Review of Up the Long Ladder

"Up the Long Ladder" is simply put a comic episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. An ancient form of distress signal baffles Starfleet so Captain Picard and the Enterprise decide to investigate and it just so happens they discover descendants from Earth in the 22nd Century, ("Utopians" who were hoping for a more promising future elsewhere) on a planet located near a sun about to implode. What they encounter is a carnal farm community, with goats and pigs, prone to strong drink and lasciviousness, hard workers and loud, Picard and company certainly find an eye-opening experience they couldn't have possibly imagined. With the happy-go-lucky, chatty leader of the bunch, Danilo Odell (Barrie Ingham, his Irish accent and hearty personality quite a hoot to behold) and his opinionated, confrontational, bluntly to-the-point daughter, Brenna (Rosalyn Landor), the group, on board the Enterprise, making do in the cargo hold, seek a home elsewhere…where will this "people from a whole different era in Earth" find their new home? The story doesn't stop here. There was a second group of people who left Earth, boarding the Mariposa, more technologically advanced, but sexually impotent, dependent upon cloning to survive on their world (similar in look to Saturn), desiring DNA from officers on board the Enterprise because the process which gave them generations no longer works. So desperate for survival, this group, led by Prime Minister Granger (Jon DeVries), actually stun Riker and Pulaski, taking epithelial cells while they are unconscious, with plans to use their clones to help populate their dying world! Certainly, Riker and Pulaski take offense. This episode does have an anti-cloning feel, raising the defense that our individuality is what makes us unique and by cloning each person, you remove such qualities. I agree with this sentiment, although I recognize this will not be shared by some in the scientific community who see benefits in the cloning process (cloning animal life for food purposes in a starving world, as one such example). Anyway, this episode is indeed a showcase for the fiery Landor who shouts and orders around others, commanding and authoritative, certainly appealing to Riker who is attracted to her. Worf has a nice subplot where he offers Pulaski, out of respect for not telling others that his fainting on the bridge was due to Klingon measles (!), a tea ceremony for which pleases her immensely. This is an extremely entertaining diversion from the norm, but not essential viewing for Trek fans by any means.