Opinion of TNG episode "The Inner Light"

[paladin]

I saw a posting on Facebook today regarding TNG episode "The Inner Light" saying it was arguably one of the greatest episodes of TNG if not all of Star Trek. Personally, I never considered it one of my favorite episodes. It was a dull and an ok episode. After rewatching it today, I would rate it as above average. It wasn't as bad as I remembered it.

Is there something that I'm missing about "The Inner Light" that makes it some awesome episode?

There are many other TNG episodes that I think are better. Two episodes from DS9, "In the Pale Moonlight" and "Far Beyond the Stars" are what I would consider much better than "The Inner Light."

[Batman]

it's a cute but essentially pointless episode.Nothing that happens in it is in any way relevant later on.

[Formless]

it's a cute but essentially pointless episode.Nothing that happens in it is in any way relevant later on.

What a pointless comment. If you don't count DS9, then almost all Trek episodes from the 90's have no relevance to later episodes. TNG and VOY weren't that kind of show.

Anyway, there is certainly some bias here because IIRC, The Inner Light is one of the few episodes of TNG to actually win an award for something other than costumes, special effects, or music. It won on the basis of its script, and that's not particularly common of science fiction TV! There is a similar case to be made that "City on the Edge of Forever" is also subject to the same bias, even as its writer decried the final version to be so tainted by Roddenberry's interference that its crap compared to what he submitted. But only hardcore fans know the behind the scenes story, and everyone else just judges what actually made it to the screen. So while hardcore trekkies might point to other episodes from other series in the franchise as better, this one is always going to be on a list somewhere as recommended viewing for new or casual viewers. Moreover, The Inner Light appeals to people who are attracted to Star Trek because of its episodic nature. They come to Star Trek for the self contained high concept stories, and the excellent acting of Patrick Stewart and others. In contrast, In the Pale Moonlight is neither self contained nor high concept, but a continuation of a Space Opera plot, and while Avery Brooks put in a great performance, we should remember that this is also the episode that spawned the "its a FAAAAKE!" meme. It also draws in a certain crowd who decries Sisko as a betrayal of Gene Roddenberry's vision for the crimes he admits to in the episode, whereas The Inner Light is if anything a story about the Roddenberry Ideal that couldn't actually be told while Roddenberry was in charge because of his rules and his ego.

This is not to say that either episode didn't earn their accolades by fans and by awards committees alike. Just to point out your own bias here-- both episodes you cited as better than The Inner Light are DS9 episodes. It could just be that you prefer the tone and storytelling of DS9 over that of TNG; whereas the guy you read is possibly the opposite. To be honest, I think most people who rate TNG higher are the casuals, because of the lower barrier to entry for an episodic series over a serialized one like DS9. And there are a lot of casuals.

[B5B7]

I know a lot of people really like this episode, and I suppose it is an entertaining story but I find it irrational, with Picard living 50 years of life in his mind, and also with the difference between the technology that enabled this and that which is depicted in the alien society.

[Formless]

I think its obvious this isn't how their society was, but how it wanted to be remembered. A vision of their best qualities in the face of inevitable destruction. Its obvious that their space program was eventually able to send probes out of the system, but never advanced to the point of warp travel; otherwise, they might have survived.

But anyway, we don't know how accurate the vision was, or even if that is what they looked like. It doesn't matter how they were able to put fifty years of memories into Picard's head (and its not the last story to have this plot point either-- DS9 had a similar story where O'Brian was stuck with memories of being imprisoned by some asshole aliens with a bad sense of justice). All of that is left unaddressed because that's beside the point. If these are their best qualities, then this isn't just how they would like to be remembered, but the virtues they hope others will take away from it. Which is, ultimately, what most fiction is about. That's why people love this episode. Star Trek is more often about the message than the technobabble used to set up the story.

