Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Sub Rosa (1994) User Reviews

It just sort of rolled in on us, sir

[snoozejonc · 5/10 · 8 February 2022]

Dr Crusher falls in love with a lamp!

'Sub Rosa' is a famously panned episode, but it is possible to take enjoyment out if it if you watch it in the right frame of mind.

In a similar sense to 'Spock's Brain' if you take television seriously, you will not like it and might as well skip the episode. However, if you can see the funny side of a number of ridiculous concepts, camp delivery and archaic misogyny, it can be quite entertaining.

You know it's not good when a cynical Hollywood producer targets a female audience with the attitude of doing a romance episode because 'they love romance'. Then they show their respect for that audience by having one of their leading female characters decide to give up her entire life for a ghost lover she met ten minutes ago. Throw in every Scottish stereotype and supernatural cliché they can think of and you have 'Sub Rosa'.

I enjoyed it for all of the above. To be fair the production values are great. All the visuals were cringeworthy ideas but executed very well by Jonathan Frakes and the production team. It has quite strong visual storytelling. When I first watched this as a teenager I saw Crusher having orgasms on screen whilst I sat there having my tea. How cool is that?

The actors deliver everything superbly with a straight face. Gates McFadden is asked to behave wildly out of character and she does a great job of some of it. Admittedly some lines she delivers are poor, but she has insane material to work with. Duncan Regehr is so deadpan and serious with equally awful lines you cannot help but enjoy. When he gets angry, he is genuinely good.

Man, oh man . . .

[Mr-Fusion · 4/10 · 8 November 2017]

I've heard plenty about 'Sub Rosa', most of it negative; but there's still the possibility of something being so-bad-it's-good, right? Sadly, that doesn't really apply here . . .

It all starts off well enough with a solemn eulogy, eventually blossoming into a trashy romance novel. Throw in the brainwashing angle, and it just gets worse. Maybe it played differently pre-"Twilight", but that's out of my hands.

You have to credit Gates McFadden for making the best of it. How often does a Beverly episode come along - and here it is, complete with green vapor sex scene. It has a decent closing scene makes some of this worth while, but will I ever revisit this episode in the future? Probably not.

4/10

Beverly is seduced by a 'ghost'

[Tweekums · 5/10 · 16 September 2015]

This episode sees the Enterprise visiting Caldos IV so Beverly can attend the funeral of her grandmother. After the service she goes to her grandmother's house and finds two interesting items; a very old candle holder and her grandmother's rather erotic diary… apparently the centenarian had been having a relationship with a handsome thirty something named Ronin; possibly the same man Beverly saw at the funeral. Soon afterwards an elderly local warns Beverly that the house and in particular the candle are cursed but she throws him out and lights the candle anyway. Soon she starts having erotic dreams about Ronin and eventually sees him; we learn that he has been with the women of her family since the seventeenth century… is he a ghost or something else? While Beverly is busy being seduced by Ronin the colony is suffering a problem with its weather control system; a problem that spreads to the enterprise.

Unfortunately this is one of the weaker episodes of TNG; it doesn't start well when Picard tells the colony's governor that the settlement reminds him of the Scottish Highlands and the man proudly replies that is contains stone from Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen… fine Scottish cities but not in the Highlands! The inhabitants are some of the worst clichés of an outsiders' view of Scotland that anybody who has even visited the Highlands will find laughable. The story itself is just about okay but the attempt to mix a Gothic ghost story with science fiction doesn't quite work; it is hard to believe that Beverly would be seduced so easily or that her colleagues wouldn't have noticed that something was wrong sooner. On the plus side the problems with the weather do provide some genuinely funny moments when the bridge starts filling with fog. Overall a rather disappointing episode.

Worst Episode of the Season

[jvidell · 1/10 · 12 April 2009]

This episode was truly horrific. It seemed to be a pity episode thrown to Gates McFadden, to put her in the lead role. The main impression I got from the episode was "Crusher's orgasms." That seemed to be the main focus of the episode, Crusher being seduced, repeatedly. The actor who portrayed Ronin did a decent enough job, and the alien Scotsman was a great character. But all in all the storyline was very weak and the good acting could not make up for the script, which was even worse than anything Anne Rice has ever written. This episode seriously detracted from the overall quality of season 7.

