Study of Torture - Chain of Command Pt. II

[tomalak301]

I was just watching the end of Chain of Command II, and was thinking about this quite a bit afterwards. It seems now in most scifi shows, Torture is used as a tool to add drama to the story but doesn't really get to the heart of what it does to the individual. It's there because it's "kool" and people like watching it for some reason.

In watching the end of this episode, I was just wondering if TNG really got to the heart of what being tortured means and how it will traumatize a person. That final scene when Picard was talking to Troi and he admitted that he could actually see 5 lights made me think that of all the shows I've seen, TNG, in this one episode did torture better than any of those. It really felt like this man was traumatized and the writers put a lot of work in making it as believable as possible. I remember even watching the special features that Jeri Taylor even admitted how hard it was to make this episode because TNG was considered "family friendly." Well, I think it's really cool that a family friendly show showed something more realistically than other shows trying to show the same subject.

As I write this, I was even starting to think about Hard Time but that really shows the aftereffects. In a way, I think both these episodes compliment each other really well.

What say you? Do you think this episode covered torture the best in terms of studying the human condition?

 

[K-Star]

You know what... We've been discussing the effectiveness of torture in English class recently because we're reading 1984. When they talked about "2+2=5", I REALLY wanted to make reference to this episode and what happened with Picard as another example of the effects of torture, but I kept quiet. The whole time we've been discussing torture in 1984 I've been thinking of this episode.

 

[tomalak301]

I've heard that this episode was kind of based on the events of 1984 with the analogy of the 2+2=5 and the 4 lights. It was a nice homage to a great piece of literature that everyone should read.

 

[WillsBabe]

If I remember correctly Patrick Stewart was involved with Amnesty International and I think wanted to do something to highlight or reflect their work.

 

[Kegek]

It was certainly one of the best episodes of TNG. It's also the only time where the second half of a two-parter on TNG significantly outshined the first part. I think it didn't just get torture very well... it captured the moral self-assurance of those who torture. There's never any doubt in Madred's mind he's doing the right thing, something he can be proud of and bring his daughter to work to see.

I don't really think "Hard Time" is about torture... it's more about civilization being ripped away: How civilized modern (or idealistic Roddenberry future) man can be when taken out of his environment and made to live in extremely diabilitating conditions.

 

[GalaxyX]

The episodes were great.

The only thing that irks me is that there really is no payback. Data and Worf should have jumped in there and tag teamed that fucker, punching him in the gut and the kidneys repeatedly until he was wallowing like a little bitch on the floor.

THAT would have made it an EXCELLENT episode.

 

[scottydog]

The torture scenes with Picard are astoundingly well-done. I haven't seen the topic of torture better portrayed on any other television show. No one does pain & anguish better than Patrick Stewart -- witness his performances in Family, Sarek, and Chain of Command.