A Star Trek: The Next Generation Special Edition : "Sub Rosa" from Script to Screen

I love Ebay!  As a sci-fi/fantasy fan and collector, I do a lot of my "yard sale" searches on the internet in hopes of finding a treasure or two from time to time.  A few weeks ago, I decided to go on a search for some Beverly Crusher items (I was hoping to find some stills from Star Trek:  TNG episodes that showcased her character), and came across something else - a First Draft of the episode "Sub Rosa".  It was the fourteenth episode of the seventh and final season of the series, and it aired the week of January 31, 1994.  The episode centered around the funeral of Beverly Crusher's Grandmother (Nana) on a Scotland type colony on Caldos IV, and her mysterious lover, Ronin, who lures Beverly into his dark, erotic world.

Until I started researching this episode, I never knew what the title meant, but as soon as I Googled it, I found out that "Sub Rosa" is a Latin term for "under the rose"  and "secrecy", which makes sense since Beverly was keeping a secret that she was having an affair with what appeared to be a phantom.  The original idea for the episode was from a freelance writer named Jeanna F. Gallo, who wanted to showcase Beverly Crusher's "Scottish" heritage, but Jeri Taylor wrote the story and Brannon Braga wrote the teleplay, which was originally titled "Passions", and I speculate that was changed because it sounded too much like the Soap Opera of the same name.    

Initially, "Sub Rosa" was widely panned by TNG fans.   In the  book Star Trek:  The Next Generation Companion written by Larry Nemeck, he calls it "one of the most atypical episodes ever".  Director Jonathan Frakes called it "...a wonderful out-of-the-box non Star Trek episode"  (Star Trek:  The Next Generation 365).   It was always one of my favorites, due to the fact that it explored a different side of Beverly Crusher, one of vulnerability and addiction that almost destroys her career and her closest relationships.  Of course, I could not wait to get my hands on a copy of the First Draft of the script, to see if there was more to the original script than what was shown on screen.

In the beginning of the First Draft, Beverly's grandmother's funeral scene runs a lot longer than what we see in the final on-screen version.  In it, Beverly recites a recipe for her Grandmother's Gingerbread, which according to Brannon Braga, "was the same eulogy his mother used at his grandmother's funeral", (The Star Trek:  The Next Generation Companion):

There is also a very long scene shortly thereafter, which was most likely cut for time, which centers on Deanna Troi and Beverly at Beverly's grandmother's house, where Beverly finds some old play jewelry she had hidden as a child.  Beverly talks about her make-believe marriage to a childhood friend named David Mullen.  This scene may have also been cut, because it sounded very similar to a scene from Season Four in the episode, "The Host", where Beverly talks about another childhood crush about an eleven year-old soccer player named Stefan, who she imagined being married to, but who "never even knew {she} existed." Throughout the series, Beverly's love affairs have both short and tragic, (her husband Jack's death and her ultimate break up with Odin in "The Host"), and also combined with her own suppressed feelings for Captain Jean-Luc Picard, reflects Beverly vulnerable side, and this cut scene from "Sub Rosa" makes a coherent connection to Beverly's fantasy love life and explains why perhaps why Ronin has such a grip on her early on.

Ronin's hold is like an ecstasy type drug addiction to Beverly.

The "B" storyline in "Sub Rosa", which centers around the damage to the weather substation on Caldos IV, does not really vary from the way it was originally written, with the exception of the scene where Ned Quint, a local who was the gardener for Beverly's Grandmother is killed.  In the First Draft, Ned Quint rants on and on about "a ghost" who is trying to kill all of them, before he ultimately dies.  The "ghost" aspect in the First Draft is much more prevalent than what is seen on screen.

The largest difference in "Sub Rosa" however, is the final act.  In the First Draft, a lot of the explanation of how Ronin was a anaphasic plasma life form that merged with Beverly's family's DNA throughout the centuries, is explained in a conversation between Deanna Troi and Beverly in Ten-Forward after Ronin's candle is destroyed and he flickers out of existence.  The screen version is much more dramatic as Beverly confronts Ronin in the cemetery after she discovers Ronin is not really a sensual "ghost", but a life form that has been feeding off her family for generations, and she ultimately has to destroy him when he tries to merge with her one final time. 

Sitting on my bed flipping through the screenplay while watching the actual episode was a pure delight for me.  Watching the nuances, little changes in the dialogue, and the performances from the page was remarkable.   It is something that I plan on doing again real soon.

Until next time, I am,

Sci-Fi Fan FL

Crusher Fan FL