The Inner Light, Gallifrey Gals Get Warped! S5Ep25
Added 2022-06-21 17:01:01 +0000 UTCWhat would you do if you suddenly got the chance to live another life! We're almost finished with the 5th season of TNG! How did we get here!! Let's get warped!
https://vimeo.com/719249571/04eb994095
PAULA DEMING
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KATRINA ALYSHA
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IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8371578/
Gallifrey Gals Theme Song by: NoAnie Music
https://www.fiverr.com/noaniemusic
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Comments
2nd most beautiful episode, the first being this one's follow up... I love the song so much. And have attempted to play it on several wind instruments that would be considered a bit larger than the tin whistle Picard uses... LOL
Dan Williams
2023-11-25 05:10:55 +0000 UTCI do however quite like the revelation that they knew for some time near the end, but didn't tell anyone because nothing could be done and it was pointless to upset people, and instead spent the time on their plan for the probe. Their hearts must have been continuously breaking throughout.
Peter Evans
2023-09-25 19:59:13 +0000 UTCkind of a strange comment. I have joy on my face when watching both TNG and DS9. they're not mutually exclusive.
uberelder
2023-06-26 17:44:37 +0000 UTCI'm sure I'm in the minority but seeing the joy on your faces while you watch these TNG episodes tells me you may not enjoy Ds9. I can't tell you how many times I've watched Ds9 trying desperately to enjoy it - and I just cant. IMO, TNG is superior in nearly every way. To each their own, though!
Visible Pixels
2022-10-25 23:35:41 +0000 UTCI think the bridge scenes were important. It does break up the flow of his story, but so would the massive time jumps. And those scenes allow us to have the knowledge that this isn't malicious. There's the similar episode with Riker, where he's transported to the "future". Because we don't know what's going on, we're suspicious right along with him. And this episode starts the same way. But we aren't supposed to be suspicious of them here, we're supposed to connect to these characters. I think without the bridge scenes, we would have had a much harder time connecting to those characters.
Jonathan
2022-08-05 08:07:16 +0000 UTCI wonder if the episode would have been even more impactful without the bridge scenes. Make the audience doubt reality right along with Picard until the very end.
Matthew Zeidman
2022-06-28 14:42:40 +0000 UTCThere really is a re-evaluating of Trek when you watch it through the eyes of others, which is why I have introduced more than a few friends and family over the years. Watching Kat experience this show gave me an appreciation of Wesley Crusher I never would have had otherwise. I am glad Paula got a chance to view this episode with her and see it in a different way. This is one of the reasons I hope they do decide to do DS9 in the future. I have gathered that Paula has been on the fence about doing so but I hope they do, not only to introduce Kat to some characters I feel she will very much like but to give Paula the same chance she had with this episode of seeing it through new eyes. Maybe they won't like it as much as TNG overall but I feel there will be many episodes Kat will enjoy and the ones they don't will give them the chance to do what I have come to enjoy from them...introduce me to a new perspective. God knows there are more than a few episodes of TNG I view differently having watched them experience it.
John Welch
2022-06-24 04:40:16 +0000 UTCWhile i personal cant wait to see my favourite episode 6x12 Ship in the bottle"... i will say, season 5 had many great and important storys, LGBT, Understanding, history, remembering... Its all the best ideas and the most important
Thomas88
2022-06-23 20:19:57 +0000 UTCI'm so happy we can help be there for you in a way! We're so grateful to have you here in our community and for the support to make it all still possible. Proud of you for taking the steps forward to healing!! - Kat
Time Lord
2022-06-23 05:18:41 +0000 UTCI love this episode because in my heart, I share Picard's love of anthropology and history. I love reading of the Sumerians and Egyptians, cultures that are almost forgotten. It always makes me think of of the poem Ozymandias. There are few reading assignments that I actually remember clearly at 41. Great Expectations, the poem Ozymendias, Things Fall Apart, The Epic of Gilgamesh and maybe A Tale of Two Cities.
DarkAshtar
2022-06-23 02:46:03 +0000 UTCJust watched a 2017 Patrick Stewart convention appearance on YouTube where he reveals he actually directed much of The Inner Light when the credited first time director admitted he was a bit over his head. Just makes this episode more amazing.
Mark Chrisco
2022-06-22 19:45:03 +0000 UTCMy guess as to why it worked on Picard and wouldn’t have worked on anyone (species) else is most other species would consider it an attack and destroy the probe, so anyone that was willing to go through the experience would be worthy.
Andrew Hogan
2022-06-22 12:52:08 +0000 UTCI’m not sure Tapestry would have as much meaning without this episode.
