Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) The Ensigns of Command (1989) User Reviews

"The was the stun setting. This is not."

[stormofwar · 8/10 · 10 August 2009]

One of the opening shows for the 3rd season of ST:TNG, and a surprisingly strong show. Data must evacuate a group of colonists before they are wiped out by an alien species whom views them as vermin.

Overall, TNG became legendary because of episodes like this. There is little that doesn't work with this episode, and it's surprising strong in a number of areas.

By no means is it "The Inner Light", "Best of Both Worlds", or DS9's "In The Pale Moonlight" or "The Visitor", but it became prototypical of how the series was to progress from then on out in terms of quality. That is what makes this one important.

Gosheven's dialogue

[dafoat · 8/10 · 18 January 2020]

I've always liked this episode. It's a great showcase for Data. And it's fun to see Picard and Troi struggling to communicate with some genuinely alien aliens.

But I would like to add my two cents about one of the minor controversies around this episode. Much has been made of the fact that Grainger Hines is not credited for his performance as Gosheven, and that all of his dialogue is obviously dubbed. Some people think this evidence of behind the scenes unpleasantness. But there is a simple, practical explanation for this.

The aqueduct in the village square set was a practical prop, with real running water in it. This means that all of the scenes shot on that set would have the sound of running water in the background. Consequently all of the dialogue in those scenes would have to be re-recorded and dubbed after the fact, to give the editors clean audio to work with. This is called ADR (Automatic Dialogue Replacement) and it is common practice whenever the audio from a scene has excessive background noise.

However, if Hines had some sort of scheduling conflict and couldn't make it in to do his ADR before the episode had to be completed, his lines would have to be overdubbed by another actor. And in order to make Gosheven's dialogue consistent throughout the episode, that actor would have to dub every scene. Even the ones with clean audio.

It's understandable that Hines wouldn't want his name on the episode when someone else spoke all of his lines.

The Ensigns of Command

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 24 June 2012]

The Enterprise must evacuate a colony of 15000 people located on a planet owned by an alien race called the Sheliak who regard humans as a lower lifeform. A treaty was signed between the Sheliak and the Federation, the colonists (living on a planet with atmosphere loaded with a type of radiation that is not supposed to be breathable by humans, somehow immune to its effects) are in violation of it. The Sheliak give Picard three days (an absurd amount of time for such a massive evacuation) to get the colonists off the planet so he will try various methods to persuade them for more time. Meanwhile, Commander Data (not in danger of suffering from the harmful radiation) tries to negotiate with the colonists whose leader, Gosheven (Grainger Hines), is vocal about staying regardless of what the Sheliak might do to them because he believes their ancestors (and them) have fought and died too long for their colony just to up and leave it behind when progress (an aqueduct with drinkable water leading to a mountain and down to the main city) is so close to success. Gosheven's opinion and position are held in high esteem and the colonists are not willing, it seems, to undermine his ruling on their leaving the planet. That said, Data, with help from a colonist, Ard'rian (Eileen Seeley, one of Data's first "love interests"), an expert in robotics, will try to use methods to change their decision to stay. This episode, from the superb third season, is just another fine example of a maturation process developing for the Next Gen show. Strong writing (how the characters examine their dilemmas, seek a resolution in less time than is permitted, and determine a solution that will keep human lives from being slaughtered), a story demanding characters to improvise in the face of incredible odds (how Data must use action to get his point across about the need to evacuate using a phaser; Picard using the treaty to his advantage), and a satisfying, but intelligent, thoughtful conclusion of both alternating subplots (Data is successful in his mission because he had to resort to necessary violence; Picard closes frequencies when the Sheliak colonist vessel argues with him, taking his time when they hail him) assures the viewer that this show was on its way to becoming an iconic series deserved of its popularity with Trek fans. While past seasons have expressed the desire to develop Data, it was episodes like this one that further examine how he reacts to conflict when logic and rationality often aren't enough. Data's violin concert is used effectively to establish his attempts to pursue human arts, and his critique from a pleased Picard further shows that his efforts are not in vain.

