates it nonetheless.

Robert, unhappy that he had maintained the strict family tradition while Picard was allowed to pursue an illustrious career in Starfleet, accuses Picard of visiting merely so he could be helped by Robert, as he had in the past. Jean-Luc and Robert only thaw the ice after Robert instigates a confrontation which ends in a fight. Lying in a pool of mud, Picard finally confronts the humiliation and powerlessness he felt while under the Borg's control.

After the fight he and his brother become drunk on wine inside the house. After they are scolded by Robert's wife for bringing mud into the house, Picard realises that it was time he was back on board the Enterprise. He admits that he did return to seek his brother's help.

Wesley Crusher also "meets" his father through a hologram video that was recorded when he was 10 weeks old, to be played when he reached 18 years of age.

During the course of the repairs, the warp core's dilithium chamber hatch is removed and replaced. This hatch has an undetectable flaw, which later explodes just before the events of the episode The Drumhead.

[edit] Trivia

David Tristan Birkin who played Captain Picard's nephew René in this episode also played the young version of Picard in the Season 6 episode "Rascals".

This episode is one of only four episodes which does not contain a shot of the Enterprise's bridge; the others being "Dark Page", "A Fistful of Datas" and "Liaisons".

The song Picard and his brother Robert sing after fighting in the mud is a classic French song Auprès de ma Blonde.

This episode is featured on the Star Trek: The Next Generation - Jean-Luc Picard Collection DVD set for Region 1 only. It is the third of seven episodes featured, on disc 1 of the two-disc set.