The Next Phase (S05E24)
Airdate: 18 May 1992
Written by: Ronald D. Moore
Directed by: David Carson
Running Time: 46 minutes
For Star Trek: The Next Generation aficionados, a recurring observation holds that when the franchise turned its attention to the Romulans, the results were typically more compelling than when it dealt with the Ferengi. At least for the majority of TNG's run, episodes centred on the enigmatic, militaristic Romulan Star Empire tended to deliver tighter plotting, greater suspense, and more sophisticated political intrigue than the often broadly comic outings featuring the profit-obsessed Ferengi. The Next Phase, the twenty-fourth episode of the fifth season, follows this pattern admirably, but adds an intriguing scientific twist that elevates its premise into purer science fiction territory.
The episode begins with the USS Enterprise-D responding to a distress signal from a disabled Romulan vessel. An away team consisting of Commander Riker, Data, Ensign Ro Laren, and Lieutenant Geordi La Forge beams over to offer assistance. They discover the Romulan ship's experimental graviton field generator is unstable and could cause a catastrophic warp core breach. To avert disaster, Ro and La Forge take the device to be beamed back to the Enterprise for further analysis. However, during transport, Transporter Chief Brossmer (played by Shelly Leverington) fails to rematerialise them. They are presumed lost in a transporter accident.
Ro later regains consciousness on the Enterprise, but to her astonishment, she finds herself invisible and intangible to the crew. No one can see or hear her. She soon discovers La Forge is in the same predicament, and the two can communicate with each other. Convinced they are dead—a belief seemingly confirmed when she witnesses Dr. Crusher signing her death certificate—Ro succumbs to despair. La Forge, ever the engineer, insists there must be a rational, scientific explanation. His investigation leads him to a Romulan phase inverter device, part of an experimental cloaking project, which he deducts was activated during the transport, shifting them into a phased state, a "next phase" of existence.
Their urgent mission becomes twofold: find a way to return to normal phase, and warn the crew of a deadly Romulan plot they overhear. It transpires that the Romulan "rescue" was a ruse; the Romulans plan to emit a signal that will trigger the Enterprise's warp core breach. Complicating matters is the revelation that Romulan named Parem (Brian Cousins) himself is also phased. He now stalks the corridors of the Enterprise, armed with a phased disruptor, intent on eliminating Ro and La Forge to protect the sabotage plot.
After a tense confrontation, they manage to defeat Parem. The energy discharges from his disruptor, however, leave traces of chronoton radiation, which piques Data's scientific curiosity. Realising they need to create a visible sign of their presence, Ro and La Forge devise a risky plan: overcharge Parem's disruptor to cause a controlled explosion during their own memorial service in Ten Forward, hoping the energy surge will make them briefly visible. The plan works; Data, having theorised about anyon particles, is able to reverse the phase inversion using a modified transporter beam, bringing them back to our reality just in time for Engineering to thwart the Romulan sabotage.
Written by one of Star Trek's most celebrated writers, Ronald D. Moore, and directed by the always dependable David Carson, The Next Phase was initially conceived as a "bottle episode"—a cost-saving story confined to existing sets. Ironically, it became one of the season's more expensive and technically demanding productions, largely due to the complex visual effects required to show Ro and La Forge passing through walls and objects as "ghosts". This very concept, however, is the episode's great strength. It provides a fascinating "fly on the wall" perspective, allowing the phased characters to observe how their colleagues react in the belief they are dead. This setup generates plenty of effective, macabre humour.
The inclusion of the phased Romulan, Parem, is a masterstroke, transforming the narrative from a pure predicament story into a suspenseful spy thriller within the Enterprise's own hull. The cat-and-mouse game between the invisible adversaries adds a layer of genuine tension and danger that the premise otherwise might have lacked.
Despite being generally well-regarded, the episode has not escaped criticism, primarily for inconsistencies in its own internal logic. The most notable flaw is that while the phased characters can pass through solid walls, they do not fall through the decks of the ship; they walk on the floor as normal. This logical hiccup was later gleefully mocked in the Stargate SG-1 episode "Wormhole X-Treme!", a testament to its recognisability as a sci-fi trope pitfall. Nonetheless, the core concept proved fertile ground for the franchise itself, with the idea of a phase cloaking device being explored in greater depth in the seventh-season episode The Pegasus.
In the end, The Next Phase excels not merely because of its clever premise or taut plotting, but due to the strength of its performances. Michelle Forbes delivers a particularly powerful turn as Ensign Ro, masterfully conveying her character's trademark blend of defiance, vulnerability, and simmering anger, especially in her interplay with LeVar Burton's steadfastly optimistic La Forge. Their dynamic—the pragmatic, faith-driven Bajoran and the logical, science-minded engineer—provides the emotional core that grounds the high-concept science fiction. It is this human (and alien) element, framed within a classic Romulan-centric conspiracy, that ensures The Next Phase is a standout entry in The Next Generation's formidable catalogue.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
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