What TREK "issue" episode challenged your views?

[RobertScorpio]

Star Trek has had many 'issue' orientated episodes. Some are like hammers over the head (the one where Riker goes to the planet where everyone is unisex, comes to mind)

My favorite 'issue' episode was The Offspring. Although on the surface it's about an android's rights, the episode is really about parental rights/strategies. How should we raise our children, in essence.

I have to admit I still tear-up when Lal and Data have that death scene together. Great job TNG...one of the best TREKS of all time.

Robert Scorpio

 

[EnsignRicky]

"Symbiosis" from the first season of TNG comes to mind. Drugs are bad, we get it!! M'kay?
Then there was that one where they find out that the warp field is tearing up space. I guess they couldn't come up with an eco consious story line that didn't involve screwing with the fabric of Trek lore; Then again that was probably thier intention.

 

[Navaros]

None of them. Trek should stay away from trying to be a soapbox for promoting political propaganda. Every single episode in which it tries to do that is both terrible as an episode, and offensive.

 

[Balrog]

Navaros said:
None of them. Trek should stay away from trying to be a soapbox for promoting political propaganda. Every single episode in which it tries to do that is both terrible as an episode, and offensive.

Well, that's pretty much the premise of Star Trek. So you don't watch most of TOS, TNG, DS9, much of VOY and ENT...

 

[RobertScorpio]

I think you are crazy. The moment TREK becomes nothing but zapguns and monsters it loses it's soul. Star Trek at it's best IS about ideas. Perhaps you are mistaking your views about JASON OF STAR COMMAND with Star Trek.

 

[Navaros]

Lloyd_Dobler said:


Well, that's pretty much the premise of Star Trek. So you don't watch most of TOS, TNG, DS9, much of VOY and ENT...

I disagree with that. Most Trek episodes, at least those in TOS and DS9, explore issues without involving real-world politics in it. DS9 explored a lot of issues that would become political issues later on after it went off the air, Ie: occupations, terrorism, but were not issues at the time of it being made. Or, if they are political, for the most part they are subtle or abstract about it. Instead of trying beat one over the head with the agenda of the show makers/lobby group behind the episode, trying to tackily force a POV on every viewer about something taken directly from modern headlines. Bad episodes of the "beat the viewer over the head with our agenda" variety include: "The Outcast", "Rejoined", "Stigma" etc. etc. Most Trek episodes are not like that at all, thankfully.

The "issue episodes" promoting real-world politics are far lesser in number than those that simply explore ideas specific to the internal situation of the episode at hand.

 

[Moocey]

Lloyd_Dobler said:

Navaros said:
None of them. Trek should stay away from trying to be a soapbox for promoting political propaganda. Every single episode in which it tries to do that is both terrible as an episode, and offensive.

Well, that's pretty much the premise of Star Trek. So you don't watch most of TOS, TNG, DS9, much of VOY and ENT...

So I guess you disagree with the thread title. Since all of trek is left wing political propaganda, then there aren't really any "issue episodes."

 

[egonbeeblebrox]

"Amok Time" taught me not to get involved with my best friend's mating rituals.

"The Way to Eden" taught me that hippy music is terrible, and the people who write it should eat acid-filled pears.

"Turnabout Intruder" taught me not to trust my ex-girlfriends, because they're all wildly psychotic and jealous of me.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" taught me that Tribbles are Trouble.

"The Galileo Seven" taught me that it's getting Hot!

 

[JiNX-01]

egonbeeblebrox said:
"Amok Time" taught me not to get involved with my best friend's mating rituals.

"The Way to Eden" taught me that hippy music is terrible, and the people who write it should eat acid-filled pears.

"Turnabout Intruder" taught me not to trust my ex-girlfriends, because they're all wildly psychotic and jealous of me.

"The Trouble with Tribbles" taught me that Tribbles are Trouble.

"The Galileo Seven" taught me that it's getting Hot!

