Skin of Evil

While the engine room is undergoing repairs, a distress call is received from a shuttlecraft containing Troi which crashes on the inhabited world of Vagra II. Her rescue is complicated, however, by a malevolent black lifeform that prevents the away team from treating her - which leads to tragic consequences...

Possibly the most famous episode of season one, this drama features some of the most emotional scenes TNG would ever produce. The story is a bit light on detail and the effects can't match the ambition of the script but it remains one of the most important shows in the show's history. It also demonstrates that this iteration of Trek was not afraid of killing its main cast off, giving it more of an edge over the original series.

When the Enterprise answers a distress call from a downed shuttlecraft that was carrying Deanna Troi and another crew member the away team finds itself on a barren planet inhabited a creature made of primordial ooze named /armus. It has an intelligence that is directed at sadism and cruelty.

Unfortunately they lose one of the cast regulars as the creature kills Denise Crosby. Patrick Stewart engages in quite the battle of wits with it until they figure out how and when to beam up their crew. When is most important here as you'll discover.

A nice memorial service for Tasha Yar concludes the episode.

Too many people seem to hate on this episode and without good reason.

Is it perfect? Of course not, nothing is perfect.

Does it have some big flaws? Yup, when looking at the plot there are various leaps of stupidity.

Does it emotionally hit you in the guts? Most certainly it does, and that is exactly where it succeeds.

Those who hate on it should try being less like Armus and more like the main crew of the Enterprise.

Wow......... always thought that ST was about understanding, exploring and the thought that the universe was more than just black and white, solid or liquid, good or evil

This episode reeks of religious undertones, and the villain is terrible, nice voice...

Previous reviews seem to be from fanatics who are original series purists and are not objective at all. This episode is perhaps one of the great episodes of the TNG series. Never mind all of the mumbo jumbo about the writers' and producers' intent, the STORY is an excellent portrayal of good versus evil. Never in the Star Trek universe have our heroes encountered a creature as purely evil as Armus. As a matter of fact, the primitive set and props has exactly the feel of the original Star Trek and the situation is one that explores the very depths of the human psyche the way that Roddenberry's original Star Trek explored many issues in human life. An excellent episode if you see it for what it is - an EPISODE! and not try to judge it for how it "fits" into the Star Trek universe.