Summary
- A weak Star Trek: TNG season 2 episode inspired 3 writers to write a better season 3 story.
- “Samaritan Snare” was criticized for TNG characters behaving oddly.
- “Tin Man” offers a better TNG episode, even if it’s not one of the classics.
One particularly weak episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation inspired three writers to write their own, much better, episode. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG took a couple of seasons to truly find its footing. While there were some genuinely great episodes during TNG season 2, there were also a few flops. Still, the characters were what ultimately made TNG a success, and even the bad episodes sometimes inspired others to imagine their own stories with Captain Picard and his crew.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation season 2, episode 17, “Samaritan Snare,” Captain Picard travels to Starbase 515 for a cardiac replacement surgery, leaving Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) in command. When the Enterprise receives a distress call from a Pakled ship, Riker underestimates the dumb aliens, and Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) is taken hostage. Although Riker has proven himself to be a capable commander in the past, he makes several questionable decisions throughout “Samaritan Snare,” behaving out of character in service of the plot.
3 Star Trek Writers Decided To Write Their Own TNG Episode After Seeing “Samaritan Snare”
Dennis Russell Bailey, David Bischoff, and Lisa Putman White went on to write TNG’s “Tin Man.”
According to Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman, “Samaritan Snare” inspired writers Dennis Russell Bailey, David Bischoff, and Lisa Putman White to pen their own Star Trek: The Next Generation episode. When talking about “Samaritan Snare,” Bailey said: “None of the plot could have happened if all of the characters hadn’t suddenly become morons that week.” Morons may be a bit harsh, but Commander Riker does send the Chief Engineer alone to an alien ship they know little about. He also ignores the advice of both Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), which is, again, out of character.
In the secondary storyline, Captain Picard’s surgery has complications, and Dr. Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) has to travel to the Starbase to complete the operation. Initially, Picard refused to have Pulaski perform the surgery on the Enterprise because he did not want to appear weak in front of the crew. Although it’s stated multiple times that the procedure is routine, something still goes wrong and none of the doctors on the Starbase are equipped to handle it. This is another element that Dennis Russell Bailey points out as being odd, and he eventually decided to write his own episode. Together with David Bischoff and Lisa Putman White, Bailey then wrote the script that became Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 20, “Tin Man.”
The story for “Tin Man” was based on a short story called Tin Woodman by Dennis Russell Bailey and David Bischoff. Co-writer Lisa Putman White was not officially credited for the episode, but Bailey was listed as Dennis Putman Bailey.
“Tin Man” Is A Much Better Star Trek: TNG Episode
The name of the episode is inspired by the Tin Woodman from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3 episode “Tin Man” may not be perfect, but it’s a better episode than season 2’s “Samaritan Snare.” When the Enterprise-D encounters a living alien ship, Betazoid Federation emissary Tam Elbrun (Harry Groener) comes aboard to the aid with first contact. Because of his extremely powerful telepathic abilities, Elbrun struggles to tune out the voices of the many crewmembers on the Enterprise-D. He forms a connection with Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner), whose thoughts Elbrun cannot hear.
Tam Elbrun was the first male Betazoid seen on screen. Actor Harry Groener also appeared as different characters in episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise .
Elbrun begins communicating with the sentient ship, who is initially referred to as Tin Man before revealing his name to be Gomtuu. In the end, Elbrun helps save Gomtuu and ultimately decides to remain with the alien ship creature. Elbrun is a fascinating character and Gomtuu makes for a truly alien lifeform. The story of “Tin Man” is classic science fiction, and the episode avoids the out-of-character behaviors that plagued “Samaritan Snare.” Not every episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation was a winner, but sometimes even the bad episodes led to something great.
