Descent

This Story: Season 6 Episode 26 (production code 252)
TNG Overall: Episode 152
Trek Overall: Story 246a, Episode 254
Airdate: 21 Jun 1993
Story by Jeri Taylor
Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Alexander Singer

Notes

• The only episode with the episode title and opening credits before the title sequence.
• Similar to other TNG two parters, this first part is simply “Descent”, where the second part is officially titled “Descent, Part II”.
• The opening poker scene with Data featured the real life Stephen Hawking, playing himself.
• There was a novel made out of the two parts of this story, which is long out of print at this point.  Here’s a link to it on Amazon.com.
• The hillside showed outside Lore’s fortress was filmed in the exact same spot that was used in the TOS episode “This Side of Paradise” when Spock & Leila had their walk and talk.
• Only 11 extras were made up as Borg, the greater quantity was obtained with split screen overlays.
• The building the Borg were using in this episode is the same one used as Camp Khitomer in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
• The ship USS Gorkon was an intentional homage to Klingon Chancellor Gordon from Star Trek VI.
• The third time NCC-1701D was commanded by a woman (the other times were Tasha Yar in “The Big Goodbye” & Deanna Troi in “Disaster“).
• The events of the episode “I, Borg” are recalled here when an Admiral chastises Picard for “letting Hugh go”.
• The Bluesky posts for this episode say “Episode 151”.  That is an error. They should be 152.

Links