The Royale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Trek: TNG episode | |
| "The Royale" | |
 Data wins big at the craps table in "The Royale". |
|
| Episode no. | 38 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 138 |
| Airdate | March 27, 1989 |
| Writer(s) | Keith Mills |
| Director | Cliff Bole |
| Year | 2365 |
| Stardate | 42625.4 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Contagion" |
| Next | "Time Squared" |
"The Royale" is the name of an episode from the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Commander Riker, Lt. Worf and Lt. Commander Data beam down to a strange building located on an alien planet. Upon entering the building they find themselves trapped in an old earth style Hotel/Casino called the Royale.
While exploring the building they find the remains of a NASA astronaut who had lived to a very old age and a book titled Hotel Royale. They eventually discover that they are inside a living version of the book which was created by aliens.
They deduce that the earth spacecraft went off course and was found by aliens who, out of pity, created a place that they thought would be similar to Earth. Ironically, the astronaut's journal indicated that the Royale was a living hell. After following the book's plot out to its conclusion, Data, Riker and Worf were able to return to the Enterprise.
The Royale was written by Tracy Tormé under the pseudonym Keith Mills due to extensive rewrites. One major loss was the character of the Astronaut himself, living as a recreation amid the recreation of his novel.
[edit] Errors
The episode has an obvious factual error in the first two minutes when the planet is reported to have a surface temperature of "minus 291 degrees Celsius" (below absolute zero, the theoretical minimum temperature possible). Additionally, the later discussion between Picard and Riker about Fermat's last theorem, where Picard states that "for 800 years people have been trying to solve it", has been made obsolete by actual events; a proof for the theorem was found by Andrew Wiles about five years after the script for this episode was written. (However, Wiles' proof is certainly not whatever proof Fermat himself had in mind, since it is very involved and Fermat had claimed to have found a simple proof - so in truth Fermat's solution is still unknown, if it ever existed.)
[edit] Memorable quotes
- "Baby needs a new pair of shoes." - Data
- "It was a dark and stormy night..." - Picard reading the first line of Hotel Royale.
- "When the train comes in, everybody rides!" Commander Riker
- "What do you call this planet?" Worf
"Earth. What do you call it?" Hotel manager
"We call it Theta 8." Worf
"How charming." Hotel manager
[edit] External links
- The Royale article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki.
- The Royale at StarTrek.com
