was invited to his house to practice scenes with Roddenberry's wife, Majel Barrett. Stiers described Roddenberry as "a grand old man - not in his behaviour but in people's deference to him". Speaking highly of the story in "Half a Life", Stiers indicated that the mood of the episode accentuated the debate over Timicin's decision to end his life. "It was an emotionally involved piece. The script quite responsibly argued both sides [of the suicide] issue and left the viewer to determine whether such a practice is acceptable or not," Stiers said. "That episode was more powerful than simply a discussion." Michelle Forbes makes her first The Next Generation appearance in "Half a Life", in a performance which led directly to her later casting in the larger role of Ensign Ro Laren, a recurring character from season five onwards. Reception "Half a Life" was first released within the United States on May 6, 1991, in broadcast syndication. Keith DeCandido, in a review for Tor.com, commended Stiers' acting, saying that he gave "a noble, nuanced performance as Timicin." He also approved of the episode, saying that it was the first time that Lwaxana Troi was treated as a real character without causing him to cringe; at the same time, DeCandido did not forget the problems with her previous appearances on the show. Noting that it was one of the best episodes to feature a Prime Directive debate, DeCandido endorsed the writer's idea not to take sides regarding the suicide. "This is a magnificent, tragic love story, one that takes a thin character and gives her depth, one that gives us a beautifully realized guest character in Timicin (casting Stiers was a masterstroke, as he always brings subtle nuance to his roles), and one that takes its issues seriously," DeCandido wrote. He gave the episode a score of eight out of ten, later concluding that it featured "one of the show's most tragic love stories." In their book The Unauthorized Trek: The Complete Next Generation, James Van Hise and Hal Schuster observed a significant improvement in Majel Barrett's performance in this episode compared to her previous appearances. They said that Barrett was "capable of depth and feeling", and described the ending of the episode as "touching and disturbing". A society shouldn't naturally evolve to include ritual suicide, Van Hise and Schuster argue, but population control methods such as the one-child policy in