Star Trek: Next Generation
Cost of Living
Series 5, episode 20
"Lwaxana is arranged to be married but when she introduces Alexander to her way of life, she finds she doesn't want to give it up."
Episode Guide - Quotes - Analysis - Notes
Episode Guide
Enterprise shoots down an asteriod heading for a planet. It shatters most of it however the core holds together. Worf is unable to lock on a tractor beam. Picard orders a particle beam which destroys it. They continue on their course.
Worf and Alexander talk to Trio about their arguments. Troi suggests a contract. Worf is hestitant but agrees. She tells Alexander most children eventually appreciate their parents. They leave and Troi receives a comm call. She does not look happy when told her mother is aboard.
Troi meets her mother in the transporter room and she tells her she is getting married. Later In Ten Forward she admints to Troi that she has never met the groom but have exchanged profiles with him.
Worf and Alexander interupt, having problems. Troi is interupted by her mother who gives unhelpful advice. Meanwhile Riker tells Picard that Mrs. Troi wants him to give her away. Picard gives permission for an onboard wedding.
Alexander arrives for his weekly meeting with Troi but finds Lwaxana instead. She talks to Alexander and gets him to tell her how he does not like his father. Lwaxana takes Alexander onto the holodeck.
To cut a long story short the programme is some weird happy place. Troi goes to see Worf and they discover Alexander is on the holodeck with Lwaxana. They go onto the holodeck and Worf busts the happyness guardian in the bubble. They find Alexander and Lwaxana having a mud bath and Troi tells her mother off.
Lwaxana tells Troi she is not having a traditional Betazoid wedding and Troi is suprised. She tries to get more information but Lwaxana messes about with the replicators which are acting strange.
In engineering Data and Geordi notice most of the replicators are malfunctioning. They crawl into a Jeffrey's tube to investigate. Meanwhile Lwaxana tries on her wedding gown. Alexander turns p and Lwaxana tells him she is getting married so she will not be alone.
Data and Geordi brief Picard on the problem. Then the enershal dampners go offline. Geordi manges to bring the secondary systems online. Enterprise is forced to stay at impulse.
Geordi tells Picard and Riker a conversion has taken place and some galatinus substance has been causing the problems. Picard greets the minister when he beams aboard and Lwaxana introduces Troi to him. The minister brings his protocal master along with him.
Geordi suggests a living organism has eaten the nitrium on the ship and the substance is the waste product. Meanwhile Alexander goes to see Lwaxana against the wishes of Worf.
Worf and Troi turn up to collect Alexander but the protocal master tells them they must discss marital dicessions. However Alexander and Lwaxana have already left.
Geordi and Data discover there is something aboard the ship. Meanwhile the holodeck seems to break down. Picard sets a course for the asteroid field as it is rich in nitrium so the metal parisite may leave the ship.
Picard and Data take the turbolift to deck 1 but the computer goes offline. Data opens the door manually. Life support begins to randomly fail and the parisite gets into the core, reducing the Enterprise to warp 6.
More decks need to be exacuated and Picard tells Data to execute the plan by himself if they all pass out. They arrive at the asteriod field. Data prepares the plan wbut the chamber begins to destabalise.
Data manages to pull of the plan and the crew regain conscienceness. Lwaxana is late for the wedding and when she arrives she is naked as in a traditionaal Barazoid wedding. The minister looks shocked and the protocal master drags the minister away.
Later Lwaxana, Worf, Alexander and Troi take a mudbath. Worf says "your just suppose to sit here?"
Quotes
Worf: "your just suppose to sit here?"
Analysis
Notes
Set in stardate 45733.6, the original airdate was 04.20.92.