Star Trek: The Next Generation episode review: The Bonding
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The Bonding
Stardate 43198.7 (Earth Calendar Date 2366)
Episode Production Number: 153
Episode Number (Aired): 52
Original Airdate: October 23, 1989
Written by: Ronald D. Moore
Directed by: Winrich Kolbe
The Episode: On Stardate 43198.7, the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise (registry number NCC-1701-D) is in standard orbit over an uncharted and seemingly uninhabited Class-M planet. An away team led by Security chief Lt. (j.g) Worf (Michael Dorn) is exploring the surface.
After the away team makes its initial survey, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) learns that the planet was once inhabited by a culture known as the Koinonians. The Koinonian culture had apparently wiped itself out in a war, leaving only archaeological relics behind.
Before the away team beams back up to the Enterprise, Lt. Marla Aster (Susan Powell), an archaeologist, is killed when one of the leftover bombs from the Koinonian war explodes.
"Away team is aboard, captain. One dead on arrival."
- Beverly Crusher, announcing the death of Marla Aster
Worf and Picard, Lt. Aster’s superiors, are troubled by her tragic death. Not only was Lt. Aster a valued member of the crew, but her death leaves her 12-year-old son Jeremy, (Gabriel Damon) orphaned. Jeremy’s father had died as a result of a Rushton infection when Jeremy was only seven.
Worf, who had lost his Klingon parents as a child when the Romulans attacked the Khitomer outpost, believes he should be the one to tell Jeremy his mother is dead. Picard, however, says that it is his responsibility as Captain of the Enterprise to give the boy the unhappy news.
"I've always believed that having children on a starship is a very... questionable policy. Serving on a starship means... accepting certain risks, certain dangers... Did Jeremy Aster make that choice?"
"Death and loss are an integral part of life everywhere – leaving him on Earth would not have protected him!"
"No... but the Earth isn't likely to be ordered to the Neutral Zone, or to repel a Romulan attack! It was my command which sent his mother to her death - she understood her mission and my duty... Will he?"
- Picard and Troi
Picard and ship’s Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) go to the Enterprise’s classroom area and, after taking the boy to the Asters’ quarters, tell Jeremy his mother is dead.
Jeremy takes the news bravely, but he says, “I’m all alone now.” Picard reassures Jeremy that this isn’t so.
"Jeremy, on the starship Enterprise, no one is alone... No one."
Meanwhile, Worf, First Officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) are each examining their feelings about Marla’s death. Worf and Wesley can relate to Jeremy’s situation because they both lost parents when they were younger; Wesley’s father, Jack, like Lt. Aster, was a Starfleet officer who was killed on an away mission. Wesley understands what Jeremy is about to go through, and the death of Marla Aster is a reminder of his own loss.
Worf, as the leader of the away team, still feels responsible for Lt. Aster’s death. He feels a need to protect Jeremy and decides to make him a member of his family through a Klingon ritual, the R’uustai.
Riker, who had had a brief relationship with Marla, admits to Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) that he didn’t know her well but mourned her loss.
"How well did you know Lt. Aster?"
"We spent some time together. Not very well. How well did you know her?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, you just asked me."
"But why do you ask the question? Since her death, I have been asked several times to define how well I knew Lt. Aster. And I heard you ask Wesley on the bridge how well he knew Jeremy. Does the question of familiarity have some bearing on death?"
"Do you remember how we all felt when Tasha died?"
"I do not sense the same feelings of absence I associate with Lt. Yar. Although, I cannot say precisely why."
"Just human nature, Data."
"Human nature, sir?"
"We feel a loss more instensely when it's a friend."
"But should not the feelings run just as deep, regardless of who has died?"
"Maybe they should, Data. Maybe if we felt any loss as keenly as we felt the death of one close to us, Human history would be a lot less bloody."
- Data and Riker
But as Jeremy and the Enterprise crew try to cope with Lt. Aster’s death, the boy is stunned when a familiar presence enters the Asters’ cabin – his mother has somehow returned from the planet….alive.
My Take:
The Bonding is the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s third season, which is when the series found its footing under the aegis of a new co-executive producer, Michael Piller. Piller, a veteran writer and television producer, began making subtle but significant tweaks to the storytelling format, such as allowing writers to begin telling continuing story arcs. Piller also began to liberate the show of its tendency to use episodes as “lessons taught/lessons learned” in Planet of the Week stories.
This “moral of the story” ethos was a hallmark of Gene Roddenberry’s vision for the series, which was a holdover from Star Trek: The Original Series. In the 1966-69 show, Roddenberry and the writers were able to make social commentary about the Vietnam War, sex, racial and gender equality by blending it with stories in a sci-fi setting.
This may have worked well in the Sixties, but Roddenberry’s insistence on keeping thos format in Star Trek: The Next Generation placed too many limits on the writing staff during Seasons One and Two. As a result, the writing department seemed to have a revolving door as staff writers came and went. It wasn’t until Piller’s arrival and Roddenberry’s slow disengagement from day-to-day show-running that Star Trek: The Next Generation found its groove.
