"Cause and Effect" 25 Years Later

The complex, thought-provoking and inventively shot Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Cause and Effect" premiered on March 23, 1992 -- or 25 years ago today. To commemorate the hour, StarTrek.com delved into its history and reports back with the following details about the episode:

The Facts

"Cause and Effect" was the 18th episode to air during TNG's fifth season. It was written solo by Brannon Braga and directed by Jonathan Frakes.

Cheers to That

Longtime Star Trek fan Kelsey Grammer, whose show Cheers shot on the Paramount lot, played Captain Morgan Bateson. His ship, of course, was the Bozeman.

And Almost Cheers to This, Too

According to The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, "The staff had wanted the first officer to the right of Bateman to be Kirstie Alley as Lt. Saavik, but the scheduling couldn't be worked out." Does it need to be noted that Alley was co-starring with Grammer at the time on Cheers?

Memorable Line of Dialogue #1

"Still no help for the Klingon," Data said with a... well, pokerface, as he dealt cards to Worf, Riker and Crusher during their latest poker game.

The One and Only

"Cause and Effect," according to Memory Alpha, represented "the one and only episode where the otherwise never utilized Galaxy-class main shuttlebay was featured."

The First Time...

Fans think they heard the phrase "eject the warp core" often on TNG. But the very first mention of possibly doing so occurred in "Cause and Effect."

She's Got a Last Name!

We all now know who Nurse Alyssa Ogawa is, but when "Cause and Effect " aired, fans only knew her by her first name. She got a last name in this episode.

Memorable Line of Dialogue #2

"This is going to sound pretty wild," La Forge said, trying to address the deja vu everyone was experiencing.

According to Memory Alpha, "Picard's line 'We can't afford to start second guessing ourselves. We should stay on this course until we have reason to change it,' is repeated almost verbatim by Deanna Troi in the TNG series finale 'All Good Things...' . Specifically, 'I don't think we can start second guessing ourselves. I think we have to proceed normally and deal with each situation as it occurs.'"

17 Days vs. 90 Years

When all was said and done, the Enterprise had been trapped in the Typhon Expanse's time loop for 17 days. Meanwhile, the poor Bozeman had been caught up there for... 90 years.