Attention on heck! Don’t try to adjust your viewscreens, person-hell and boo-tenants! What you’re seeing isn’t a creepy clone, a hellish hologram, or a strangely specific alternate universe! For the month of October, we’ll be taking a spine-chilling stroll through Trek’s most horror-iffic outings and spooky adventures! Now why don’t you sit back and try not to let that green blood of yours run cold! If things get a little too intense, don’t hesitate to ask Scotty to SCREAM you up! Hehehehehehehehehe!
Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season 7, Episode 19
Mutated monsters are a staple of horror, one that Star Trek has done many, many times. “Genesis” is an unforgettable horror hour because it commits to this idea for the entire crew of the Enterprise while providing a shadowy and scary atmosphere that’s spooky and effective. It’s also conceptually one of the stupidest hours Trek has ever done, but the visuals and tone make it too enjoyable to write off completely.
Because of course the concept is the crew “de-evolving,” something that Data literally says out loud. It’s a threadbare excuse to turn the whole crew into monsters, which I’m totally fine with! It just relies on a total misunderstanding of what evolution even is, which for a more cerebral property like Star Trek is kind of inexcusable. Granted, Trek is not hard sci-fi at all and has always played very fast and loose even when it uses actual scientific material. But there’s something so IQ-plummetingly dumb about the idea of “de-evolving.” That was one of the main plot points of the infamous Super Mario Bros. film, and when you have something in common with that piece of crap, you know you done goofed.
Not only that, but what befalls the crew doesn’t even conform to the fictitious concept of whatever “de-evolution” is. Riker mutates into an earlier species of human which is fine by a thin thread of logic, but that idea is largely abandoned for everyone else. Again, it’s all just a pretense to transform everyone into creatures, but the concept is so muddled that it becomes logically incoherent. I mean, Data’s cat turns into an iguana. An iguana. Let that unrefined pile of rocks and metal that used to be a sink in (because it de-evolved).
But I do consider it a fun but dumb episode and it’s one of the most memorable ones for me. It was the only episode directed by Gates McFadden (and the first Trek episode directed by a woman), and she does a wonderful job of creating a creepy and genuinely scary atmosphere. Additionally, the creature design makeup is outstanding and otherworldly. It seems like a very challenging directorial debut, so kudos to her!
The episode begins in a low-key hangout kind of way with a busy day in sickbay. Riker is getting some cactus spines removed from his back because he was gettin’ biz-ZAY in the arboretum, Barclay the irrepressible hypochondriac thinks his symptoms are from a deadly disease, and Data arrives with his pregnant cat Spot. Nurse Ogawa casually reveals that she is also going to have kittens – a human one, but in her belly! Now that was a smooth sentence.
Dr. Crusher performs a routine procedure to cure Barclay’s very minor sickness. It’s super subtle – too much so – because this very minor thing is what leads to the shipwide mutation sickness. But we’ll get to that, hopefully before my brain shrinks too much to form complex snarks.
Later on the bridge, Worf is eager to test out some upgrades to the tactical systems. I love how he’s geeking out over how much more deadlier he’s made the ship’s weapons and nobody else cares at all. And of course, because it’s Worf he screws it up and one of the torpedoes goes flying off into the unknown. Picard, seemingly thirsting for something else to do, volunteers to go fetch the rogue torpedo in a shuttlecraft. It’s kind of a weird, random excuse to get him off the ship, but whatever.
Data accompanies him, but not before attending to Spot. He’s concerned that she will give birth while he’s gone, so he gets Barclay to watch over her while he’s gone. Adorably (and not surprisingly), Barclay is way more comfortable with animals than with people – and apparently the feeling is mutual, as he seems to be the only other humanoid Spot likes. It’s also a nice change of pace that Barclay seems confident and knowledgeable about one thing – a pregnant cat’s needs. Hear that, ladies?
