The Drumhead

Episode aired Apr 27, 1991
TV-PG
45m

IMDb RATING

8.4/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

Jean Simmons and Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Action Adventure Drama Sci-Fi

A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.A retired admiral boards the Enterprise in an effort to determine the actions aboard the ship surrounding an act of sabotage and possible treason.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

8.4/10

4.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
The events of Conspiracy (1988), Sins of the Father (1990), The Best of Both Worlds Part 1 (1990), The Best of Both Worlds: Part 2 (1990), Family (1990), and Data's Day (1991) are referenced in this episode. It reveals that 39 Federation starships were annihilated and 11,000 personnel were lost at the Battle of Wolf 359.

Goofs
In the first act's captain's log entry, Picard says that Admiral Satie was the one who uncovered the alien conspiracy from three years prior ("Conspiracy"). However, it was Picard and Riker who shot the infected officers and ultimately killed the mother creature that was hiding inside of LCDR Remmick. That sounds more like an uncovering than any investigation an elderly admiral would've undertaken.

Quotes
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: You know, there are some words I've known since I was a schoolboy: "With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably." Those words were uttered by Judge Aaron Satie, as wisdom and warning. The first time any man's freedom is trodden on, we're all damaged. I fear that today...
Admiral Nora Satie: How dare you! You who consort with Romulans, invoke my father's name to support your traitorous arguments. It is an offense to everything I hold dear. And to hear those words used to subvert the United Federation of Planets. My father was a great man! His name stands for integrity and principle. You dirty his name when you speak it! He loved the Federation. But you, Captain, corrupt it. You undermine our very way of life. I will expose you for what you are. I've brought down bigger men than you, Picard!

Connections
Featured in Star Trek: First Contact Review (2009)

Soundtracks
Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User reviews30

Review

Featured review

8/10

"...spreading fear in the name of righteousness..."

Sounds familiar? Like many TNG-episodes, this one isn't driving its point home very subtly, but does a good job at it nevertheless. One of the main factors has got to be Patrick Stewart's magnificent acting, especially in his interrogation scene. This guy is in a class of his own.

Yes, the whole way the villain collapses in a fit of rage in the end and lets her real ideas and purposes be seen clearly is not very realistic and obviously designed to bring the plot to an end in the last 5 minutes of the episode. Like so many other TNG episodes, the writers seemed to want to squeeze too much into the 45-minute time-slot and then they'd have to rush the ending.

What surprised me most were countless lines of dialog that have a very eerie quality with regards to our current political climate and especially the shift in politics in the US since 9/11. Considering the air-date (1991), this only confirms how true Picard's statement about how quickly people are willing to blindly trade their liberties for "security" really is.

8/10