Although The Bonding is not one of the series’ all-time great episodes, it marked the beginning of Ronald D. Moore’s career as a TV writer. Moore was a 25-year-old Star Trek fan who was dating a young woman who worked on The Next Generation staff. She agreed to take him on a tour of the set, and Moore, who had written a script for the show, dropped it off at the show’s office in the Paramount lot.
The script caught the attention of co-executive producer Rick Berman and Piller, who decided it was good enough to shoot. Moore was hired as a staff writer, and he eventually became a producer for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as the co-writer (with Brannon Braga) of the first two Star Trek: The Next Generation feature films.
In The Bonding, Moore does a good job of balancing the story of Worf’s attempts to help Jeremy deal with his mother’s death with the secondary storyline dealing with the reappearance of Marla Aster on theEnterprise. Moore was one of the first writer’s to explore Worf’s character and his Klingon heritage, and here he gives plenty of good material for the somewhat underutilized Michael Dorn.
Moore also uses his knowledge of the main characters’ backstories – such as Wesley’s loss of his father when he was only five years old – to good effect. As a result of Moore’s The Bonding, Wil Wheaton is given a chance to shine as an actor and to portray Wesley in a role that’s not the “teen genius that saves the ship” concept that fans tended to dislike.
Moore also delves into Capt. Picard’s discomfort about commanding a starship with families aboard. In past episodes, the good captain seemed to be merely annoyed by having to deal with children. In The Bonding, Moore gives a voice to Picard’s misgivings about exposing kids and other civilians to the dangers of an extended deep space mission.
All of the series’ main cast members have at least one good scene, which requires much thought on the part of a writer because there are at least seven characters to create lines for.
The ensemble cast, led by Patrick Stewart, turns in solid performances in The Bonding. Stewart shows a fatherly side to Capt. Picard that had only been seen in a few Wesley-themed episodes, and Dorn, Frakes, Le Var Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge), Gates McFadden, and the rest shine under the direction of Winrich Kolbe.
The episode’s main guest actors, Susan Powell and Gabriel Damon, interact well with the series regulars, and semi-regular cast member Colm Meaney returns for a few scenes as Chief O’Brien.
Though this wasn’t the episode that gave Moore the nickname “The Klingon Guy,” he would go on to write Sins of the Father and all of the series’ scripts centered upon the warrior race.
All in all, this episode is worth a watch, especially for Worf/Klingon fans.
Stardate 43198.7 (Earth Calendar Date 2366)
Episode Production Number: 153
Episode Number (Aired): 52
Original Airdate: October 23, 1989
Written by: Ronald D. Moore
Directed by: Winrich Kolbe
The Episode: On Stardate 43198.7, the Galaxy-class USS Enterprise (registry number NCC-1701-D) is in standard orbit over an uncharted and seemingly uninhabited Class-M planet. An away team led by Security chief Lt. (j.g) Worf (Michael Dorn) is exploring the surface.
After the away team makes its initial survey, Capt. Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) learns that the planet was once inhabited by a culture known as the Koinonians. The Koinonian culture had apparently wiped itself out in a war, leaving only archaeological relics behind.
Before the away team beams back up to the Enterprise, Lt. Marla Aster (Susan Powell), an archaeologist, is killed when one of the leftover bombs from the Koinonian war explodes.
"Away team is aboard, captain. One dead on arrival."
- Beverly Crusher, announcing the death of Marla Aster
Worf and Picard, Lt. Aster’s superiors, are troubled by her tragic death. Not only was Lt. Aster a valued member of the crew, but her death leaves her 12-year-old son Jeremy, (Gabriel Damon) orphaned. Jeremy’s father had died as a result of a Rushton infection when Jeremy was only seven.
Worf, who had lost his Klingon parents as a child when the Romulans attacked the Khitomer outpost, believes he should be the one to tell Jeremy his mother is dead. Picard, however, says that it is his responsibility as Captain of the Enterprise to give the boy the unhappy news.
"I've always believed that having children on a starship is a very... questionable policy. Serving on a starship means... accepting certain risks, certain dangers... Did Jeremy Aster make that choice?"
"Death and loss are an integral part of life everywhere – leaving him on Earth would not have protected him!"
"No... but the Earth isn't likely to be ordered to the Neutral Zone, or to repel a Romulan attack! It was my command which sent his mother to her death - she understood her mission and my duty... Will he?"
- Picard and Troi
Picard and ship’s Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) go to the Enterprise’s classroom area and, after taking the boy to the Asters’ quarters, tell Jeremy his mother is dead.
Jeremy takes the news bravely, but he says, “I’m all alone now.” Picard reassures Jeremy that this isn’t so.
"Jeremy, on the starship Enterprise, no one is alone... No one."