The crew we have come to know.

[russem31 · 16 April 2006]

ST:TNG:49 - "The Ensigns Of Command" (Stardate: Unknown) - this is the 1st episode of the 3rd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation, though the 2nd episode to air on TV. With this episode, the TNG show that we have all come to know and love now come to fruition. The senior crew have new uniforms which look MUCH better than the ones they wore for the first two seasons (their former uniforms are now exclusively worn by the ensigns and lower grade officers). The stories become more intelligent and serious (unlike the somewhat campier first two seasons). The sets built are much more realistic. Also, Gates McFadden makes a welcome return as Dr. Beverly Crusher.

In this episode, the Enterprise investigates the supposedly uninhabitable Tau Cygna Five where human colonists are, but according to the reclusive Sheliak who haven't contacted the Federation in 111 years, they are within their rights to remove the colonists by treaty. Hence, Data is the one who goes down to the planet to get the colonists to evacuate - but of course things go wrong before they can go right.

Trivia note: you see Data playing the violin for the first time.

Quite good.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 15 November 2014]

Long, long ago, the Shelliac and Federation negotiated a treaty delineating who owned what portions of space. However, unknown to both sides, a group of humans settled on a world in the Shelliac system. Now, many years later, the Shelliac are about to colonize this world and want the humans off NOW. And, if they aren't all removed in four days, the remaining ones will be liquidated. But there are two problems. The Enterprise expected only a dozen or so settlers--not many thousand. And, the leader of the settlers is an idiot and refuses to move--even though Commander Data informed him that they will be killed by the Shelliac. At the same time, Picard is finding it difficult to talk with the Shelliac--they are unwilling to change their plans. So what's going to happen...genocide?

This was a better than average episode for three main reasons. First, it did NOT stay on the ship and including missions to both the Shelliac and the colony. Second, Data had a relationship with a colonist that was interesting--and gives insight into him and his quest for humanity. Third, I loved watching Picard dealing with the Shelliac--he was hilarious and at his best. Overall, well worth seeing.

A call to reason

[Mr-Fusion · 8/10 · 27 October 2016]

Oh man, this is where the show really starts to click. Season 3 doesn't open with bombast or packed with action, but with a simple territorial dispute. The Sheliak don't like that a colony of humans have laid down roots on their planet and order the Enterprise to have them relocated. It's a two-pronged approach, with Data trying to talk sense with the colonists while Picard faces intimidating legalese with the alien race.

In the end, both officers are forced to think outside the box, and that's exactly what makes this so satisfying. Not just that Patrick Stewart and Bent Spiner carry this, but because this episode is very true to both characters. It's a lot of fun seeing Capt. Picard stroll triumphantly onto the bridge after he's finally nailed the treaty loophole; and it's a stark reminder of the show's signature mix of writing, drama and excitement.

8/10

Severely weakened by wooden acting by most of the guest actors

[bgaiv · 6/10 · 5 February 2022]

The story is decent. The crew seemed a bit thick headed not to look at the treaty a lot sooner than they did.

It was nice to occasionally see aliens not be easily swayed by a Picard (or Kirk) speech.

But most of the guest actors act so woodenly, I wonder if they got their lines right before shooting each scene. Or possibly they were directed to act this way.

I don't know but it seriously degrades the entire planet side story.

I was unaware until just now that Gosheven's lines were dubbed. Ironic because I thought he was the most convincing of the guests.

Monomania!

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 14 August 2014]

I've always enjoyed this episode. It has to do with a culture that is doomed because a treaty with a hostile, indifferent race has expired. She Sheliak want their planet back and have ordered the Enterprise to get the humans off in three days. If not, they will simply exterminate them. This is, of course, is an impossibility. The Federation can accomplish this but can't get there for three weeks. So this presents two plot elements. First, has to do with the initial treaty (the Sheliak are absolute rule followers) how to circumvent it. Meanwhile, Data is on the planet, trying to convince the leadership (one man, actually) that there is no choice but evacuation. This man has become a godhead to his people and following the prudent course would diminish his authority. He has, in fairness, brought great prosperity to his people, including an aqueduct which will supply them with unlimited water supplies. As Data tells him, this is a "thing" and it is worthless if there is no one around to benefit from it. It takes a pretty heavy-handed effort to begin to confront his power. Data is seen as a machine and at one point is disabled. We see signs of this man leading a unilateral march to destruction (not greatly different from the Sheliak). I was reminded of Alec Guinness in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" who forgets the big picture because he becomes engrossed in his accomplishments. This episode is profuse with wonderful political implications and moral dilemmas. See this and discuss it with friends.

