Television Review: Conundrum (Star Trek: The Next Generation, S5X14, 1992)

Conundrum (S05E14)

Airdate: 17 February 1992

Written by: Barry Scholknick
Directed by: Les Landau

Running Time: 46 minutes

Star Trek episodes work best when they find the proper balance between exploring an interesting premise and focusing on character development. Conundrum, from Season 5 of The Next Generation, provides a very good example of such an approach, although it remains far from an undisputed classic. The episode succeeds in giving viewers a chance to know the characters a bit more, even within the constraints of its somewhat convoluted plot.

The plot begins with the USS Enterprise-D investigating mysterious subspace signals in the Epsilon Silar system, where they encounter a small unidentified alien vessel. This ship scans the Enterprise and emits a green energy beam that affects anyone aboard, resulting in complete amnesia. The affected crew members retain their intellectual functions and technical knowledge but lose all memory of their identities, relationships, and roles aboard the ship.

Picard, like everyone else, doesn't know who he is, but he instinctively understands he must find the answer by analysing the details around him. It takes considerable time for him to deduce that he is actually commanding the ship, with command initially being taken by Worf, who believes the command sash he wears is proof of superior rank. Dr Crusher, thankfully, was affected in sick bay and deduced that she is a medical officer, so she begins devising procedures to treat this new and mysterious condition. The mystery is even more difficult to solve due to the ship's computers being erased of their records, leaving the crew with no digital way to verify their identities.

There is, however, another person on board – a Starfleet officer introducing himself as Commander Kieran Macduff (Erich Anderson), who claims to be the Enterprise's first officer. Picard learns that the Federation is at war with the alien race of Lysians and that the Enterprise is under top secret orders to attack their command centre. When approached by a Lysian vessel, Picard destroys it, but becomes suspicious after seeing that Lysian technology is so primitive it couldn't have represented the threat. In the last moment, he decides against a planned attack, with Macduff violently insisting the attack takes place and trying to take command. Macduff gets stunned by phasers from other officers, revealing he was actually a member of the alien race of Satarrans, who had been at war with the Lysians. The hijack of the Enterprise via memory wipe was part of a plan to use the Enterprise's superior weapon technology to do their dirty work.

While his memory was wiped, Riker has stumbled on Ensign Ro. With two of them not knowing anything about each other and their respective past, they realise deep sexual attraction and act on it. Riker also seems to remember romantic feelings he had and apparently still has towards Troi. When Riker's and everyone else's memory is restored, he comes to Ten Forward in the final scene and sees Ro and Troi sitting together, laughing and apparently comparing their experiences.

The episode was written by Barry Scholnick and directed by series veteran Les Landau. It was devised as a "bottle" episode with the plot set only on the Enterprise. Despite that, it won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects. However, writer Michael Piller later said that the episode didn't quite do justice to the original pitch.

The episode is best remembered for its central premise – an interesting concept where memory wipe turns the entire hierarchical order of the Enterprise upside down, forcing crew members to make conclusions about what they are and what their role is, often with humorous results. The malevolent alien conspiracy behind the phenomenon is revealed to the audience in an efficient and economic manner, without standing in the way of character interactions. The only problem with the setup is that the Satarrans were apparently advanced enough to mess with memories and computers, yet primitive enough to rely on the Federation to do their dirty work. This logical inconsistency has been noted by many critics who found it hard to swallow.

The weakest part of the episode is arguably the casting of Erich Anderson as Macduff, who plays the character as a generic villainous type. His performance lacks nuance and feels one-dimensional compared to the more subtle exploration of the main characters' identities. Despite this weakness, the episode nevertheless provides some fan service by confirming the status of Riker as a Kirk-like woman-seducing machine, while also humourously playing with the trope in the final scene of the two women laughing at him.

Finally, young and almost unrecognisable Liz Vassey briefly appears in the role of Kristin, a crew member being treated by Dr Crusher when the phenomenon occurs. Vassey would later become famous as Wendy Simms, a character from CSI: Vegas who appears as part of David Hodges' fantasy in the Star Trek-parodying episode A Space Oddity. This minor role in Conundrum marks one of Vassey's earliest television appearances.

Conundrum remains one of the more memorable TNG episodes. While it has plot holes, its exploration of character identity and the disruption of established hierarchies make it worth watching for any Star Trek enthusiast. The episode's entertainment value outweighs its logical inconsistencies, making it an enjoyable entry in the TNG canon.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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