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The Inner Light (TNG episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Inner Light" is the 25th episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television
series Star Trek: The Next Generation
. The episode was written by freelance writer Morgan Gendel
based on his original pitch; Gendel is credited as writer of the story and co-writer of the teleplay with Peter Allan Fields
. It is the penultimate episode of the season and was first broadcast on June 1, 1992. The episode has an average rating of 4.8/5 on the official Star Trek
website, and is considered to be one of the best episodes of the entire The Next Generation series. In 1993, "The Inner Light" won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
. The flute melody, featured prominently in the episode, was composed by Jay Chattaway
and has since been re-arranged for full orchestra.
has just finished a magnetic wave survey of the Parvenium System, when they encounter an unknown probe
which scans the ship and directs an energy beam at Captain Picard
, rendering him unconscious. Picard wakes up to find himself on the surface of Kataan, a non-Federation
planet. A woman identifies herself as his wife, Eline, telling Picard that he is Kamin, an iron weaver recovering from a feverish sickness. Picard talks of his memories on the Enterprise, but Eline and their close friend Batai try to convince Picard that his memories were only dreams, and acclimate him into their society as Kamin. Picard begins living out his life as Kamin in the village of Ressik, starting a family with Eline, and learning to play the flute.Batai, the son of Kamin, is played in a guest appearance by Daniel Stewart, the real life son of Patrick Stewart
(Kamin/Picard). In the plot, Kamin's son was named after Kamin's long time friend Batai, played in the episode by Richard Riehle
.
Kamin spends much time outdoors studying nature. As the years pass, he begins to notice that the planet is suffering a worldwide drought owing to increased radiation from the planet's sun. He sends reports to the planet's leaders, who seem to ignore his concerns; in fact, they already know this, but wish to keep it a secret.
The crew try to block the influence of the probe, but this only makes Picard worse, leaving them no choice but to let it continue.
Years pass and Kamin grows old, outliving his wife. Kamin and his daughter Meribor continue their study of the drought. They find that it is not temporary; extinction of all life on the planet is inevitable.
One day, while playing with his grandson, Kamin is summoned by his adult children to watch the launch of a missile, which everyone seems to know about except him. As he walks outside into the glaring sunlight, Kamin sees Eline and Batai, as young as when he first saw them. They explain that he has already seen the missile, just before he came there. Knowing that the planet was doomed, the planet's leaders placed the memories of their culture into a probe and launched it into space, in the hope that it would find someone who could tell others about their species. Picard realizes the entire context, saying "Oh, it's me, isn't it? I'm the someone."
Picard wakes up on the bridge of the Enterprise to discover that only 25 minutes have passed. While he was unconscious, the crew of the Enterprise tracked the probe's course back to a scorched and desolate planet whose sun went nova
1,000 years earlier. The now inactive probe is brought aboard the Enterprise and the crew finds a small box within it. A somber Riker gives the box to Picard who opens it to find Kamin's flute. Picard, now adept at the instrument, plays the melody he learned during his life as Kamin.
", a song written by George Harrison
and released by The Beatles
as a B-side to "Lady Madonna
":
The lyrics of Harrison's song are in turn based on the 47th chapter of the Taoist Tao Te Ching
:
According to Gendel, the song "captured the theme of the show: that Picard experienced a lifetime of memories all in his head."
. It is considered a lasting reminder of Picard's virtual life on the planet throughout the rest of the series. Picard's flute could occasionally be seen in its box sitting on his desk. It plays a role in the episode "Lessons" where Picard develops a romantic relationship with a stellar cartographer assigned to the Enterprise, Nella Daren, who encourages his musical side, and with whom he performs a duet version of the "Inner Light" theme. Later, Picard is seen recording a piece on the flute in the beginning of "A Fistful of Datas". Its final appearance was in a deleted scene
from Star Trek Nemesis; Lieutenant Commander Data picks it up and examines it while discussing human life with Picard. The original placement of this scene was to have been immediately following the wedding ceremony shown in the opening scenes. The simple theme that Picard plays on the flute was later developed into a full orchestral suite for the 30th anniversary of Star Trek.
From October 5–7, 2006, the Ressikan flute was one of the items up for bid at the Christie's
official studio auction of Star Trek memorabilia. The prop flute, which cannot actually be played, was originally estimated to have a sale price of US$300. Auction directors admitted that their estimates for many items did not "factor in that emotional fury generated around this kind of material". The estimate was later raised to $800–$1,200 on Christie's web site. In the days leading up to the auction, Denise Okuda
, former Trek scenic artist and video supervisor, as well as co-writer of the auction catalog, said: "That's the item people say they really have to have, because it's so iconic to a much-beloved episode." The final bid for the flute at the auction was US$40,000. Including the additional 20% fee Christie's collected on all items from the winning bidder, the total price for the flute was $48,000.
for Best Dramatic Presentation
. The award was given at the World Science Fiction Convention in San Francisco. "The Inner Light" was the first television program to be so honored since the original Star Trek: The Original Series
episode "The City on the Edge of Forever
" won in 1968. The other Hugo Award-winning Star Trek episodes are "The Menagerie" (the only two-part episode of the original series) and "All Good Things..." (the series finale for The Next Generation).