Bad diplomatic problem

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 9 September 2019]

This TNG episode has Captain Picard trying to remove a human colony that has settled in an area that is territory of the Sheliak, a really nasty alien race who seem to get off on killing. They are also a legalistic group who insist on the letter of the law in their treaty with the Federation.

I always liked this episode because it shows best in all the series Patrick Stewart's diplomatic skills negotiating with obstinate and nasty aliens. There would be more shows emphasizing his diplomacy and this is one of the first and one of the best.

Stewart's scenes with the Sheliak are classic.

A good episode displaying the growth of Data as a character.

[uwyang · 8/10 · 11 January 2020]

... but at the end of the day, he's still a mere toaster.

Have you tried shooting them with a phaser?

[thevacinstaller · 7/10 · 13 March 2021]

Well, I didn't like the acting performance of the Goshaven character and after some digging, I learned that his dialogue was dubbed by another actor because he sounded too much like John Wayne? What?! *LOL* Now I desperately want to hear the original dialogue of Data fighting John Wayne. Boy, the dubbing didn't work out well at all. I'm not 'that guy' who picks apart bad acting but this awkwardness was present in ever scene he was in and it hurt the conflict of the story and my engagement because I couldn't take the guy seriously.

This has the feel of that TOS episode where Spock and crew get stranded on that planet full of giant cavemen and he finds himself in a situation where logic is not a useable solution.

Some quality Data moments in this one ----- I enjoyed how the Picard conversation about 'not advertising your weaknesses' tied into Data's solution to getting through to the colonizers with his unorthodox approach. The writers give us some mixed messages here ---- Data emulates human emotion in how he gains the colonists support yet he feels nothing for the delicious brunette who has a massive data crush. Additionally, Picard suggests that Data played with emotion in the ending scene on the Enterprise.

It's a nice hook. Data is the Spock of TNG who is in constant struggle with his identity.

Solid episode that gets knocked down a few due to a botched antagonist performance/dubbing.

A good use of the characters.

[kingofcats2 · 8/10 · 30 June 2019]

I found this episode to but quite delightful. The use of the characters were as expected but I would like to see more of Transporter Chief O'Brien in the upcoming episodes.

The Act of Persuasion

[Samuel-Shovel · 7/10 · 10 September 2019]

In "The Ensigns of Command" the Enterprise has to transport an unknown colony off of a planet they are illegally squatting own that is controlled by an alien race that has a treaty with the Federation. Radiation on the surface only allows Data to head down. The hearty settlers refuse to leave and are ready to die for what they've accomplished. Data must convince them to change their mind.

The script and set design of Season 3 has already been a vast improvement over the status quo of the two prior seasons. This episode is a very good "Data solving a human issue" episode. We also get some fun stuff with Picard discovering legal loopholes to buy Data some time.

While not an absolute classic, this is a solid entry into TNG that is definitely rewatchable.

A Senior Trekker writes.....................

[celineduchain · 5/10 · 7 January 2022]

New uniforms, new credit sequence and Doctor Crusher returned to us but was Season 3 of The Next Generation really as good as we remember? Some of that enthusiasm may have have been generated by relief that the series had not been cancelled but the 1990's also heralded an era of considerably more stability behind the scenes. Senior Trekker will continue to score every episode with a 5.

This was a fairly good planet-side episode with some lovely Trekkean red skies, a couple of fairly simple but convincing village sets and plenty of creativity in the costume department. With the benefit of re-mastering and high definition we can see the way in which remnants of curtain fabric had been stitched together to produce the colonists' robes and the stationary cupboard was raided to make futuristic metal fastenings but, surely, that sort of thing is the Joy of Treks.