(While speaking to her in a baby voice, Barclay proclaims her to be the sweetest thing, to which Data forlornly says “She is to you…” Like, damn Data. This is a wacky monster episode, not one where you remind us of the sad reality that you literally can’t love your cat but are seemingly (and contradictory) depressed about that inability? Spiner is great at imbuing Data with just enough emotional presence to make him compelling without betraying the conceit that he can’t feel things. But in this tiny moment he goes too far and in such an inappropriate episode!)
Things start to get fucky on the ship when Worf begins acting super weird and aggressive before being dismissed by Riker. He chows down on a big Klingon meal in Ten Forward while Troi tries in vain to console him over his stupid new weapons for jerks not working right. She’s also super weird, feeling dry, cold, and thirsty.
Later that night, Worf awakens to the sound of a heartbeat. Like a wild animal, he dashes around his quarters and tears up his bed to make a nest in the center of the room. So, typical Worf night, nothing to worry about.
The next day on the bridge, Troi is freezing and keeps adjusting the temperature and humidity while Worf bickers with her about it. Ah, the eternal battle of the sexes continues everlasting.
In engineering, Barclay is super energetic and darting around like a madman while La Forge and Riker have trouble keeping up. Riker admits he’s having trouble focusing. La Forge and Barclay track down a malfunction to a conduit that seems to have been eaten away by acid.
Riker’s brain continues to lose power, and he seems confused and forgetful when an ensign relays a message from Starfleet asking about the weapons tests. Like with the scene of Worf’s nocturnal destruction, the sound design here is nicely unsettling as the low sound of a heartbeat continues to elevate in volume, symbolizing the call of the wild/stupidity that is taking over Riker.
In her misty quarters, Troi sits in her bathtub – fully clothed, which is the grossest-feeling thing I can imagine – while gulping water. Worf politely barges in and uh, assaults her by biting her on her cheek. De-evolved men, amiright ladies.
In sickbay, Crusher tends to both Troi’s injuries and Worf’s deteriorating state. Crewmembers from all over the ship are reporting strange symptoms. Crusher notices weird protrusions on Worf’s jaw that seem to be venom sacs. Asking Worf to open his mouth, we get a great jump scare as he sprays a faceful of venom right into her and she falls to the ground screaming. It’s a genuinely unnerving moment.
In the observation lounge, Ogawa reports that Crusher was placed into stasis and will need reconstructive surgery. Ouch. The venom that Worf sprayed to dissolve the metal in a conduit is what Beverly got hit in the face with. It’s pretty fortunate (and amazing) that she even has a face left to reconstruct – the less you think about it, the better.
Barclay confirms that Worf’s venom was what was sprayed in the conduit and has been found all over the ship. His life signs have been difficult to track and has been eluding the security teams looking for him. Riker is barely able to mentally stay on top of the situation and dismisses everyone so he can send a distress signal to Starfleet. Ogawa knuckle-walks out of the room, which is a nice subtle detail. Riker opens up a signal to Starfleet, and Frakes does a good job of portraying his vain attempt at concentrating as he’s getting dumber by the minute. The computer asks for his authorization code, and Riker just starts staring off into space blankly as that low heartbeat continues to thunder louder. Trek heroes are normally super smart and competent, so watching one lose his intelligence before our eyes is unnerving. It’s a haunting scene, especially since he’s the only hope for salvation at this moment.
After what turns out to be three days (!), Picard reports that they tracked down the torpedo and are heading back to the ship. Wait, it took Picard and Data 72 whole hours to find this thing and they were out of contact with the Enterprise the whole time? Shuttles don’t have showers! Or even a bathroom that we’ve seen? Whatever.
The ship isn’t where it was supposed to be, and they locate it adrift. The sight of the Enterprise slowly spinning like a pinwheel is cool and visually communicates how things have completely broken down there. Life form readings are very odd, and after docking they see that main power is down. The ship is terrifyingly dark and its shadowy interiors make for a memorable horror-iffic time. They find some shed skin on the ground, and Data notes that no members of the crew shed their skin in this fashion (implying that there are some crewmembers who do shed their skin, just not in this particularly gauche way).
