Episode of the week: 2x03 "Elementary, Dear Data

[Captrek]

No, but if it were clear Moriarty were going to go out and kill people, and they let him go, it would make them responsible for everything he did.

It'd be like that episode of Stargate where they let Nirti go.

They wouldn’t necessarily have to “let him go.” If he can leave the holodeck, he can be put in the brig. Not indefinitely, of course, since I don’t think he has committed any crimes that would incur a life sentence in the 24th century UFP, but he could be held for a while, on charges of kidnapping and interfering with ship operations. Presumably, by the time the UFP rehabilitation center is through with him, he will no longer act as a villain, because in Roddenberry’s vision those rehab centers are presumed to work.

I categorically reject the contention that encountering a potential killer and not killing him makes one responsible for everything he does thereafter.

 

[Dale Sams]

My nitpick is the usual, 'holy crap that stupid holodeck is dangerous'.

 

[Anji]

Loved the grouping of LaForge, Data and Pulaski. Not a triology you'd see that often. Pacing was a bit slow but overall I had fun with it. Loved Worf's reaction to Picard punching open the top hat. Stewart looked smoking hot in the Frenchman's outfit.

 

[Timo]

The way one treats criminals should be dependent on a number of parameters. Today, justice is considered justice only if the punishment or deterrent is tailored to fit the crime. To a minor degree, it must also be tailored to fit the criminal, as a difference is often made between adult, underage, and mentally deficient perpetrators. Sometimes things like age, physical health or gender also make a difference.

Yet in the Star Trek context, the latter set of parameters would be much more prominent. Imprisonment of a given length means vastly different things to entities with different lifespans or paces of life. Taking of life gets complicated when the criminal has several. Etc.

Holographic criminals might be a new thing as of 2364 - but there might already be some precedent of criminal software by then. Imprisonment would be a rather meaningless punishment or deterrent; death, likewise. Cyber-lobotomy might work reasonably well, and be comparable to the gold standard of "Dagger of the Mind", that of curing the mental illness that drove the perp to the crime. Still, different software criminals would pose different challenges of punishment or deterrent, and it's not objectionable to see Picard stymied by the specific challenge posed by Moriarty...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Dream]

My nitpick is the usual, 'holy crap that stupid holodeck is dangerous'.

But this was only the second 'the holodeck gets dangerous' episode. It hasn't become a cliche yet!

 

[Captrek]

My nitpick is the usual, 'holy crap that stupid holodeck is dangerous'.

But this was only the second 'the holodeck gets dangerous' episode. It hasn't become a cliche yet!

Third. The holodeck produced the pathogen that threatened the ship in Angel One.

 

[Timo]

Naah. It just spread from person to person there because the holodeck was a popular meeting place. Nothing suggests that the pathogen originated from anywhere specific, but Wesley seems to be the first to have a blocked nose, right after that holodeck ski lesson. Perhaps he picked it up from a recent planetside visit?

Timo Saloniemi