As to Trek's morality plays, a lot of them are among my favorites. But that's probably because I usually agree with the choices that are made.

The one that has always troubled me is ENT's "Cogenitor," (one of my favorite ENT episodes). I thought Trip was wonderful here, to forget about the Scandinavian beauties to reach out to the plain, drab cogenitor, an object in the eyes of its fellow Vissians. For me the problem comes when Archer refuses to let the cogenitor remain on Enterprise without explanation.

For me, it's an example of lazy writing. The one thing you always want to know is where the outcome of a situation came from. In this case, we have no idea why Archer said no so we fill in the blanks: It sounded like he wanted to appease the Vissians in hopes of getting technology. Or -- one of my guesses -- he sided with the Vissians because he was pals with their captain.

It would have just been so much better -- stronger -- if they had dropped the Malcolm and the Blonde cheese scene so we could have a scene where Archer weighs a larger issue against the backdrop of the fate of this one person: What are we doing out here? What kind of relationship do we want to have with the people we meet? Is it our role to be teacher or student? We're so new to space exploration... first contacts will challenge our beliefs, principles, philosophies and preconceptions. How do we deal with all of that?

Could have been a turning point in Archer's development. Especially because I believe Trip was right: Archer's history suggests he would have done the same thing if he had met and gotten to know the cogenitor before meeting Captain Drennik.

 

[M'Sharak]

Navaros said:

Lloyd_Dobler said:


Well, that's pretty much the premise of Star Trek. So you don't watch most of TOS, TNG, DS9, much of VOY and ENT...

I disagree with that. Most Trek episodes, at least those in TOS and DS9, explore issues without involving real-world politics in it. DS9 explored a lot of issues that would become political issues later on after it went off the air, Ie: occupations, terrorism, but were not issues at the time of it being made. Or, if they are political, for the most part they are subtle or abstract about it. Instead of trying beat one over the head with the agenda of the show makers/lobby group behind the episode, trying to tackily force a POV on every viewer about something taken directly from modern headlines. Bad episodes of the "beat the viewer over the head with our agenda" variety include: "The Outcast", "Rejoined", "Stigma" etc. etc. Most Trek episodes are not like that at all, thankfully.

The "issue episodes" promoting real-world politics are far lesser in number than those that simply explore ideas specific to the internal situation of the episode at hand.

The part I've underlined is the point I think you should have made, to begin with. It isn't about issues or not issues, but rather style and delivery. Science fiction in general and Trek in particular would be sort of pointless without the issues underlying the stories.

 

[RandyS]

None. The ONE thing I always hated about Star Trek is Roddeberry's whole attitude of "let's use this show to teach", since it came off as "I'm smarter than everybody else", arrogance. And people have read FAR too much into it ever since.

Why can't Star Trek simply be about entainment?

 

[JiNX-01]

RandyS said:
None. The ONE thing I always hated about Star Trek is Roddeberry's whole attitude of "let's use this show to teach", since it came off as "I'm smarter than everybody else", arrogance. And people have read FAR too much into it ever since.

Why can't Star Trek simply be about entainment?

Actually, I believe it was Roddenberry's goal to use sci fi as a backdrop to explore the human condition. That's why he did a lot of "morality plays."

And IMO, Trek often does it pretty well and entertains us at the same time. If it had failed, we wouldn't be here.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

"Up the Long Ladder" challenged by views on abortion.

But in the opposite way the writer(s) intended.

"The Devil in the Dark" made me rethink my kill-on-sight policy towards non-carbon based lifeforms.

"A Taste of Armageddon" convinced me not to report to disintegration chambers if the government ordered me to.

"Return of the Archons" made me realize that I'm not of the body and could use a Red Hour.

"Paradise" woke to me up to the threat of fanatical luddites.

 

[egonbeeblebrox]

"Spock's Brain" taught me what Brain is.

