Honestly, if you were there in 1987, you probably didn't know what to make of it. Star Trek: The Next Generation The Naked Now wasn't just the second episode of the series; it was a total fever dream that almost derailed the show before it even found its footing. People were still mourning the loss of Kirk and Spock. Then, suddenly, we get Patrick Stewart looking deeply uncomfortable while his crew acts like they’ve spent three hours at an open bar. It’s weird. It’s chaotic. Yet, for some reason, we are still talking about it decades later.
The premise is basically a recycled plot from the Original Series. It’s a direct sequel to "The Naked Time," where a space-borne polywater infection strips away everyone's inhibitions. But while the 60s version felt like a tragic descent into madness, the TNG version felt like a very awkward office party that went off the rails. You have Data trying to understand "fully functional" intimacy and Wesley Crusher essentially staging a coup in engineering. It’s a lot to take in for an episode that aired when the show was still trying to figure out its own name.
The Script That Nearly Broke the Enterprise
The production of this episode was a nightmare. That's not an exaggeration. John D.F. Black, who wrote the original 1966 episode, was brought in to help, but the script went through so many rewrites it barely resembled a cohesive story. D.C. Fontana and Maurice Hurley were battling over the tone. You can see the scars of that creative war on screen. The pacing is frantic, then it drags, then it gets incredibly uncomfortable. It’s a fascinating look at a production team that had no idea who these characters were yet.
Think about it. We barely knew Jean-Luc Picard. We certainly didn't know Tasha Yar. Yet, here we were, watching Yar drag Data into her quarters for a scene that launched a thousand memes. It’s bold, sure, but it’s also wildly premature. Usually, you save the "everyone loses their minds" episode for season three or four, once the audience actually cares about the status quo being shattered. Doing it in episode two is like meeting someone for coffee and having them immediately tell you their most embarrassing secret. It creates a strange intimacy with the crew that the show didn't necessarily earn.
Why the Science in The Naked Now is Total Nonsense
Let’s talk about the "polywater." In the episode, the crew of the SS Tsiolkovsky is found dead in various states of undress and ridiculousness. One guy is in the shower with his clothes on. Another is frozen while trying to fix a console. The Enterprise crew investigates and, surprise, they catch the same "virus." The show explains it as a complex carbon chain that acts like alcohol in the bloodstream.
In reality, polywater was a real-world scientific hoax from the 1960s. Soviet scientists thought they’d discovered a new form of water that was denser and more stable than the regular stuff. It turned out to be just dirty water contaminated by sweat and glass particles. By the time Star Trek: The Next Generation The Naked Now aired, the scientific community had long since debunked the whole thing. But Star Trek loves its tropes. So, we got a "water" that makes Data act like a confused Casanova and turns Dr. Crusher into a woman who desperately needs to find Captain Picard.
👉 See also: Jason Unmasked Part 2: Why This Version is Still the Creepiest
The stakes are supposedly high. The Enterprise is falling into a star’s gravity well. The ship is shaking. But the tension is constantly undercut by the fact that Geordi La Forge is wandering around crying because he can't see, and Riker is trying to remember how to sit in a chair. It’s tonally dissonant. One minute it’s a slapstick comedy, the next it’s a high-stakes sci-fi thriller. Most fans agree it doesn't quite stick the landing on either.
Data, Tasha Yar, and the Scene Everyone Remembers
You can't talk about this episode without talking about Data. Brent Spiner is the MVP here. He manages to play "drunk android" with a level of physical comedy that is actually impressive. But then we get to the Tasha Yar scene. Denise Crosby has been vocal over the years about how Yar was underwritten, and this episode is a prime example. Her "seduction" of Data is played for laughs, but it’s also deeply weird when you consider she’s essentially under the influence of a mind-altering substance.
"I am programmed in multiple techniques," Data famously tells her.
That line has lived on in Trek infamy. It’s the moment the show signaled it wasn't going to be as "buttoned up" as the original. But looking back, it feels a bit exploitative. Yar’s character never really recovered from being the "tough girl who gets compromised" in the very first week. It’s a shame, because Crosby was doing her best with some truly bizarre dialogue. The episode tries to explore the "humanity" of Data through sex, which is a very 80s way of handling character development.
Wesley Crusher and the Engineering Takeover
Then there’s Wesley. Oh, Wesley. Wil Wheaton was a kid thrust into a role that the writers clearly didn't know how to handle. In this episode, he uses a portable tractor beam—which he built in his spare time—to take over Engineering. He even does a pretty decent impression of the Chief Engineer to trick the bridge.