The episode is considered by fans to be the most touching of the series' episodes, along with the similar Family episode. It is the favorite episode of actors Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard
, and Wil Wheaton
, who played Ensign Wesley Crusher
. Star Trek writer Susan Sackett
notes that it is also her favorite episode even though not one she wrote. "The Inner Light" was ranked among the top five episodes in a "viewers' choice" marathon that was broadcast just prior to the premiere of the series finale.
U.S. television science fiction
U.S. television science fiction is a popular genre of television in the United States that has produced many of the best-known and most popular science fiction shows in the world. Most famous of all, and one of the most influential science-fiction series in history, is the iconic Star Trek and its...
series Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. The episode was written by freelance writer Morgan Gendel
Morgan Gendel
Morgan Gendel is a screenwriter and television producer who has written for such television shows as Nash Bridges, Law & Order, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street. Gendel won the coveted Hugo Award for writing the popular Star Trek: The Next...
based on his original pitch; Gendel is credited as writer of the story and co-writer of the teleplay with Peter Allan Fields
Peter Allan Fields
Peter Allan Fields is a writer best known for many episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation. He also wrote for The Six Million Dollar Man, including the acclaimed episode "The Seven Million Dollar Man."...
. It is the penultimate episode of the season and was first broadcast on June 1, 1992. The episode has an average rating of 4.8/5 on the official Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
website, and is considered to be one of the best episodes of the entire The Next Generation series. In 1993, "The Inner Light" won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
. The flute melody, featured prominently in the episode, was composed by Jay Chattaway
Jay Chattaway
Jay Chattaway is an American composer of film and television scores. He is mainly known for his work as score composer for several Star Trek television series: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise...
and has since been re-arranged for full orchestra.
Plot
On Stardate 45944.1, the EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
has just finished a magnetic wave survey of the Parvenium System, when they encounter an unknown probe
Bracewell probe
A Bracewell probe is a hypothetical concept for an autonomous interstellar space probe dispatched for the express purpose of communication with one or more alien civilizations. It was proposed by Ronald N...
which scans the ship and directs an energy beam at Captain Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, rendering him unconscious. Picard wakes up to find himself on the surface of Kataan, a non-Federation
United Federation of Planets
The United Federation of Planets, also known as "The Federation" is a fictional interplanetary federal republic depicted in the Star Trek television series and motion pictures...
planet. A woman identifies herself as his wife, Eline, telling Picard that he is Kamin, an iron weaver recovering from a feverish sickness. Picard talks of his memories on the Enterprise, but Eline and their close friend Batai try to convince Picard that his memories were only dreams, and acclimate him into their society as Kamin. Picard begins living out his life as Kamin in the village of Ressik, starting a family with Eline, and learning to play the flute.Batai, the son of Kamin, is played in a guest appearance by Daniel Stewart, the real life son of Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
(Kamin/Picard). In the plot, Kamin's son was named after Kamin's long time friend Batai, played in the episode by Richard Riehle
Richard Riehle
-Life and career:Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Margaret , a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle , an assistant postmaster. He attended the University of Notre Dame....
.
Kamin spends much time outdoors studying nature. As the years pass, he begins to notice that the planet is suffering a worldwide drought owing to increased radiation from the planet's sun. He sends reports to the planet's leaders, who seem to ignore his concerns; in fact, they already know this, but wish to keep it a secret.
The crew try to block the influence of the probe, but this only makes Picard worse, leaving them no choice but to let it continue.
Years pass and Kamin grows old, outliving his wife. Kamin and his daughter Meribor continue their study of the drought. They find that it is not temporary; extinction of all life on the planet is inevitable.
One day, while playing with his grandson, Kamin is summoned by his adult children to watch the launch of a missile, which everyone seems to know about except him. As he walks outside into the glaring sunlight, Kamin sees Eline and Batai, as young as when he first saw them. They explain that he has already seen the missile, just before he came there. Knowing that the planet was doomed, the planet's leaders placed the memories of their culture into a probe and launched it into space, in the hope that it would find someone who could tell others about their species. Picard realizes the entire context, saying "Oh, it's me, isn't it? I'm the someone."
Picard wakes up on the bridge of the Enterprise to discover that only 25 minutes have passed. While he was unconscious, the crew of the Enterprise tracked the probe's course back to a scorched and desolate planet whose sun went nova
Nova
A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion in a runaway manner...
1,000 years earlier. The now inactive probe is brought aboard the Enterprise and the crew finds a small box within it. A somber Riker gives the box to Picard who opens it to find Kamin's flute. Picard, now adept at the instrument, plays the melody he learned during his life as Kamin.
Title
Morgan Gendel named the episode after "The Inner LightThe Inner Light (song)
"The Inner Light" is a song written by George Harrison that was first released by The Beatles as a B-side to "Lady Madonna". It was the first Harrison composition to be featured on a Beatles single. The lyrics are a rendering of the 47th chapter of the Taoist Tao Te Ching...
