Star Trek was always looking for creative ways to go back in time and this is one of the most creative. It's certainly different than most time travel episodes. Of course, there are some clichéd similarities as well, but not so much in this first half. They originally weren't going to do a two part season finale but I'm glad they continued the tradition all the way to the end. This was an exciting story.
The Enterprise is called to Earth on a priority mission because it is discovered that extraterrestrials may have been on Earth in the 19th century. Picard and Data are at an archeological dig site underneath San Fransisco looking at all of the antiquated objects.. a gun, a timepiece, bifocal glasses. Data takes some tricorder readings that indicate the presence of triolic waves which are foreign to Earth in any century. What I love the most about the later years of TNG is that the characters would always keep things in perspective instead of jumping to some melodramatic conclusion immediately. In this case, Picard, although concerned, points out the there is no need for the Enterprise when the scientific teams on Earth are equipped for solving this sort of mystery. And then we see why the Enterprise may have a very personal stake in this place as the scientist taking them on the tour shows them Data's severed head which had been dated to be the same age as the other artifacts. Of course, everyone is upset by this discovery and each react in their own unique mannerisms. Riker is outraged at Data's calm demeanor while Picard tries to find another explanation. He asks Data if this could perhaps be Lore's head. Data knows that it isn't because of a minor but distinct difference in their positronic brains and can identify the head as his own. Geordi meanwhile uses the information gathered to form a theory about the kind of lifeforms that are unaffected by triolic waves and suggests that they may be shapeshifters. He also finds a microbial fossil that is native to a planet called Devidia II. Really, these are the sort of lines for a science officer, not an engineer. Data is, for all intents and purposes, the science officer even though he doesn't have a blue uniform, but giving all these lines to him would've probably been overkill for that character in this particular instance. I don't bring it up as something that bothers me, only as an observation that TNG lacked a proper science officer like Spock or Dax. I often forgot that the blue uniforms also represented other scientific branches besides medical when watching this show. Anyway, because it's in two parts they have an appropriate amount of time to devote to the hurt everyone feels over the prospect of losing Data. Data's detached view of his own mortality is actually not a bad way to look at death, no matter what your spiritual leanings are. Data has no feelings so his perspective is, as always, unique and awkward for everyone but him. So it's emotional, but it's not without levity... the look on poor Geordi's face as Data explains how he expected to outlive his present friends as well as all the new friends he would make is funny. Then Guinan moves in to find out what's going on from Geordi and after he's gone she utters a cryptic thought about coming full circle. Data also notices how everyone stops talking suddenly when they see him as Riker and Troi do when they enter a turbo lift to find him standing there. The audience doesn't really need another reason to love Data at this point, but his innocently logical view of friendship is just another heartwarming moment to make the coming conflict even more of a hook.
They arrive at Devidia II and Picard sends an away team down with everyone but Data. This doesn't go unnoticed by Data so he asks to speak to Picard privately to make note of this discrepancy in procedure. Picard wants to play it safe though and Data does understand. On the planet,Troi can sense terrified humans in the cave the away team has gone to and confirms that in his analysis of the temporal phenomenon a synchronic displacement of infinitesimal proportions would make the Devidians invisible because they're slightly out of phase... just like Ro and Geordi were two episodes ago. Geordi tells them that they could compensate for that displacement and be in phase with them but they'd need a very sensitive phase discriminator and Data just happens to have built into his positronic system. So Picard reluctantly agrees to allow Data to go down to the planet to attempt to get into phase with the aliens. He makes all the arrangements and then assures everyone that they will be able to hear him because his com badge will communicate one way. He slowly phases out into invisibility and begins to describe his surroundings and the aliens inside.
I love this scene. It's a great teaser. All you get is a verbal description of these creepy aliens that appear to have mouths in their foreheads ingesting energy fragments that are coming from a container in the center of the room. There's a great thrill in leaving things to the imagination, if only temporarily. He then tells them that there is a snake (an ophidian as he scientifically refers to it) in a force field and that two Devidians go over and release it. He describes how they have opened a temporal distortion to pass through and speaks of following them. Everyone listens helplessly. They can't communicate with him and they're hoping that he'll have the sense to just stay put. But they see a flash and the phasing device that Data was holding appears and falls to the floor. He's transported to 19th century San Fransisco which he easily discovers after reading about a cholera outbreak in a local paper.
