Background

[Retro Review] The Chase: Next Generation S6E20

Article arrow_drop_down

Infinite diversity in infinite combinations. That’s the mantra of Star Trek fans across the world. Yet when it came to alien life the infinite combinations and diversity often came down to face-paint and prosthetics on noticeably normal people. There’s little to separate human and Betazoid aside from dark eyes. Vulcans are human looking with pointed ears. Even the reptilian Cardassians have human features buried under rubber and glue.

For all the universes evolutions, very few seemed to deviate from the pattern. Which isn;t uncommon in science fiction. After all, budgets are always low to show something truly alien and nothing gives a performance quite like an actor in a mask. Yet while Doctor Who just make a joke out of it – noting that Rose’s perception of Timelords looking like humans was reverse thinking as Timelords (Or Gallifreyans) came first – Star Trek often dodged the multitude of masks.

That was until one episode pulled it all together. The Chase.

The Chase was a story of Picard following his mentors footsteps to finish his greatest passion. Professor Galen was one of Picards inspirations. When Galen comes to the Enterprise to have his old student join him, Picard rejects it to stay on the Enterprise and then off Galen goes to die and by chance leaves Picard to follow the breadcrumbs and find what Galen was looking for; the birthplace of galactic civilisation.

Clearly having nothing else to do as Captain of the Flagship of the entire Federation, Picard gives up exploration, diplomacy and keeping the peace between warring factions to finish Galen’s research and find the progenitors.

There’s a lot of flimsiness to the plot. Picard doesn’t want to leave Starfleet and spend years on a possible theory. Fair enough. But why not give Galen a lab, give a helping hand and have the best of both worlds? Also, why does it take someone a lifetime to figure out bits and pieces only for Picard to take the mantle and solve it in a couple of days?

In addition, there’s also a lot of by the book Next Gen stuff. Not just the usual camera angles and by the book direction, but all the excitement of adventure is contained to the same walls as anything else. It’s all talk and little discovery where the entire point of the episode boils down to the conclusion over the adventure – much as it was or could be in 1993.

Moving from one point to the other, and with both allies and enemies chasing the same clues, the episode focuses on the idea that every civilisation is a piece of the galactic puzzle. Within their very DNA humans, Romulans and Klingons have a clue. And thats just a small sample. Species spread across half the galaxy all with the same genetic imprint and the same patterns. What if each of these people, who have fought and loathed each other through centuries, all have something in common?

And what if that something was their origin?

It’s a 90’s version of Belle and Lokai. We have a collection of opposing factions all combined to solve Galen’s mystery together. And only together could they uncover the truth. Centuries of evolution and they all came from the same genetic pattern implanted by a civilisation centuries before that. And only by working together can they realise that, at the very heart of each civilisation, they’re really at genetic heart, all related. One big unhappy galactic family.

It’s a very ‘Star Trek’ idea at it’s core. People of all races and creeds having a common connection that unites them all. But of course, it doesn’t. Despite facing the fact their ancestors all came from the same genetic building blocks the barriers that have evolved over time only make them ignore and resent the fact that – much like the people of Earth in our own time – the commonality of the ties that bind us aren’t as strong as the cultures that separate us for no particular reason.

In the real world we’re all from the same puddle of good, yet race class and culture separate us more than it should. So as a Star Trek story it works. For the larger lore, it works and it explains a lot of production realities in an unreal world. But for it’s lore and morality, the massive revelation never seemed to matter. Then next week, a new adventure. The next series, the next conflict. The revelation? Never mentioned again. Until now.

Armed with the core message of Star Trek, The Chase had a lot of unrealised potential both thematically and narratively. Who were the progenitors? What wondrous technology did they have to implant an entire Galaxy of their genetic structure? Can the greatest empires find enough common ground to revive their ancestors secrets?

Over 30 years later we might get some answers to those questions as the Progenitors secrets are about to be uncovered in Discovery’s final season….

About the author

About the author

ADM JT Marczynka, DoFA

Creator of things, writer of words, caffeine addict. Director of Communications for Starfleet Command Quadrant 2.