", a song written by George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and released by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
as a B-side to "Lady Madonna
Lady Madonna
"Lady Madonna" is a song by The Beatles, primarily written by Paul McCartney . In March 1968, it was released as a single, backed with "The Inner Light." The song was recorded on 3 and 6 February 1968 before the Beatles left for India...
":
Without going out of my door
I can know all things on earth
Without looking out of my window
I could know the ways of heaven
The lyrics of Harrison's song are in turn based on the 47th chapter of the Taoist Tao Te Ching
Tao Te Ching
The Tao Te Ching, Dao De Jing, or Daodejing , also simply referred to as the Laozi, whose authorship has been attributed to Laozi, is a Chinese classic text...
:
Without going outside his door, one understands (all that takes place) under the sky; without looking out from his window, one sees the Tao of Heaven. The farther that one goes out (from himself), the less he knows. Therefore the sages got their knowledge without travelling; gave their (right) names to things without seeing them; and accomplished their ends without any purpose of doing so.
According to Gendel, the song "captured the theme of the show: that Picard experienced a lifetime of memories all in his head."
Ressikan flute
The brass Ressikan flute resembles and has a similar sound to a penny whistle or a tin whistleTin whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, English Flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, Tin Flageolet, Irish whistle and Clarke London Flageolet is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is an end blown fipple flute, putting it in the same category as the recorder, American Indian flute, and...
. It is considered a lasting reminder of Picard's virtual life on the planet throughout the rest of the series. Picard's flute could occasionally be seen in its box sitting on his desk. It plays a role in the episode "Lessons" where Picard develops a romantic relationship with a stellar cartographer assigned to the Enterprise, Nella Daren, who encourages his musical side, and with whom he performs a duet version of the "Inner Light" theme. Later, Picard is seen recording a piece on the flute in the beginning of "A Fistful of Datas". Its final appearance was in a deleted scene
Deleted scene
In Entertainment, especially the film and television industry, Deleted scenes are parts of a film removed or censored from or replaced by another scene in the final "cut", or version, of a film...
from Star Trek Nemesis; Lieutenant Commander Data picks it up and examines it while discussing human life with Picard. The original placement of this scene was to have been immediately following the wedding ceremony shown in the opening scenes. The simple theme that Picard plays on the flute was later developed into a full orchestral suite for the 30th anniversary of Star Trek.
From October 5–7, 2006, the Ressikan flute was one of the items up for bid at the Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
official studio auction of Star Trek memorabilia. The prop flute, which cannot actually be played, was originally estimated to have a sale price of US$300. Auction directors admitted that their estimates for many items did not "factor in that emotional fury generated around this kind of material". The estimate was later raised to $800–$1,200 on Christie's web site. In the days leading up to the auction, Denise Okuda
Denise Okuda
Denise Lynn Okuda is co-author of the Star Trek Encyclopedia, which Amazon.com says is the No. 1 reference book about Star Trek among the well over 100 non-fiction books published in this field...
, former Trek scenic artist and video supervisor, as well as co-writer of the auction catalog, said: "That's the item people say they really have to have, because it's so iconic to a much-beloved episode." The final bid for the flute at the auction was US$40,000. Including the additional 20% fee Christie's collected on all items from the winning bidder, the total price for the flute was $48,000.
Critical reception
This episode won the 1993 Hugo AwardHugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Dramatic Presentation
Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
. The award was given at the World Science Fiction Convention in San Francisco. "The Inner Light" was the first television program to be so honored since the original Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
episode "The City on the Edge of Forever
The City on the Edge of Forever (TOS episode)
"The City on the Edge of Forever" is the penultimate episode of the first season of the television series Star Trek. It is episode #28, production #28, first broadcast on April 6, 1967. It was repeated on August 31, 1967 and marked the last time that NBC telecast an episode of the series on...
" won in 1968. The other Hugo Award-winning Star Trek episodes are "The Menagerie" (the only two-part episode of the original series) and "All Good Things..." (the series finale for The Next Generation).
The episode is considered by fans to be the most touching of the series' episodes, along with the similar Family episode. It is the favorite episode of actors Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, and Wil Wheaton
Wil Wheaton
Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III is an American actor and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Gordie Lachance in the film Stand by Me and Joey Trotta in Toy Soldiers...
, who played Ensign Wesley Crusher
Wesley Crusher
Wesley Crusher is a character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is Beverly Crusher's son and is portrayed by actor Wil Wheaton, the character was a regular for the first four seasons. Afterwards, the character appeared sporadically. The character also appeared briefly in...
. Star Trek writer Susan Sackett
Susan Sackett
Susan Sackett is an American author and screenwriter, best known for her involvement in the Star Trek franchise.-Biography:Susan Sackett was born in New York City on December 18, 1943, raised in Connecticut and moved to Florida after graduating from Hillhouse High School in New Haven...
notes that it is also her favorite episode even though not one she wrote. "The Inner Light" was ranked among the top five episodes in a "viewers' choice" marathon that was broadcast just prior to the premiere of the series finale.