Disaster (TNG episode)
The story follows five major sub-plots:
* The bridge is isolated from the rest of the ship. The officer in command is killed in the collision. This leaves Counselor
Troi in command - as a
lieutenant commander, she is the highest ranking officer left alive on the bridge. She is assisted by
Chief O'Brien and
Ensign Ro.
*
Captain Picard is in one of the turbolifts with three of the children of the ship's crew who have won a school contest to meet him for a tour of the ship. When the disaster hits, they are trapped in the turbolift with Picard suffering from a broken
ankle.
*
Doctor Crusher and
Lieutenant La Forge are in the cargo bay discussing La Forge's possible participation in a ship production of "
The Pirates of Penzance". There is a minor radiation leak from a smoldering plasma fire which threatens to destabilize a large quantity of an explosive compound.
*
Worf and a pregnant
Keiko O'Brien are in Ten Forward tending to the injuries of the crew when Keiko goes into labor.
*
Commander Riker and
Data attempt to get to engineering to restore some of the ship's systems.
Troi is clearly given the best chance to develop during the episode. Although her right to command is unchallenged, she faces constant pressure from Ro to cut loose the drive section to save the saucer section. Conversely, O'Brien wants to do anything possible to save those still alive in the drive section. Troi is clearly handicapped by her lack of technical knowledge, but eventually manages to assert herself in order to give the crew in the drive section a chance. The experience later convinces her to attempt to become a full commander, a goal she achieves in a later episode.
In this episode, Picard also deals with his inability to relate to children. As a child, Picard was consumed by work - both in his family's vinyard and winery, and with his own studies to meet his dream of becoming a starship captain. His own childhood lacked a sense of fun, immaturity and emotional response, and since most children have these qualities, he has difficulty dealing with them. In previous episodes, we have seen him banning children from the bridge, and his extreme discomfort when dealing with the emotions of children - even normal displays of affection. At first, he attempts to be authoritative - his usual response to people around him who panic. However, this only makes the children more upset. Eventually, he makes a game of escaping the crippled turbolift, and even engages in a children's song to take their minds off of the dangerous climb out of the turbolift shaft. At the end of the episode, he is clearly far more comfortable with the children, having spent more time with them and learning how to relate to them.
When Keiko goes into labor, Worf's response is cynically comical ("This is not a good time!"). However, although he is clearly uncomfortable in the role of midwife, and having only basic medical training in the subject, he delivers a healthy baby girl - the O'Brien's child Molly Miyaki Worf O'Brien.
La Forge and Crusher manage to kill two birds with one stone - depressurizing the cargo hold to both expel the dangerous cargo and rob the fire of oxygen. However, the maneuver threatens both with
asphyxiation.
Riker and Data suffer a number of difficulties trying to reach engineering. At one point, Data's body has to be sacrificed as an insulator to block a rogue electric current - only his head survives. However, on reaching engineering, they find only one operating console and realize that it is being fed power from the bridge (thanks to Troi's decision to route power there). They realize the antimatter containment system is weak, and Data manages to re-establish it in the nick of time.
The episode ends with the
Enterprise crew en route to a nearby starbase for full repairs after having made basic repairs. It shows Data back at his post with his body repaired. The three children who had been trapped in the turbolift with Picard present him with a plaque; and the episode ends as Picard promises the children a tour of the battle bridge.
Worf: "Congratulations: you have achieved full dilation of 10 cm. You may now give birth."
* While Geordi and Dr. Crusher are in the supposedly depressurized cargo bay, the behavior of Dr. Crusher's hair is not consistent with a vacuum. It "billows" instead of falling staight down.
* Also, Dr. Crusher advises that they hold their breath during their vacuum exposure. Holding one's breath during explosive decompression results in lung rupture.
The effects of vacuum exposure are much more deleterious in reality than depicted here.
* Counselor Troi assumes command because, as a lieutenant commander, she outranks Ensign Ro, but in many modern navies the chain of command would take into account that Ensign Ro is a
line officer while Counselor Troi is a
staff officer. Thus Ro would assume command regardless of Troi's rank because Troi does not have the training or experience for command. Indeed, it is not until the season seven episode
Thine Own Self that Troi actually studies to become a qualified bridge officer. Though the distinction between Line and Staff officers is usually only made in combat situations.
