Descent (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

"Descent"
Star Trek: The Next Generation episode
Episode no.	Season 6 & 7 Episode 26 & 1
Directed by	Alexander Singer
Written by	René Echevarria (Part II)
Story by	Jeri Taylor (Part I)
Teleplay by	Ronald D. Moore (Part I)
Featured music	Jay Chattaway
Production code	252 & 253
Original air date	June 21, 1993 (1993-06-21) September 20, 1993 (1993-09-20)
Guest appearance(s)
John Neville - Isaac Newton Jim Norton - Albert Einstein Natalija Nogulich - Adm. Alynna Nechayev Brian Cousins - Crosis Stephen Hawking - Himself Richard Gilbert-Hill - Bosus Stephen James Carver - Tayar Jonathan Del Arco - Hugh Alex Datcher - Ens. Taitt James Horan as Lt. Barnaby Benito Martinez - Salazar Michael Reilly Burke - Goval
Episode chronology
← Previous "Timescape" Next → "Liaisons"
List of Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes

"Descent" is the 26th episode of the sixth season and the first episode of the seventh season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the 152nd and 153rd episodes overall. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the crew of the Federation starship Enterprise. The episode features a guest appearance by Stephen Hawking, making it the only episode to feature a guest star appearing as themselves on any Trek series.

On the holodeck, Lt. Commander Data plays a game of poker with holographic representations of Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Stephen Hawking (played by himself). Answering a question from Newton, Data explains that the game is an experiment for understanding "how three of history's greatest minds would interact" in such a setting. Just as Hawking wins another hand, a red alert is issued and Data suspends the program.

The Enterprise responds to a distress call from a Starfleet outpost. On arrival, they send down an away team consisting of Riker, Worf, Data and another security guard. They find the entire crew of the outpost dead. Suddenly they are attacked by a group of Borg. During the course of the fire fight, Riker observes that the Borg are not acting like the Borg they have encountered previously. For starters, each of them is armed with energy weapons and they refer to each other as individuals. In fact, these Borg appear to be fighting more like guerrilla warriors. While fighting a drone, Data feels an emotion — anger — resulting in his breaking the neck of the drone he was fighting.

...
Wikipedia