The Enterprise finds itself between missions in an unexplored area of space (take a drink!) enjoying some down-time. While on the holodeck enjoying a Dixon Hill program with Guinan. Picard is contacted by Data on the bridge (doing "The Riker" on the OPS console) and told that the ship's sensors have discovered a Class-M planet. Picard decides to investigate.
Enroute to the planet the ship encounters a wormhole the effects of which render the crew, save Data, unconscious. When everyone revives they wonder what happened but end up counting their blessing that the effects of the wormhole weren't worse and continue on their journey.
Over a period of time various oddities crop up on the ship suggesting to Picard something worse happened on the ship during their encounter with the wormhole and the only person aware during that time, Data, is not being forthcoming or co-operative with any answers. They mystery drives Picard more and more to seek out the truth leading the ship back to where they encountered the wormhole.
Turns out the Class-M planet is home to a race of xenophobic aliens wishing their existence be kept secret. They devised their "wormhole trap" to carry away unwanted visitors but ran into a problem with the Enterprise as Data is a form of technology they are unfamiliar with and cannot manipulate. While they thought they were out for seconds a full day had actually passed as the crew worked with the aliens to conceal their identity (as the aliens didn't trust that Picard could control all 1000 persons on the ship enough to keep their existence secret) by altering memories and changing ship systems, Picard had also ordered Data not reveal the events to anyone, including himself and Starfleet.
The aliens at first are convinced that the plan failed and intend to destroy the ship but Picard is able to convince them to give them a second chance, calling the first time a dry-run to shake out any flaws in the plan. The aliens say that we are worthy of a second chance.
As the crew revives from their unconscious state after the latest attempt Data is able to convince Picard the ship traveled a few light-years through a wormhole. Returning to investigate the discovered planet is too risky. After a moment's hesitation Picard accepts Data's suggestion, launches a probe and sets course for the Enterprise's next mission. The episode ends with Data being the only one aware of what happened on the ship over the course of the last day or two.
This is one of the more interesting episodes of TNG and one of my favorites of the series. There's just a lot of good moments in this episode between the characters and their behavior as events unfold. Particularly on how Picard and Geordi act with Data as it becomes more and more apparent he's not being entirely truthful about what had really happened.
The Remastering work was was beautiful, even the original version of the episode had some beautiful space-scenery that's only enhanced by the CGI/RM recreations.
There are a handful of oddities in the episode that are apparent after multiple viewings. The biggest one being that some of the mistakes made during their first run-through with the plan seem like ones they should have caught. The first thing that makes everyone suspect something happened is when Crusher discovers a moss-growing experiment of hers shows a day's worth of growth when they had supposedly only be out for a few seconds. This really seems like something everyone would have caught and prevented from happening the first time around and had it been take care of its likely none of the events of the episode would have occurred as it's this moss experiment that basically kicks off Picard's suspicions.
OTHER ODDITIES:
At one point during the investigation the crew operates under the assumption they were unconscious during the course of the missing day but Geordi wonders why their beards didn't grow. As the xenophobic aliens explain their process of putting people in a "bio-chemical stasis" Geordi seems to accept this as the reason why there was no beard growth. Sure, Geordi. Or, you know, since you were awake for that day you simply shaved before being knocked out.
Another clue is some discomfort in Worf's wrist, Crusher does a scan and discovers it was broken and then healed. Worf states there's very few on the ship who could break his wrist, among those being Data. Apparently another one is Troi since we discover during the flashback to the missing day it was her, being controlled by the aliens, who broke his wrist.
Another clue is that the sensor images Data provides of the supposed Class-M planet they saw is a slightly altered one of a planet in the ship's databanks. The image and information is of non-Class-M planet, Data offers that a sensor malfunction combined with the wormhole made them misread this planet as being Class-M. The question is why Data used archival images and data for the planet? Couldn't he falsify a completely "new" planet?
We don't know how it all works, sure, but it seems to me that when the ship next gets to a starbase or something they should discover their clocks are off by a couple of days.
It also seems to me that at very least Picard's memories could have also been kept intact to perhaps better ensure the plan would work. The alien leader didn't seem too dismissive of the idea of people keeping them secret, it just didn't believe all 1000+ members of the crew could be kept silent. Data and Picard together would have made the plan's likelihood of success greater.
It is interesting to think that this is one of those TNG episode that in effect "didn't happen." For the rest of the series, through the movies, and beyond the crew are unaware the events of this episode took place and only Data knows what really happened and is keeping that information from everyone.
NOTES:
This episode marks the first appearance of occasional CONN/Flight officer Ensign McKnight.
I *believe* this is the first episode to pretty much start the "It's a hobby" trope in the series and the rest of the franchise (particularly Voyager.) Of course hobbies of characters have turned up from time-to-time before this, like Picard's interest in archeology, for the sake of plot convenience but usually those hobbies have turned out to be character traits that stuck around for the rest of the series. Again, Picard's interest in archeology is a recurring theme for the rest of the series. But in this episode Crusher happens to have a "hobby" for growing mold spores, this hobby happens to kick off the events of this episode and, as it turns out, we never really hear or see of this hobby again.
GOOD LINES:
"So it took a little while to get into the dress. It took a little while to figure out what I was supposed to do with these!" - Guinan tying to get into to see "Dixon" by talking to his secretary Madalyn and showing off her garters.
"Ensign, take us back to the scene of the crime the T-Tari System, Warp 2!"- Picard on wanting to finally get to the bottom of the mystery, ever so slightly putting on his Dixon Hill persona to say it.
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