They find Troi in her quarters – in her bathtub – who has transformed into an amphibian creature. Sirtis doesn’t have on that much crazy makeup and prosthetics, but somehow she looks totally unrecognizable. It’s probably her lack of glorious hair. Anyway, she doesn’t seem to even notice Picard and Data, and just sits there like a frog. They notice the bite mark on her cheek and the Klingon DNA inside. Worf, you venomous sly dog, you.
Picard and Data make their way to the bridge, which is in shambles. Oh, and poor Ensign Whathisface is dead at his station, his chest ripped open and spine broken in several places. This poor bastard. Deanna, what did you do??? But seriously: Worf killed a fucking guy.
They hear some noise from Picard’s ready room, and enter to find Riker beating up on the aquarium. I never noticed until I rewatched this recently, but Livingston the Lionfish is now a jellyfish. LOL, bravo I guess. Riker has a heavy brow, shaggy hair, and looks pretty primitive. Now being a simple caveman, Picard and Data’s modern ways frighten and confuse him, so he naturally attacks them before getting phasered into submission. Data breaks the news to Picard that every Starfleet captain dreads hearing: the crew has de-evolved and now conducts every phone conversation in public on speaker while holding the phone a foot away from their face like a piece of toast.
Nooooooooo…..!
OK, so obviously evolution does not work this way at all. It’s a common misconception that evolution automatically means that a species “improves” over time – by getting larger, stronger, or more intelligent. That’s generally what happened for homo sapiens, but we’re a very exceptional exception. Evolution just means change, adapting to new environmental pressures. Sloths were once the size of elephants, birds the size of houses, and whales used to have fur and walk on land. And sharks have been around longer than trees. Which doesn’t have anything to do with evolution specifically, I just like that fact.
Data notes that something called introns – latent artifacts in the crews’ DNA – have been activated for some reason. Apparently all our previous evolutionary forms are still stored in our DNA like a genetic changelog?
[Version 2.6] Added: - Opposable thumbs - Appreciation of music Removed: - Ability to brachiate. Enjoy the fallen arches, assholes. [Version 3.1] Added: - Language pack updates - Inexplicably gargantuan genitals - General philosophical dread Removed: - Tails - Most body hair, except in the worst parts Fixed: - FIRE GOOD - Poo flinging no longer socially acceptable [Version 4.4 - FUTURE UPDATES] - More robust texting thumbs - SALAMANDERS - Restore brachiating. Maybe we were better off in the trees.
Sure, why not.
Not only that, but introns magically contain traits from all over the genetic record of whatever planet that individual’s from? Meaning that even though Troi is a mammal, she’s got bits of amphibian DNA because… wait, what?
This is where this hair-thin concept completely falls apart. Troi and a Betazoid amphibian share a common ancestor hundreds of millions of years back, but that doesn’t mean her DNA can just leapfrog over (heh) into another branch of the evolutionary tree. Just like Barclay’s DNA can’t possibly have anything that would make him spider-like. Just… no.
This particular attempt at pseudo-scientific explanation makes it more ridiculous, and I think the concept would have been better if they left out the “de-evolution” angle completely. “De-evolution” has a certain hook to it that’s catchy, but I’d like to think Star Trek fans are smarter than that and could handle something more nuanced. Something like, “mutations are picking up DNA in their vicinity, and all these mixing aliens in proximity, etc.” Gremlins 2 had a lot of fun with the concept of mutating its titular monsters, although it admittedly had a much more cartoonish tone than “Genesis.”
Data also breaks the bad news to Picard that he has been affected by the virus and will soon start de-evolving, possibly into a lemur or pygmy marmoset. At which point he will start making embarrassing, over-sharing social media posts and getting into fist fights in the aisles of Wal-Mart. You know, typical lower life form stuff.