"Charlie X" taught me I want to stay-stay-stay-stay

 

[cwalrus2]

I'd say these are my favorites:

TOS:
1. City on the Edge of Forever
2. A private Little War
3. Patterns of Force
4. Let That Be Your Last Battlefield


TNG
1. Measure of a Man
2. The Enemy
3. The Offspring
4. The Drumhead
5. Ethics
6. The First Duty
7. The Pegasus

DS9
1. Duet
2. Tribunal
3. Past Tense Parts 1 and 2
4. Rejoined
5. Home Front / Paradise Lost
6. Hard Time
7. The Quickening
8. Far Beyond the Stars
9. In the Pale Moonlight
10. It's Only a paper Moon

A lot of these episodes are still relevant today, and even the TOS episodes were revolutionary for that time. "Let That be Your Last Battlefield" may seem simplistic now, but back then it was a challenging idea. I think Star Trek has led the way in terms of broadening peoples minds and presenting challenging ideas by using scifi paralells as a metaphor. I'd say the bulk of the episodes either deal with equal rights for everyone or with the realities of war, justice, and politics. I'd say "The Drumhead" and "Home Front / Paradise Lost" might be my ultimate favorites because they deal with things that are still relevant today in our world everday along with some of the miscarriages of justice that happen here in USA.

 

[JiNX-01]

Navaros said:
DS9 explored a lot of issues that would become political issues later on after it went off the air, Ie: occupations, terrorism, but were not issues at the time of it being made. Or, if they are political, for the most part they are subtle or abstract about it.

Are you kidding? Occupations, terrorism, religious extremism, genocide were all contemporary issues for anybody who picked up a newspaper during DS9's first run. I didn't think they were being subtle or abstract at all.

A few cases in point:

In the Hands of the Prophets: A religious leader makes trouble when Keiko teaches the science behind the The Celestial Temple.

Rules of Acquisition: A female Ferengi has a gift for making profit but she isn't allowed to get into business because she "doesn't have the lobes."

Sanctuary: Aliens come through the wormhole and claim Bajor was their original homeworld.

Far Beyond the Stars: Sisko dreams he's a sci fi writer in the 1950s.

Wrongs Darker than Death or Night: Kira's mother was a "comfort woman" along with many other during the Cardassian occupation.

The Pale Moonlight: Sisko crosses a lot of lines to get allies for the war.

 

[cultcross]

cwalrus2 said:
TNG
1. Measure of a Man
2. The Enemy
3. The Offspring
4. The Drumhead
5. Ethics
6. The First Duty
7. The Pegasus

Ditto, this is my list of issue driven, debate seeding TNG episodes which did not descend into TNG's far too frequent trap of 'here's a backwards culture. Let's storm in and show them the right way of doing things.'
These episodes actually presented another side with a reasonable argument and some real ambiguity as to the outcome.

 

[Mysterion]

Navaros said:
None of them. Trek should stay away from trying to be a soapbox for promoting political propaganda. Every single episode in which it tries to do that is both terrible as an episode, and offensive.

Agreed. TNG tended to be really bad with the issue sledge-hammer approach. Address issues in your story if you gotta, but a bit sublety would kill you?

Besides, St has tended to be pretty safe in their issue stances (especially in later years), so I tended to agree with the episode to begin with and didn't need to be hit over the head with whatever pont they were trying to make.

 

[cwalrus2]

Thanks, Cultcross. These kinds of episodes work better when the other side has a valid argument instead of just implying that whatever Picard or the TNG cast says is the right thing to do. In order for the episodes to work, they have to at kleast give the audience an inkling of doubt as to what resolution of the conflict should be instead of just relying on the fact that the main characters are on the "right" side of the argument.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Great post. I agree with you totally. Since the writing on Trek tilted left and it was made for what seems to be a left leaning audience, the issues were usually solved and seen in a left way. Nothing wrong with that. But like last nights episode of BOSTON LEGAL proved, you can tell anti-abortion stories and do it in a thought provoking way.