The fans hated this. They hated that a teenager could bypass the security of the most advanced ship in the fleet because everyone else was too "drunk" to notice. It established the "Boy Genius" trope that would plague Wesley’s character for years. If you’re wondering why people were so hard on Wesley Crusher in the early 90s, look no further than his antics in this episode. He’s smug, he’s loud, and he’s effectively more competent than the entire command staff. It’s a narrative choice that prioritized a "cool kid" moment over the internal logic of the ship’s security.
The Director’s Struggle: Paul Lynch’s Vision
Director Paul Lynch had a mountain to climb. He was following up the pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint," which was a massive, cinematic two-hour event. Suddenly, he was handed a script where the actors had to act like they were on a bender while wearing spandex. He opted for a lot of close-ups and tilted camera angles to simulate the disorientation.
👉 See also: Who is the Blonde Girl in Elf? Why Zooey Deschanel was the Perfect Jovie
It’s actually directed quite well for what it is. The lighting is moodier than the pilot. The SS Tsiolkovsky sets are eerie and genuinely unsettling. Lynch leaned into the "horror" elements early on, which makes the shift into the "party" atmosphere even more jarring. You see the influence of 80s slasher films in the way the camera stalks the empty hallways of the ghost ship. It’s a visual style that the show would eventually move away from in favor of a more "flat" and bright look, but here, it feels experimental.
How it Ranks in the TNG Canon
Is it a good episode? Most critics say no. On IMDb and various fan forums, it’s often ranked near the bottom of Season One. But "bad" Star Trek is often more interesting than "average" Star Trek. It shows the growing pains of a legend. Without the awkwardness of Star Trek: The Next Generation The Naked Now, the writers might not have realized they needed to pivot away from copying the Original Series.
They realized they couldn't just do "Kirk stories" with Picard. Picard is a different beast. He’s intellectual, reserved, and private. Seeing him affected by the polywater—where he becomes hyper-obsessed with the ship’s dignity—actually told us more about his character than a standard action scene would have. It showed us his greatest fear: losing control.
Moving Past the Cringe: What We Can Learn
If you’re revisiting the series, don't skip it. Seriously. It’s a time capsule. It captures that brief moment where TNG was a weird, messy, psychedelic experiment. It’s the bridge between the camp of the 60s and the prestige sci-fi of the 90s.
🔗 Read more: Indiana Jones Monkey Brains: Why That Gross-Out Dinner Scene Still Haunts Us
To truly appreciate the episode, you have to look at the performances. Patrick Stewart is clearly trying to find the "line" for Picard. Jonathan Frakes is leaning into the "charming rogue" persona that he would eventually perfect. Michael Dorn is still wearing the "old" Klingon makeup that makes him look like he’s in a high school play. It’s raw. It’s unpolished. And honestly, it’s kinda fun if you don't take it too seriously.
Actionable Takeaways for the Modern Viewer
If you're planning a rewatch or introducing someone to the show, here is how to handle this specific episode:
- Watch "The Naked Time" (TOS) first. It provides the necessary context. The 1966 episode is a masterpiece of psychological drama, and seeing how TNG tried to "cover" it explains a lot of the creative choices.
- Focus on the background details. The SS Tsiolkovsky is named after Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, a real-life pioneer of astronautics. The show actually had a great deal of respect for real science history, even when the plots were wacky.
- Pay attention to Data’s evolution. This is the first time we see Data’s physical capabilities and his desire to be "more than a machine." It sets the stage for "The Measure of a Man" in Season Two.
- Forgive the "Wesley-isms." View his Engineering takeover as a symptom of a writing staff that hadn't found their voice yet, rather than a flaw in the character himself.
- Look for the "First Season Weirdness." Notice how the uniforms are slightly different (the "skant" is visible on some male crew members in the background) and how the ship's computer has a slightly different personality.
The episode serves as a reminder that even the greatest shows start with a stumble. Star Trek: The Next Generation eventually became a cultural phenomenon that defined a generation of science fiction, but it had to survive the "drunk" crew and the polywater first. It’s a lesson in persistence. You can have a rough start—even a truly embarrassing one—and still go on to change the world.
Next time you see a clip of Data and Tasha Yar, don't just cringe. Think about the writers in 1987 trying to figure out how to make an android sexy, and realize that we were all just figuring it out as we went along. The Enterprise eventually found its way out of that gravity well, and the show eventually found its way into our hearts. It just took a little bit of awkwardness to get there.