"Relics," one of the most-beloved Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes, aired on October 12, 1992, or a mind-bending 23 years ago today. The episode finds Captain Picard and his crew making the acquaintance of none other than Captain Montgomery Scott, played once again by fan favorite James Doohan.
"Relics" was shot in early August of 1992 and was written by avowed TOS fan Ronald D. Moore. It was the fourth episode to air during season six of the show.
The episode was the first to be directed by Alexander Singer, who went on to helm five more episodes of TNG, as well as six installments of Deep Space Nine and 10 hours of Voyager.
TOS producer Robert Justman visited the "Relics" set during production.
Whoopi Goldberg was supposed to appear as Guinan in the "It's green" scene with Doohan, but her schedule precluded her from doing so. And so Data/Brent Spiner was given the lines.
References are made in "Relics" to the Original Series episodes "By Any Other Name," "Elaan of Troyius," "Wolf in the Fold" and "The Naked Time," as well as to Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
One of our favorite lines, uttered by Scotty to Geordi: "I was drivin' starships while your great-grandfather was still in diapers! I think you'd be a little grateful for some help! I'll leave ya to work, Mr. LaForge."
Guest star Lanei Chapman made her first appearance as Sariel Rager in "Relics." She went on to play the character three more times. A few years later, Chapman co-starred in the sci-fi series Space: Above and Beyond.