Andrew Hogan
2022-06-22 12:45:22 +0000 UTCAll good points, but as you said, you really have to suspend disbelief for the story, which is very poignant for Picard as a character.
Andrew Hogan
2022-06-22 12:41:34 +0000 UTCPerhaps Picard was affected, *because* his mind was the most open to the experience, the probe might not have even tried anything with a Ferengi ship.
MrEvers
2022-06-22 08:08:27 +0000 UTCIt's a little weird because we don't really know much about the probe or how it worked. But I think it was clear that none of the people (Picard's kids included) had any ill intention here. I'm not even sure they were self-aware and may have been programmed. In any case, this episode worked because it gave Picard a life he never had. If it had been any other crew member, it might not have worked. (Which begs the question, why Picard in the first place? What if he decided not to have children? What if he ran to the mountains and never returned?)
SuicuneSol
2022-06-22 05:16:24 +0000 UTCThis is my favorite episode of the TNG/DS9/VOY universe. In years past, I loved it because, for me, it opened up a new side to Picard. By exposing him to this experience, it let him accept that this kind of happiness was possible for him. The happiness of family. The ending to this episode was always tough for me to watch, but it never "got to me". Probably because I felt for Picard's loss, but I could never imagine what it might actually be like to have that kind of loss. Unfortunately, now I can. These last couple of years have been rough on everyone, and I know others have had tougher times than I. These past two years, I've been trying to move on from being divorced. Things are better, but for a while I used to dream of my previous life. And every time I'd wake up, it was pretty disorienting to say the least. And that feeling of loss... I will say that I am grateful to have found you two. Even though I have seen these episode enough times to have them pretty much committed to memory, seeing it through your fresh eyes and perspectives has been a gift. It's like being able to watch these episodes again for the first time. And looking forward to your reactions has been helpful these past few months. Thank you Paula and Katrina. This is my first time watching this episode since my divorce. I know it's gonna hurt, but watching it along with my friends (I hope you'll forgive this indulgence) will help. I'm writing this before seeing your reaction, so I hope you enjoyed it.
Antonio
2022-06-22 04:17:57 +0000 UTCWhen I first watched this episode (first run) I was a little kiddo and most of the concepts went right over my head. It was not my favorite. As I've gotten older all the concepts have definitely lifted it up now that I understand it more emotionally. But there is one that smacks me in the face more and more. I live in a part of the USA that has felt the effects of the "megadrought" and multiple small towns/villages frequently have water shortages due to more frequent dips in the water table and so their water pumps aren't deep enough to get water. So the attitude of the 'administrator' dismissing/downplaying the problem early on infuriates me more and more each time I do a watch through.
Saucy
2022-06-22 03:42:01 +0000 UTCThis is and always has been my favourite episode of TNG, it embraces the idea of exploring an unknown peaceful civilisation, does an excellent job of creating believable, likeable characters in very little time, and has some of the best character development that Picard has ever been given. It’s also incredibly tragic and poignant, and taps into a feeling of loss which I’m all too familiar with. It’s a story of people, and those are always my favourites. The fate of the people of Kataan is an unenviable one and I empathise deeply with their determination to find a way to have their memory live on. Yes, the method they came up with is intrusive and must have had a deeply traumatic and incredibly painful ongoing effect on Picard going forward, but it is also I think the only way to really, meaningfully, wholly accomplish that goal. When I watched TNG with my dad a few years ago I went to the effort of editing out the scenes on the enterprise where the crew tries to help Picard, as in my opinion they are the one big flaw in the episode, distracting the audience from becoming fully immersed in the life that Picard is experiencing, and perhaps even questioning whether it is real in some way, perhaps in an alternate reality or some such thing. To me the life he experienced was real, he lived, loved, and lost. He had a family, he worked hard to try to save his planet and give other people a chance to have the same opportunities he had to experience those precious things. By the end, if anyone could empathise with the reasoning behind the probe that trapped him in that life for so long, it’s Picard. By the way, the episode borrowed its title from the Beatles song “The Inner Light” written by George Harrison which is a wonderful song about finding enlightenment and understanding within oneself.
