Star Trek: The Next Generation — 5x15 — Power Play

Aired 1992-02-24

SpaceOpera.com rating:5

Average reader rating:5.27

Synopsis

Troi, Data and O'Brien are possessed by spirits.

Remarkable scenes

Data acting weird.
Troi, Data, and O'Brien attempting to take over the ship.
Data brute forcing the forcefield.
Troi, Data, O'Brien shrugging off phaser hits.
Data trying to get Worf to fight him.
The attempt to disembody the spirits.
O'Brien catching their shuttlecraft transporter trick.
Data's obsession with Worf.

Review

A decent hostage episode with a number of interesting high points. I was particularly fond of Data's obsession with wanting to kill Worf along with the game of misdirection that the bridge crew was playing with the aliens. Unfortunately, the cover story for the aliens was much more interesting than their real story. I would have liked to have seen the remains of a real Daedalus class ship and I would have liked to have gotten a look at a crew of that era. Nevertheless, the episode stands well enough on its own even if it doesn't reach its maximum potential.

5 reader comments

GOD the phaser scenes in this episode are cool. I love seeing people fly across a room!
How hard is it for picard to restrict all access to the computer to himself and riker???
Data's inhabitant seems to be a very angry person
by Pete Miller | 04/23/2006 at 1:43 am

Why didn't Data simulate Riker's or Picard's voice, so they would have control over the ship?
by Dejan | 05/30/2007 at 11:02 am

During the shuttle trip down to the planet, Troi sits in the back bench seat. After the crash, Riker blows an escape hatch from the back end of the shuttle, and they climb out. Evidently the designers put the escape hatch behind a wall that is blocked by a bench seat. Does this seem like a reasonable location for an escape hatch?
Just after Troi, Data, and O'Brien leave the bridge, Worf traps them in a turbo lift. O'Brien helps them escape by accessing the main computer. He does this by using a panel inside the turbolift. It's amazing how these panels appear inside the turbolifts just when they are needed (see comments for "Brothers")
After Troi, Data, and O'Brien take hostages in Ten-Forward, Picard tries to negotiate with them. After listening to Picard for a few minutes, Troi tells Data and O'Brien what the captain is trying to accomplish. She talks as if Picard cannot hear them. Picard tries to open a dialogue again. This time Troi talks and Picard can hear her. What's the difference? What indication does Troi give the computer that some of her statements are meant for her fellow conspirators and others are meant for Picard?
During one rescue attempt, Geordi and Ro climb into an access tube and situate themselves directly above Ten-Forward. While they settle in, they discuss their strategy. Once they are in place, Geordi hits his communicator and begins whispering to the bridge. Why is Geordi whispering? He talks at medium volume the entire time they set up the equipment. If he was worried that the conspirators in Ten-Forward would hear him, wouldn't he whisper the entire time he was in the access tube?
At the end of the show, the spirits release Troi, Data, and O'Brien because Picard threatens to detonate the cargo bay hatch. Picard claims this will kill all the spirits when everthing in the cargo bay is blown into space. In other words, the spirits need an oxygen environment to live?
by DSOmo | 09/28/2007 at 7:44 am

Regarding O'Brien transporting down to install the transporter signal booster, wouldn't it make sense for Starfleet to equip each shuttlecraft with those rods? Especially when 90% of shuttlecraft launches seem to end up crash-landing on a planet where the normal transporter doesn't work!
Why is Worf still in charge of security? Once again, the Enterprise's systems are effortlessly compromised by people hitting buttons on assorted control panels scattered throughout the ship. I can't see the rationale behind Ten-Forward and every turbolift having easily accessible panels where anyone can access vital command-and-control functions with no way for the bridge crew to shut them out.
by Mark McC | 01/22/2009 at 6:33 pm

As other commenters have noted, the writing in this episode is ridiculous because apparently every bridge command can be overridden by tapping a few keys on any computer terminal on the ship. How tough is it to design a computer system that follows Picard/Riker's commands?
by Rick | 03/11/2014 at 4:44 pm