"The Naked Now" is the third episode[a] of the first season of the American science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, originally aired on October 5, 1987, in broadcast syndication in the United States.
Directed by Paul Lynch, the episode was written by D. C. Fontana, under the pseudonym of "J. Michael Bingham", based on an unfinished teleplay by Gene Roddenberry.
The crew of the Enterprise responds to messages received from the SS Tsiolkovsky, a science vessel monitoring the collapse of a supergiant star.
Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) orders full medical examinations of the away team on their return, and finds La Forge sweating profusely and complaining about the temperature.
She orders him to stay in sickbay, but he wanders out while she is studying his test results, and makes his way to the quarters of Crusher's son, Wesley (Wil Wheaton).
Meanwhile, acting on a hunch by Commander Riker (Jonathan Frakes), who had read up on past starships named Enterprise that included an event involving illness and showering fully dressed, Lt. Cdr.
Data (Brent Spiner) locates a historical record identifying the ailment as similar to one encountered by Captain Kirk's USS Enterprise.
Dr. Crusher, struggling against the effects of the ailment, finds the original antidote documented by Kirk's Enterprise to be ineffective, and begins devising a new version of it.
Chief Engineer Sarah MacDougal (Brooke Bundy) manages to disable Wesley's force field, and Data is sent to replace the chips.
Star Trek: The Next Generation's creator, Gene Roddenberry, wanted to include an episode revealing the characters' motivations to the audience early on in the series.
These included Data turning down Yar's sexual advances, Troi's lack of privacy due to empathic abilities, Picard's concern for the families on the ship, and Riker's fear of becoming a lonely starship captain.
Keith DeCandido reviewed it on behalf of Tor.com, comparing it to "The Naked Time" and stating, "there's nothing in this episode as entertaining as Sulu bare-chested with an epee, and Wesley being nerdy in the engine room is nowhere near as much fun as Riley singing.
"[8] Jamahl Epsicokhan on his website Jammer's Reviews remarked, "there's a certain memorable quality to this episode, despite its campy, overplayed comedy", but that "ultimately, the show is too goofy for its own good, but it's at least not boring," awarding it a score of two and a half out of four.
[13] In 2016, the podcast 'The Greatest Generation', hosted by Benjamin Harrison and Adam Pranica, utilise the character Jim Shimoda as they discuss each episode of the series.
In each episode the hosts identify their 'Drunk Shimoda', based on criteria including acting strangely, having a lot of fun or behaviour like that of someone inebriated.