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The Crystalline Entity made its first appearance in the episode “Datalore” of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” on January 18, 1988. This massive entity was a potent natural force that the U.S.S. Enterprise crew found daunting. It needed a substantial amount of energy to survive, energy it obtained by devouring entire life-filled planets. It would send out a beam to a planet’s surface and essentially obliterate any living thing underneath. This Entity was compared to Moby-Dick by many Star Trek fans due to its destructive nature. The Entity isn’t evil; it is simply oblivious to the fact that its feeding habits can wipe out entire civilizations.
In the “Datalore” episode, Lore (Brent Spiner), Data’s (also Brent Spiner) “evil twin,” weaponized the Entity. Lore seemed to harbor resentment towards the human colony where he and Data were initially constructed and enticed the Entity to feast on everyone. It remained unclear how Lore managed to communicate with the Entity. Lore’s plan also included feeding the Enterprise to the Entity, but he failed. At the conclusion of “Datalore,” the Entity disappeared to unknown places.
The Entity reappeared in the “Silicon Avatar” episode (October 14, 1991), where the Moby-Dick parallels became more apparent. Dr. Kila Marr (Ellen Geer) was keen to locate the Entity and study it, asserting it was a unique, fascinating life form. Later, she disclosed that the Entity had assaulted her home planet and eradicated her son. She declared her objective is to annihilate the Entity, her White Whale.
The writers of the episode, as disclosed in Larry Nemecek’s invaluable “The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion,” intentionally paralleled the storyline with Moby-Dick.
‘Silicon Avatar’ is the Moby-Dick episode of ‘Next Generation’
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It’s worth noting that Dr. Kila Marr was surprised to discover Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) seeking the Crystalline entity to establish communication and possibly find a way to feed it without annihilating entire inhabited planets. This was Picard’s decision after learning about the Entity’s destructive actions on the colony where Data was built and its killing of several scientists on a research mission at the start of the episode.
Dr. Marr was only after revenge, and her determination intensified when Data played an audio recording of her deceased son’s diary, stored in his memory. Initially, she suspected Data, believing he was conspiring with the Entity like Lore, but hearing her son’s voice from Data changed her perception. She saw him as a silicon avatar for her son. By the end of the episode, Dr. Marr had found a way to kill the creature, and Ellen Geer delivered a stellar performance as a woman driven to the brink.
According to the “Next Generation Companion,” the screenplay for “Silicon Avatar” was a freelance submission by a writer named Lawrence V. Conley. Jeri Taylor, the late “Trek” producer, didn’t believe that “Next Generation” should be creating “sequel” episodes at that time, but the return of the Crystalline Entity was unforeseen. Taylor stated:
“Who would have thought the Crystalline Entity would be the character to return? […] But the ‘Moby-Dick’ premise of this woman obsessed with her son’s consciousness stored in Data was too enticing to ignore.”
A creature reminiscent of Moby-Dick, but mineralized. The White Shale?
The Moby-Dick parallels were evident from the start
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In the oral history book “Captain’s Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Star Trek Voyages,” edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, the director of “Silicon Avatar,” Cliff Bole, discussed making the episode. He also mentioned what changes he would have made, had he had a do-over, Bole stated:
“I believe I would have made Marr stronger in certain aspects, and I felt the ending was weak. But then again, she was over the edge. When you only have 40 minutes of footage, it’s difficult to fully develop a character and their transformation. We’re creating short stories here. The reasons behind her actions? Sometimes, we just don’t have the film time to fully explore them. We’re selling nine minutes less than the old show. Those nine minutes can be used for a lot of character development.”
By “nine minutes,” he means that commercial breaks now take up nine additional minutes compared to the shorter commercial breaks of 1966 when the original “Star Trek” aired.
Bole also mentioned that he somewhat sided with Marr, feeling that Picard’s ultra-diplomatic approach was too calm, almost inhumane. He showed no outrage or even anger at the Entity’s constant destruction. Bole believed that every emotional being would contemplate killing the Entity. Producer Michael Piller was a fan of the episode’s premise, noting its similarity to Herman Melville’s complex masterpiece, but he considered it could have been more dramatic.
However, Taylor adored the entire thing, empathizing with Dr. Marr’s pain. She ended up writing the final teleplay, infusing Dr. Marr with relatable suffering over the loss of her son. “I was really able to tap into those feelings,” she said, “and tell a story about a woman whose vendetta over the loss of her son ruined her.”
Credit: www.slashfilm.com