Meanwhile, Worf, First Officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) are each examining their feelings about Marla’s death. Worf and Wesley can relate to Jeremy’s situation because they both lost parents when they were younger; Wesley’s father, Jack, like Lt. Aster, was a Starfleet officer who was killed on an away mission. Wesley understands what Jeremy is about to go through, and the death of Marla Aster is a reminder of his own loss.
Worf, as the leader of the away team, still feels responsible for Lt. Aster’s death. He feels a need to protect Jeremy and decides to make him a member of his family through a Klingon ritual, the R’uustai.
Riker, who had had a brief relationship with Marla, admits to Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) that he didn’t know her well but mourned her loss.
"How well did you know Lt. Aster?"
"We spent some time together. Not very well. How well did you know her?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well, you just asked me."
"But why do you ask the question? Since her death, I have been asked several times to define how well I knew Lt. Aster. And I heard you ask Wesley on the bridge how well he knew Jeremy. Does the question of familiarity have some bearing on death?"
"Do you remember how we all felt when Tasha died?"
"I do not sense the same feelings of absence I associate with Lt. Yar. Although, I cannot say precisely why."
"Just human nature, Data."
"Human nature, sir?"
"We feel a loss more instensely when it's a friend."
"But should not the feelings run just as deep, regardless of who has died?"
"Maybe they should, Data. Maybe if we felt any loss as keenly as we felt the death of one close to us, Human history would be a lot less bloody."
- Data and Riker
But as Jeremy and the Enterprise crew try to cope with Lt. Aster’s death, the boy is stunned when a familiar presence enters the Asters’ cabin – his mother has somehow returned from the planet….alive.
My Take:
The Bonding is the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s third season, which is when the series found its footing under the aegis of a new co-executive producer, Michael Piller. Piller, a veteran writer and television producer, began making subtle but significant tweaks to the storytelling format, such as allowing writers to begin telling continuing story arcs. Piller also began to liberate the show of its tendency to use episodes as “lessons taught/lessons learned” in Planet of the Week stories.
This “moral of the story” ethos was a hallmark of Gene Roddenberry’s vision for the series, which was a holdover from Star Trek: The Original Series. In the 1966-69 show, Roddenberry and the writers were able to make social commentary about the Vietnam War, sex, racial and gender equality by blending it with stories in a sci-fi setting.
This may have worked well in the Sixties, but Roddenberry’s insistence on keeping thos format in Star Trek: The Next Generation placed too many limits on the writing staff during Seasons One and Two. As a result, the writing department seemed to have a revolving door as staff writers came and went. It wasn’t until Piller’s arrival and Roddenberry’s slow disengagement from day-to-day show-running that Star Trek: The Next Generation found its groove.
Although The Bonding is not one of the series’ all-time great episodes, it marked the beginning of Ronald D. Moore’s career as a TV writer. Moore was a 25-year-old Star Trek fan who was dating a young woman who worked on The Next Generation staff. She agreed to take him on a tour of the set, and Moore, who had written a script for the show, dropped it off at the show’s office in the Paramount lot.
The script caught the attention of co-executive producer Rick Berman and Piller, who decided it was good enough to shoot. Moore was hired as a staff writer, and he eventually became a producer for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, as well as the co-writer (with Brannon Braga) of the first two Star Trek: The Next Generation feature films.
In The Bonding, Moore does a good job of balancing the story of Worf’s attempts to help Jeremy deal with his mother’s death with the secondary storyline dealing with the reappearance of Marla Aster on theEnterprise. Moore was one of the first writer’s to explore Worf’s character and his Klingon heritage, and here he gives plenty of good material for the somewhat underutilized Michael Dorn.
Moore also uses his knowledge of the main characters’ backstories – such as Wesley’s loss of his father when he was only five years old – to good effect. As a result of Moore’s The Bonding, Wil Wheaton is given a chance to shine as an actor and to portray Wesley in a role that’s not the “teen genius that saves the ship” concept that fans tended to dislike.
Moore also delves into Capt. Picard’s discomfort about commanding a starship with families aboard. In past episodes, the good captain seemed to be merely annoyed by having to deal with children. In The Bonding, Moore gives a voice to Picard’s misgivings about exposing kids and other civilians to the dangers of an extended deep space mission.
All of the series’ main cast members have at least one good scene, which requires much thought on the part of a writer because there are at least seven characters to create lines for.
The ensemble cast, led by Patrick Stewart, turns in solid performances in The Bonding. Stewart shows a fatherly side to Capt. Picard that had only been seen in a few Wesley-themed episodes, and Dorn, Frakes, Le Var Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge), Gates McFadden, and the rest shine under the direction of Winrich Kolbe.
The episode’s main guest actors, Susan Powell and Gabriel Damon, interact well with the series regulars, and semi-regular cast member Colm Meaney returns for a few scenes as Chief O’Brien.
Though this wasn’t the episode that gave Moore the nickname “The Klingon Guy,” he would go on to write Sins of the Father and all of the series’ scripts centered upon the warrior race.
All in all, this episode is worth a watch, especially for Worf/Klingon fans.
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| Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures via www.startrek.com |
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