Although we are done with STNG and now docked at Bajor for a romp through Deep Space Nine, that doesn’t mean you can’t go back and catch up on the episodes you missed. You can find the rest here!
What happens when you meet your celebrity crush and they are not at all what you thought they would be like? How about what happens when you accidentally kill a giant space creature and have to care for its child? I imagine you would be more likely to do the former but if you ever wondered what you would do in either situation, the episode that aired on March 11, 1991 has the answers. This is Galaxy’s Child.
The Episode:
Stardate 44614.6: Galaxy’s Child
The Enterprise accidentally kills a space faring being and now must be responsible for the safety of the child it left behind. Meanwhile, Leah Brahms arrives on the ship to inspect the ships Engines and Geordi discovers that the Leah Brahms he thought he knew (via the holodeck) is very different from the real one.
The Breakdown:
There are two story-lines here, one dealing with Geordi & Leah, while the other deals with a new alien being. We will start with the first one.
Story One: Geordi strikes out
Geordi is informed that one of the Enterprise’s engine designers, Leah Brahms, is coming over for a visit to inspect the engine core. She immediately accuses Geordi of ‘fouling up her engine designs’ and is very critical of his work. She is very combative and questions his every action. She starts to run across things that Geordi and holo-Brahms worked on together and she begins to suspect he knows a little too much about her.
He invites her to dinner and she explains why she is so harsh around people. she tells him that she is very protective over her designs and to her, the schematics are more like her children than her work. When he gets a little to close, she backs off and gets very professional and not intimate like he had hoped. Poor Geordi, mixing fantasy and reality.
They soon begin working together and in their discussion he discovers the reason she is not responsive to his interest is…she is married.
Geordi is crushed, his fantasy life with Leah Brahms has been crushed and, thanks to a discussion with Guinan, he realizes his mistake. Holo-Brahms and Leah Brahms are not the same person. Just when he comes to terms with the situation, Leah Brahms discovers Holo-Brahms and boy is she upset. Geordi is called away to help with the new crisis facing the Enterprise in the form of a space baby named Junior.
Story Two: Tragic New Life
The Enterprise encounters a space slug a new species of alien that they have never seen before. Similar to Gomtu, this is a space faring being that appears to have been grown to use as a spacecraft. when the being begins to probe the Enterprise, it changes its demeanor and begins to attack the ship. The Attack threatens the integrity of the ship and, when Picard finally orders a retaliatory attack on the lowest phaser setting, the attack results in the death of the being.
Picard, upset about the situation, soon discovers that the being was pregnant and was only defending its unborn child. They perform a c-section on the being and free the unborn child only for it to attach itself to the Enterprise to feed. The Creature thinks the ship is its mother.
The baby space slug, or Junior, is draining the Enterprise as it feeds and, in an attempt to find its home, they run into several others of its species. They need to remove the being from the Enterprises hull before his family arrives. Despite their differences, Leah and Geordi come up with a plan to ‘sour the milk’ for Junior in order to get it off the ship. Their experiment works and the baby leaves the ship to rejoin its people.
Dr. Brahms and Geordi come to terms after he explains the situation. She feels bad for assuming his intentions and the two become friends.
Is this a ‘Good’ Episode:
This one is a little creepy when you think about it. Geordi has been practically cyber-stalking this woman using holodeck technology. It heavily implies that he has seen holo-Brahms many times since his use of her in order to save the ship. Leah is rightfully outraged when she discovers his use of her as a hologram, immediately thinking the worst case scenario. (Think more of an adult program if you can’t read between the lines.) While she misunderstands his interest for infatuation and ultimately Geordi is innocent, his use of her in the holodeck program is pretty disturbing to be honest. I mean, we all know that Geordi is a good guy, but she doesn’t and it is always about perception.
Like real adults, they work out their differences but still, Geordi should have erased Holo-Brahms, or at least told Leah Brahms of the situation before it got uncomfortable. Luckily this is the future and they both were mature about the situation so Geordi doesn’t become a registered sex offender. Still, next time think about what you are doing LaForge. I know you don’t have the Riker beard but still…
Outside of that, this is a really cool episode involving spaceborne life and two complete and interesting story lines. Plus we get a decent bit of character development for Geordi, although he still ends up alone at the end. Most of the time the A/B story arcs work as it gives the viewers a couple of things to chew on to fill the hour, this one certainly worked well.
Gleanings and Cool Bits:
This isn’t the last time we see Leah Brahms and despite her married state, Geordi still holds a torch for her.
We see a Jefferies Tube as they will be seen from here on out for the first time.
We never see or hear from the alien species again and they never even get a proper name. They are just known as Junior’s Species or the Space Borne Species. We’ll call them Space Slugs.
Thanks for reading the Retro TV Review, I look forward to discussing the rest of the series with you, one episode at a time every Monday, Wednesday and Friday! Next Review: Night Terrors
If you would like to read more reviews I have a weekly series called Key Movies Of My Life that comes out every Thursday and for more retro TV goodness check out the rest of the Retro TV Reviews here.
As always, please feel free to comment below and share your experiences with these episodes as well. If you just happened by, tell me what you think! Don’t Forget To Follow me if you like the blog!
Late To The Game 12/28/2019 (Originally published 7/25/2018)
Special Thanks to Memory Alpha as they are one of the best sources for details on Star Trek information available. Although I have a pretty deep knowledge on the subject, they have proven invaluable as a regular resource.
“Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made production intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.”
Late to the Game Blog 