Episode title: “Where No One Has Gone Before”
Season: 1
Importance: 5 (first introduction of the Traveler, who will feature later in quite a spectacular way)
Crisis point(s) if any: The
Enterprise goes beyond the known galaxy? I’d call that a crisis point, wouldn’t you?
Original transmission date: October 26 1987
Writer(s): Diane Duane (based on her TOS novel
The Wounded Sky), Michael Reaves
Director: Rob Bowman
Stardate:* 41263.1
Destination: Unknown and unplanned
Mission (if any): Originally just an upgrade of the engines by a so-called Starfleet expert. It of course goes wrong.
Main character(s) in Plot: Wesley
Main character(s) in Subplot (if any): Picard, Riker
Not appearing: O’Brien
Villain/Monster (if any): n/a
Deaths: 0
Lives saved (episode): 1 (The Traveler)
Lives saved (cumulative): 2
Locations:
Shipboard:
Bridge
Engineering
Space:
M33 Galaxy; way way way beyond any charted space
Other:
Earth colony ++
Ships/vessels: 1 (USS
Fearless)
Space battles: 0
Bodycount
Historical
0
Incidental
0
Direct
0
Total: 0
Running total: 83
Make it so: 0
Engage! 1
Combat factor: 0
Planets visited: 0
Planets mentioned: 1 (Tau Alpha C)
Mysteries: 1 (What in the name of James T. Kirk are we doing out here and how do we get back?)
Patients in sickbay: 1 (The Traveler)
Meetings: 1
Data v Humanity: n/a
Data 1 - Humanity 2
Character scores:
Picard 10
Riker 10
Troi 10
Bev 10
Geordi 20
Data 10
Worf 10
Wesley 95
Yar 10
Earl Grey: 0
Shuttlecraft: 0
Admirals: 0
Starbases: 0
First contact: 0
Humour: 0
Episode rating: 5/10
Episode score: 240
Interesting that in the previous episode it seemed Geordi was chief engineer (as he will be) but here we have a guy called Argyll, who is clearly Scottish in no doubt an attempt to pander to fans of TOS (let’s be honest here: at this point fans of the classic show are probably in the vast majority of those watching this; it has not yet really had a chance to gain its own following, so you can’t blame them for the constant callbacks to Kirk and Co.) - maybe LaForge is off-duty? Still, considering these adjustments to be made, even if off-duty you would think he would want to be involved. Actually no, I see now he’s at the helm. Maybe he was just in engineering that last time. Anyway, who do I hate more in this episode? Kosinksi or Wesley? Hard to choose, so hard. But I think in the end it comes down to pure arrogance and Kosinksi has that in spades, or quantum shovelling devices, or whatever the hell they use in the 24th century.
"How dare you! I did NOT fart!"
Hey, why does Picard not even raise an eyebrow when Geordi tells him they’re passing Warp 10? Isn’t that supposed to be impossible? Or at least, far beyond the capabilities of his GALAXY CLASS starship? Also, is there some reason the Traveler is dressed like a refugee from a Nazi concentration camp? Funny though how he does exactly the reverse of what Picard wanted. “I asked for fu
cking reverse, not to slam your foot down on the god-damned accelerator!”
This is, in my opinon, the first episode where TNG showed what it was capable of. Using the grand traditions of TOS it nevertheless managed to throw off the shackles of its parent show and walk unaided into a bright new future. We had great effects, an interesting premise, lots of interaction between the crew, and the old slogan was finally justified. I could have done with less Wesley and more Beverly, but that’s how it is.