Product Details

• Actors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden
• Directors: LeVar Burton, Gates McFadden, Gabrielle Beaumont, Robert Becker, Cliff Bole
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, HiFi Sound, 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: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303359159
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,076 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"The Survivors" is a third-season episode that truly echoes the kind of sci-fi mystery that made the original series so memorable. When the Enterprise responds to a distress call on the planet Rana IV, the crew finds that the entire planet has been devastated, with the only remaining structure being a single house on a lovely, landscaped yard. The occupants are an elderly couple, Kevin and Rishon (John Anderson and Anne Haney), who cannot explain why they were unharmed. Picard is suspicious, more so because empath Deanna Troi is unable to read the couple's emotions--and, in fact, finds herself driven nearly mad by music in her head that keeps getting louder. Before Picard can do anything, however, the same alien vessel that attacked the planet suddenly appears and focuses its wrath on the Enterprise. In the ensuing cat-and-mouse game, the secrets of the seemingly innocent and aged couple gradually come unraveled, as Picard searches for an answer to the question. Cannily written by Michael Wagner and directed by Les Landau, this is the kind of story that suddenly veers in the direction you least expect, powered by a subtle performance by Patrick Stewart and a stalwart one by veteran character actor John Anderson, one of those actors whose name may not be familiar but whose face is instantly recognizable. --Marshall Fine

From the Back Cover

Responding to a distress call from Rana IV-a Federation planet under attack-an Away Team discovers all that remains of Rana IV is a single house on a small patch of land. The house is occupied by Kevin and Rishon Uxbridge (John Anderson and Anne Haney), an elderly couple who refuse to leave the planet.

Meanwhile, aboard the Enterprise, Troi (Marina Sirtis) is plagued by a strange melody that plays over and over in her brain. As a result of this inexplicable affliction, she cannot read the emotions of the Uxbridges.

When the Enterprise is suddenly attacked by a super-powered warship, Picard (Patrick Stewart) realizes a deadly force wants to keep the crew away from the planet and its lone inhabitants.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not likely to Make the Top Ten List...., February 13, 2001

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 51: The Survivors [VHS] (VHS Tape)

But "The Survivors" is a beautifully acted tale with a dignified and compassionate performance from veteran character actor John Anderson. His "revelation" to Captain Picard at the installment's ending moments is stunning, bringing to the surface all the years of toiling as a "heavy" in so many films and television shows. It is this rare occasion when the actor showed that he could portray a sympathetic character whose actions are based solely on love and loneliness.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Survivors, February 1, 2000

By 

AstroNerdBoy "AstroNerdBoy" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 51: The Survivors [VHS] (VHS Tape)

In this episode, the Enterprise responds to a distress signal to discover a colony that's been wiped out. A closer scan reveals a small patch of land that has not been destroyed with two survivors. Attempts to evacuate the survivors meets with another attack from the aliens.

For it's time, the battle between the alien vessel and the Enterprise was pretty darn cool. In addition learning about this retired couple who survived the attack kept me interested through out the episode.

3.0 out of 5 stars Weak story with a very vengeful god, March 16, 2009

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 51: The Survivors [VHS] (VHS Tape)

While the love between Kevin and Rishon is touching, the situation has so many logical holes that it reaches the level of absurdity. When answering an urgent distress call from a human colony under attack, the Enterprise discovers that with one tiny exception, the planet has been completely devastated. That exception is a small acreage containing lush vegetation, a house and two inhabitants, Kevin and Rishon.
Riker leads an away team to the acreage, only to be caught in a noose that leaves him hanging upside down. Why there would be a need for such a trap on a planet where all other life has been eliminated is a question never asked, although it does create a funny moment. Kevin and Rashon are evasive in answering questions and refuse to evacuate to the Enterprise.
Suddenly, Troi begins experiencing powerful telepathic messages of a song that begins to erode her sanity. When a large and powerful ship appears, it fires on the Enterprise using very weak weapons and then leaves the system. The Enterprise pursues but the ship always manages to stay ahead until Picard breaks off the pursuit. This continues until Kevin finally confesses that he is a powerful and immortal creature that refused to aid the colonists in their battle against the attacking Husnock and therefore watched all the people as they were killed. In his grief and anger, he then slaughtered all 50 billion Husnock and has been living with a simulcrum of his dead wife ever since. Stunned by this revelation, Picard realizes that he cannot judge Kevin and allows him to return to the planet.
The most serious logical flaw is that a being as powerful as Kevin would have known that the Husnock would wipe out the human colony and Rishon would be killed. He could have prevented that by using but a fraction of his power in a nonviolent manner, yet he did not. A second flaw is that Kevin is a member of a species most certainly unknown to the Enterprise and Picard would have made some effort to learn about them before telling Kevin that he can return to his purgatory existence on the planet. While John Anderson as Kevin and Anne Haney as Rishon deliver superb performances that improve the episode, this is too little to overcome the enormous inconsistencies. Finally, there is some additional uplifting as Worf is allowed to deliver two very humorous lines.