“Family” is written by: Ronald D. Moore, based in part
on a premise by: Susanne Lambdin and Bryan Stewart, and is directed by: Les
Landau. It was produced under production
code 178, was the 2nd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Season 4, the 76th episode overall, and was broadcast on October 1,
1990.
“The Best of Both Worlds, Part II” has a final shot
that by all conventions of television is the ending of that arc. Picard has been saved, changed by the
experience, and looks out upon the world below with uncertainty about where to
continue. The next episode of Star
Trek: The Next Generation should be business as usual, that is how
television works. The writing room would
have the awareness of how the characters have changed by the events of the previous
episodes, but they are not continuing.
Showrunner Michael Piller decided, however, that there should actually
be a follow up. We shouldn’t go back to
the status quo, The Best of Both Worlds was hell for our characters and
they need to heal from a lot of that. “Family”
is the result of healing: not written under Piller’s pen but to Ronald D. Moore,
though some material is adapted from an unused script from Susanne Lambdin and
Bryan Stewart. As an episode, this is a
different beast for Star Trek as a franchise, playing out as a
straightforward drama exploring three characters’ relationships with their
families in the aftermath of “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II”. There is no big alien threat, the Enterprise
is not malfunctioning, and the rest of the crew has shore leave. There are some repairs occurring, but that is
Moore’s excuse to keep the Enterprise on Earth for an extended period of
time. The conflict of the episode is
entirely interpersonal tension, something that Gene Roddenberry would have absolutely
hated as he fully believed that people would not have interpersonal conflict in
the future. Roddenberry by this point has
been proven wrong, his outlook while utopian is not conductive to good drama. Moore attempted to create a science fiction conflict
in the episode, but was unsatisfied so kept it as 45 minutes of drama over anything
else.
This is the third episode in a row where Patrick
Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard is given the central and technically impressive
performance of the episode. Picard goes
to his family’s vineyard to visit his brother Robert and his family, played by
Jeremy Kemp, Samantha Eggar, and David Tristan Birkin. Robert is the younger brother who never
really managed to match up to Jean-Luc’s lofty ambitions, but he is also a man
of the world, maintaining the vineyard and having a conservative attitude
towards technological progress at odds with his brother. Kemp and Stewart immediately read as brothers,
the former caring for the latter though being unable to see exactly the trauma
that Picard has gone through. Stewart
plays Picard in every scene as a broken man putting on a brave face, ready to
run away from the Enterprise so he doesn’t have to face the unknown of
space. It’s mirrored with the potential
unknown under the Earth, but Moore’s script is adamant that that isn’t actually
the unknown. There aren’t new
civilizations under the ground, but the Borg aren’t there. He would be safe, he wouldn’t have to face
it. “Family” is a masterclass in writing
that implication, there’s only one line where Picard actually acknowledges he
is broken at the climax of his arc in the episode. It’s all in Stewart’s performance of a man
who sees his nephew adore him and the idea of going into Starfleet while not
being able to encourage him because of how broken he is. “Family” also does not posit that Picard is
fixed by the end, but he is on a road to healing. Setting his arc at his family’s vineyard also
gives the episode a distinct look, director Les Landau making full advantage of
the location shooting. The California
vineyards being used to double for France is a visual representation of what
the Borg took away from Picard, turning him into a sterile member of the
collective. It also just makes “Family”
a gorgeous episode to watch after what’s been a series of largely studio bound
episodes.
Picard’s story is only one family being explored here. While it is the heaviest, Moore parallel’s
Picard’s trauma with Worf’s ostracization from the Klingons in “Sins of the
Father”, brining in his adoptive parents played by Theodore Bikel and Georgia
Brown. Michael Dorn as Worf has always
been one of those layered performances in the show, and this episode is no
exception. Worf’s parents love him
deeply. Sure, they have a tendency to be
a bit embarrassing and a little overbearing, Bikel and Brown give performances
of doting parents. They understand their
son isn’t a human, respect whatever path he was going to take to embrace Klingon
culture, and are deeply proud. Worf
doesn’t have to face his problems alone.
It’s this plotline that hits me in a very personal place because Moore’s
script clearly understands the importance of independence from one’s parents but
also keeping that support. Worf didn’t
want his parents to visit the Enterprise, but in the end he’s happy they
are there because he doesn’t have to face his dishonor alone. The conflict here is also coming with this slight
wall that Worf puts up throughout his parents’ visit, though it’s not one where
it comes to blows. It’s there to explore
a relationship and Moore’s script also acknowledges where Sergey and Helena,
that is Worf’s parents, can actually be overbearing quite a bit and also need
to take a step back. The added nuance is
nice for a show from the 1990s.
The third plot is the smallest, it’s Crusher finding
possessions she left on Earth including a message from Wesley’s father for him
made when he was a baby. Gates McFadden
and Wil Wheaton in this episode are given perhaps the smallest subplot, but it’s
also one with the biggest impact. Wheaton
in particular has gone down in history as playing one of the most annoying
characters on television, but that’s just not true. Wesley here is allowed to be a full person,
struggling with the decision to view the message and so much of Wheaton’s body language
in his final scene is perfect. McFadden
for her part is clearly relishing the material for the third episode in a row
allowing Crusher a more proactive role, even if this proactive role is as a
concerned mother. The show is finally
allowing Wesley to have his own development and come to his own independence as
a parallel to both Worf and Picard’s plots.
These three plots work because they are fully parallel, there is no
crossover here. This is an episode of
television that could not be made in today’s production landscape, taking 45
minutes just to look at where our characters are after the last two episodes changed
the status quo.
Overall, “Family” is the third episode in a row to
really take a risk, going against every rule that Gene Roddenberry would set
out for Star Trek. It should be
unsurprising that this is a risk that paid off completely, because “Family” is
one of those episodes that works because it sits with its emotions. Were it made today it would be decried as
woke propaganda, emasculating our male characters, and that’s why it works so
well. It examines the idea of family and
returning to family after experiencing a trauma that you can never truly share
with them. 10/10.
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