He gets a lot of funny looks and jeers and people referring to him as a Frenchman. He falls into talk with a beggar who gives him tips on pan handling after he realizes that Data has no money. It's always best to start out with comedy in these situations. He then tries to speak about getting a room with a bell hop who is nice at first but isn't immediately helpful with Data's request to work for the money required to stay. He complains of having to do all the work, but he's also quite proud of it. He then makes idle gossip about a distraught looking man leaving the building discussing his bad luck in drawing a straight. Data immediately perks up to learn that a poker game is going on. He then gets himself in on it. This is a great Data episode and all of these scenes are a wonderful example of how Data's character has developed over the seasons. From earlier when Data responds to Riker's use of Data's own wordy definition of friendship with the more intimate notion of being fond of him, to this situation where he now lands beautifully on his feet. He readily adopts the "Frenchman" persona as an excuse for why he looks peculiar and since he can speak hundreds of languages, he spits French right back at the gambler that speaks it at him as a kind of test. He also puts his com badge up for an ante in the game without even a second thought since he is already thinking of survival. He spent no time in any real confusion about his situation and is already planning on how to return to Devidian II. I admit, I always suspected he cheated a little in this game to ensure that he'd have the sufficient funds to secure the equipment he needs and space to work. Data knows enough about American history to know that he fit in by telling the bell hop he's an inventor and smoothly transitions into acting this part. See, just picture how first season Data would've reacted to any of this, and you just know his presence in 19th century Earth would be far more problematic - akin to the way Spock stuck out like a sore thumb in the fourth movie. The bell hop, named Jack London (who is supposed to go on to be the novelist Jack London who wrote Call of the Wild, etc,) is now sucking up to Data since he's got a lot of money. It takes him a minute to make him understand that a gratuity is expected, but once Data realizes it he's always very generous. So Jack offers to get him anything he wants. It then cuts back to the homeless and sickly 49er who is resting from begging in an alley. He's approached by a respectable looking couple. The man has a snake-head cane and the woman has a bag. When she aims it at the old man it emits a beam which seems to drain his life away and he dies, alone, anonymous, and unnoticed by anyone.
On the Enterprise, they're not going to give up on Data and plan to make a their own phase discriminator and go get him. Of course, nobody points out that if they could've done this in the first place why did they have to use Data the first time? Lol.. but you know me, always blowing holes in the plot even when I like it. You'd think that some of them would've felt guilty after deciding that they could definitely get themselves phased into the Devidian's space even if it's not as precise as Data's ability. Meanwhile Guinan calls Picard to Ten Forward. Always unusual, but it's been established that when Guinan feels the need to insert herself, there's usually a good reason. She's mixing a complicated drink and asks Picard if he's going down with the away team when they go after Data. He says he's not and then, cryptically again, she states that if he doesn't go along they may never meet. She refuses to say anything more. But Picard has always taken her at her word. Back in the past, Jack is bringing Data more things. He begins to lift the anvil he brought him with one hand but then catches his mistake and pretends that it's almost too heavy to carry... more of that improved improvisation technique that I love! Jack also gets him free things like food in order to make sure that Data remains a good tipper and hands him a treat wrapped up in a newspaper. When Data sees a picture of Guinan over the headline of a literary reception he immediately determines to go.
At the reception Guinan is seen talking to Samuel Clemens and other noted writers about the Earth and whether or not it's the only inhabitable planet in the universe. Such topics were always of interest in any century and especially back at the turn of the twentieth since the industrial revolution was at hand and science was making leaps and bounds. Mark Twain had written of time travel as well, so it seems reasonable to see him having this discussion. Data bursts in uninvited and while the doorman is offering to get a police officer to throw him out he calls to Guinan, which is her name in this time as well. She doesn't know him. So, nothing more is actually revealed about Guinan's strange race in this episode, but again most people, myself included, don't really seem to care. Why does this Guinan not seem to know that she's an alien? Who knows. Not everything needs a solid scientific explanation. Sometimes permanently mysterious characters work just as well as anything else. Data starts to claim that they knew each other on a ship. When he says it's a star ship she's intrigued and immediately pretends that she recognizes him and pulls him away to talk in private. Data realizes that she doesn't know him and seems confused about a remark he makes about her species being long-lived, but confides to her anyway that they served together in the 24th century and he assumed that she'd followed him back in time. They can't get away from Clemen's nosy presence though and he overhears all of this bizarre conversation.
Then it's time for the climax of the first part and the big reveal. Picard beams down and sends Worf back. This just makes sense because there's no way they could hide him in the 19th century. Geordi sets up a subspace field that will get all of them phased over and they proceed. We then get to see the scary looking Devidians as they sit there unbothered by the presence of the crew. They look around and then see what must have been the respectable couple from before reenter the cave. One is carrying, not a snake-head cane, but a staff with some kind of living viper at the top now. They deposit a container of energy bits. They watch as the aliens sit sucking in the bits of energy through the orifices on their foreheads. Those bits of energy came from the lives of people that died in terror and that's what Troi had been sensing. There's a blinding flash of light as the Devidian pair reopen the portal and leave through it. The crew realizes that they can do nothing but follow if they want to find out what happened to Data, so they march on through. To be continued.
Like I said, it's a good Data episode, and a good time traveling episode. Worf earlier brings up the point that if perhaps they were fated to die in the past with Data that their remains wouldn't have been found, so that lends validity to the progress of the story since they weren't on some kind of mission involving a major historical event that their presence would interfere with. And that fact alone makes it refreshingly different. It's another perfect episode and excellent cliff hanger that I loved dearly so I'll go with five stars on this one.
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