Product Details

• Actors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden
• Directors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert Becker, Cliff Bole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Paramount
• VHS Release Date: May 31, 1995
• Run Time: 46 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302744679
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,929 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

When Picard receives a secret transmission from an old friend, Starfleet Captain Walker Keel (Jonathan Farwell), he agrees to attend a secret meeting on an uninhabited planet, even though it means breaking several Starfleet regulations and jeopardizing his career. Keel and a couple of other highly respected captains have gathered because Keel has begun to notice some bizarre orders emanating from Starfleet and suspects a growing conspiracy. Back on the Enterprise, Picard is skeptical, but Data helps confirm some of the strange orders. Picard sets up a meeting with Admiral Quinn (Ward Costello) to check it out. Admiral Quinn had previously boarded the Enterprise in episode 19 ("Coming of Age") in order to investigate the competency of Picard in the face of an unstated conspiracy, but now he seems like a different man. Though the writing is a bit forced, it's nice to see the show working on long-form, continuing story lines. --Andy Spletzer

From the Back Cover

After a cryptic message from his old friend Starfleet Captain Walker Keel (Jonathan Farwell), Picard (Patrick Stewart) beams down to an uninhabited planet for a rendezvous. There, Keel and two other officers try unsuccessfully to convince Picard there is a conspiracy within Starfleet Command.

After Kee's vessel mysteriously explodes, Picard returns to Earth to assess the situation with Starfleet's top leaders. Meanwhile, Starfleet Admiral Quinn (Ward Costello) boards the Enterprise and inexplicably attacks Riker (Jonathan Frakes). After the Admiral is subdued, an examination reveals his body has been taken over by parasitic beings who are now controlling Starfleet. Can the crew act in time to save Picard and the future of the Federation?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Star Trek goes dark, October 26, 2000

By 

Michael Bernabo (Duluth, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 25: Conspiracy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

What struck me as being the good thing about this episode was that they set it up several episodes before hand, when an Admiral makes an offhand remark to Picard that he wants to talk to him about a new threat to the Federation. In this episode, he waves it off, but the destruction of a Federation Star ship, plus the Admiral beating Riker uncounscious, shows that something is amiss.

Another thing that I noticed, from my limited experience with the Original Series, is that as we go on, Starfleet seems less and less invincible. This episode shows that they can be infiltrated by small things; 'Best of Both Worlds' showed they can get whipped; and the end seasons of DS9 showed that Starfleet could go to war and kick hard. But what i didn't like was that they set up, at the end, the possibility that something else was coming, but they didn't follow through. I may be wrong (if I am, let me know) but nothign ever came of what could have been a great plot line.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a visit to the dark side of starfleet, February 15, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 25: Conspiracy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is an excellent episode although it has caused a lot of contreversy.This is one of the best and most interesting episodes of the first season of star trek the next generation. It involves a race of wormlike parasites that invades senior admirals in the starfleet. Very interesting and well written. However it is also gory and digusting in some parts. ( For example a man's head explodes and there is a scene of a group of people eating maggots. ) Many parts of it were unnecessarily gross. This caused conflicts between people who enjoyed the episode becaues of the good storyline and network sensors as well as fans who were turned off by some of the nasty things that happen to people during the episode. I personaly enjoyed it. I gave it a 3 for two reasons. In some scenes captain Picard is out of charactor and some of the "gross out" special efects are a little to ..well..gross! All in all I would reccomend only getting this episode if you have an appreciation for the darker episodes of the first season of star trek as opposed to the lighter and less realistic episodes of seasons 5 or 6. Only for real trekers.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars REALLY, REALLY, REALLY "WAY OUT" TREK!, November 28, 2000

By 

Reginald D. Garrard "the G-man" (Camilla, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 25: Conspiracy [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Among Star Trek fans "Conspiracy" remains one of the most controversial. The premise of a covert plan by alien beings to infiltrate and control the minds of key Star Fleet personnel is eerily handled as one by one, Captain Picard and crew find themselves confronted by "possessed" officers.

There are several really gross scenes, the last of them being the "revelation" of the host alien. Why there was not a sequel to this one is one of the series' mysteries.

All in all, however, this one is a keeper.