‘RASCALS’ (TNG)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is one of my favourite episodes from ‘Star Trek: TNG’! It’s also the first contribution made by Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy who played Spock in ‘The Original Series’, as director to the series.
In the episode, Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard; Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan; Michelle Forbes as Ensign Ro and Rosalind Chao as Keiko O’Brien are on their way back to the Enterprise in a shuttle-craft.
Something goes wrong however. The shuttle craft, only their way back to the Enterprise, get caught in some of kind of temporal vortex in space. When transported back, the four are reduced to children.
I actually found it amusing and interesting to see Picard, Guinan, Ro and Keiko reduced to the age of 12-year old children whilst retaining their adult minds. The episode felt compelling all the way through.
I admit, it is bizarre that the four characters’ clothing get reduced to child-size too as well as their bodies. But somehow that didn’t prevent me from enjoying the episode and questioning it as it should.
The four child actors playing the child versions of Picard, Guinan, Ro and Keiko are very good. They’re almost like the adult versions of their characters and it was so interesting to see how they progressed.
David Tristan Birkin guest stars as the younger Picard in the episode. This is David Tristan Birkin’s second appearance in ‘TNG’ as he played Rene in the story, ‘Family’. He is good as the younger Picard.
There’s Isis Carmen Jones as the younger Guinan in the episode. Incidentally, Isis Carmen Jones played the younger version of Whoopi Goldberg’s character in the film ‘Sister Act’. A parallel connection here.
There’s also Megan Parlen as the younger Ensign Ro and Caroline Junko King as the younger Keiko. I like how the younger Ensign Ro and Guinan interacted each other. Ro’s not happy about the situation.
I like how it gets touched upon that Ro had a bad childhood and doesn’t consider re-living her childhood a happy opportunity. Throughout this episode, Guinan helps Ro rediscover that child in her.
It was funny when the younger Guinan and Ro start jumping on the bed in Ensign Ro’s quarters, becoming child-like. It also nice to see Ensign Ro drawing a picture of her mother by the episode’s end.
I also liked that scene between the younger Keiko and Colm Meaney as Chief O’Brien. O’Brien is uncomfortable about the fact his wife is now a little girl. The scene plays out really well in this episode.
It was gut-wrenching when Keiko gets rejected by her daughter Hana Hatae as Molly, who we see for the first time as a 1 year old in ‘Star Trek’. The moment where O’Brien comforts Keiko is very touching.
I also liked the scene between Beverly and the young Picard in the captain’s ready room. Beverly persuades Picard to temporarily drop command of the ship as the crew struggle to take him seriously.
Picard asks Riker to take command of the Enterprise until further notice as Beverly finds a way to cure him and the others. Picard considers resigning from Starfleet temporarily to pursue his other interests.
But it seems hopeful Beverly could find a cure sooner than everyone realises. That is until two Klingon Birds of Prey attack the Enterprise. The ship becomes boarded by Ferengi as they attempt to take over.
Now you think that is a bit odd that Ferengi would take over the Enterprise instead of Klingons from the Birds of Prey. But it turns out that these Ferengi are a rogue group and seem so vicious than others.
I liked it when Picard, Ro, Keiko and Guinan work as a team in order to take back the Enterprise from the Ferengi by acting like children. They even have Brian Bonsall as Alexander, Worf’s son to help out.
I found it funny when young Picard gets to see Riker by the Ferengi and calls him ‘Dad’ to create the ruse they’re father and son. This is in order for Picard to gain access to the computer in the kids’ room.
Thankfully, the Enterprise gets recovered by Picard and the Enterprise crew from the Ferengi and the four ‘children’ get returned to adult size. I liked how everything works out alright by the episode’s end.
‘Rascals’ is one of my happy memoires from watching ‘TNG’ back in 2005. I enjoyed the concept of Picard, Guinan, Ro and Keiko reduced to children and this episode had me gripped from start to finish.
‘Rascals’ (TNG) rating – 10/10
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