James Doxey
2022-06-22 01:48:36 +0000 UTCCouple a questions occured to me after... is this the ONLY probe of this kind that was sent? Maybe Kataan set off dozens, or hundreds of these things. They did talk about other mission launches. And, would they all be avatars for Kamin, each with a different artifact from his life in it? Or perhaps each probe would carry the experiences of a member of a different community? And artifacts from their lives? (Also interesting is that Kataan was 1000 lightyears from where the Enterprise found the probe, and the planet's star had gone Nova 1000 years ago. It travelled 1 ly per year until it happened upon the Enterprise, 1000 years later. Reminds me of Omicron Persi 8 from Futurama)
Nolan
2022-06-22 01:36:37 +0000 UTCI like to think that the probe chose Picard because it recognized him as the most intellectually open and enlightened member of the crew; though all of our heroes have their virtues, time and again we've been shown that it is Picard who has the best understanding of Humanity's mission to explore the Universe. And after all, who better than a person studied in Archaeology (as a passion, not just a career) to preserve the essence of a long-dead culture? Sure, it could have beamed the living memories of Kamin into any "Ensign Schmuck" on the ship, but who would have appreciated the weight and magnitude of those memories better than a renaissance man like Jean-Luc Picard? Who could have felt what it truly meant to carry the legacy of an entire world within themselves? I can't think of anyone even coming close; hence why I agree with Paula and Katrina that he is the greatest captain in the history of the franchise (his recent forays into action schlock notwithstanding).
Alexander Caldwell
2022-06-22 00:59:04 +0000 UTCI agree that this is an episode that's better upon rewatch, because the first time through I was like "ok whats the mystery?" which isn't really the point. I don't think it's a perfect episode but I know many people love it.
Chris Lane- Venturi 3D
2022-06-22 00:54:52 +0000 UTCI watched this episode when I was younger and considered it boring. Now that I’m a little older and have gone through some life experiences I’ve come to appreciate it as one of my all time favorites. Glad you enjoyed it so much!
Brian Hakala
2022-06-22 00:53:23 +0000 UTCI can't say I like this episode where they take the captain and force him to live a life where they pretend to care for him and tell him his real life is a lie. To answer picard's question when he arrives, "am I a prisoner here?" Yes. Stockholm syndrome
Mr
2022-06-21 22:52:20 +0000 UTCThis episode gets me, and I'm the guy who never cries watching shows. It's the episode that made me sub because I knew Katrina would have enough tears to fill a pool. Now, this being a second viewing, I've picked up on the climate change analogy when I didn't before. It's a little weird that the probe had the technology to do what it did when the society itself was barely capable of sending objects to orbit. But these are trivialities. Thanks for the reaction.
SuicuneSol
2022-06-21 22:45:59 +0000 UTCI grew up in the ‘70s seeing the occasional TOS ep on tv, enough that I became familiar with the characters and series tropes. Then it was the movies, specifically ST II-IV, that turned me into a fan. But, it was TNG, which began in the start of my third year of college, that made me a Trekkie, and Picard will always be My Captain, like Tom Baker is My Doctor. I remember sitting in the dormitory tv room with a bunch of guys (and they were all male) loving the hell out of Encounter at Farpoint.
Kathy A
2022-06-21 22:14:35 +0000 UTCOne of my favourite episodes of TNG, and one of the few that really made an impression on me. I never remember what season each episode is in, and I have been waiting for this for a long time 😁
Gjermund Higraff
2022-06-21 22:11:08 +0000 UTCYou remembrance brought back to me that this was the last episode my mom and I watched together before her passing. That was a good memory.
Mark Chrisco
2022-06-21 21:41:12 +0000 UTC100%! A rewatch with the Gals improves the episode for any viewer, even if that viewer is one of the Gals. 💜
Firefly24601
2022-06-21 21:39:32 +0000 UTCWell, while I don't detest Berman as much as others, for he did understand the need to stay true to the spirit and rules of the established franchise, some of his decisions were mot great. The music being one of them. He detested intrusive music. A part of me agrees because all the "Feel sad naow plz!" piano music of the new era do nothing for me but foster resentment at cheap emotional manipulation, but his hard line on that policy definitely knee-capped some big moments, action, suspence or otherwise.
Nolan
2022-06-21 21:25:50 +0000 UTCThis is a really great story, but I do think it's a better "science fiction" story than it is a Star Trek TNG story. Because the rest of the crew are barely in it. So, I can't consider it a contender for best episode. All that said, it is amazingly effective in making you be concerned with all these new characters in such a short time.
Joe Concepts
2022-06-21 21:24:32 +0000 UTCA little more research revealed it went for $190,000 last year. (https://heavy.com/entertainment/star-trek/picard-flute-sells-190000/)
Tristan Rose
2022-06-21 20:58:04 +0000 UTCFun fact; the Ressikan Flute (which is just a prop, not even playable) sold at the Christies auction for $48,000 and the last value I was able to find for it from a few years ago had it now valued at $70,000. (https://www.dailystartreknews.com/read/own-a-piece-of-star-trek-history-picards-ressikan-flute-is-going-up-for-auction-next-week)
Tristan Rose
2022-06-21 20:56:30 +0000 UTCSurprised they didn't keep him there until their sun actually went nova. "Sorry you died, but here is a flute as a consolation prize!"
