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Revisiting Star Trek TNG: Justice
After a brief interlude, James' weekly Star Trek: TNG season one look-back returns with an episode that's best avoided...
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This review contains spoilers.
1.8 Justice
If you grabbed someone off the street and said to them “Hey, remember how bad the early TNG episodes were?” they’d probably shout at you for touching them without invitation. But if they didn’t, there’s a good chance they’d instantly think of this one. The episode where Wesley Crusher receives the death sentence for accidentally trampling some flowers. And if you think that sounds stupid, wait until they start debating the ethics surrounding it later on…
Now, to be completely honest, there’s a good idea at the centre of this episode. Considered objectively, this is a story about the strength of the death penalty as a deterrent, and the balance between personal freedoms and enforcing the law. Unfortunately, this potentially rich vein of moral exploration gets squandered on a premise so stupidly reductive that it ceases to bear any logical relation to arguments for or against capital punishment.
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At the very least, killing people who break the law does not, under any circumstances, lead to an idyllic and utopian peace. Even at its most basic level, history has shown that there are always things people care more about than their lives. And let’s face it, if you can’t trip over a greenhouse without being killed by the state, there’s a fair chance you’ll spend a lot of time cowering in your house rather than risk catching a severe case of lethal injection on the way to the newsagent because you accidentally loitered next to a “no loitering” sign while trying to read what it said.
As for the episode itself, it makes even less sense than its own arguments. The events that I will dub The Trial of Wesley are predicated on the idea that allowing Wesley to escape death will lead, inexorably, to the collapse of the Edo civilisation as they know it. It’s not really explained how. Presumably the thinking is that if one person gets away with a crime, anyone can, and instantly will attempt to do so – but Wesley isn’t really part of their society, and everyone in that society seems horrified at the idea that the law might be broken at all. So even as I struggle to make the logical connection between Wesley being killed to preserve the peace, none appears.
And that’s not even the dumbest thing about the episode. Because, this being Star Trek , the unwritten rules state that A) any Utopian society hides a dark secret and B) is probably being run by a computer. Admittedly, in this case it’s a giant space computer with a booming voice that is also part-ghost, but… well, no buts, that’s all we get. Why does it care about its “children”? We don’t know. Why do the Edo regard it with such fear? Again, no explanation.
Picard spends much of the episode debating whether or not to violate the Prime Directive in order to save Wesley’s life, while Beverly Crusher, cast in the role as “an irrational female being ruled by her emotions” spends the entire time pointing out the obvious: this debate is completely insane and Wesley should be rescued immediately. And having set up the violation of the Prime Directive as a Rather Big Deal, Picard eventually listens to Beverly and beams Wesley back to the ship… at which point the episode ends. Right at the point where the first interesting thing occurs.
TNG WTF: Okay, so… according to this episode’s premise, no-one knows where the enforcement zones (where breaking the law results in an instant death penalty) are located at any given time. But as soon as Wesley breaks the law, two dudes in grey jumpsuits (called “mediators”, even though they don’t so much “mediate” as “immediately execute people”) run out and grab him.
So what are we to assume? That dudes in grey jumpsuits stand around looking nonchalant and everyone pretends not to have noticed them patrolling what is obviously an enforcement zone? Or that they hide in the bushes until they spot someone breaking the law? This is the sort of thing that makes it clear no-one involved with the episode had a clue what they were doing or why.
TNG LOL: LIATOR: Rivan, perhaps they can’t run.WESLEY: Can’t run?! Sure, we can run, right commander?[TROI: I can’t, on account of this ridiculous outfit no-one but me ever has to wear.]*RIKER: That’s the custom here? running? Lead the way!THEY ALL RUN. TROI TROTS AWKWARDLY BEHIND.
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*line cut from broadcast version.
Who’s That Face?: Rivan (Brenda Jean Bakke) is fairly prolific, and amongst other things, played Michelle (the Sharon Stone spoof character) in Hot Shots! Part Deux .
Time Until Meeting: Another meeting-free episode! Although to be fair, great swathes of time are devoted to characters sitting around discussing legal minutia. Still, it’s on an alien planet rather than in a meeting room, so I’ll let it pass.
Captain’s Log: At this point it feels like the production staff isn’t even trying. By now the cast were firing on all cylinders, acting the hell out of their roles – but the writing? Sheesh. And let’s not even say how awful the costume design in this episode is.
To be fair, the credited writer effectively disowned the episode following extensive rewrites, but someone, somewhere did a real hack job on this. Luckily, things start to improve from the next episode onwards, but based on the episodes that have aired so far, it’s hard to imagine the series being well-received at the time…
Watch or Skip? Skip-skip-skippety-skip. Just don’t skip into any flower beds by accident while you’re doing it.
Read James’ look-back at the previous episode, Lonely Among Us, here .
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Star Trek: The Next Generation
- On an alien planet, young Wesley Crusher commits a transgression - small by our standards but mandatorily punishable by death in theirs.
