The Enterprise is recalled to Earth where human scientists have entered a cavern/mine that no one has been in for nearly half a millennium and they have come across some interesting artifacts from the 19th century as well as discovered an energy signature that is not common to Earth in either the 19th century or the 24th.
While intrigued by the mystery, Picard is uncertain as to why he and the Enterprise were called all the way back to Earth for something that certainly can be handled by Earth scientists. The project leader shows Picard one more discovered artifact, Data's head.
Picard and crew begin an investigation to discover the source of the energy signature in the Earth cavern while expressing concern over the apparent death of Data in Earth's distant past, the investigation leads them to another planet where it's discovered that aliens exist slightly out of phase with standard time and are somehow traveling back in time to Earth's past for undetermined reasons.
Using technology in Data's body an away team is able to rig a device allowing Data to shift himself in-line with the aliens time-spectrum to investigate while the rest of the away team listens to Data's report over the communicators. During the investigation there is a sound of an small explosion and communication with Data is lost, the device is left behind.
Data finds himself in San Francisco in the 1890s and begins to continue his investigation, he uses his talents to win in a poker game (using his communicator to buy in) in order to secure a hotel room and the aid of the bellhop to collect supplies Data intends to use, along with his phaser, to engineer a 19th century version of the device that can track the aliens' use of the time-portal.
In the 24th century Picard and crew continue their investigation as their findings suggest sinister motives of the aliens and their invading of Earth's past. Geordi believes he can create a device that may be able to closely duplicate the technology in Data allowing for him to time-shift. Picard is called to Ten-Forward by Guinan, who wishes to discuss with Picard the current mission they're on. She wonders if Picard intends to join the next away team that will investigate the time-distortions on the planet. Picard says it's not standard procedure.
Guinan implies that if Picard doesn't go on this away mission he and Guinan may never meet.
In the 19th century Data sees a picture of Guinan in a newspaper advertising a dinner she is hosting and he goes to talk with her -believing she has somehow followed him into the past. Arriving at the party he discovers Guinan has not followed him into the past but is the 19th century version of Guinan, currently living on Earth apparently trying to avoid her father. Data takes Guinan under his confidence in hopes she may aid him in his mission, while talking with her they discover someone has been eavesdropping on their conversation, Samuel Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain.)
In the 24th century the away team is joined by Picard, sending Worf back to the ship, and the earlier experiment is duplicated shifting the entire away team into line with the aliens. They discover the aliens sitting around a device Troi perceives contains the after-images of human energy, it seems the aliens are going back in time and collecting human energy in order to use as food. As another group of aliens enters a time-portal to Earth's past Picard, Riker, Troi, Crusher and Geordi follow as the door slams closes behind them.
Quick thoughts as this is a two-parter and more discussion can be had when the conclusion is reached next week.
Overall, I find this to be an intriguing episode and it's the only episode of the series that deals directly with the crew time-traveling to Earth's past (which TOS did a few times) as it was something the show tried to actively avoid and it's likely only done here since the trip to the past wasn't to contemporary times. Allowing for a still interesting setting.
While playing the characters broadly and with histories not matching their real-world counterparts, and likely not even their real-world mannerisms or even looks the actors who play two of the more noted authors of the 19th century do a great job.
The actor playing Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain does a great job playing what everyone likely thinks of when they think of Twain even if it is probably a broad characterization and if I'm not mistaken the makeup makes Twain look and act a bit older than he would be in the time the episode takes place in (he would have only been 58 during the time period of the episode.)
Though we don't know it yet, the bellhop who helps Data is Jack London and I think he does a decent job too, even if he doesn't completely match-up with the real-world Jack London.
The set-design and such of the setting looks good and some good costuming on everyone as well.
Marc Alaimo, who would go on to play Dukat on DS9, does a great job as well playing a card sharp Data is able to match wits with in order to get into the game, and eventually win. There's something fun about their little battle of sorts in speaking French when Data claims to be a Frenchman.
On the nitpicking side, it seems unusual to me that after the events of Part 2 that no one ever entered that cavern again for half a millennium.
It's also very odd Data sees Guinan's picture in the newspaper and figures that Guinan has joined him from the future.
Yes, Data. You got sent back into the past. The away team then went back up to the ship, talked with Guinan, brought her back down to the planet, duplicated the experiment, and sent Guinan back even FURTHER into the past. On arrival there Guinan managed to set herself up as something of a débutante or otherwise a socialite -likely hard to do being a black woman in the 19th century, even if it is San Francisco- noteworthy enough to throw a party and have it talked about in the paper. She then hoped that you set yourself up in a hotel and befriended the bellboy who would buy you what looks like a scrappy heal to a loaf of Wonder Bread and wrapped it in the newspaper advertising your party.
That, or -knowing her species is long-lived- she simply lived on Earth in the past.
But, I dunno, I'm not the one with a Type-R positronic brain capable of countless operations per second.
Anyway, a good episode and I think still one of TNG's stronger two-parters. I think it more-or-less keeps up with the previous seasons' cliff-hanger endings. (Of course, nothing beats BOBW) But I think it ends with the mystery and setting up of things being intriguing and interesting. A bit more interesting than "Klingon civil-war, Worf left the ship."
We're nearly 6-months from it but it's better than Season 6's cliffhanger, that's for sure.
Decent, interesting, episode. It's usually fun to see Data in untypical situations as Spiner does a great job with it.
Hmmmm.... I wonder if he won his combadge back after the poker game? He's wearing a vest afterwards so we don't see it. It'd be pretty odd for him to leave a piece of technology like that behind. He could have probably anted his rank pips. The buy-in was only 4-bits (50 cents) and the pips likely would have just as easily be mistaken for gold and would be worth at least that.
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