Star Trek: 10 Starfleet Crews That Totally LOST IT

If The Naked Time started it all in The Original Series, then The Naked Now was The Next Generation's full-circle moment. Watching the episodes back to back, it's impossible to miss how much of a rinse-repeat The Naked Now is. But goodness, did they commit fully.

An away team encounters numerous corpses in bizarre conditions. Upon returning to the Enterprise, La Forge starts to sweat and behave oddly. As the infection spreads, Wesley Crusher declares himself acting captain and takes control of engineering, putting the entire ship in danger. Sound familiar?

Well, Riker agrees. Convinced he's heard a similar scenario, he tasks Data with finding the account. Perhaps the direct reference was intended to make the episode feel more like an homage than a rewrite. Either way, they discover Captain Kirk's narrow escape with an intoxicating infection and they assume Dr. McCoy's serum will cure their own outbreak. But that would be far too easy and spoil all the fun...

Yar prowling the decks like a Betazoid in the Phase, Troi trying to rekindle her relationship with Riker, and Wesley being...well, even more Wesley. They even mirror Spock's unexpected breakdown by having Data become intoxicated, although they never really explain how. It's worth just going with it, though; between Dr. Crusher and Picard's shameless flirtation and Data's liaison with Tasha, the Enterprise is in danger of becoming the Love Boat.

To be clear, this is a silly, silly episode. And you have to raise an eyebrow at just how closely they copied The Naked Time. Also, imagine how much better it would have been later in the series, when the writers, actors and audience were more familiar with the characters. Yet, for all that, there are some thoroughly enjoyable moments, especially in retrospect...from Picard trying to keep his mind on the job to Data's perfectly timed comedy fall. You may just have to switch off your critical thinking for an hour to enjoy it for what it is.