Interface

When the show begins, Geordi is trying out an interesting virtual reality device. While wearing a body suit, he's able to send a probe into dangerous places and see and interact as if he's there. So, if there is an engineering emergency, using the suit he can make repairs and see what the problem is. This naturally comes in handy when a Federation ship is in distress. Coincidence #2--the captain of this ship is Geordi's mother! When Geordi enters the ship with this virtual suit, he finds everyone dead-- but no every member of the crew is there. Geordi's mother, for one, isn't there. However, on a later expedition, he actually sees her--and she looks just fine despite everyone else being dead. How can this be? And, what is Geordi to do?

This is just an okay episode. It's neither very good nor bad...just another example of Geordi getting along much better with women who are not real! Kinda sad when you think about it this way.

The final season of Star Trek, the Next Generation gave us some splendid episodes and also a fair share of stinkers. Everyone knew by this stage that they would not be renewed and attempts were made to wrap up various story lines before they said their final goodbyes. There is still a great deal to be enjoyed.

Well, poor Geordi!

LeVar Burton has to wear an uncomfortable looking Borg-style outfit and heavy, all-white contact lenses throughout much of this episode but, apparently, not to much avail. Despite the unfailing professionalism of all concerned and what should have been a landmark appearance by guest actor Madge Sinclair, it fairly reeked of franchise fatigue.

The seventh season of the Next Generation is well known for bringing aboard never-seen-before family members (and in this case, killing them off just as quickly) but some of the storylines are better than others and unfortunately, this is one of the least interesting. For an actor who had given us such an unfailing commitment over the years with all those background shots and all that technobabble, this must have been quite a disappointment. Fortunately Mr Burton's second career as a director had just begun to take off and he remains a loyal Trekker to this day.

It was also particularly galling for him to see respected older actress and friend, Madge Sinclair, who had shared the screen with him in the seminal television series Roots, given such a lack-lustre part. A dignified trailblazer in the representation of black women on the screen, she deserved so much better from Star Trek.

There is no need to be concerned about "spoilers" in this review; my concentration wandered long before anything much actually happened.

Senior Trekker scores every episode with a 5.

I think of all the characters aboard the Enterprise, the least interesting, to me, is Geordi LaForge. There doesn't seem to be a depth to his character. He is a repository of technological knowledge. He frequently pulls stuff out of the blue that is so advanced it bears a bit of skepticism. That doesn't mean I dislike him but he isn't very interesting. They play on his inability to form relationships, but he never gets out of his head. He is dull. This episode, which involves the death of his mother, has him going off half cocked and not recognizing clues that his experiences should have taught him. When his mother shows up, he should have had some suspicions about who she was. He ignore the advice of the crew. Granted he has lost his mother, but her appearance is in the oddest circumstance. I just couldn't get into this one.

There's not much of a story here. You have Geordi trying to find out whether or not his mother is alive. The only interest i have are the two guest stars. Levar Burton is reunited here with his Roots costars Ben Vereen and Madge Sinclair. The show had great guest stars and two of them are here. It is nice to see them in an otherwise average episode.

Once again I have to step in and defend Geordie Laforge against all the reviews, i guess you guys are racist because if this episode was the same but about Picard or data it would be a 8/10 but because its Laforge you like to hate on him. I dont understand how and why you would like Geordie less than another member of the crew. Geordie is a great person with a good behavior, loyal to his Friends, alors a great Starfleet officer, one of the smartest officer ever.