Now, I would be remiss (and tempting marital discord) if I did not relay my engineer husband’s chief objection to “The Royale”: Geordi’s claim in the first few minutes that Theta VIII has a surface temperature of -291 degrees Celsius, which is below absolute zero and not possible. The Enterprise is investigating strange wreckage in orbit around Theta VIII, a mysterious planet in an unmapped solar system. Written by Keith Mills, directed by Cliff Bole, and premiering in March of 1989, the episode’s emphasis on mysteries and puzzles is present right from the start. It’s a showcase of what The Next Generation did best, and why its popularity endures to this day. “The Royale” drops its eclectic cast of characters into a wildly imaginative situation and lets them play. Worf recognizing elevators as turbolifts but not the concept of “room service.” This Season 2 episode of The Next Generation is a wild grab bag of sci-fi curiosities that’s never included on any “Best Of” lists or fan homages, but it shouldn’t be counted out. Data delivering a primer on blackjack in a ten-gallon hat. There’s Captain Picard relaxing with an ancient, seemingly unsolvable math theorem. There’s so much about “The Royale” that shouldn’t work, on paper at least.
