The Offspring (Star Trek: The Next Generation) - Notes

Notes

  • The episode was directed by Jonathan Frakes, who also portrayed Commander William Riker. It was the first of many Star Trek episodes to be directed by a member of the cast. It was Frakes' directing debut.
  • The show was written as a spec script by RenĂ© Echevarria and was bought by the show. Echevarria did a re-write which was then touched up by staff writers. Echevarria was subsequently hired to re-write the episode "Transfigurations" and would become a regular writer and story editor for the show.
  • Like most critically acclaimed episodes of Star Trek, "The Offspring" raises philosophical questions; namely, what constitutes a living being and a good parent? The former was a subject that had been addressed by Next Generation writers before, specifically with regards to the character Data's rights as an android. ("The Measure of a Man").
  • This episode is rated 4.6/5 on Star Trek.com (24 June 2008), and Michael Dorn said this was one of his two favorite episodes, the other being "The Drumhead," which was also directed by Jonathan Frakes.
  • The name "Lal" is actually not a term exclusive to Hindi. It is actually an Indo-Iranian word meaning "red." The term is occasionally used as the final element of compound personal name (e.g., Amir Lal), which is akin to the use of "san" as an honorific in certain dialects of Japanese. In the episode, the word "Lal" has been translated as "beloved" which is also correct. It is common practice in Hindi speaking world to call somebody affectionately as "Lal" (e.g., "mere Lal" which is roughly translated as "my dear").
  • It is in this episode that the Internet meme of Jean-Luc Picard's double facepalm is visible.

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