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"Starship Mine" is the 144th episode of the American
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', the 18th episode of the sixth season. The episode features
Tim Russ Timothy Darrell Russ (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Robert Johnson in '' Crossroads'' (1986), Casey in '' ...
in a guest role, before he played the role of
Tuvok Tuvok is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. One of the main characters on the television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Tuvok is a member of the fictional Vulcan species who serves as the ship's second officer, Chief o ...
on '' Star Trek: Voyager''. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In this episode, while the ''Enterprise'' is evacuated for maintenance,
Captain Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...
must, alone, contend with thieves posing as a work crew aboard the ship. The process is vaguely similar to ship
degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to red ...
but with a dangerous science fiction twist. The plot has been noted for its similarity to the 1988 action film ''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, ...
''.


Plot

The
Federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-govern ...
starship ''
Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...
'' is docked at the Remmler Array to be decontaminated through the use of a
baryon In particle physics, a baryon is a type of composite subatomic particle which contains an odd number of valence quarks (at least 3). Baryons belong to the hadron family of particles; hadrons are composed of quarks. Baryons are also classi ...
sweep, harmless to the inorganic materials of the ship but deadly to living beings. The ship is evacuated to the array's base and its systems shut down in preparation for the sweep. Captain Picard and the rest of the senior staff are invited by the base's commanding officer, Commander Calvin Hutchinson, to a cocktail party, but Picard foresees that he will be cornered by Hutchinson's "small talk" during the event. He returns to the ''Enterprise'' to retrieve his riding saddle to go horse riding instead, but on leaving finds an array technician working with the ship's panels. Picard tries to find out what the technician is doing, but he is attacked instead; Picard gains the upper hand and knocks the technician out. Meanwhile, at the cocktail party, ''Enterprise'' Chief Engineer La Forge detects strange readings coming from one of the centerpieces with his
VISOR A visor (also spelled vizor) is a surface that protects the eyes, such as shading them from the sun or other bright light or protecting them from objects. Nowadays many visors are transparent, but before strong transparent substances such a ...
. Before he can investigate, the other array staff members take the partygoers as hostages, injuring La Forge and killing Hutchinson. They prevent them from communicating with the rest of the crew or
Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduc ...
while the sweep is initiated. The crew stealthily work to devise a plan to break free of their captors. Aboard the ''Enterprise'', Picard discovers that a small force of technicians, led by a woman named Kelsey, are aboard attempting to steal trilithium resin from the warp engines to sell to another group as part of a powerful explosive. He is captured but escapes. With the baryon sweep progressing forward through the ship, Picard plays a game of cat-and-mouse with the technicians while staying ahead. At one point, a terrible scream indicates that one of the technicians was caught in the baryon field. Eventually having neutralized all but Kelsey, Picard retreats to Ten-Forward, the last area that will be hit by the sweep. Kelsey manages to
beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy * Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy ** Laser beam * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...
away to a waiting ship. Picard repeatedly hails the base to deactivate the baryon sweep. The ''Enterprise'' officers, having managed to overcome their captors by an elaborate ruse involving Geordi's VISOR, are able to stop the sweep just in time to save Picard's life. Data informs Picard of a shuttle trying to escape. Picard, having taken the control rod from the trilithium's storage container during his fight with Kelsey, states that they will not get far as the trilithium explodes, destroying the shuttle.


Casting

Tim Russ Timothy Darrell Russ (born June 22, 1956) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Commander Tuvok on '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Robert Johnson in '' Crossroads'' (1986), Casey in '' ...
, as the rogue technician Devor, made his first appearance in the ''Star Trek'' franchise in "Starship Mine". He had previously been an alternate choice for the part of Geordi La Forge at the start of the series, but
LeVar Burton Levar Burton Jr. (born February 16, 1957) is an American actor, director, and television host, best known for playing Geordi La Forge in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994). He also played Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries '' ...
was chosen instead by
Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series '' Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and '' S ...
. Russ subsequently auditioned on multiple occasions for parts in episodes, and was again considered for a main role in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Following his appearance in "Starship Mine", he appeared as a
Klingon The Klingons ( ; Klingon language, Klingon: ''tlhIngan'' ) are a fictional species in the science fiction franchise ''Star Trek''. Developed by screenwriter Gene L. Coon in 1967 for the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' ('' ...
in the ''Deep Space Nine'' episode " Invasive Procedures" and as an unnamed Ensign in the film ''
Star Trek Generations ''Star Trek Generations'' is a 1994 American science fiction film and the seventh film in the ''Star Trek'' film series. Malcolm McDowell joins cast members from the 1960s television show ''Star Trek'' and the 1987 sequel series '' The Next ...
'' before landing the role of
Tuvok Tuvok is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. One of the main characters on the television series '' Star Trek: Voyager'', Tuvok is a member of the fictional Vulcan species who serves as the ship's second officer, Chief o ...
in the main cast of '' Star Trek: Voyager''.
David Spielberg David Spielberg (March 6, 1939 – June 1, 2016) was an American television and film actor. Early years Spielberg was born in Weslaco, Texas, and was a resident of Mercedes, Texas. His father was a Romanian-Jewish immigrant, and his mother was a ...
is cast as party-host Hutchinson.


