“That is very relevant to our story on so many levels.”

One of the most beloved episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation obviously inspired writer Christopher Cantwell when it comes to his upcoming comic book series titled simply Star Trek. And if his comics are in anyway like the TNG episode he enjoys so fondly, as do many other Trekkies and Trekkers, fans are in for an incredible treat this fall. Cantwell said in an interview with SYFY Wire:

“The TNG episode ‘The Inner Light’ is, I think, one of the most perfect Star Trek or science fiction stories ever crafted. It is about civilizations touching, and the emotions and drama that arise from vastly different cultures from vastly different eras interfacing. That is very relevant to our story on so many levels.”

For those who are new to the fandom, or not as familiar with The Next Generation, the season 5 episode “The Inner Light” finds Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) being forced to live out an entirely different life — one in which he is married to a kind woman named Eline (Margot Rose) and is ultimately happy with.

After being knocked out by an alien probe but still lying on the Enterprise-D bridge, Picard indeed spends an ENTIRE lifetime with Eline while unconscious as her husband, Kamin. It’s a poignant and even heartbreaking hour of television in which Kamin/Picard loves tenderly, has and watches his children grow up, and even discovers the classic Ressikan flute, which is ultimately his only keepsake of the events once he awakes on the Enterprise.

Once Picard has experienced a lifetime of memories and happiness, the aliens (still in their human forms) reveal to him that the probe he witnesses being launched as Kamin is in fact the same one that knocked him unconscious on the Enterprise in the 24th century. The benevolent lifeforms reveal they have been dead for thousands of years and simply wanted to be remembered.

The most touching moment, after Picard awakes and Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) gives him a package, which is all that remains of the alien probe, is the captain opening the box to reveal his flute. Up until that point, I’m sure most fans like myself wondered if Picard had any memory of being Kamin and his life with the aliens.

And then, after Riker departs, Picard carefully holds the flute and plays it perfectly: revealing he indeed remembers how to play it and his beautiful life with Eline and his dear friends who have been long dead for at least a millennium. The captain of the Enterprise gets to experience an unforgettable love, but it’s bittersweet as he must push on knowing he shall never hold Eline in his arms again.

If Cantwell’s comic book series encapsulates and explores even a miniscule amount of the emotions Picard experiences during those 20 to 25 minutes he was unconscious on the Enterprise bridge in “The Inner Light,” I can’t wait to read his stories this fall; Picard/Kamin's emotional journey makes me cry every time I watch it even all these years later.

For more Star Trek content, and to share your own thoughts and comments on “The Inner Light” plus the upcoming comic book series, please visit the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages. And Cantwell's new Trek drops on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Live long and prosper, Trekkies!