That's almost Captain Kirk's motto, just swap the 2nd and 3rd words.
The Prime Directive on this show
- Thread starter The Overlord
- Start date
I am completely wrong probably but when I read that Discovery would be about some event in Federation history I thought it would be about the creation of the Prime Directive. I think the PD will just be the same as the one in TOS. Don't try to take over planets, no more Gangster planets or Nazi planets. If a big asteroid's coming to wipe out some indians just move it on. Do your bit.
There was also a artificial power source.
Why was it any of starfleet's business? What happens on a planet, stays on that planet.
To explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life, and new civilizations.
That is Starfleet's business.
Really?
I'm pretty sure risk was their business?
I'm pretty sure risk was their business?
(Crap, I tried to post to the part at 7:15 where Kirk says same thing to a bunch of cadets).
You mean, to perturb new worlds and to destroy new civilizations?
Unfortunately, the Enterprise wasn't on the planet and it still was going to be a casualty of Vaal.
Trespassers will be shot.
Pretty sure you have to prove that they are a danger. You just can't shoot people who wander onto your property. Or continue shooting at them as they try to leave.
Given what Enterprise was capable to do to it. It was legitimate of Vaal to feel threatened by it. What I don't get is that Vaal clearly was an intelligence, yet they never bothered to try to communicate with it or even asked themselves who built it in the first place. I bet Picard would have condemned such attitude, since he condemned the destruction of the crystalline entity which was WAY more threatening than Vaal, and contrary to Vaal, didn't limit itself to one homeworld.
Kirk gets a lot of crap, but really, except for maybe a Private Little War and Omega Glory (his We the People speech), I think Kirk pretty much stayed within the letter of the law, technically. Other episodes like The Apple or Return of the Archons, Kirk interfered, but it was because these societies were being controlled by a computer, which was not part of those societies natural progression.
Other instances, Kirk and co. were trying to fix contamination (IE Piece of the Action, Bread and Circuses). Patterns of Force, both the Zeons and Ekosians actually had space flight, though I am not sure if it was warp drive. In any event, Kirk is covered because Ekos was already contaminated. Also, in my personal head canon, since so many TOS aliens looked EXACTLY LIKE humans (IE MIri's Planet, for example), Kirk may have rationalized that they were transplanted humans, and the PR didn't apply.
A species that falls prey to domination once, will probably fall prey to domination twice, so what if the next computer that takes over is a bit more of an asshole than the last one?
I think "prior contamination" would come into play in both "The Omega Glory" and "A Private Little War". In the former, Kirk merely communicated what was already a written document. In the latter, the Klingons were giving a technological leap to one group of people. Kirk merely restored the balance that existed prior to that interference.
Turning back the clock is a shitty excuse to shake the fuck out of society that I have never agreed with.
They tried that in Cambodia.
Didn't work out so well.
They tried that in Cambodia.
Didn't work out so well.
But Kirk didn't turn back the clock in "The Omega Glory". Those fictional people were killing each other for thousands of years, I seriously doubt reading the preamble to a dozen of them, all of a sudden turned them into peace lovers.
Well, who is to say the Prime Directive wasn't amended until the TNG era where the Federation had to hide who they were and disguise themselves? In the TOS era, maybe all that was required was not to provide tech, or interfere with internal politics, but they didn't have to hide who they were?
Besides, I always thought of the PD as something each Captain had a certain amount of latitude with, anyway. Kirk was more proactive and took a more humanist approach, whereas Picard was an older, more experienced captain who basically took a stance of playing it safe and "hands off in all situation, unless conditions A,B,C, and D are met." Maybe Picard was more like Kirk when he was younger, but found out the hard way on a First Contact mission, and decided from that point on, he was going to play it more safe,a nd enforce the PD more like a Vulcan.
I agree on both, just mentioned them because I feel they are a little iffy, but Kirk ultimately follows the PD. Tracy really did screw things up on Omega IV and Kirk was trying to put things right. I's his 2 minute speech I question, because even Spock and Bones questioned it, but like you say, when people have been killing each other for thousands of years, one speech isn't going to do anything. If it were that easy, the middle east would have been solved long ago!
As for Private little war, again, agree. Klingons interfered first, so Kirk is in the clear. Just sort of parallels the TNG episode Too Short a Season, but Kirk's motivations were far different than Jameson's.
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