The Bonding

This Story: Season 3 Episode 5 (production code 153)
TNG Overall: Episode 53
Trek Overall: Story 153, Episode 155
Airdate: 23 Oct 1989
Written by Ronald D. Moore
Directed by Winrich Kolbe

Notes

• The first episode written by Ronald D. Moore – who went on to write a lot for TNG, DS9, & VOY – mostly the really good Klingon episodes.
• This episode has the second (and final) appearance of the “computer access room”.  The first one was in “Evolution“.
• Tahsa Yar’s character is referenced here when talking about the death of a colleague.
• The ceremony the kid goes through with Worf is supposed to make them “brothers, part of my family for all time” (referencing Worf).  However, the child is never mentioned again in any episode on this series or on Deep Space Nine.
• This is a really great quote by Ron Moore about Patrick Stewart. I directly lifted it from Memory Alpha, but it was too good not to use..  “Moore attended one day of shooting of the episode, where he met Patrick Stewart for the first time. Moore recalled, “He was very gracious and friendly when he learned that I had written the episode and then asked me if I was writing another. I had just gotten the assignment for ‘Defector’ and so I briefly told him the idea. He nodded his head, seemed intrigued, then said, ‘Just remember one thing… the Captain doesn’t do enough screwing or shooting in this series.’ And then he turned and walked away. Now, THAT is the Captain of the Enterprise, if you ask me.””

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