I had partially blocked this episode from my memory when it first aired and had not seen it until recently, while watching the entire series on DVD. I wish I had skipped this episode, as I could not wait for it to be over. About halfway through the episode I actually thought about turning it off! It was that bad.

One of the few lemons in the series.

[kfo9494 · 2/10 · 6 March 2014]

Every so often a series will have an episode that is not up to the standards we expect. This episode proves that 'TNG' is also hit by the clunker syndrome.

In this episode we have Doctor Crusher attending her grandmother's funeral where she finds out that her 90+ year old granny had a 30 something lover. But is seems that the lover is a ghost that haunts the family and now Beverly is next in line. And supposedly the ghost has the sexual prowess to convince Beverly to resign her commission and start a new life on the Scottish planet. And all his power comes from a candle that Beverly was warned about at the beginning of the episode.

It will be easy to blame this episode on Gates McFadden but the fault should be squarely on the writers. They tried to make this a sexual episode that would appeal to women thus bringing them into the fold of the series. But what they ended up with is a cheap dollar love story that did little to cause any interest.

More of Dr. Crusher's family revealed.

[russem31 · 3 May 2006]

ST:TNG:166 - "Sub Rosa" (Stardate: 47500) - this is the 14th episode of the 7th and last season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

In another Crusher episode, we get to see more of Dr. Crusher's family - in this case her Nana (grandmother), Felisa M. Howard, who raised her after her mother died. She has been living on Caldos IV, a recreation of a Scottish town, where she has recently died after living over a century. There, Dr. Crusher encounters a mysterious and handsome young man who gives her a knowing look - after reading her grandmother's journals, he turns to be her mysterious lover Ronin. Soon, Dr. Crusher begins hearing a strangle male voice and become seduced by it!

At the same time, the planet's weather control system begins malfunctioning and the Enterprise investigates.

Are the two occurrences related? Find out in this somewhat strange episode.

Trivia note: Dr. Crusher mentions Dr. Selar again.

Among the very worst episodes of the series...and evidence that perhaps they were running out of ideas

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 5 December 2014]

I thoroughly hated "Sub Rosa" and feel it's among the most embarrassing and stupid episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". My wife didn't hate it quite as much as me, but she thought the show was indeed inferior.

Beverly Crusher goes home to a colony where she grew up in order to attend her grandmother's funeral. Here, you learn she's of Scottish descent--which is odd as it was never mentioned before or after. It all seemed very contrived as soon she was caught up in what was a Gothic Scottish romance combined with a paranormal story. While this combination MIGHT work, putting it in outer space and on this series was awfully bad. What follows is a ghost-like story along with LOTS of heaving bosoms and perplexing romance. All in all, it was just god- awful and Gates McFadden didn't do much to help this story.

UPDATE: By the way, it isn't just me who hated this episode. At the 50th anniversary Star Trek convention in Las Vegas, this was voted as one of the 10 worst of all episodes from every Trek franchise! That is some ignoble designation!

What you get when you combine Star Trek with a romance novel...

[gilbertayres · 7/10 · 7 October 2018]

At first this episode comes off as a romance novel with mysterious candles, ghosts, a gothic yet picturesque Scottish setting, and an exploration of sex from a female perspective. This last element is the most interesting, the rest is actually rather stupid and more 3/10 territory, especially a rather tacky resurrection sequence. The first thirty minutes or so will have you thinking "there is no plot here", and that is sort of true, apart from an 800 year old "ghost" trying to seduce Beverly Crusher, nothing actually happens apart from some whacky weather. The romance elements are rather predictable in all honesty and the idea of combining the genre with space opera is really a matter of personal taste, which might be why so many people find this thing plain awful. What salvages the episode is its treatment of female sexuality, utilizing Crusher and to a lesser extent her conversations with Troi. Although I found myself at times laughing at the episode rather than with it, this isn't a terrible episode. B-.

what a Jumbled Mess we leave

[metalrox_2000 · 1/10 · 14 February 2011]

Wow, where to begin.