Unfortunately the performances of the guest actors were quite out of place here. Used to regular appearances in a very different types of television, they delivered their lines with such an economy of facial expression that they appear to have been saving all their energy for the next soap. Grainger Hines, as colonist leader Gosheven, didn't even want his name on the credits and Eileen Seeley who played Ard'ran quit acting soon afterwards.

Looking back, it is amazing to see a theatrically trained, award winning actor like Colm Meany propping up the furniture in these early seasons of Start Trek. At least he now had a name, Chief O'Brien, but we never got to see him play the cello again.

Fairly strong episode, shame about the dubbing

[snoozejonc · 8/10 · 11 June 2021]

Enterprise receives a request to remove human colonists from a planet.

This is a solid episode with a number of good character moments, particularly for Data. Recurring themes within Star Trek such as humanity, leadership and communication are nicely addressed.

The story serves the purpose of putting Data into a difficult situation where he has to use human characteristics to achieve an objective. This runs alongside the tough negotiation assignment that Captain Picard is tasked with aboard the Enterprise. Both plot threads progress well alongside each other and conclude strongly. I like how the story is bookended by two scenes relating to Data's mastery of the violin as these convey the episode's main theme well.

There are a few quite memorable scenes such as Picard and Troi discussing communication from the perspective of different types of lifeforms, Picard checking the dirt on the USS Enterprise plaque on wall of the bridge and Data's interactions with one colonist in particular.

I liked the visuals, especially the set design and matte background used for Tau Cygna V.

Performances are a mixed bag for me. Brent Spiner and Patrick Stewart are excellent and supported well by Marina Sirtis. However, the guest actors were notably weaker, such as Eileen Seely and some of the support players. It's difficult to really comment on Grainger Hines performance due to his voice being so noticeably and distractingly dubbed by another actor.

For me it is a 7.5/10 but I round upwards.

Almost gave this a 7, but there were just too many great Data moments and I had to bump it up to 8

[firesideblossom · 8/10 · 5 May 2023]

This episode at points made me cringe, but at other points it also made me really emotional. The romance in this one felt pretty forced, but I also really like the insight Data gets from a lot of events in this episode. At the end of the episode, I found Picard's conversation with Data about creativity and feeling to be pretty emotional and profound. I really like the slow burn of characters so far. And the alien invaders intent on eradicating this colony are pretty ominous enough to sell the severity of the situation. I loved Picard's pettiness towards the end of the episode, just waiting while they hailed Enterprise. A lot of satisfying pay offs in 1 episode, mostly character related for Data. So yes, I really think this episode has flaws, but I just got too much sheer enjoyment out of the character and dynamic related positives here that I had to give it an 8/10.

Debate Class

[anarchistica · 7/10 · 31 March 2020]

The theme of the episode is convincing people. Data has to convince the settlers, Picard has to convince the Sheliak. In both cases it is shown that sometimes you can't win with words and have to use overwhelming force to get what you want. A valuable lesson. I was surprised to see the generally overly idealistic Star Trek actually admit to this reality.

The episode itself is unbalanced. The scenes with Data can be grating. We get it, you don't get humans. The scenes on the Enterprise are far better, with Geordi turning innocent containers into mush and Picard trying his best to deal with unreasonable aliens. The way both of these storylines end is pure gold.

"These are just a thing, and things can be replaced. Lives cannot."

[classicsoncall · 8/10 · 27 November 2023]

An extremely hostile Sheliak race makes it known that they will take Planet Tau Cygna V by force, wiping out its human inhabitants if necessary, if Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) can't remove all fifteen thousand before a three-day deadline occurs. Complicating matters for the Enterprise crew, the planet is surrounded by hyperonic radiation that is fatal to humans, although those on the planet have evolved a tolerance to it over a period of nine decades. Since Data (Brent Spiner) wouldn't be affected by the inhospitable atmosphere, Picard sends him down to convince the citizens that they'll have to leave their homes or face annihilation. While Data receives unexpected support from computer adherent Ard'rian McKenzie (Eileen Seeley), he faces opposition from the colony's leader Gosheven (Grainger Hines), who is staunch in his denial of the threat from the Sheliaks, and refuses to lead his people off the planet.