They head to Data’s quarters since his computer is independent of the ship’s systems and still operational. They find a pile of kittens, as Spot apparently gave birth while they were gone. Oh, and Spot? Reptilian, with an IQ of 1 and now a loyal subscriber to Joe Rogan podcasts. TRAGEDY.
Since the kittens are thankfully unaffected by the virus, Picard and Data surmise that something about Spot’s amniotic environment must have protected them, and that it could hold the key to curing the rest of the crew. But they would need a human to do so. Which kind of doesn’t make sense by the episode’s own rules – if the virus can jump every species barrier so easily (including a damn fish) and if everyone is just transforming into whatever, why can’t they just use a cat’s pregnancy DNA thingies to fashion a cure for humanoids? CHECKMATE libs, evolution is a lie!
So instead they have to track down Ogawa, who should have the humanoid pregnancy stuff they need. But they need to go to engineering to fix things first. Picard gets scared shitless when a spider-faced Barclay smashes his face up against a window. The shot of him is all too brief, but the appearance is horrifying and it’s a great jump scare. Data shines a light on him, and he scurries off.
Picard is starting to feel the effects of his (ugh) de-evolution, and Stewart does a good job of selling the idea of a small, frightened creature that developed nervous prey instincts to survive in the food chain. So now he has to combat not only this catastrophe, but his own fear. It’s some much-needed character-based drama in an episode of horror-tinged sci-fi.
The other major criticism I have of the episode – which I admit is unfair – is that we don’t get to see enough of the mutated crew. The corridors of the ship are conspicuously empty, even though there are 1,000+ human-sized creatures roaming around. Data and Picard can hear them off in the distance, but it seems like the hallways should be teeming with them. We see five transformed cast members and they each look great, but I’m just greedy and wanted to see more.
They get Ogawa back to sickbay (who, like Riker, resembles an ape-like early form of human) and Data finds that she has the bio-stuff he needs to devise a cure. But adversity comes pounding on the door in the form of a massive, monstrous Klingon-like life form outside. It always seems in these shipwide fuckery situations Worf is the dangerous wild card that quickly becomes a threat. He’s the opposite of the Invulnerable One – Spock, Data, Odo, the Doctor – instead of being the only one not affected, he’s very much affected and the one that you need to worry about the most. Poor guy. But more importantly, poor everyone else.
Picard is of course terrified by the inhuman growling outside, and instinctively backs away from the door. They surmise that he wants to get inside because they have Troi in there – he can smell her and wants to complete the mating process he started when he took a little love nibble on her face. This subplot is one of several ways the show tried to make “Trorf” (or “Woroi” if you prefer) a thing in Season 7. It amounted to absolutely nothing and felt like an odd direction overall.
They extract some of Troi’s pheremones and strengthen them (???) into a hypospray to spritz and distract Worf. Data volunteers to lure Worf away, but Picard orders him to remain in sickbay to complete work on the cure over Data’s objections. Picard exits out of the other sickbay door as Worf continues to pound away (ahem).
Picard sprays his Glade Fuck-In into the air a couple of times, and Worf seems to notice the scent. Picard backs away down a corridor with some more sprays, and Worf starts to chase him. He forces a turbolift door open but gets stuck halfway in as Worf tracks him down. We finally get a halfway decent look at Worf’s new look as he roars, and it’s pretty crazy. You can recognize the Klingon forehead ridges, but he’s incredibly mutated otherwise, with fearsome spikes and big mandibles coming off of his face. Combined with his apparent exoskeleton and gigantic claws, he’s almost like a terrifying Klingon bug crossed with Doomsday from Superman. The subdued lighting of the episode really does the trick in creating a palpable sense of terror, bolstered by Picard’s emotional state. I wish it wasn’t quite so dark so we could make out the details better, but I think erring on the side of showing too little is maybe better than showing too much.