We suspend disbelief a lot for our beloved TNG, but this was way too much.

The story centers around a ghost, a spirit, a whatever, that has been seducing generations of Crusher women. And there we encounter one issue...this becomes the first star trek show to have incest as a plot line.

Now for some reason, this spirit needs the burning of a flame in order to come close to the Crusher women(!). All of a sudden, Beverly is willing to leave behind her career to spend her life with Quint. And now its up to her crew mates to save her from making a terrible choice.

That is the nuts and bolts of it. And what we are left with is perhaps the worst TNG episode of the entire bunch, and a excellent character (Crusher) is making choices that seem completely out of place, even for someone as her. And Gates McFadden, who's done well in stories that were centered around Crsuher, tries her best to hold everything together. She can't, and even her cast mates seem to know that this is simply a terrible plot.

If TNG even jumped the shark, it was here.

A very nicely done episode!

[hmoika · 7/10 · 23 April 2018]

Okay. I admit: after reading most of the very negative reviews, I'd planned on skipping this one (This is my first run through the series). The one element that changed my mind was the fact that Jonathan Frakes directed. As far as I can remember, I've enjoyed every one of his directorial episodes.

Then there were the occasional glowing reviews. So I sighed, and decided to give it a try.

A great episode? I wouldn't say so; and yet......the script, the direction, the performances were all so enjoyable. Perhaps it feels to be such a lightweight episode, that many viewers were turned off to its story; but what a nicely done ghost story (if you will), and yes, told with a light touch.

I sure am glad I overcame my resistance and saw this charming episode for the first time!

Literally Awful in Every Way

[sheepdater · 1/10 · 25 July 2012]

In any television series that runs for seven years, there are bound to be some bad episodes, but Sub Rosa is an exceptional stinker. I think the other reviewers did an excellent job picking apart the ridiculous plot and pointing out Gates McFaddin's poorer than usual acting. However it takes an exceptional piece of garbage for the person who wrote the episode to provide their own review. The author was attempting to justify why the episode was not a blatant rip off of a vampire pulp novel and how pleased they were at creating the proper Scotland in space atmosphere. Perhaps if we added the author's disclaimer to the start of this episode, it would somehow make this disaster any better to watch.

Did anyone actually pay attention?

[ItsJustSlater · 10/10 · 8 August 2022]

Given how people keep harping on the alleged ghost angle one can only assume they didn't pay any attention to the episode. The episode very clearly explains what type of life form Ronin is and why he needs/uses the Crusher women. He's not a ghost, accept it already.

Then there are those taking issue with Beverly's actions. Apparently some people have no concept of lust or what chemicals acting in the brain and body can bring a person to do. I guess they've never been infatuated with someone. Like people never do anything stupid when blinded by lust. Ronin was intoxicating Beverly and influencing her, hence her unusual choices.

Also, there's no incest like one reviewer said. Come on now, incest in Star Trek?

This is a solid episode and has been one of my favorites for a long time. They introduce a new life form and show how it affects people and interacts in the world. I thought the subtle use of color throughout the episode was also a nice touch. It's not an overly technical episode and not every Star Trek episode needs to be. It is a welcome diversion from the usual.

No Genealogist on the Writing Staff

[STMyles · 6/10 · 16 April 2022]

Like many STNG fans, I'm binge-watching the whole series in Blu-Ray -- enjoying the High Def and reminiscing where I was when each episode originally aired. I don't recall seeing this episode before, but after seeing it, I find that I have a better opinion of it than the majority of reviewers. Certainly the re-creation of Scotland was marred by the apparent lack of understanding of the difference between Anglo-Saxon lowland Scotland and Celtic highland Scotland, but I give the writers credit for attempting to address sexuality through a female lens given the dearth of serious treatment of the topic in 1990s TV. The episode was sometimes overly melodramatic on this score, but a serious question was asked; was it wrong that the parasitic entity controlled its host if it made the host happy? I think the episode answered that question at the end.