This is an unusual episode for a couple of reasons. For one thing, when reverse psychology fails to work against Gosheven and his most loyal followers, Data resorts to what could only be called violence - he constructs a working phaser from pieces of his own circuitry, and destroys Tau Cygna V's aqueduct, thereby eliminating the colony's water supply! I would have to say that was a violation of the Prime Directive there, but that issue never even came up. Convincing Gosheven and the rest that the Sheliak's power would be even more destructive and delivered from orbit above the planet, Data finally gets the unbelievers on board with the program.

Meanwhile, on the Enterprise, Picard searches desperately for a way to get the Sheliaks to bend their time frame to accommodate the complete transfer of the colony, since Federation help is at least three weeks away. Fortunately for the Captain, the Sheliaks are such sticklers to the letter of a long-standing treaty, that they finally relent to a demand from Picard to honor a stipulation for arbitration that allows him to name a third party. Picard picks a race that's currently in hibernation, and won't be available for six months to negotiate a deal! With that, the Sheliaks agree to a three-week withdrawal, while Picard can thank the one out of two hundred seventy-three Federation legal experts that negotiated the original treaty with them, who wisely had that arbitration clause inserted into the document. It was a great play on Picard's part.

Hole in plot. Very odd.

[fisherguzzi · 6/10 · 11 September 2021]

Why was the fact these humans figured out how to prevent radiation from affecting them? I expected the Sheliak would arrive and the radiation would kill them and they would let the humans keep the planet. It seems illogical no one would ask the planet's humans what they did. And that knowledge would have benefited in the following episode called The Booby Trap.

Not used to such a big hole in a ST:TNG plot.

Lawyer Up.

[amusinghandle · 7/10 · 21 January 2024]

The federation's faces its greatest nemesis ----- a planet made up of 'paid by the hour' lawyers. I did find it morbidly hilarious that the Sheliak are willing to wipe out 15,000 people because of a stipulation in a peace treaty. It is fitting for Picard to out fox them by using the letter of the peace treaty to his advantage.

The overall resolution to the Data plot was good but hampered by some iffy acting by all the guest stars. Y'know, sometimes it is just easier to phaser a person to get your message through and in this specific case, I give Data a pass since 'dubbed' guy did short him out in an effort to quench the resistance effort.

Ard'rian McKenzie was really into Robots and wanted to be Data's girlfriend. Hey, it's all good.

The episode doesn't touch upon the ethics or morality of these decisions ----- What are you going to do, right? The lawyers already got to it. If the colonizer do not identify as members of the federation then does the peace treaty even apply to ..... Oh no, I am about to go all Lawyer on this episode and find some loop holes.

Another annoying episode

[Wes54 · 2/10 · 25 October 2019]

TNG continues to struggle with the concept of non-human sentient beings.

Data is sentient. He is not creative, but by every accepted definition, he is alive. Yet year after year, TNG tries to force Data to be more Human, instead of accepting him as he is.

Then an entire colony of 15,000 reject Data, just because he's not Human. They're all willing to die, knowing full well that he is a representative sent by Humans, simply because Data himself isn't Human.

And the Shelliac (spoiler alert: more non-humans!) are portrayed as the bad guys, even though they had the right to wipe out the colony the moment the moment they discovered it, without mentioning it to the Federation.

Then there's the romantic aspect. Women keep throwing themselves at Data because he's everything Humans aspire to be: kind, compassionate, rational, reasonable, dedicated, incorruptible. Everything but emotional.

Data is pure good. But that's not enough for selfish, irrational, stubborn, malicious Humans. Data must also feel every emotion, play the violin with soul, and be a fantastic lover.

Those are things Data is not, and cannot be. It's too bad that we cannot accept Data, and tell him every day that he is inadequate, just because he is different.