Skin of Evil

List of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes

"Skin of Evil" is the 23rd episode of the first season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and originally aired on April 25, 1988 in broadcast syndication. The story premise was written by Joseph Stefano, and the screenplay was re-written by Hannah Louise Shearer. The episode was directed by Joseph L. Scanlan.

The series follows the adventures of the crew of the Starfleet starship Enterprise. In this episode, the Enterprise races to rescue Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) from a crashed shuttle, which is being held captive by an alien life form called Armus (Mart McChesney, voiced by Ron Gans). In investigating the crash, Lieutenant Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) is killed by Armus, and Troi is eventually rescued after Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) distracts the alien.

Yar's death in the episode was the result of Crosby asking to be released from her contract, although her last filmed episode was actually "Symbiosis" as it was filmed subsequent to "Skin of Evil". The manner of her death was intended to be typical of the threat posed to a security officer, and was what the show's creator Gene Roddenberry had intended. The reception of the episode has been poor overall from critics who have reviewed the episode following the end of the series, especially the manner of Yar's death and the Armus creature in general.