The Pegasus

Season 7, Episode 12, Aired

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Stardate: 47457.1 Riker is reunited with Admiral Pressman, his former captain, when Pressman wants the Enterprise to find his missing ship, the Pegasus. However, Riker's loyalties are tested when he's asked to keep the true nature of the mission secret from Picard, as it could destroy the peace treaty between the Federation and the Romulans.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (8)

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  • Spoiler alert: An episode that shows that the Federation needs some better diplomats, and that they got rolled in their non-proliferation treaty.

    5.1
    "Mediocre"
    By fairuser, Oct 01, 2011
    So the Federation actually negotiated and signed a treaty that allowed the Romulans and Cardassians and other Federation enemies keep cloaking devices, so they can constantly sneak up on Federation vessels, and bans the Federation from developing similar technology? Who negotiated this treaty, Neville Chamberlain? And Picard's self-righteousness seems out of character, since he feels protecting his ship is all-important. Wouldn't using such a cloaking device be the ultimate protection for his ship? Also weird is after being shocked at reading of the Pegasus mutiny, hours later he is violating direct orders by the Admiral. Only in this upside down, better-us-dead-than-someone-else universe would the guys trying to make their team stronger be the bad guys, and the appeasers the good guys. Very disturbing, and exactly why I hope the USA never joins such an inter-planetary organization. The UN and NATO are bad enough!moreless

  • Duty, loyalty, caught between a rock and a hard place.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By camelot2302, Apr 28, 2011
    One of the best Star Trek TNG episodes. Terry O'Quinn (currently in "Lost") in one of his earlier performances as Admiral Pressman, back in the days when O'Quinn had hair! It's funny to see how he acted back then and how he acts now!

    I especially liked how this episode gave some insight into Riker's career on the Starship Pegasus before he came to the Enterprise. It's also interesting to find out why Starfleet never developed their own cloaking technology (a question I've often wondered). The incident in this episode pits Riker against a ruthless hawkish admiral (O'Quinn) and Riker is ordered to conceal what's going on from Picard. But Picard does some research of his own and finds out there was a mutiny on the Pegasus while under the command of Pressman, 12 years previously. From then on, everything starts to fall into place...moreless

  • Riker's old captain shows up to bring back ghosts from the past... Wackiness Ensues!

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By belial_77, Apr 28, 2011
    I watched this episode for two reasons 1.) Being a fan of Carnivale and Battlestar Galactica's remake, I wanted to see some more of Ronald Moore's writing... and 2.) I thought it would be funny seeing Locke from Lost in a Star Fleet Uniform...

    And they both paid off!!! Moore's darker, more militaristic style is shown in this episode full of tense moral questions involving the chain of command (something that' brought up in BSG quite a bit)... Should Riker obey the orders of a superior officer, even if he morally objects to the decision? or should he disregard the Admiral's orders and bring all the old skeletons to light? exactlly the type of tension i expect from Moore's writing...

    and also Locke with more, darker hair in a tight star-fleet uniform made me laugh for about 10 min straight! I kept expecting the giant smoke monster to show up and teach those Romulans what's up! But then again, it only attacks guys named Eko and CGI trees...moreless

  • With the possible exception of "All Good Things", easily the best episode of the uneven seventh season.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By pharoahsdance, Apr 28, 2011
    It's sad, but "The Pegasus" comes less than halfway through TNG's seventh season. What follows is one of the series' longest stretch of mediocre episodes, with the exception the excellent "Lower Decks", "Preemptive Strike", and series finale.

    This episode inevitably evokes two episodes - "The Defector" (classic battle of wits with the Romulans) and "The Drumhead" (classic battle of wits with a rogue Starfleet admiral). Once the plot gets going, it rushes past and keeps the viewer on the edge of the seat. We get Picard dressing down Riker for maybe the only time in the series, showing off Patrick Stewart's acting ability. We get Jonathan Frakes showing, as he often did late in the series, that he was not an acting lightweight.

    Exceptional and a nice little memento of what TNG could do at its peak.moreless

  • Picard is under orders from Starfleet to rendezvous with Admiral Pressman. Picard and Riker beam him aboard. Pressman's agenda is to find the Pegasus before it falls in Romulan hands. Pressman is Riker former commanding officer.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Pink_Floyd_AL, Oct 11, 2006
    Picard is under orders from Starfleet to rendezvous with Admiral Pressman. Picard and Riker beam him aboard. Pressman's agenda is to find the Pegasus before it falls in Romulan hands. Pressman is Riker former commanding officer. Pressman informs Riker of the mission and tells him not to tell Picard. Picard with his hands tied has to trust the Admiral. The "Enteprise" conducts a search and finds the "Pegasus" Pressman orders the ship into a crack in the asteroid. They get sealed in by mistake by a romulan ship. I think it was intended. Now how will they get out?moreless
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  • TRIVIA (4)

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    • At time index 10:04 some woman walks behind Riker's head. Ten seconds later you see a short close-up of Will, and the same woman walks behind him in the same place in the same direction. Conclusion: it's the same shot.

