Worst Character Assassination Episodes

[cooleddie74]

Asking Crusher to erase the Mintakan memories in "Who Watches the Watchers?(TNG)" and hide the Federation's presence on their planet was kinda abhorrent to watch even as a kid. I get why Picard wanted to do it but damn, the coldness with which he sought to erase their memory engrams against their will was just classic early TNG Picard returning with force to show why he could sometimes be an unpleasant and dispassionate commanding officer.

 

[DonIago]

Asking Crusher to erase the Mintakan memories in "Who Watches the Watchers?(TNG)" and hide the Federation's presence on their planet was kinda abhorrent to watch even as a kid. I get why Picard wanted to do it but damn, the coldness with which he sought to erase their memory engrams against their will was just classic early TNG Picard returning with force to show why he could sometimes be an unpleasant and dispassionate commanding officer.

Does that also apply to Pulaski wiping Sarjenka's memories?

 

[cooleddie74]

Kinda, though I didn't remember that until after thinking of the Mintakans.

 

[Omega-Trekker]

Does that also apply to Pulaski wiping Sarjenka's memories?

I agreed with that. Just imagine if you were a kid abducted by aliens, then brought back with your memories intact... if you you told people of your experience, they would have thought you were bloody nuts or even have you committed!

 

[Gul Sengosts]

Actually, I defend Bashir here, for 2 reasons.

First, Kurn already tried to die, in the same episode, by the time of the memory erasure. TWICE! Bashir knew Kurn would find a way to die because he was dead set on it. (pun intended) This was the best way to make sure he stays alive.

And what right does Bashir have to keep him alive at any cost against his will? Not even ASKING what his will is because Kurn is unconscious? There may be a hippocratic oath or whatever but I'm pretty sure the hippocratic oath doesn't allow you to just erase someone's memory because you decide that's best for them, without even waiting for them to be able to consent.

Second, in Klingon culture, the elder brother speaks not just for the House, but the younger sibling. Worf is the eldest. Bashir almost certainly studied Klingon culture and ethics in relation to situations like this, particularly since he helped treat a ship full of Klingons in the same episode. (The damaged one when the mine went off.) Think of it as a full power of attorney.

Bashir doesn't strike me as the guy who completely ignores the will of his patient just because their older brother is supposed to have the last say in their culture. And even if he does, I struggle to see how this conduct is ethical either by Starfleet standards or by Klingon standards.

I honestly think Bashir came off better here than Crusher did in "Ethics". He at least respected the culture of the patient he was treating, instead of forcing a decision on said patient. And Bashir did ask Worf if he was absolutely certain. I think he comes off as the best CMO of the shows because despite his own personal code of saving lives, he understands that the final decision is the patient's or his family.

Well, let's say this was adequate according to Klingon laws. In this case, he completely ignored Kurn's wish because Worf told him to. Are Bashir's medical ethics such that he will do to Kurn whatever his brother wants him to (even erasing his memory), without even giving Kurn the chance to give consent?

 

[Omega-Trekker]

Consider this, since Bashir is an Augment, any 'ethical lapses' might actually be an unreported side-effect to his DNA resequencing.

 

[Laughing Dragon]

I agreed with that. Just imagine if you were a kid abducted by aliens, then brought back with your memories intact... if you you told people of your experience, they would have thought you were bloody nuts or even have you committed!

I agree it was a necessary one. Also, they would have had to let her die. The primary reason is the prime directive and "we are not gods" argument. Wiping her mind was the condition. They had the power within their ship to fix her planet. She and all the inhabitants would have died. But yes, I also agree that being abducted by aliens would also be traumatic.

 

[Oddish]

What was done to Sarjenka was the only humane solution to a potentially very sticky problem. As we see in "Latent Image", sometimes memories of an event are way more trouble than they're worth.

 

[DonIago]

TBF, given the procedure failed on the Mintakans, we have no idea whether Sarjenka's memory suppression ultimately succeeded or whether there were any side-effects.

 

[cooleddie74]

Sarjenka at least made some sense and was done with affection and care once implemented with Data overseeing the whole thing. The Mintakan plan to wipe their memories was just another example of early TNG Picard being a holier-than-thou dick.

 

[Farscape One]

To be fair to Picard, he only ordered that because Crusher brought him to the ship. Had that not happened, it wouldn't have been needed.

Yes, he likely would have died. But the entire scenario afterward would not have happened. Those events could very well have changed Mintakan culture for the worse.

 

[Oddish]

Memory erasure is one of those things that only works when it's convenient for the plot.

(My head canon is still that after some work, Bashir was able to deal with O'Brien's prison problem. If he couldn't erase it entirely, he reduced it to a blur, the kind of memories you'd have of a weekend-long tequila bender.)

 

[DonIago]

Maybe Bashir offered but O'Brien replied, "I need my pain!"

 

[Oddish]

Maybe Bashir offered but O'Brien replied, "I need my pain!"

Any experience that made him sleep on the floor, explode at Molly, and put a phaser set at level 16 to his head... I don't think he'd want it. I know I wouldn't.