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(More customer reviews)The conflicting demands of duty & conscience have formed one of the most basic themes of all 3 Star Trek series. "The Pegasus" represents one of the show's best treatments of that theme, a story of intrigue which poses some hard choices for Commander Riker. Riker's first commanding officer, Capt. (now Admiral) Eric Pressman enlists the Enterprise to salvage the remains of the Pegasus, an experimental starship which they served on together, until it was lost, years before. The Pegasus' wreckage still contains top-secret technology, now in danger of being stolen by Federation enemies. But Riker's current captain, Jean-Luc Picard, begins to suspect that the Pegasus has darker secrets which both Pressman & Riker are hiding from him. Picard challenges Riker, forcing him to re-evaluate choices he made as a young man & consider whether the secrets that he & Pressman are protecting are worth the cost.
Pressman is portrayed by Terry O'Quinn, whose performace surprisingly anticipates his role on the TV series "Millennium" as Peter Watts.
Another guest star, Michael Mack, turns in a wonderfully smooth & predatory performance as the enemy commander, Sirol. In two pivotal scenes, Picard & Sirol engage in darkly comic exchanges of diplomatic niceties, full of thinly-veiled threats. Mack reminds us of why even people who know history are willing to forget the absurd roots of this enemy race, the "Romulans," as a sort of alien version of the Roman Empire; instead, he focuses on the features which make them unique: their elaborate manners & catlike cruelty. Mack's casting also introduces the idea that Romulans come in more than one shade of olive!
The script also works in a few moments of lighter humor. The stiking thing is that these moments are actually done well--Star Trek has been using puckish humor unsuccessfully for decades! Don't miss Jonathan Frakes' Patrick Sterwart immitation, or Picard's embarrassment over being a children's "role model"!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 164: The Pegasus (1987)
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