More posts Follow

trending_flat
For The Uniform: The Muted Tones of The Motion Picture

Starfleet's wardrobe always seems to change. Different producers and designers always bring something new to the table, whether it's a need to create a more militarised uniform, something nice and simple for a more real-world feel, or sometimes – just sometimes – space pyjamas. In the 1960s, colour television was all the rage and Star Trek was at the forefront of that huge leap in visual technology. It's outfits and set design were crafted to be bold and brash, resulting in the bright paintwork, scenes lit with vibrant pinks and purples and of course the now iconic division coloured uniforms. In both the planned launch of Phase II in 1978 and the earlier animated series in 1973, the iconic look of Starfleet was retained in all its bright and colourful glory. But when plans were scrapped and Paramount opted to […]

trending_flat
A Fistful of Star Trek Online’s Best Bits!

This week marks fifteen years since the launch of whats become Star Trek's most consistent and longest reigning video game, Star Trek Online. Developed following the relaunch of a new movie franchise, STO told the other side of the story. While NEro went back in time and created the Kelvin Timeline offshoot, STO focused on the galactic politics following the collapse of the Hobus Star. Customising your player character, you begin at the Academy, get yourself a star ship and rank up as you balance exploration, politics and shooting a lot of things! Over the years the game has changed and developed with expansions, new additions, rotating Executive Producers - and now new owners! - using multiple guest appearances into the mix for story mission while allowing group events, developing annual traditions and generally letting us all play with cool […]

trending_flat
Upcoming Away Missions in Glasgow & Edinburgh for the Tesla!

As we enter 2025 (or... 2402...?) there's no rest for the crew of the Tesla as the team are already back in action making a return to two of the biggest events in Scotland! One of the most active and welcoming crew, the year is already off to a flying start with more to come through the year! The first events of the year include.... Capital Sci Fi Con February 15th & 16th, O2 Academy Edinburgh Always the best way to kick start the year, Tesla is once again heading to Edinburgh for their first away mission in 2025! This years guest line up is one for the Whovians! This year the Fifth Doctor himself Peter Davidson will be in attendance for photo and autograph opportunities alongside co-star Janet Fielding, better known in the TARDIS as Fifth Doctor Companion Tegan! […]

trending_flat
Across The Universe! Black Ops Missions & Lifetime Achievements!

The year begins with a New Trek bringing us to even strange new worlds while franchise - both old and new - celebrate upcoming awards ceremonies. Section 31 Released... After a long, long wait the potentially least anticipated project in the Star Trek Universe was released on January 25th as Section 31, starring Michelle Yeoh reprising her role as reformed (kinda) Emperor Georgiou displaced in time and recruited to rejoin Section 31 for a dangerous mission to protect the Federation in the most non Federation way possible. Initially developed as a full series exploring the nature of the organisation's questionable origins and motives, the project was placed in the hands of new writers to transform the concept into a made for streaming movie as a condensed action piece that limited the original intention and replaced it with something a little […]

trending_flat
Boldly Going Nowhere: Section 31 Quick Review

REVIEW SCORE   FLEET SCORE   Focused on the outliers of the Star Trek Universe, the idea of the Section 31 film was to go beyond Starfleet and present the universe from a different perspective and in a different way. An idea thats been done with some hit and miss success over the past ten years. Section 31's initial pitch and writing team was something that had the potential to be something we could enjoy and even with mild hesitation, we were eager to see where the once series would go now a new writer had condensed the vague idea into a one off experiment, a streaming based movie to add to the tapestry of different flavours Star Trek has offered in resent years. It was also an experiment in offering a first real glimpse at a batch of heroes […]

trending_flat
[Q2&A] Who Are The ADMB And What Do They Do?

