Chain of Command

This Story: Season 6 Episodes 10 & 11 (production codes 236 & 237)
TNG Overall: Episodes 136 & 137
Trek Overall: Story 232, Episodes 238 & 239
Airdate: 14 & 21 Dec 1992
Story by Frank Abatemarco (Part I)
Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore (Part I)
Written by Frank Abatemarco & Jeri Taylor (uncredited) (Part II)
Directed by Robert Scheerer (Part I) & Les Landau (Part II)

 

Notes (Part I)

• This was originally supposed to be just one part, but was made into two when someone realized they could save on the budget by doing that.
• The scene with Ferengi Daimon Solok was filmed on the DS9 replimat set, but it’s not really obvious. That was also supposed to be Quark, but given it would have been the first ever introduction of Quark, it was decided to introduce a new character.
• The first time Troi wears a Starfleet standard uniform since the pilot.  It becomes he regular uniform through the rest of the series.
• The first time we see the Cardassian uniform that becomes standard in Deep Space Nine.
• The first episode with Admiral Alynna Nechayev.  She also returns for three more episodes of TNG as well as two of DS9.
• The shot of the biosphere in this episode was reused from “The Masterpiece Society“.

Notes (Part II)

• The last episode of Star Trek: TNG to air before the pilot of Deep Space Nine premiered.
• Data becomes a First Officer in this episode, due to Riker being relieved of duty.
• Patrick Stewart prepared for his torture scenes by reviewing tapes provided by Amnesty International.  They also assisted Frank Abatemarco in the writing of the story.
• Patrick Stewart performed the torture scenes completely naked – at his own insistence (it was a closed set).
• David Warner plays Gul Madred the Cardassian torturer.  He has previously played a human in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and a Klingon in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
• Madred’s use of “four lights” appears to be an homage to George Orwell’s 1984 where a similar occurrence happened (although fingers and not lights there).
• This the last appearance of Jellico in live action, but the character did reappear in eight episodes of Season 2 of Star Trek: Prodigy.
• There was a novel called “Ship of the Line” which revisits this story, and specifically Picard & Madred have more scenes together.

Links

[ Wikipedia | Memory Alpha Part I & Part II | IMDB Part I & Part II | Amazon US DVD | Amazon US Blu-Ray ]