The Neutral Zone (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

While Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) is away at an emergency Federation conference, the Enterprise crew discovers an ancient space capsule from Earth. Inside they find three humans in cryonic chambers. Lt. Cdr. Data (Brent Spiner) asks to move the chambers to the Enterprise and Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) agrees. Picard returns and orders the Enterprise to the Neutral Zone, as several Federation outposts near the edges of the zone have not responded to communications. He explains that the conference was about the potential threat of the Romulans, who have not been seen for decades. As Data and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) work to thaw the cryonically preserved humans, Picard admonishes Data for bringing them aboard during a crucial time, and puts Riker in charge of looking after them. The survivors—Claire Raymond (Gracie Harrison), a housewife; Ralph Offenhouse (Peter Mark Richman), a financier; and L. Q. "Sonny" Clemmons (Leon Rippy), a musician—are from the late 20th century. All died of incurable illnesses at the time and were placed in cryonic suspension after their deaths in the hope that cures might be found in the future. Dr. Crusher, in reviving them, easily cures them of their illnesses. They have to cope with the culture shock of awakening in a distant future with the realization that everything they knew and had are now gone. Of the three, the financier Ralph Offenhouse is the most vocal regarding his dissatisfaction with the 24th century's lack of amenities. He unfavorably compares the Enterprise to the Queen Elizabeth 2, remarking that even on a 20th-century ocean liner, he could "get a drink and a newspaper" and receive better service than what Picard's crew provides. L. Q. "Sonny" Clemmons also contributes several pop culture references, primarily focused on his desire for entertainment. He repeatedly asks to watch "the tube" (television), leading to a historical explanation from Data that the medium went out of style in the mid-21st century. Additionally, Clemmons inquires about the fate of the Pittsburgh Steelers, expressing a desire to see a "box score" and learn how the team is performing in the future. ==Production==

Writing and casting Due to the impending Writers Guild of America strike, writer and co-executive producer Maurice Hurley developed the teleplay in a day and a half from a story submission purchased by Paramount written by Deborah McIntyre and Mona Clee. Due to the strike, certain story ideas were removed from the plot including the planned first appearance of the Borg, which was delayed until the second-season episode "Q Who". "The Neutral Zone" was originally intended to be the first of a two-part episode but due to the strike there wasn't enough time to write the second part and so the story was shortened. The second episode would have had the Enterprise and the Romulans unite against the Borg. The script that was shot was a first draft and due to the writer's strike, no amendments were made. Director James L. Conway later explained: "If there hadn't been a strike, I think it would have been a better script." It was the second episode of The Next Generation directed by Conway, the first being "Justice". He did not direct another episode until "Frame of Mind" during season six. In the writers and directors' guide for the series, written by the show's creator Gene Roddenberry prior to the first season, Romulans were covered by one of the main writing rules that stated: "No stories about warfare with Klingons and Romulans and no stories with Vulcans. We are determined not to copy ourselves and believe there must be other interesting aliens in a galaxy filled with billions of stars and planets." Following the perceived failure of the Ferengi as the main villains of TNG by the production staff, the Romulans became the main villains during the early years of the series. While the Romulans made their first TNG appearance in this episode, they had been mentioned in "Angel One" and "Heart of Glory". The episode was the final one of season one to be completed, with production wrapping ten months after it began on "Encounter at Farpoint". The episode featured an appearance by Gene Roddenberry's production assistant Susan Sackett as a Starfleet science officer. Her appearance was the result of winning a bet over her weight loss. She would go on to write two episodes of The Next Generation with Fred Bronson, "Ménage à Troi" and "The Game". Two of the time-displaced humans returned in Star Trek literature, with Ralph Offenhouse appearing in The Next Generation novel ''Debtor's Planet as the Federation Ambassador to the Ferengi and again in the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy as the Secretary of Commerce for the Federation. Clare Raymond made a further appearance in the Star Trek: Department of Temporal Investigations novel Watching the Clock as a counsellor for time-displaced people. Offenhouse, Raymond, and "Sonny" Clemmons also appeared in the two-part Star Trek: The Eugenic Wars'' by Greg Cox, which was set prior to their appearance in this episode. Rather than individual designs for each forehead as with the Klingons, a number of standard designs were created. The Romulan Warbird made its first appearance in this episode. It was the final design by Andrew Probert for the Star Trek franchise. He had previously designed both the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the Enterprise-D for The Next Generation. The double-hulled nature of the starship originated in early designs, but the wings were originally vertical rather than horizontal. The ship was deliberately made to be larger than the Enterprise. ==Reception==

"The Neutral Zone" aired in broadcast syndication during the week of May 20, 1988. It received Nielsen ratings of 10.2. This was the highest ratings received by the series since "Symbiosis" four episodes earlier. Several reviewers re-watched Star Trek: The Next Generation after the end of the series. Keith DeCandido on Tor.com felt that the episode did not really work, saying that the "smug moralizing with regard to the three 20th-century refugees is laid on a bit too thick", and that the appearance of the Romulans tried too hard to be reminiscent of their first appearance in "Balance of Terror". Overall he said that the "first season ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper". The Romulan Warbird (the "D'deridex class"), which made periodic appearances in the Star Trek franchise after this episode, was rated by Space.com as the 9th-best Star Trek spacecraft. In particular they note its debut, uncloaking before the Enterprise 1701-D after the Romulans’ half-century of isolation. The spacecraft's fictional power and elusiveness is noted in regards to the Star Trek science fiction universe. They note how when they uncover a frozen Wall Street broker, he is shocked to find a future where there is more to life than accumulating wealth. ==Media releases==

The first home media release of "The Neutral Zone" was on VHS cassette on May 26, 1993, in the United States and Canada. The episode was later included on the Star Trek: The Next Generation season one DVD boxed set, released in March 2002, and was released as part of the season one Blu-ray set on July 24, 2012. ==Notes==