[Tribble]

I think its obvious this isn't how their society was, but how it wanted to be remembered. A vision of their best qualities in the face of inevitable destruction. Its obvious that their space program was eventually able to send probes out of the system, but never advanced to the point of warp travel; otherwise, they might have survived.

But anyway, we don't know how accurate the vision was, or even if that is what they looked like. It doesn't matter how they were able to put fifty years of memories into Picard's head (and its not the last story to have this plot point either-- DS9 had a similar story where O'Brian was stuck with memories of being imprisoned by some asshole aliens with a bad sense of justice). All of that is left unaddressed because that's beside the point. If these are their best qualities, then this isn't just how they would like to be remembered, but the virtues they hope others will take away from it. Which is, ultimately, what most fiction is about. That's why people love this episode. Star Trek is more often about the message than the technobabble used to set up the story.

In addition it's also another great character piece for Picard as he comes to gradually accept and even embrace his new life.

While the probe was clearly trying to convince him (until the big reveal) that his experiences were real, it didn't appear particularly inclined and/or capable of directly impacting his decisions. For example, had Picard chosen to separate Eline and live by himself it seems likely the probe would just accommodate that into the narrative rather than somehow force him to remain with her. IMO this makes sense as doing so would have risked bringing the reality of the scenario into question, not to mention leaving a rather poor impression afterwards.

The point of course, is that while it took time, Picard didn't choose to isolate and become a hermit. He eventually chose to live a life with Eline, become a full fledged member to the community and do his best to try and save it, and even start a family (something S1 Picard would have been absolutely appalled at). And during the process, he learned something deep about himself:

"I always believed that I didn't need children to complete my life. Now, I couldn't imagine life without them."

And as the audience we get to see that despite Picard's usually personal misgivings and poor attitude he actually would be a good family man given the opportunity...

"Seize the time, Meribor – live now! Make now always the most precious time! Now will never come again!"

... which makes the reveal all the more tragic as it is all taken away from him. The way Picard holds the flute dearly next to his chest at the end of the episode nearly had me in tears.

Or in other words, this one episode did a lot more for the character than both seasons of "Picard" combined.

IMO the only real fault of Inner Light (which even the writers acknowledged as an issue) was the lack of a proper follow up. This should have been the single most profound moment in Picard's life, even more so than his stint as Locutus, and yet it is barely touched on again. At the very least it should have been a two-parter, where Picard readjusts to living on the Enterprise. IIRC due to the serialized nature of the show the writers didn't even think of the implications until well after, which is why they did a sort of follow up in "Lessons".

YMMV of course, but that's why it's up there among my favourite ST episodes.

[Tribble]

"Formless"

Timed out lol

How I would have done it, while maintaining the serialized nature of the show and the need to keep characters more or less static:

Turn it into a two-parter.

The first part is the "Inner Light" we saw, which can remain virtually unchanged.

2nd part is Picard readjusting to life on the Enterprise. He is a lot more personal and friendly than we have seen before, given his recent experiences, and overall seems to be a better person for it. He even decides to finally make advances towards Crusher, who reciprocates. However, there is a problem; turns out the experiences he received aren't permanent and he is beginning to forget them and/or his life prior. While Crusher eventually develops a solution there is a catch; either he can retain his memories his life prior to meeting the probe or his memories as Kamin, but not both. Picard faces the dilemma of deciding which life he wishes to keep; not only does he very much wish to keep the memories of "his" family alive, in some ways he genuinely feels that he is a better person as Kamin than he is as Picard. Eventually he decides that the crew are a family in the present that need him now more than his family which is long gone, and chooses to keep his memories prior to the probe encounter... but not before recording as much as his life as Kamin as he can remember. In the end the procedure is successful, Picard returns to "normal" and backs off from his relationship from Crusher (for the moment anyways). However, there are hints that at least a bit of his time Kamin still resides in him (such as perhaps retaining the ability to play the flute).

Yes, it is somewhat derivative from some other episodes, but I think that would have been decent enough.