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| Geordi receives a message from his missing mother (Madge Sinclair) |
The USS Raman, a Federation science vessel, is trapped in the atmosphere of Marijine VII, a gas giant planet. Interference makes it impossible for the Enterprise's sensors tell whether the crew is alive or dead, and it is too dangerous to beam crew members directly aboard. The only option is an experimental virtual reality interface, in which the sensors Geordi uses for his visor allow the engineer to control the probe as if it were his own body.
Just before the mission, Geordi receives disturbing news. His mother (Madge Sinclair)'s ship, the Hera, is missing, presumed lost. Geordi insists on going through with his mission, however, insisting that if the crew of the Ramanare alive, they can't wait the time it would take to retool the interface for someone else's use. He dons the interface suit and plugs in.
He discovers that the crew are all dead. But then something more happens. While attempting to retrieve the data the ship had been collecting, his mother appears before him, telling him that the Raman needs to go down to the planet or else she and the rest of her crew will die!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: He's sympathetic to Geordi's desire to believe his mother is alive, but he isn't willing to risk Geordi's safety on a paper-thin hypothesis that Data deems "almost impossible."
Geordi: Goes into denial about his mother's disappearance. "The Hera is missing, that's all," he insists. "Until I hear something different, my mother might just as well have taken the crew on an unscheduled holiday!" When his father (Ben Vereen) tries to make him accept that she is gone, Geordi snaps at him. He is more open with Data, however, acknowledging the likelihood of her death but confessing that he doesn't know how he'll be able to deal with it if she really is gone.
Dr. Crusher: Shows immediate concern when Geordi insists on increasing the safety tolerances for better control of the probe, but she does go along with the increases. After an accident with the interface puts Geordi in jeopardy, she has concerns about him returning to it. But she does agree that if the tolerances are kept within a safer margin, that the "risk is acceptable," showing a comprehension of the balance between crew safety and the success of the mission - something that hasn't always been evident in her character.
THOUGHTS
While it's only about an average episode, Interface is a solid piece of television. Writer Joe Menosky does his usual fine job with characterization, and the concept of the VR interface is a nice hook on which to hang Geordi's emotional dilemma. Geordi's need to deal with the loss of his mother is the real story, of course - but by folding that story within the structured narrative of the retrieval of the Raman's crew, Menosky keeps the story moving forward when it might otherwise bog down.
The last episode to spotlight Geordi was Aquiel, a turgid bore that had no interest in his character beyond using him as a plot piece. This episode actually focuses on Geordi's personality. His emotional turmoil surrounding his mother's disappearance is convincingly portrayed, from his guilt at not seeing her the last time he had the chance to his inability to accept her death without wreckage or a body. He grasps at thin theoretical straws to come up with a way that she might be alive - all of which makes his shipmates even more prone to believing, when he receives an apparent message from his mother, that he is actually hallucinating due to the VR interface.
Levar Burton's very good performance and the convincing portrayal of Geordi's emotions keep the episode grounded, but these positives can't disguise a few moments in which Geordi's behavior would simply not be acceptable within a military chain of command. I'm particularly thinking of the ready room scene, in which Geordi responds to a "No" from Picard by literally hitting a chair. There are a few such moments when Geordi's tone or behavior just seem too unprofessional for Picard and/or Riker to overlook, even taking grief into consideration. At the very least, they would look at that behavior and temporarily relieve him due to his emotional state.
That's one reason why this episode gets a "6" instead of a "7," though in truth it's not enough by itself. The other reason why I consider this more of an "average" episode than a truly "good" one is harder to define. It's more a question of personal response. The episode has merit, and I enjoyed watching it. But it just doesn't quite get the level of response from me that I'd have liked. I wasn't bored at any point while watching it. However, I was always watching it, rather than becoming truly involved in it.
If nothing else, this was at the very least substantially better than Liaisons.
Overall Rating: 6/10.
Previous Episode: Liaisons
Next Episode: Gambit
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