Cheap Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 17: Home Soil (Video) (Larry Shaw, David Carson, Gabrielle Beaumont, Timothy Bond, Kim Manners, LeVar Burton, Richard Compton, Jonathan West, Marvin V. Rush, Michael Vejar) Price

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Customer Reviews of Star Trek - The Next Generation, Episode 17: Home Soil

The Enterprise-D arrives at Velara III to check up on a terraforming group charged with the mission of turning the inhospitable planet into one that will eventually support life. However, after an engineer is killed and Data (Brent Spiner) is attacked, the crew realizes that something is seriously amiss on the surface. A startling discovery is soon made - there are microscopic life forms that are falling victim to the drilling on the planet. The previous attacks were initiated by them as a means to defend themselves.

This variation on the original series' superior "Devil in the Dark" (1967) is filled with problems that it cannot overcome. Guest star Elizabeth Lindsey is strangely stiff in her supporting role, Walter Gotell is over-the-top in his supporting role, the production values for the microscopic life forms must have set a new record for production money saved on creating an alien race, and the line "ugly bag of mostly water" is so unintentionally goofy that it undermines the seriousness of the episode's message because you can't get it out of your head and can't stop giggling once it's spoken on-screen. Well, at least "Home Soil" did teach us that the only way to defeat evil crystals is to shut the lights off. That valuable piece of information is what prevents the episode from being a total lost cause.

Home Soil ....Or Ugly Bags of Water Go Home!
"Ugly Bags of Water"

A terraforming station on Velara III discovers a microscopic life form within the sand of the planet. It kills one of the colonists to save it from destruction. The Enterprise utilizes it's universal translator to communicate. It refers to humans as "ugly bags of water." In this average entry from the first season; actor Walter Gotell, portrays the station supervisor. He's known for his role as General Gogol in the 60's James Bond series.

This episode has a few good highlights. Data disarming the laser cannon in the terraforming chamber. The microscopic entity taking control of the Enterprise. If you've got to purchase all the episodes for your collection; this one's got a few dramatic moments. It's worth a look.

It didn't take Troi's powers to tell us the supervisor was hiding something about the planet.

Picard hears a tiny crystal that flashes beautiful light
Perhaps the most significant liberal principle on Next Generation was the inherent right of sentient beings, whether they are androids, unexpectedly different species, or even holodeck creations. "Home Soil" adds to this progressive argument when the Enterprise arrives at the terraforming project on Velara III. In keeping with the Prime Directive the planet has been officially declared devoid of life, but when the terraformers start pumping subsurface water the laser drill malfunctions and then attacks Data. The source of the malfunction turns out to be tiny crystal that emits light. When the crystal divides, Picard concludes it is alive. This is confirmed when the crystal keeps dividing and uses the Universal Translator to declare war on the Enterprise. After all, the crystal lives in the subsurface water and its civilization was being destroyed by the terraformers.

Whether you find the episode reminiscent of Dr. Seuss' "Horton Hears a Who," Gulliver's travels among the Lilliputians or simply a flip on the standard science fiction analogy that superior races are to humans as we are to the ants beneath our feet, "Home Soil" underscores the constant Star Trek demand for at least tolerance of those who are different, although outright acceptance would be nice. This belief is certainly personified in Captain Picard, not only in this episode but throughout the series (although he has some slight difficulties in being tolerant when it comes to Q).