Henchman Twenty1
2022-06-21 20:29:19 +0000 UTCI had a feeling this was the episode Paula was referencing when she previously mentioned a fan-favorite episode that she never connected with very much. I have always felt the same way with this episode. I think part of it is that I turned 11 years old a couple months after I saw it when it first aired. The themes didn't really resonate with me at that age. However seeing it now, with decades of life experience behind me, it hits completely differently. It's always been my mom's favorite episode and I totally get why now.
DC
2022-06-21 20:13:18 +0000 UTCOh I gotta say I agree with Paula about rewatching these with Katrina. I find myself much more emotionally impacted by the stories because of Katrina's reactions. Scenes that I don't recall ever making me cry before have me in tears because Katrina's in tears.
Jarrod Wild
2022-06-21 20:10:25 +0000 UTCi've always been saddened by this episode, I think the last time I saw it there were tears, but I did not expect them again this time. Thing is, ever since you guys started reacting to this show, you've been tracking and paying attention to Picard's journey in growing more comfortable and appreciative of children in his life, from not being able to stand them and wanting to avoid them, to seeing the potential and feeling pride in Wesley, relating to his nephew and his dreams, to surviving and mentoring those three kids in a turbolift to now having experienced the joys and heartaches of having his own family. This episode really built great pathos and characters in only 40 minutes, something other shows struggle and fail at in 10 hour-long episodes. I think it's because it took the time for the "everyday" moments - "Don't forget to put away your shoes... oh, I've nagged all day." who TF doesn't relate to that? It's not really the big bombastic emotional moments that make us cry, it's those smaller ones that really reach into our hearts and inform those big moments. Nothing makes me want to discard a show faster than one that doesn't put the work in and then plays a big emotional pivotal moment it didn't earn only for it to fall flat. to promise something bigger than it can ever give. Paula experienced that with this episode, but that wasn't the episodes fault for over-hyping the moment, it was the fandom and untempered expectations due to that. That's something I think serialized TV has lost a bit, the ability to build and make audiences feel for characters in just 40 minutes. To really hit a high emotional cord in a tight, carefully structured and presented short time span. Lookin' forward to next week, my favorite and least favorite TNG season finale!
Nolan
2022-06-21 19:57:26 +0000 UTCI think this episode suffers only from the episodes around it. I think it's a little too similar to this season's "Darmok", with Picard under some kind of attack that Riker doesn't understand is really benevolent. They both even end very similarly, with Picard reflecting on his experience. The next episode also picks up with Picard acting perfectly normal, where I think this episode should have a much bigger impact on him going forward. Taken just as a stand alone episode though, The Inner Light is pretty great.
Dan Crucy
2022-06-21 19:55:55 +0000 UTC"Oh, it's me. My whole life here was a lie. You kidnapped me, forced me to live to see my whole fake family die, then said 'Please tell people about us.', Oh I'll tell them. You're jerks!"
Bill
2022-06-21 19:51:12 +0000 UTCThis is a fantastic episode. I would never argue against that. But honestly, it's not my favorite. I know this an extreme minority opinion, but for an episode touching on very similar themes, I actually prefer Tapestry. It's not as emotionally devastating, obviously, but it's a little more plot-heavy and fast-paced and that's just my personal taste.
R. Chang
2022-06-21 19:31:14 +0000 UTCIt is one of those rare moments when the storytelling transcends the characters, and where it actually works.
Henchman Twenty1
2022-06-21 19:06:04 +0000 UTCJay Chattaway's scores generally hindered my enjoyment of his episodes. He came out swinging with Tin Man, an excellent soundtrack (that I own). But as he returned more regularly after the firing of Ron Jones, his music got lazy. He's obsessed with minors that really grate on my eardrums. There are a few motifs of his that repeat throughout everything he's done for Star Trek, and I hate every one of them. Having said all that, his lasting achievement for me is the flute theme from this episode. Granted it's a re-composition of someone else's work but it's got his flair added for positive effect.
Jarrod Wild
2022-06-21 19:01:28 +0000 UTCSomething about "tje whole episode is a eulogy" comment makes me wonder if there is any chance of bojack horesman reactions?
