The Drumhead
- Episode aired Apr 27, 1991
- TV-PG
- 45m
A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.
- Crewman Nelson
- (uncredited)
- Crewman Garvey
- (uncredited)
- Crewman Martinez
- (uncredited)
- Ensign Kellogg
- (uncredited)
- Ensign Russell
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe events of Conspiracy (1988), Sins of the Father (1990), The Best of Both Worlds: Part 1 (1990), The Best of Both Worlds: Part 2 (1990), Family (1990), and Data's Day (1991) are referenced in this episode. It reveals that 39 Federation starships were annihilated and 11,000 personnel were lost at the Battle of Wolf 359.
- GoofsIn the first act's captain's log entry, Picard says that Admiral Satie was the one who uncovered the alien conspiracy from three years prior ("Conspiracy"). However, it was Picard and Riker who shot the infected officers and ultimately killed the mother creature that was hiding inside of LCDR Remmick. That sounds more like an uncovering than any investigation an elderly admiral would've undertaken.
- Quotes
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today...
Admiral Nora Satie: How dare you! You who consort with Romulans, invoke my father's name to support your traitorous arguments. It is an offense to everything I hold dear. And to hear those words used to subvert the United Federation of Planets. My father was a great man! His name stands for integrity and principle. You dirty his name when you speak it! He loved the Federation. But you, Captain, corrupt it. You undermine our very way of life. I will expose you for what you are. I've brought down bigger men than you, Picard!
- ConnectionsFeatured in Star Trek: First Contact Review (2009)
- SoundtracksStar Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage
The drumhead has the type of villain which really gets under my skin more than others due to the type's continued effectiveness and presence throughout history.
This episode's villain is so camouflaged that she uses one of the typically good characters, in Worf, as an ally in her corruption. And Worf follows along willingly, only seeing his errors at the end of the episode.
It's a phenomenon we can find often in people who get so swept up in an opportunity to create order and justice of some sort, that they end up resembling the very type of evil they're trying to fight due to their own tribal arrogance and exaggerated fear of the other. Often such villains gain power and test the norms slowly one step at a time until before many realize it, there's a completely new evil norm out of a promise for a miracle cure to a problem where a solution hasn't been demonstrated as much as asserted as a problem.
And just like Worf, the individuals who seem to get swept up in such mistaken causes are typically the people who seem unable to spot irony, hypocrisy or enjoy a joke or construct a joke because they're so serious and desperate for vengeance. Their good qualities get obscured by their lesser illogical desires to get their way in solving some issue regardless of the costs.
- brianjohnson-20043
- Apr 18, 2019
Details
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1