In previous Q2&A posts we've went over our ranking structure and what it means in reality, as well as how to join the Captains Table and become part of Q2's valued leadership team. But every now and then, we have someone who's ambitions are a little higher and those Admirals bars seem very appealing to some. In the Star Trek Universe what Starfleet is and how it operations tends to deviate from script to script. Sometimes its a strict military structure, sometimes it's an idealistic job and sometimes it's a peace keeping armada where you can become captain on a whim. It works in the greater context as a futurist navy where you earn your way to the top, or without the up and out rules of most navies, stay where you are and work on where you best fit. […]

Related

trending_flat
No One Expects The Starfleet Inquisition! Retro Review: Inquisition, DS9 S6E18

Stopped from heading to a quiet medical conference, Doctor Bashir is locked down with the crew of Deep Space Nine when internal investigations officer Sloan arrives. Apparently Deep Space Nine has a security breach. Information's being leaked to the enemy and all leads point to one person: Julian Bashir. It's a nice rarity when this era of Star Trek plays out it's story of the week without a B-Plot and Inquisition does it all quiet nicely. Especially as everything's played out from the perspective of Bashir as he's separated from his colleagues which enhances the tense paranoia of whats happening as Sloan probes through evidence that points to the doctor betraying the Federation. Thematically it's a story told many times before, even previously told in Star Trek, but with DS9's tone becoming a little darker by this stage, it worked […]

trending_flat
[Retro Review] Generations (1994)

Kirk's era my have started the phenomenon, but 1994 was a different era. Picard's Enterprise crew had just finished more than twice the amount of seasons of the original with one spin off finding it's feet and another in the pipeline. With the original crew having said their goodbyes in the Undiscovered country, the old was already out and the not quite as old were ready to take over the film branch of the Star Trek franchise. But not without a weird handover ceremony. Years after his final voyage as captain, Kirk is dragged out of retirement to sit in a chair and smile politely as a new captain launched with a new Enterprise. Of course, the new captain was typically useless so when the Enterprise was the only ship in range again, and the ship was dragged into an […]

trending_flat
[Retro Review] Schisms; TNG Season 6

Alien abduction isn't exactly an innovative or creative plot device. Long before the X Files became the most popular brand of alien conspiracy in media, we had everything from the memorably dazzling abduction in Close Encounters of the Third Kind to the found footage wonder The McPherson Tape. For Star Trek, however, it's an odd concept to include. Humanity is a space faring species and some of our best pals are aliens. If one crept into your bedroom in the middle of the night and took you on board their ship, that's more of a diplomatic nightmare than a horrific conspiracy. So when it did happen in Next Gen's Schisms it all felt a bit weird and creepy. Mostly in a good way.

trending_flat
[Retro Review] The One With The Whales (1986)

Closing off an accidental trilogy, Kirk and his disgraced crew wrap up chilling out on Vulcan to go back to Earth for a bit of a wrist slapping. While they saunter back home in a stolen Klingon ship, an alien probe pops round for tea and biscuits on Earth. Except, there's neither tea nor biscuits buit a confusing sense of chaos as it sucks everything around it of power and soaks up Earths oceans for what seems like no apparent reason.

trending_flat
[Retro Review] The Search For Spock (1984)

The Wrath of Khan was the end of the road, or so many thought. So killing off Spock was a way to close that chapter of their lives and move on to other projects. But of course, the second outing was also a success, but director Nick Meyer had a feeling it would be and put in a caveat. Before his death, Spock mind melded with Dr McCoy and told him to remember...

site2025m

Serving the fan community since 1974, SFC is an international not for profit fan organisation bringing together collective of fans collectively enjoying strange new worlds in science fiction media.

Star Trek and all related, derived or inferred ideas are the intellectual property of Paramount and Paramount Global. No infringement is intended in the use of this material. Starfleet Command Quadrant 2 (SFCQ2) does not generate any income or profit from their endeavours as a fan organisation, no part of which is sanctioned by the Paramount Global group or any sub-division of the legitimate copyright holders.

Core Website layout by Ghostpool. Managed and Maintained by Aim to Misbehave on behalf of Starfleet Command  Quadrant 2

© 2401 Starfleet  Command Quadrant 2 (SFCQ2)

Login to enjoy full advantages

Please login or subscribe to continue.

Go Premium!

Enjoy the full advantage of the premium access.

Stop following

Unfollow Cancel

Cancel subscription

Are you sure you want to cancel your subscription? You will lose your Premium access and stored playlists.

Go back Confirm cancellation