In the series Star Trek: The Next Century, the characters have to face one or two challenges in the infinite expanses of space. This is also the case in season 1, episode 25. The episode is titled The conspiracy (original: Conspiracy) and is about parasitic aliens who are planning an invasion.
Anyone who thinks of the famous Borg is wrong. At least half of it.
Forgotten Star Trek Conspiracy: Nasty Parasites and Mysterious Signals
Series creator Gene Roddenberry came up with the concept for an episode that he simply titled The Assassins. Robert Sabaroff and Tracy Tormé developed an episode based on this, which was staged by director Cliff Bole. The episode first aired on May 9, 1988.
In The Conspiracy, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew on the USS Enterprise notice strange behavior in a few Starfleet officers and discover a conspiracy of parasitic aliens that have occupied their bodies. Their next goal is an invasion of the United Federation of Planets.
The crew of the Enterprise successfully manages to defend themselves against the intruders. However, towards the end of the episode, the parasites fire off a radio signal, suggesting that more of them exist – and the danger is not yet over.
Too blatant: The Star Trek episode was only shown in a shortened version in many places
The showdown in which Captain Picard and Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes) defeat the parasite-possessed Lt. Cmdr. Transporting Dexter Remmick (Robert Schenkkan) to the eternal hunting grounds via phaser is the one Probably the most intense gore scene in all of Star Trek. This is handmade body horror that is impressive – but was considered too blatant for many publications.
In some regions, including Germany and Great Britain, the scene was only shown on TV in an abbreviated version. At least when it first aired. The home theater versions here show the episode in all its slimy glory.
From forgotten parasites to the infamous Borg
Originally the open end with the signal was intended to to introduce the arrival of the Borg in Season 2a collective species notorious in the Star Trek world that becomes a major, recurring threat to the Enterprise.
In their original version, the Borg were intended as an insectoid species – not unlike the parasite aliens in the episode The Conspiracy. Since the Borg eventually entered the screen as machine-like creatures, the idea was dropped. The connection between the two species no longer made sense due to the Borg’s new design. However, the cyborgs, like insects, act as a collective that also assimilates people for themselves.
In this way it was the carefully staged idea from The Conspiracy was quietly and secretly dropped and the cliffhanger surrounding the mysterious signal is never fully explained.