Picard makes his way into a Jeffries tube, and of course this little horror movie ends up in a tight crawlspace. In another great jump scare, Picard’s hand gets sprayed with venom from above. Again, this metal-corroding substance doesn’t totally disintegrate Picard’s hand, which is probably for the best (since I still have nightmares about The Fly). Cornered, Picard powers through his fear and goes McGuyver on Worf. Using an apparently non-conductive panel cover to crouch on, he grabs a power cable and electrocutes the entire tube, along with Worf. It’s awesome.
Data chimes in to say that he’s completed the cure and can conveniently disperse it throughout the ship in gaseous form. Picard hopes that Worf wakes up a new man, hopefully less brutish, ugly, and obsessed with mating. Yeah, I wish that every morning for myself too, Jean-Luc.
Later in sickbay, everyone is inexplicably back to normal, and Barclay neurotically wonders if the whole incident was his fault. Crusher accepts the blame for it, claiming that activating his one dormant T-cell was the cause for activating everyone’s dormant T-cells. Which is absolutely nuts. She fiddled with one guy’s dormant gene, and in doing so created a super virulent airborne virus that crossed every species barrier and caused horrifying de-evolutionary transformations all over the ship? It’s like that one time I deleted my System32 file and it destroyed the entire internet. Sorry, everyone. That was me.
As explanations go, it’s the most paper-thin bullshit ever. But whatever. Crusher says that they could name the virus after Barclay, who puts on a brave face about it. Troi wearily suggests that she clear her calendar for the near future. LOL, this guy’s mental health is a complete joke to everyone. Also a joke? That one guy who Worf killed. Thumbs up, freeze frame, roll credits.
It’s pretty par for the course in Star Trek when it comes to mutated people, but changing them back seems like such a nutty proposition. I mean, Riker’s brain shrank. But if you fix the DNA it somehow regrows back to its normal size and all that loss of knowledge and faculties magically return? LOL, OK. This episode is 110% bonkers.
“Genesis” is an absolutely batty hour of Trek, but I kind of love it despite its extreme logical flaws. It has the charm and incoherence of the most memorable horror B-movies, and perhaps if its plot holes were filled in it wouldn’t have the shaggy appeal that gives it its infamy. Aside from that, its effective atmosphere and shockingly good SFX work make it a true terror in the best ways. To appreciate its merits requires a bit of de-evolution of one’s expectations, and shows that turning down our brains can provide some fun at times.
Stray Observations:
- I love the little backstory on how Spot got knocked up in the first place. We know that the doors are coded only to open for humanoids, but Spot has nevertheless escaped on numerous occasions. Which is such a cat thing, regardless of the century. Data goes on to detail how many male cats there are on the ship and is committed to DNA tests to find the father. It’s all very silly but I appreciate the explanation. And Data the protective dad is always nice.
But it begs the question of why none of these pets are spayed or neutered? Maybe that’s considered a savage ritual at this point in the 24th century.
- And of course, the gender of Spot – who had been consistently male – was changed specifically for this episode. In the third season of Picard, Spot was apparently referred to as male once again?
- Monster Worf’s weight – which Data reports as 200 kgs – is 440 lbs in freedom units. Damn, boy!
- The virus that Crusher accidentally created could be weaponized very easily. Just beam an exploding gas canister of this anywhere and POOF! A bunch of de-evolved mindless aggressive beasts. The common clay of the evolutionary record. You know, Trump supporters. No wait. That’s not good. Never mind.
- Was anyone else killed during this ordeal? Imagine a ship full of 1,000 creatures getting all up in each other’s business for several days. Now that I think about it, death is really the least of our concerns. What kind of unholy monstrosities were conceived during this time?
- Oddly, this wouldn’t be the last time that Ogawa’s pregnancy was a plot point. In the final episode, the time-anomaly’s effects cause her fetus to grow younger (a different kind of de-evolution) until it disappears.
- Presented without context:
- LOL, how did this ever make it past the censors?