    • Riker tells Pressman that he decided to start growing a beard four years ago. It's closer to six years ago.

    • Riker says there was a massive explosion in the Engineering section of the Pegasus, but when they beam in to that area there's no damage.

    • Picard tells Pressman he'll abort their trip into the asteroid if the tunnel narrows to 500 meters - however, according to various official technical specs the saucer section is 560 meters wide.

  • QUOTES (7)

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    • Picard: I was going over Will's file when I was looking for my first officer, and his was very much like all the others. I was about to put it aside and move on to another file, when something caught my eye. Apparently, there was an incident on Altear III when Will was first officer of the Hood. He refused to let Captain Desotto beam down during a crisis. He disobeyed a direct order, and he risked a general court martial because he thought he was right. Now when I read that, I knew I had found my number one. Pressman: You wanted someone with a history of disobedience? Picard: I wanted someone who would stand up to me. Someone who was more concerned with the safety of the ship and accomplishing the mission than how it might look on his record.

    • Riker: Theres a piece of equipment in Admiral Pressman's room under guard that might get us out of here. Its a prototype for Federation cloaking device. Pressman: You just ended your career, Will. Picard: Thats what its about. A cloaking device. In the treaty of Aljeron, the Federation specifically agreed not to develop cloaking technology. Pressman: And that treaty is the biggest mistake we ever made. Its kept us from exploiting a vital area of defense. Picard: That treaty has kept us at peace for sixty years! And as a Starfleet officer, you're supposed to uphold it.

    • Riker: So, who won the contest? Picard: Oh, Paul Manague, a 7-year-old. He did a most interesting clay sculpture of my head. Riker: Was that the orange one? With the lumpy skin? Picard: (dead-serious) Yes. Oh, you'll be interested to know that I've arranged for a Commander Riker Day next month. I'm even considering making an entry myself.

    • Riker: (holding a Picard doll and in a Picard-like voice), I don't know, the resemblance is rather striking, don't you agree Number One? Picard: Isn't there something else that you have to do? Riker: (in a Picard-like voice) I'll be on the bridge.

    • Admiral Pressman: These people tried to shut down an experiment they didn't understand. Something went wrong and it killed them. Riker: No. We killed them. Admiral Pressman: Now that doesn't sound like the same man who grabbed a phaser and defended his captain twelve years ago. Riker: I've had twelve years to think about it, and if I had it to do over again, I would've grabbed the phaser and pointed it at you instead of them. Admiral Pressman: So, on reflection, you'd rather be a traitor than a hero. Riker: I wasn't a hero, and neither were you. What you did was wrong, and I was wrong to support it, but I was too young and too stupid to realize it.

    • Admiral Pressman: I'm sure it hasn't been easy for you, keeping your Captain and friends in the dark like this. Commander Riker: I haven't enjoyed it, if that's what you mean.

    • Admiral Blackwell: Captain Picard Day? Picard: Oh... ehm... Yes. It's for the children. I'm... ehm.. I'm a role model. (laughing) Admiral Blackwell: (dead serious) I'm sure you are. Starfleet out.

  • NOTES (7)

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    • The name Pegasus for the lost ship is a reference to the "lost ship" on the original Battlestar Galactica. Writer Ronald D. Moore went on to make a new version of Battlestar Galactica and included a ship called Pegasus in it.

    • The shot of the Enterprise and other Excelsior-Class ship recycled from "The Best Of Both Worlds (1)".

    • The Pegasus is an Oberth Class starship.

    • The "Phasing Cloak" employed by the Pegasus harkens back to "The Next Phase" in which Geordi and Ensign Ro unwittingly become involved in the Romulans experiments with similar technology.

    • This episode attempts to lay to rest the recurring questions about why the Federation never developed cloaking technology of its own. The episode states that this was the result of a treaty perhaps similar to the ABM treaty in which the United States and the Soviet Union agreed not to develop defenses against each other's ICBMs.

    • The finale of Star Trek: Enterprise, "These Are the Voyages...", is derived from this episode. In it, Riker visits the holodeck in-between scenes occurring in this episode as he attempts to resolve his inner conflicts over Pressman's orders.

    • The Pegasus was supposed to be an Ambassdor class starship, but the budget would not allow it. Thus the Grissom model was used.

  • ALLUSIONS (2)

    ADD ALLUSIONS

    • Ship name: Hood The Hood (the ship Riker served on before) shares its name with a British battleship that served in World War II. The Hood was destroyed by the German ship Bismark.

    • Title, ship name Pegasus The vessel was named for Greek mythology's famous winged horse who is supposed to have sprung from the severed neck of Medusa.

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