The Inner Light” Aired 24 Years Ago Today

 

One of the most iconic episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation “The Inner Light” aired for the first time twenty four years ago tonight.

 Look out Taylor Swift, because Sir Patrick Stewart’s country music album sold so fast it went on backorder in under 24 hours!
“The Inner Light” broke the mold for Star Trek: The Next Generation in a lot of ways. During the episode a probe takes control of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and causes the Enterprise’s captain to think that he’s a citizen of a dying planet called Kataan.

What was great about “The Inner Light” was that it explored the death of a people and it did it in a unique way. Instead of relying on a plot that involved the Enterprise trying to save a world we were given a planet that had no hope of being saved.
I was always fascinated with the idea that this civilization chose to send a probe to tell their story. I don’t know if humanity would be able to make the call that we needed to tell our story to someone out there. I really feel like we would just tear ourselves apart right to the end.
This was an incredible episode and if you want to know more about it you should check out the article it’s writer Morgan Gendel wrote for Star Trek.com. It’s an incredible read and really lets you see how this TNG classic was created.