The Outcast
- Episode aired Mar 14, 1992
- TV-PG
- 45m
While aiding an androgynous race who lost a couple of members in an unmapped region of space, Riker falls for one of them, which can lead to trouble if detected, since the alien race does no... Read allWhile aiding an androgynous race who lost a couple of members in an unmapped region of space, Riker falls for one of them, which can lead to trouble if detected, since the alien race does not endorse gender specificity.While aiding an androgynous race who lost a couple of members in an unmapped region of space, Riker falls for one of them, which can lead to trouble if detected, since the alien race does not endorse gender specificity.
- Ensign Gates
- (uncredited)
- Operations Division Officer
- (uncredited)
- Crewman Nelson
- (uncredited)
- Starfleet Ensign
- (uncredited)
- Enterprise-D Ops Officer
- (uncredited)
- Crewman Martinez
- (uncredited)
- J'naii Civilian
- (uncredited)
- Operations Division Officer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of three TNG episodes where LeVar Burton has a beard, the others being A Fistful of Datas (1992) and The Quality of Life (1992). Burton actually preferred facial hair, but the producers did not, which is why his beards never last for very long.
- GoofsSoren tells Commander Riker that there are no 'hes' and 'shes' in Soren's species, but when she later speaks of her former classmate, she too uses the terms 'he' and 'him'. However, as Riker has said he feels uncomfortable using the pronoun "it," it's likely that Soren is simply adjusting her language to accommodate Riker. Also the classmate felt being male so using "he" would be logical choice.
- Quotes
Soren: My parents were pilots. I was flying with them before I could walk. As soon as I was old enough, I entered flight school. Krite was my instructor.
Commander William T. Riker: He had a good student.
Soren: "He"? Commander, there are no he's or she's in a species without gender.
Commander William T. Riker: Okay. For two days, I've been trying to construct sentences without personal pronouns. Now I give up. What should I use, 'it'? To us, that's rude.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Tvennesnack: Episod 1 (2021)
- SoundtracksStar Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage
One of the weakest TNG Eps ever. Mainly, because Riker would NOT go for Melinda Culea even out of the alien makeup and allegedly "androgynous" aspect of said aliens. She not only is not his type, she is WAY not his type. Especially since Riker prefers women, and Culea is playing a Sexless Alien. But I get the statement about Alternate Lifestyle, having lived on Castro Street for several years as a straight, and learning how to accept people's choices.
Riker repeatedly shows his preference for "Sultry" dark haired females: Epitomized by Carolyn McCormick as "Minuet" in the First Season Ep "11001001" - This is Riker's Ultimate "Dream Girl" - If she were real, Riker would have had her. But as she was not real, Riker commonly is attracted to women who are similar, namely Counselor Troi, and sometimes Ensign Ro. Through the series, we've seen Riker parade a large amount of women through 10-Forward, and at one time he even has romantic Banter with Guinan (But only for Wesley Crusher's benefit). I honestly think he would not have been interested in Culea's character, at least not romantically. And Ironically, she plays a similar role in The X-Files, as a woman with Lupus who has a crush on Mulder.
Therefore, it was not only wholly and completely out of character for Riker to not only fall for this person, but that Riker was determined to leave STARFLEET for her, Riker would never have done this, not with his Aspirations of becoming Captain, attained only in Star Trek X: Nemesis.
Now, I see no problem with Riker wanting to experiment with a race that could be either male or female, but to end his CAREER for, er, I guess the proper pronoun would be "them"? Would never happen.
Now Jeri Taylor had a good idea with this story, although it was unbelievable with Riker playing the Love Interest, it may have worked with "Broccoli"/Dwight Schultz - Or Geordi, even. Or, as somebody else pointed out, why did it even have to be a male member of the enterprise crew? The same person properly pointed out that this episode is an allegory of events which we may or may not have seen in our own lives.
Giving this a "5" because it is still a TNG Ep, and had some good things in it- The main scientific conundrum of the episode is actually very interesting. But I am not going to speak about what that was or how they solved it. And I am toggling the spoilers button back "off", because at no time have I talked about the actual conundrum of this episode or the basic plot.
Details
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1