Why Star Trek: The Next Generation's Most Emotional Episode Holds Special Meaning For Patrick Stewart
The 1992 "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "The Inner Light" has an intriguing sci-fi premise. While merrily soaring through the galaxy, the U.S.S. Enterprise happens upon a very ancient alien probe of unknown origin. Without warning, the probe beams a twinkling glimmer of light onto the Enterprise's bridge, striking Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) right in the brain. Picard passes out on the floor and Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) is unable to revive him. Picard wakes up on a distant planet he doesn't recognize. He's wearing alien clothes and being addressed by a woman named Eline (Margot Rose) who claims to be his wife. Picard is told that his name is actually Kamin and that he has suffered a memory lapse. The "Picard" he recalls was only a dream, and he has actually always lived on this planet, Kataan.
Picard is understandably discombobulated and begins investigating how he came to this planet and why its denizens keep calling him Kamin. After many months, Picard/Kamin begins to accept his life on Kataan, and grows to love his wife Eline. Years pass. Kamin grows old. He makes friends. He has children. He becomes an old man. He watches loved ones pass away. His old life as Picard is now a distant memory. Stewart, in a glorious acting challenge, played a man living through every stage of his third act. It won't be until the episode's twist ending that the true, tragic nature of Kataan will be revealed.
In his new autobiography "Making It So: A Memoir," Stewart called "The Inner Light" one of his most gratifying experiences working on "Star Trek," and not just because of the script. He cherishes the fact that his real-life son, Daniel, appeared in the episode with him.
Daniel Stewart
Daniel Stewart, born in 1967, had only recently become a professional actor — like his father — when "Star Trek" was being filmed in 1992. Stewart, now 83, wrote that he looked back on "The Inner Light" with a palpable wistfulness, as his son looked so very, very young back then. Seeing his own child, playing his own child, allowed Stewart to connect with Daniel in a way he didn't expect. He wrote:
"The great treat of 'The Inner Light' for me was that Kamin had two children with his wife, a girl and a boy, and when the boy grew up into a young man, he was played by ... my own son, Daniel, who had by then become a professional actor. Dan looks good today, but there is a boyishness about him in that episode that brings a lump to my throat when I watch it now. I take comfort in knowing that 'The Inner Light' will always be there, allowing me to access that precious time when he and I worked together on 'The Next Generation.'"
This time was especially precious for Stewart in retrospect, as he has recently expressed a great deal of regret when it comes to his relationships with his two children, Daniel and Sophia. It seems that Stewart, being a busy actor who worked constantly in both England and America, never had a chance to grow terribly close to his kids. In a recent interview with the Irish Independent, Stewart admitted his regret openly, saying that in the past he "put acting first," and that now his relationship with them is "non-existent." He said that not a day goes by without a pang of guilt.
Stewart's personal life
Stewart first married in 1966 to Sheila Falconer, the mother of his children. The pair separated in 1990, when Stewart was in the middle of filming "Star Trek: The Next Generation." At that point, Daniel was 23 and Sophia was 18. The height of Stewart's fame coincided with his most intense absences from home. Stewart married "Star Trek" producer Wendy Neuss in 2000, but divorced in 2003. Since 2013, Stewart has been married to singer/songwriter Sunny Ozell. He only has the two children, and some grandchildren as well. "The Inner Light," then might be met with wistfulness, but also a twinge of ambivalence as well. Stewart finally got to spend some professional time with his son, but it took an acting gig for Stewart to form memories with him.
"The Inner Light," however, is one of the most emotionally powerful episodes of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and Stewart's devotion to the episode can be seen on screen. It's also one of the most celebrated, having won a Hugo Award. It was the first "Star Trek" episode to win the prestigious sci-fi award since "The City on the Edge of Forever" back in 1968. Only "The Menagerie" in 1966 and "All Good Things ..." in 1994 also won. Variety once declared "The Inner Light" to be the best episode of "Next Generation," and Empire called it the tenth best episode in the entire, vast "Star Trek" franchise.
The episode's script, credited to Morgan Gendel and Peter Allan Fields, is solid and moving, and is pushed over the top by Stewart's impeccable performance. The fact that his son was present for it is something that Stewart — both Stewarts — can be proud of.