But, so many of us who have been lifelong fans of the Star Trek universe can't help but nitpick incongruent details. In this case it's the assertion that the entity possessed multiple "Howard women" over a span of 800 years because they passed down a compatible genetic signature. Although by STNG's century the tradition of women taking their husband's names when they marry may well have died out, still the string of "Howard women" would have to be until our time the wives of Howard men. These wives would each have brought a different genetic makeup to the union.

My final observation is to agree with some reviewers that Gates McFadden did a lot with the material she was given to work with. She certainly convinced me that she was having a very good time.

WTF

[poordevill66 · 1/10 · 30 July 2018]

This episode should have just been called, Beverly needs to get laid. Horrible episode from an otherwise great show.

Alexander, Lwaxana, and Jar Jar walk into a bar...

[robrosenberger · 20 September 2011]

Fans of classic V will enjoy Duncan Regehr, as long as they don't mind doing so with jaws agape in disbelief. If you know someone who loves NEXT GEN but hasn't seen this one, i guarantee they will absolutely not believe that it isn't some practical joke created by a fan with too much time on his hands last Thursday. The only way for it to have been any bizarrer would have been for Beverly to get on a motorbike, jump a tank of naked Evel Knievels, and land in a threesome with Pinky and Leather Tuscadero. Note the "McFly" on the Scottish tombstone. I swear to you, if Ellen Dow (THE WEDDING SINGER) had started rapping from within her coffin, it would have fit right in.

" I never knew it could be like.... this....."

[Brucey_D · 5/10 · 3 August 2018]

Well indeed, ahem. A semi-gothic ghost story in outer space, with Dr Crusher getting all hot and bothered. In my more caustic moments I have been known to describe the less riveting TNG episodes as 'a bit like social work in outer space' but this is something different again.

This episode sits incongruously alongside the usual TNG fare, so naturally some fans will just hate it. On the other hand the few 10/10 reviews each have their reasons. According to one, if you happen not to like it, that would be an attack on female sexuality.

I found it moderately interesting but not especially compelling; since there are plenty of TNG episodes that are like that (if you try enough slightly different things there are bound to be a few that fall flat) then it shouldn't come as a massive disappointment if you happen not to like it.

in point of fact a few things did irritate me, but they were not the ones you might expect; first there is a character that has an accent that I can only describe as belonging to an Irishman who has been told to talk a bit Scottish; a more mangled sound you have never heard. Second when someone is attacked and they fall over, they are immediately declared 'dead' with no attempt whatsoever made to resuscitate them. Very un-TNG, that. It isn't explained how the Howard family line even came to be; the candidates are alien incest or more than one relationship, I suppose. There also isn't much of a sub-plot in this episode; I thought that such things were almost compulsory. Maybe I read it wrong, but the other gravestone (other than the one that says 'McFly') appeared to me like it might read 'Nadir'; I didn't think it was that bad, but for some this would sum up this episode nicely.

Total Bomb

[gmoore44 · 1/10 · 17 August 2019]

This episode is the worst one. It stank so much that we could stand only 10 minutes of this pointless drivel before we tossed it. I was wondering how this stink bomb made it to the screen, and found this answer.

The creators of the series were stretched very thin during the last season of TNG with the ongoing filming on Deep Space 9 and starting both the TNG movie and Voyager. This lead to some very poor quality control in what scripts were accepted.. It was submitted by a totally unknown script consultant who ripped off a very bad Ann Rice story about Scotland and an incubus like creepy ghost.

That's some horrible quality control. if you've never seen this, don't waste you time. After 10 minutes, you may do the exact same thing, switch it off and search for the occasional gems in the dreck that season 7 tuned into.

By far, the worst episode.

[huntergirl-13189 · 1/10 · 25 May 2020]

Gag. Me. A sex ghost? Lame. My review is not too short.

Completely Underrated Episode

[[e-mail] · 7/10 · 19 March 2014]

With seven seasons and over 180 episodes, you're going to have some duds and ST:TNG undoubtedly had them. However, to call this episode the worst surprises me because the episode is very true to sci-fi. In my view, sci-fi is about taking an issue be it moral, ethical, social, etc. and creating a medium where we can think about and discuss that issue outside of our preconceptions. ST:TNG "Half a Life" is one that immediately comes to mind. ST "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is also very good with ST:VOY "Living Witness" (too preachy) and ST:VOY "Critical Care" (conveniently sidesteps the issue) being examples of not-as-good.

