The Next Phase

A transporter incident results in Ensign Ro and Commander La Forge being invisible and presumed dead by the Enterprise crew.

This is an enjoyable episode with an entertaining concept and decent character moments.

The plot works in as much as you do not question the scientific basis of the main concept. Much like the movie Ghost, it is cool to see characters involved in scenes where others cannot see them and more fun is that it is a sci-fi context. It all builds to pretty strong resolution in Ten Forward that applies a fairly light hearted tone to the suspense, considering it involves their presumed deaths.

The paring of Ro and Geordie is great. Especially as they are written with two distinct outlooks on the situation. Geordie's arc drives the episode towards a resolution, whilst Ro is more reflective and together they balance the story nicely between plot and characterisation. Michelle Forbes gives another charismatic performance and combined with the writing, she helps develop the character beyond the hard-headed maverick previously depicted. She shows some decent moves in one cool fight scene and Forbes generally stands out, as she does in most episodes.

Other characters have decent moments, such as Riker (who gets his trombone out), Data, Worf, and Picard. All actors are in good form.

Visually it works brilliantly, showcasing a great use of bluescreen effects that make the key scenes work so well. You could question why they never fall through the floor, but when you have Ro Laren on screen for a large part of an episode, who cares?

I almost forgot to mention the Romulan aspect of the story, which is fairly good, but makes you question some of the actions of the Enterprise crew in not treating them with a bit more cynicism.

The Fifth Season of TNG contains some remarkably strong episodes while continuing to push the boundaries of what could be achieved within an episodic television format. It is notable for the tragic loss of its creator, Gene Roddenberry, who died on 24th October 1991 at the age of 70. His influence upon the positive depiction of humanity and diversity in Science Fiction endures to this day. Senior Trekker continues to score all episodes with a 5.

This is an exciting and visually interesting episode which takes the old not-dead-but-everybody-else-thinks-we-are trope and mixes it with some great Romulan intrigue. The tech doesn't make a lot of sense, so lets just enjoy Ro and Geordi walking through walls, eavesdropping on the rest of the crew and attending their own memorial as this conceit unfolds.

The special effects are superb, so much so that they serve to fully support the story and add verisimilitude rather than take centre stage. It was cutting edge for the time, especially on a television budget. That's a whole lot of money and effort expended so that something can be taken for granted; a hallmark of good film-making.

All three Romulan guest actors, Thomas Kopache, Brian Cousins and Susanna Thompson are Star Trek regulars and deserve our thanks for fitting so well into their prosthesis. Having actors who are familiar with the Star Trek universe and can adopt the mannerisms of known alien races serves as a type of shorthand for the viewers without having to slow down the plot with lengthier scenes. The long hours in the make-up chair were worth it and the sacrifice appreciated.

One of my personal favourites. You may think why, well I just think there's something special bout it. I mean sure the technical stuff hardly make any sense, but who cares. Also it brings us slighter into the mind of Ro Laren, a character we don't see to much of. Also it's funny what a good duo her and Geordi can be, since he most of the time is in "Data episodes".

The special effects also impressed me much the first time I saw this episode. I mean Star Ttrek have tried something similar before, but it has never looked so good. It looks incredibly real, and except for one slip off, the episodes effects are almost flawless, and pretty good even by todays standards.

I love the tension that is build up in this episode. With the Romilans plans, and the "you know who" guy ( I don't like to spoil thing) just makes this and incredible exiting episode. And since Tasha dies, we all feel that main characters dying aren't that unfeasible, so were always slightly worried about what will happen next.

It is just an exiting episode, with a great ending (I don't get Geordi's joke though)and great special effects. This is what Star Trek is for me, good character relations, and a weird problem to be solved within a time limit. It's just plane fun to watch. I give this episode a 9/10.