Paramount Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a scene from 'Allegiance.'

Captain Jean-Luc Picard was really not Captain Jean-Luc Picard a few times throughout the seven-year run of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Borg assimilated him in “The Best of Both Worlds” two-parter, after which he presented himself as Locutus of Borg. Picard posed as a Romulan in the “Unification” two-parter. Then there was “Allegiance,” a third-season episode in which Picard was kidnapped and replaced by a clone who was seemingly Picard in every way, at least physically, but behaved in ways that threw the crew for a loop. “Allegiance” premiered on March 26, 1990, or 32 years ago this weekend, and Heavy on Star Trek is here with a look back at the episode, which can be streamed on Paramount+.

A Bottle Show

“Allegiance” was produced near the end of The Next Generation’s third season. It was a classic example of a bottle show, an episode meant to conserve money. Some TNG bottle shows relied on flashbacks and others, like “Allegiance,” minimized costs by keeping the action to just a few sets, spinning a story that required minimal visual effects, limited costumes, and exotic alien makeups, and focused primarily on the main cast. Such episodes often turned out great, as they let the show’s stars shine and revealed fresh details about favorite characters.

The late Winrich Kolbe directed this episode. It was one of 16 TNG episodes to bear his name, and he also directed 13 hours of Deep Space Nine, 18 installments of Voyager, and one Enterprise adventure. He considered “Allegiance” one of the best of his TNG efforts. “I like ‘Allegiance’ because I liked working with Patrick Stewart,” he told Star Trek: The Next Generation – The Official Magazine in 1993. “He’s a very subtle actor. I remember talking to Patrick the first time he started playing the clone. I said, ‘I think I need more from you.’ He thought about it and then gave me more. As we rehearsed the scene, we looked at each other and knew he was giving me too much. So, we just pulled it back. Patrick is like Itzhak Perlman with a Stradivarius. You have to compare the Stradivarius to the Joe Schmuck violin. To the untrained eye, they’re no different. But they are different, very different. Patrick played the good guy and the bad guy so close at times, but it was different and it was right.”

The visually striking alien species the Bolians were introduced in the first-season episode “Conspiracy,” in the form of Captain Rixx. The blue aliens returned in “Allegiance,” with viewers experiencing first contact with a female Bolian, Mitena Haro (Joycelyn O’Brien). And Star Trek fans would see a lot more of the Bolians, as they turned up in nine more times on TNG and in all four TNG feature films, as well as on Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and the current shows Discovery and Lower Decks.

Picard Behaving Badly

So, what did the Picard clone do that confused Riker, Troi, Data, Dr. Crusher, Wesley, and Worf? He diverted the Enterprise from a current mission and insisted that it travel at a ridiculously slow speed, which would take weeks rather than minutes to arrive at its destination. He dropped in on the crew’s poker game, an action he wouldn’t repeat until the series finale several years later. He bought drinks for the crew in Ten Forward and led them in a sing-along of a tune called “Heart of Oak,” and he danced with Dr. Crusher and kisses her. All of that was so very, very not in Picard’s nature, but loads of fun for fans.

Anyone who watches “Allegiance” will see two tall, telepathic aliens with massive heads and brown skin, and sporting skin-tight blue outfits. They were played by real-life twin brothers, Jerry and Jeff Rector. In addition to being identical twins, they’re both actors, writers, producers, and directors who’ve turned up in numerous familiar projects over the past several decades. Jeff, for example, was in Wall Street, Hellmaster, Sliders, InAlienable (with Walter Koenig, Marina Sirtis, Alan Ruck, and several other Star Trek actors), and American Horror Story, while Jerry’s acting credits include Vampire’s Kiss, The Twilight Zone, Supernatural, The Strain, and music videos by Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B. And, back in 1996, Jeff and Jerry both appeared in “State of the Art,” an episode of Sliders. That episode was directed by Star Trek veteran John Kretchmer, co-written by TNG scribe Tracy Torme, and starred Voyager guest John Rhys-Davies and Lower Decks voice actor Jerry O’Connell, who is married to Discovery recurring guest star and Strange New Worlds leading lady Rebecca Romijn.