Patrick Stewart, who recently died at age 86, was one of only two actors to appear in every episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” Of all 176 of those episodes, however, one in particular was the late, great actor’s favorite, and it’s commonly recognized as one of the best episodes of the entire “Star Trek” franchise: “The Inner Light.”
Originally airing in the show’s 5th season on May 30, 1992, “The Inner Light” had the Enterprise encounter a strange probe that directs an energy beam at Captain Picard only for him to wake up on a distant planet where a woman who claims to be his wife says his name is not Picard but Kamin. Picard at first objects, but as years pass he eventually stops trying to claim that he’s a Starfleet captain and embraces a full life as Kamin. The episode ends with a reveal that this planet is long since dead; its people created the probe so that someone could experience their culture and remember them. Picard awakens on the bridge of the Enterprise to find that only 25 minutes has passed in the real world.
“I become someone other than Jean-Luc Picard over decades of living a different life, and therefore become a different person, a domestic person, not a starship captain,” Stewart told Wired when asked to explain why “The Inner Light” was his favorite episode. He added that it was also special because his real-life son, Daniel, played Kamin’s son in the episode.
The Inner Light is indeed Star Trek at its best
“The Inner Light,” which was written by freelance screenwriter Morgan Gendel, is so beloved and acclaimed that we ranked it No. 1 on our list of the best-ever “Star Trek” episodes. It won the 1993 Hugo Award for best dramatic presentation, making it the first TV episode to do so in a quarter century. (The previous winner? The “Star Trek: The Original Series” episode “The City on the Edge of Forever,” which happens to be No. 2 on our list.)
Viewed through a certain lens, “The Inner Light” feels like an odd choice for the consensus on the best episode of “Star Trek.” It’s not especially “Trek”-y — very little of it takes place on the Enterprise, there are no aliens with rubber foreheads, there’s essentially no action, and it’s not exactly a sci-fi adventure. And yet, “The Inner Light” speaks exactly to what makes “Star Trek” so special. This is a deeply earnest series that at its best has as much heart as it does brains. Giving Picard this unexpected, bittersweet, and deeply touching experience exemplifies how attuned “Star Trek” was to the human condition despite all the aliens and strange new worlds.
In light of Patrick Stewart’s death, “The Inner Light” and its depiction of a life fully lived feels especially poignant. So let’s end with a quote from Stewart as Picard/Kamin: “Seize the time, Meribor. Live now. Make now always the most precious time. Now will never come again.”