The Drumhead

For other uses, seeDrumhead (disambiguation).

"The Drumhead"
Star Trek: The Next Generationepisode
Episodeno.	Season 4 Episode 21
Directed by	Jonathan Frakes
Written by	Jeri Taylor
Featured music	Ron Jones
Cinematography by	Marvin Rush
Production code	195
Original air date	April 29, 1991(1991-04-29)
Guest appearances
Jean Simmons- Norah Satie Bruce French– Sabin Genestra Spencer Garrett– Simon Tarses Henry Woronicz– J'Dan Earl Billings– Thomas Henry Ann Shea – Nellen Tore

"The Drumhead"is the 95th episode of thesyndicatedAmericanscience fictiontelevision seriesStar Trek: The Next Generationand the 21st episode of the program'sfourth season.The episode was directed by cast memberJonathan Frakes.It takes the form of acourtroom drama.

Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of theStarfleetcrew of theFederation starship Enterprise-D.In this episode, an explosion aboard theEnterpriseleads to a high-level investigation headed by Admiral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons), a retired officer renowned for her skill at exposingconspiracies.

Plot

When an explosion within thedilithiumchamber of theFederationstarshipEnterprise'smain engineeringappears to be the work of sabotage,Starfleet Commanddispatches Norah Satie (Jean Simmons), a retiredrear admiralfrom the Legal Division of its Support Services Section, to lead an investigation to uncover the cause.

Worf(Michael Dorn) discovers that J'Dan (Henry Woronicz), aKlingonexchange officer,had been using modifiedhypospraysyringes to encode information intoamino acidsequences for secret transport. J'Dan admits his collaboration with theRomulansbut attests that he did not sabotage the chamber. Satie andCaptain Jean-Luc Picard(Patrick Stewart) interview crew members who associated with J'Dan, including Dr.Beverly Crusherand medical technician Simon Tarses (Spencer Garrett). Meanwhile, Chief EngineerGeordi La Forge(LeVar Burton) and Lieutenant CommanderData(Brent Spiner) determine that the hatch had failed due to simplefatigue,not sabotage.

Picard considers the matter closed, but Satie expands her search for traitors, revealing Tarses' Romulan heritage and questioning Picard's guilt following his time as Locutus of Borg. Starfleet's chief of security, Admiral Thomas Henry (Earl Billings) attends the tribunals. Picard begins to compare the tribunal to adrumhead,resembling a battle-field court-martial of the 18th and 19th centuries infamous for its numerousmiscarriages of justice.

Picard recalls a quote from Satie's own father Aaron Satie: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably."Satie is enraged at him invoking her father and condemns Picard as a traitor. Admiral Henry becomes disgusted with Satie's fanaticism and calls a halt to any additional investigation. After they leave the ship, Picard privately confers with Worf, displaying regret at the arrogance he has shown as a human of the 24th Century as opposed to one in the 20th and earlier ( "We think we've come so far." ), and notes that such fanatics are well-disguised through apparent good words and deeds, and humanity must remain vigilant against them to protect their freedom.

Reception

Zack Handlen ofThe A.V. Clubgave the episode a grade A.Keith DeCandido ofTorrated it 3 out of 10.

"The Drumhead" was rated the 15th best episode ofStar Trek: The Next Generationin 2016 byThe Hollywood Reporter.Actor Michael Dorn, who played the character Worf on the show, has stated this was his favorite episode of the series, and in particular liked Worf and Picard's scene at the end of the episode.

In 2014, "The Drumhead" was rated as the 34th best episode ofStar Trekbyio9,when reviewing the top 100 episodes of all series up to that time (including animated and live-action television series).In 2018,Tom's Guiderated "The Drumhead" one of the 15 best episodes featuring Picard.In 2017,Den of Geekranked Jean Simmons' role as one of the top ten guest stars onStar Trek: The Next Generation.

In 2017,Vulturelisted this episode as one of the best ofStar Trek: The Next Generation.

In 2018,Entertainment Weeklyranked "The Drumhead" as one of the top ten moments of Jean-Luc Picard.In 2018,Popular Mechanicshighlighted "The Drumhead" as one of the best Picard episodes, and as recommended viewing for audiences to prepare for a new television series based on that character,Star Trek: Picard.

In 2019,The Hollywood Reporterranked it among the top 25 episodes ofStar Trek: The Next Generation,noting the acting performance by guest star Jean Simmons and its narrative warning about those who spread fear, of fanatical biases, andMcCarthyism.

In 2020,Games Radarrecommended watching this episode prior to viewingStar Trek: Picard.

In 2020,Spaceconsidered Picard's speech (beginning "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored. The first thought forbidden. The first freedom denied—chains us all irrevocably" ) as one of the character's top ten moments.

In 2020,ScreenRantranked "The Drumhead" the number one best episode of allStar Trekfranchise television episodes up to that time.That same year the rated as the most important TNG episode with a morality message that "in an age of social media and out of control fake news, Admiral Satie's rhetoric has been taken to insane extremes within our culture, forcing us to once again examine our propensity for falling victim to conspiracy theories and nefarious agendas perpetuated by bad-faith actors."

Home media releases

This episode is featured on theStar Trek: The Next Generation– Jean-Luc Picard Collection DVD set for Region 1 only, released in 2004.

CBS announced on September 28, 2011, in celebration of the series' twenty-fifth anniversary, thatStar Trek: The Next Generationwould be completely re-mastered in 1080p high definition from the original35mm filmnegatives.For the remaster almost 25,000 reels of original film stock were rescanned and reedited, and all visual effects were digitally recomposed from original large-format negatives and newly created CGI shots. The release was accompanied by 7.1DTSMaster Audio.On July 30, 2013 "The Drumhead" was released on 1080p high definition as part of the Season 4 Blu-ray box set in the United States.The set was released on July 29, 2013, in the United Kingdom.

This episode was released in the United States on September 3, 2002, as part of theStar Trek: The Next Generationseason four DVD box set.

See also

• "Balance of Terror"(Star Trek,aired December 15, 1966, S1E14, first episode with Romulans)

References

Notes

• Guest starJean Simmons,a noted longtime Trekkie,portrays retired Rear Admiral Norah Satie, a special investigator who visits the Federation starshipEnterprise.
• Michael Dornsaid this was one of his two favorite episodes, the other being "The Offspring",whichJonathan Frakesalso directed.
• "The Drumhead" was the lastStar Trekepisode to have its music scored byRon Jones,whom producersRick BermanandPeter Lauritsondismissed, shortly after he had completed his work on it, as "Ron's stuff was getting big and somewhat flamboyant" and the producers "decided to move on and try other composers."

Citations

• Star Trek The Next Generation DVDset, volume 4, disc 6, selection 1.

External links

• "The Drumhead"atIMDb
• "The Drumhead"atMemory Alpha
• "The Drumhead"rewatch byKeith R. A. DeCandido