In the end, "Sub Rosa" is about the gray area that can exist with regards to drug use and addiction. Several generations of Dr. Crusher's family have been used as a host by this alien for hundreds of years, but in exchange they received happiness and pleasure beyond all imagination. The alien doesn't kill them or physically harm them in any way and in fact, all of Crusher's family lived very productive lives as doctors in the colony. This is the thought that Crusher is left to consider at the end of the episode.

So that's the question. How bad would it be exactly if someone shed all of their personal relationships in favor of an addiction? How bad would be it if they were truly very happy and were still able to live a productive life? Crusher: "You've been using me, [...] my entire family for centuries!" Ronin: "And I loved all of them!"

Way too out there.

[tmarsden-89869 · 3/10 · 17 March 2021]

Almost a parody episode. The intelligent Doctor ends an illustrious career to fall in love with a Ghost that "lives" in a candle and has been having his way with previous generations of the doctors family most recently her Elderly Grandmother for well, GENERATIONS. All this despite a warning from Groundskeeper Willie.

Actually Enjoyable In Hindsight

[soundtechpro · 7/10 · 27 August 2020]

I am a lifelong Trekkie since early 70s. Like most everyone, when Sub-Rosa first aired I thought it was bad. It was like...a Ghost Story.....huh? But watching this episode years later, I actually enjoy it. If you look at this as a character study and take time to appreciate Gates McFadden acting it is enjoyable. Also, realize that "Ronan" is an alien (not a ghost) who has been attached to Beverly's family for years. This was another episode from the last season of TNG when each character was getting an "episode" and then each were getting paired with another cast member for a showcase like "Picard & Beverly" in Attached. It can be very enjoyable. Especially, considering there has bern no TRUE STAR TREK Since ENTERPRISE.

Meh

[walk929501 · 2/10 · 11 February 2019]

Boring and ridiculous. Fully deserving of its rating as one of the worst ever. Odd that some see this episode as somehow positive for Crusher considering she was deceived, seduced, and manipulated.

An enjoyable episode

[dzl-59280 · 8/10 · 16 February 2019]

Although I'm a long-time TNG fan and have seen almost all the episodes, this is the first episode I've ever reviewed (I just created my account here for the first time).

Why? Because I felt strongly about the comments from the other reviewers and did not feel the writers deserve to be disparaged by such negative reviews for what I thought was a worthwhile episode.

I'm male and I actually enjoyed this episode very much. Of course, there was a suspension of disbelief necessary but that's true of all sci-fi (TNG included).

What I enjoyed the most was the setting/production design (I've been to Scotland and it is a magical place), as well as what I considered to be a thought-provoking ending which raised some interesting questions about the nature of love and the meaning of relationships.

In any stage form, whether it be theater or television, the best stories/episodes are the ones that touch you in a unique way. This episode was definitely one of those.

Anyway, kudos to the production team as well as the writing team. In my opinion, they all deserve some long overdue praise.

Moderately Entertaining Ghost Story

[Hitchcoc · 6/10 · 12 October 2014]

Most recognize this as a very weak episode. It is a ghost story, not unlike Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw." Beverly has returned to a planetary reincarnation of a Scottish village for the funeral of her grandmother. While there she goes to the old lady's house and soon there are the usual warnings about spirits. Apparently, the ninety-something woman had been having an affair with an ethereal guy named Ronin. Shortly thereafter, Beverly finds herself taken with image of this guy. He is able to come and go. He is able to enter her body as a kind of energy wave. She obviously is experiencing him sexually. She is the star of this show, and what ensues is a search for the source of his power. It just seemed out of place in this series.

Mandatory Skip

[smetcalfephd · 1/10 · 12 March 2021]

If you have not watched TNG before DO NOT WATCH THIS EPISODE then you'll never have to deal with imagining what it would be like to date your grandmother's lover.