Reception

In 2011, ''TV/A.V. Club'' gave the episode a B rating, noting its action plot and focus on Picard, as he must reclaim his starship. In 2012,
Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 2 ...
praised David Spielberg's performance as Hutchinson, especially the scene between
Data In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpret ...
(played by
Brent Spiner Brent Jay Spiner (; born February 2, 1949) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as the android Data on the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', as well as four subsequent films. In 2019, he reprised the role fo ...
) and Hutchinson. They also praised actress-stuntwoman
Patricia Tallman Patricia J. Tallman (born September 4, 1957) is an American actress, stunt performer, and studio executive best known for her starring roles in '' Night of the Living Dead'', ''Star Trek'' and '' Babylon 5''. She is the former CEO and executive ...
for her presentation of Kiros. Overall they rated the episode 6 out 10, noting not just the Picard action sequences but also the many smaller lines of dialogue and details of the episode. In 2012, ''Wired'' magazine said this was one of the best episodes of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''. In 2017, ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' ranked "Starship Mine" the 3rd best episode of ''Star Trek'' for rookie trek watchers. The episode has been compared to the 1988 American action film "''
Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan, with a screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. Based on the 1979 novel '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', by Roderick Thorp, it stars Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, ...
''". In 2017,
Popular Mechanics ''Popular Mechanics'' (sometimes PM or PopMech) is a magazine of popular science and technology, featuring automotive, home, outdoor, electronics, science, do-it-yourself, and technology topics. Military topics, aviation and transportation o ...
said that "Starship Mine" was one of the top ten most fun episodes of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation,'' noting that Captain Picard must save his ship as he races against the clock. In 2018, Popular Mechanics, highlighted "Starship Mine" as one of the 12 best
Captain Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...
episodes, and as recommended viewing for audiences to prepare for a new television series based on that character, '' Star Trek: Picard''. In 2018, ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...
'', ranked "Starship Mine" as one of the top ten moments of Jean-Luc Picard. In 2018,
Tom's Guide ''Tom's Hardware'' is an online publication owned by Future plc and focused on technology. It was founded in 1996 by Thomas Pabst. It provides articles, news, price comparisons, videos and reviews on computer hardware and high technology. The si ...
rated "Starship Mine" one of the 15 best episodes featuring Picard. In 2019,
Den of Geek ''Den of Geek'' is a US and UK-based website covering entertainment with a focus on pop culture. The website also issues a bi-annual magazine. History ''Den of Geek'' was founded in 2007 by Simon Brew in London. In 2012, DoG Tech LLC licensed ...
recommended rewatching this episode as background for ''Star Trek: Picard''. In 2020, ''Primetimer'' ranked this one of the top ten episodes for the character
Jean-Luc Picard Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, most often seen as the captain of the Federation starship . Played by Patrick Stewart, Picard has appeared in the television series '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (''T ...
, the captain of the Enterprise 1701-D. In 2020, '' Games Radar'' noted "Starship Mine" as key episode to watch before ''Star Trek: Picard'', pointing out that Picard must thwart terrorists trying to make off with the Enterprise 1701-D's trilithium resin and calling it "Die Hard in Jefferies Tube" (referencing a 1980s action movie). In 2020, ''Looper'' listed this one of the best episodes for Jean-Luc Picard.


Releases

The episode was released as part of the ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' season six
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
box set in the United States on December 3, 2002. A remastered HD version was released on
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...
optical disc, on June 24, 2014. An example of a
broadcast television Broadcast television systems (or terrestrial television systems outside the US and Canada) are the encoding or formatting systems for the transmission and reception of terrestrial television signals. Analog television systems were standardized b ...
release was on April 4, 1993, when the episode aired at 5:30 PM, with the television guide noting that "Thieves posing as technicians trap Picard as lethal rays bombard the Enterprise."


References


External links

* {{Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, 6 Star Trek: The Next Generation (season 6) episodes 1993 American television episodes Television episodes directed by Cliff Bole