- Exhausted from helping a human colony settle in, the Enterprise crew delights in taking their first-ever shore leave on Edo, an extremely friendly nearby planet. Half in jest, Picard says its Eden-like playground seems too good to be true. Alas, it is, for while teaching native adolescents football, Wesley unwittingly commits a minor transgression in a zone where all errors incur but one punishment: death by painless injection. Back aboard the Enterprise, senior officers struggle with an entity defying every known law of nature, which faces and tests them. It turns out to be Edo's 'god', fiercely protective of its 'children', absorbing all Federation knowledge from their database and intending to hold them to their laws. Violating the Prime Directive to save Wesley might arouse its fatal wrath. — KGF Vissers
- After dropping off some colonists in a nearby system, the crew visits a world of beautiful, healthy and tanned humanoids who seem to have a peaceful and loving lifestyle, knowing no crime, war or hardship. They seem to have everything. They also have a death penalty for any infraction of the rules - and a secret. — R.K. Warner
- After a difficult mission re-populating a nearby planet, shore leave would seem to be in order for the nearly exhausted crew. They think they've found the ideal place for a bit of rest and recreation with a local population made up of beautiful, open, honest and very, very friendly people. Picard sends Riker and an away team to check if local conditions are as ideal as they seem on the surface. Too late they learn that, while the people are all that they have been made out to be, they also have only one form of punishment regardless of the severity of any transgression: death. When Wesley Crusher damages some flowers, he is caught by Mediators who are judge, jury and executioner. Picard has no intention of letting any member of his crew be executed but has to find a way to do so that will respect the local culture as well as the Federation's prime directive. — garykmcd
- Exhausted from helping a human colony settle in, the Enterprise crew delights in taking their first-ever shore leave on Edo, an extremely friendly nearby planet in the Rubican star system. Half in jest, Picard says its Eden-like playground seems too good to be true. Data reports something on the forward bow of the spaceship, but visual inspection reveals nothing. They log it to a faulty sensor. The people of Edo are super friendly, very fit and healthy, greet everyone with a warm hug, dress skimpily and make love at the drop of a hat. The landing party is greeted by Rivan (Brenda Bakke) and Liator (Jay Louden). Wesley joins the kids, while the adults are invited to the council chamber to discuss rules for the shore leave for the crew. Wesley was part of the landing party to evaluate the planet as a suitable destination for all kids on board the Enterprise. Meanwhile Data confirms there is no sensor error and demands the hidden entity to reveal itself, which it does, and it is a highly advanced spaceship. The spaceship sends a "probe" which enters the bridge. Senior officers struggle with an entity defying every known law of nature, which faces and tests them. It asks Picard to state the purpose of their visit to the planet. Picard says that the Enterprise is on a friendly visit and will leave after making contact. The entity is not convinced since the Enterprise left humans at the last planet they visited. Picard tries to explain the concept of colonization to the entity. The probe then attaches itself to Data for information exchange. Alas, it is, for while teaching native adolescents' football, Wesley unwittingly commits a minor transgression. He breaks a flower nursery while catching a ball. This was in a zone, which is randomly selected each day, where all errors incur but one punishment: death by painless injection. The alien ship turns out to be Edo's 'god', & is fiercely protective of its 'children', absorbing all Federation knowledge from their database and intending to hold them to their laws. Picard beams down and learns that Wesley is safe till sundown. Rivan and Liator understand that humans no longer have capital punishment, but they once used to. Liator suggests that Picard uses force to rescue Wesley from the planet, but Picard quotes the Prime Directive. Rivan identifies the spaceship orbiting the planet as their God, who protects the beings on the planet. The God is benevolent, but can makes its presence felt, when needed. He requests Rivan to come to his ship and identify the Alien ship for him. She identifies it as her God. The God gets angry and attacks the Enterprise and Picard is forced to return Rivan to the planet. Picard then goes to meet Data, who has now regained consciousness, after its encounter with the alien probe. Data tells Picard that the God is currently observing the humans. It knows everything about humans and their way of life and violating the Prime Directive to save Wesley might arouse its fatal wrath. As the God will deem humans deceitful and untrustworthy. Data also offers that the alien life form is only now evolved to a state multi-dimensional existence. Once upon a time in the past, the alien life form was also flesh and blood like humans. Picard hopes that they also shared the same values as the humans. Data believes that the child race on Edo might have been planted by the alien life form, just as humans plant colonies all over the galaxy. Picard is in a dilemma, meanwhile Beverly has found out that Wesley is on standby for execution and wants Picard to promise to save him. Picard does and takes Beverly down to the planet with him, where it is nearly sundown. Picard conveys his dilemma to Liator and states that he is prepared to sacrifice his crew and his ship to save Wesley. Picard argues that justice cannot be served if laws are absolute. Life is itself an exception. Edo God allows humans to leave.
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