15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Video, August 4, 2000
This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 27: The Child [VHS] (VHS Tape)
Marina is a wonderful actress, no doubt about it. It all revolves around Counselor Troi, an Empath from the planet Betazed, gets impregnated by a sphere of light and energy, that comes through the hull of the ship. It seems to search for a perfect host, and finds Troi. When confronted with the problem, Counselor Troi demands to have the child, against the wishes of the rest of the crew. And strangely, the baby is born within days. She names the child Ian, and before you know it, he has grown even more. And another strange fact, Ian is a full telepath, not half, like he should be. (Like his mom!) During the duration of the episode, Marina acts amazingly as she shows atatchment and protection of the child which she gave birth to, even through ackward means. Anyone who is a Star Trek Fan, or simply wishes for somthing a little different, should get this Episode on tape. It's amazing.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Season 2 starts with a tear-jerker, January 9, 2004
This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 27: The Child [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The Enterprise is enroute to a Federation medical station to retrieve thousands of biological specimens to be studied on another planet, in the hope of developing cures for dangerous illnesses. Newly promoted Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge designs a containment field and containers to hold the deadly specimens and to keep them from growing during transport. Veteran of many independent films, Seymour Cassel guest stars as the Federation scientist escorting the specimens.
Riker has gained a few pounds and a new beard, and Wesley's mother has been promoted to Chief of Starfleet Medical (the actress, Gates McFadden, was on maternity leave in real life) and veteran of the original Star Trek series, Diana Muldaur, is her replacement, Dr. Pulaski. Pulaski is a fiesty, older, in-your-face, no-nonsense doctor - not just a replica of Dr. Crusher. Wesley (the "child" officer on the ship) is pensive about leaving Enterprise and going to the Academy and struggles with his wants and desires, versus his need to fit in, follow orders and do what is expected of him. Whoopi Goldberg makes her debut as Guinan, the host of Ten Forward, and as is revealed in later episodes, a member of a race dispersed around the galaxy due to the Borg - and Guinan herself is at least 400 years old.
A small pixie-like spark wanders through space and penetrates the hull of the ship, wandering from room to room - it enters Counsellor Deanna Troi's quarters while she is sleeping and in a not-so-subtle maneuver, gets under the covers and climbs up to her nether regions. Troi bolts up in bed, startled. The next thing we find out is that she is pregnant, in her first tri-mester - the problem is that that the child was conceived only 11 hours prior to the the first trimester. Pulaski briefs the senior staff and estimates that at its rapid rate of growth, the baby will make his appearance in 36 hours, considerably shorter than a normal 10-month Betazoid pregnancy.
As the senior staff have an abortion vs. pro-life debate, Troi looks at the fetus on the viewer - the fetus inside her. The male child is genetically like her - half Betazoid, half human. She sees the heart beating through his transparent skin and sees his tiny limbs move and announces that she intends to keep the baby.
In a few days the baby arrives, looking very much like he is her child. She names him after her father, Ian Andrew. Picard hears the news and only a few hours after the birth, he goes with the doctor to Troi's quarters to pay respects to her and the baby. Much to his shock, the "baby" is now in appearance as a 4 year old child. He is bright and can talk. The expressions on Pulaski's and Picard's faces are priceless...a very well acted scene that can give you goose bumps.
In just another day he appears to be a child of 8 and his cognitive abilities are in step with this age. Suddenly, alarms start going off in Cargo Bay 3 - one of the specimens is growing and at the rate of growth, will push out of its containment area in less than a day, putting the Enterprise and even nearby planets in grave peril. Due to the nature of the "plasma plague" that is growing, jettisoning the cargo will do no good, since it can develop into a spore in open space and attach itself to a ship's hull or end up on a nearby planet as the solar winds drive it along its merry way. The most innoccous of the specimens would kill all life on the Enterprise in a matter of hours.
An unusual type of Eichman radiation is stimulating the growth of this specimen, and the source of radiation appears to be coming from young Ian Troi. The end result will put a lump in anyone's throat. This is a bittersweet episode with some light-hearted moments. There is an episode that later reflects on Troi's pregnancy and son Ian, so it's a pivotal episode. Trivia buffs will notice that the Computer's voice is still some unidentified male, not Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
immaculate conception and Bearded Riker first appearance, June 14, 2001
This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 27: The Child [VHS] (VHS Tape)
The Child" is one of those second season premiere episodes prior to a writers strike in Hollywood. This script was actually for the proposed Star Trek Phase Two series in the seventies. Troi gets pregnant (via immaculate conception) with Eon. Remember the Deltan alien in Star Trek The Motion Picture? She was the mother of the unwelcome alien visitor in the seventies version. Now in the eighties one it's Troi.
It's one of those episodes that moves kind of slow but has a point. Put up those shields in unknown territory! It's amazing that with all the equipment on the Enterprise that this one couldn't be detected. Highlights in this episode are a bearded Jonathan Frakes as commander Riker. That's how exciting this one was.
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