In this dark but intensely fun episode, Captain Picard and Data go out to retrieve a wayward torpedo. Three days later, they return to find an adrift and unmanned Enterprise. The crewmembers have become animals, bizarre creatures of their individual planets' origins - Counselor Troi has become an humanoid/amphibian hybrid, Commander Riker has become a cave man, Lt. Barclay has become a terrifyingly grotesque half-spider, half-man and Worf has become a terrifying pre-historic Klingon monster who wants to mate with Troi.
The two discover that the de-evolution of the crew was caused by a synthetic T-cell that has been mutated to activate a humanoid body's introns, causing the host to literally revert to a prehistoric state.
It's up to Captain Picard and Data save the ship, the crew... and themselves from possible annihilation from protomorphosis.
Directed phenomenally by Gates McFadden (who portrayed Dr. Beverly Crusher), "Genesis" provides an atmosphere akin to sci-fi horror stories from the "Alien" movies and "The Island of Dr. Moreau".
Unlike Dr. Moreau, Dr. Crusher unintentionally and unknowingly creates a whopper of an intron virus when she tries to soothe Lt. Barclay's hypochondriac fears with the synthetic T-cell.
As a director, McFadden strikes the perfect balance of suspense and horror without pushing the episode to tread on the gory section of horror. Patrick Stewart is phenomenal in portraying his usually unfazed Captain Picard, who shows open displays of fear, even when bravely takes on the dangerous task of distracting the feral Worf away from his crew. Brent Spiner is great as Data, who provides as the steadfast rock to Picard's sudden fearfulness.
This episode is not for the faint of heart, but highly recommended to watch (just try to watch it in the broad light of day).
The two discover that the de-evolution of the crew was caused by a synthetic T-cell that has been mutated to activate a humanoid body's introns, causing the host to literally revert to a prehistoric state.
It's up to Captain Picard and Data save the ship, the crew... and themselves from possible annihilation from protomorphosis.
Directed phenomenally by Gates McFadden (who portrayed Dr. Beverly Crusher), "Genesis" provides an atmosphere akin to sci-fi horror stories from the "Alien" movies and "The Island of Dr. Moreau".
Unlike Dr. Moreau, Dr. Crusher unintentionally and unknowingly creates a whopper of an intron virus when she tries to soothe Lt. Barclay's hypochondriac fears with the synthetic T-cell.
As a director, McFadden strikes the perfect balance of suspense and horror without pushing the episode to tread on the gory section of horror. Patrick Stewart is phenomenal in portraying his usually unfazed Captain Picard, who shows open displays of fear, even when bravely takes on the dangerous task of distracting the feral Worf away from his crew. Brent Spiner is great as Data, who provides as the steadfast rock to Picard's sudden fearfulness.
This episode is not for the faint of heart, but highly recommended to watch (just try to watch it in the broad light of day).