David Gallagher
2022-06-21 18:39:17 +0000 UTCOne of my favorites. The music always gets to me. Kat I'm sure you'll have many favorite episodes in the next two seasons.🙂 I'd say have as many as you want. I always enjoy your reactions and thoughts even if they differ from mine. I liked Paula's seeing the episode differently on her second viewing
Bruce Bromley
2022-06-21 18:28:39 +0000 UTCI suppose that technically it's not good "reaction" content when the reactors just sit silently, taking in the episode, for long stretches... But for this episode, that's just the exactly right reaction. "Stunning" is just about the only proper adjective for it— whether in a good way or a bad way. I haven't seen a scientific survey but I think most fans love the episode, and I'm definitely in that camp. I know some, though, who don't like it at all. But either way, "stunning" seems to the word that applies.
Keith Goodnight
2022-06-21 18:28:11 +0000 UTCWhen I was a kid I made myself learn that melody on the recorder and the piano.
Eric
2022-06-21 18:22:35 +0000 UTCThe Inner Light theme by Jay Chattaway has been performed and recorded by many major orchestras in its full form and is worth looking up. Picard playing the flute among the wreckage of Kataan would have made an even more emotional final scene. Morgan Gendel, the author of the episode crafted a sequel and in his own words pitched his heart out to have it made. However, the episode had been so well received, it was decided to let it stand on its own. Some, years later, the sequel was adapted as a graphic novel.
Mark Chrisco
2022-06-21 18:19:56 +0000 UTCI almost never tear up from TV or movies - havent seen this one in many years and it had me crying again. Such a well executed story. I love Skye Boat song and never recognized it here! Listen to Roger Whitaker's version, its wonderful
Mark Ten
2022-06-21 18:12:59 +0000 UTCThis is a episode that really should not work. There's barely any "Star Trek" stuff here, Like Paula said we want to see Picard not this fantasy world we know nothing about, and there's only like 40 something minutes to invest in this other life. Idk how but it all worked and watching this with you guys effected me way more then when I last saw it when I was a teen.
Mike
2022-06-21 18:09:45 +0000 UTCFirst, I want to preface my comments by stating the obvious, that this is a beautiful episode from a 'What if' storytelling perspective, and one of the better episodes of the series. I've even named female RPG characters after Picard/Kamin's daughter, Meribor. That being said, I'm going to look at this episode from a more objective angle seeing as I don't need to add my praises to the chorus. Pardon the length as I have a lot of thoughts. First off, I realize that this is science fiction and there should be a certain suspension of disbelief involved when digesting such a story, but I still prefer some degree of plausibility. The idea that a race barely capable of launching a probe into space could have that probe be able to penetrate the Enterprise's defenses and lock onto an "alien" mind and have that being live half a lifetime in mere moments without killing or lobotomizing them is a real stretch. And why Picard (aside from plot necessity)? Why not Ensign Schmuck down on deck 43? For that matter, what if the probe had first encountered a Klingon ship, or Romulan, Gorn or Ferengi? How would that go over? How would they react? Would the Kataanians look like that race to the person's eyes. What if the ship that was encountered was of a non humanoid species, such as the Sheliak (from 'The Ensigns of Command – episode 3x02) or the Tholians? That might be somewhat awkward assuming the probe even worked on them. From a morality standpoint, their probe basically forced a person to non consensually live another life, with all the highs and heartbreaks involved. Even though in reality it didn't last very long, from Picard's perspective it was half a lifetime long. How did that not mess him up more than it did? Even though those people weren't real, to him they were, and now they are all gone. Is it right to do that to someone regardless of intent? For the DS9 fans here, you may recall a similar, yet not so pleasant experience was forced upon O'Brien. Finally, that last scene on the doomed world of Kataan where Kamin is reunited with his late wife and he sees his whole family together reminded me of something from my own life. My maternal grandfather was near the end of his life having been in failing health and living in a nursing home for several years. At Christmas the whole family was gathered at my aunt and uncle's house, all four generations. Everyone was in the living room as we were exchanging presents and I was sitting on the floor next to my grandfather, who was in his wheelchair parked at the entrance to the room. I saw him get this reflective look in his eyes as he watched his grand kids and great grand kids and he whispered to himself, “It's been a good life. It's been a good life”. I think I was the only one who heard him. He knew it would be his last Christmas. Several months later he passed away, his life complete.
Henchman Twenty1
2022-06-21 17:07:23 +0000 UTCI've been intentionally not looking up episode lists so I can't remember what episode could be next and I can be surprised each week. That said, there of course stories I do remember where they go, such as the finale next week. As such, I've been wracking my brain into thinking what episode could be this week that I know couldn't be in the next season. ... How could I forget this classic. T.T
fcast17
2022-06-21 17:05:07 +0000 UTCHere we go
Andrew Hogan
2022-06-21 17:01:46 +0000 UTC
