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Summary
TheStar Trekfranchise is no alien to a strong moral message , but these episode fromStar Trek : The Original SeriesandStar Trek : The Next Generationare especially heavily - handed . Since its origin in 1966,Star Trekhas woven societal commentary into its outer infinite escapade . Not only was the cast ofTOSdiverse for the time , but Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) and the crew of the USS Enterprise often encountered alien civilizations that mirrored component of Earth cultures . This allowedStar Trekto tackle relevant issues within a cagey scientific discipline - fable framework .
InStar Trek : The Original Seriesseason 3 , episode 15 , " permit That Be Your Last Battlefield , " Captain Kirk and the Enterprise rescue two survivor , Bele ( Frank Gorshin ) and Lokai ( Lou Antonio ) , from a major planet desolate by war , which lead to an obvious moral content about allowance . Star Trek : The Next Generationfollowed in the pace ofTOS , often tackling the political and social topic of the time . The history inTNGseason 1 , sequence 22 , " Symbiosis"begins likewise , with the USS Enterprise - D deliver aliens from diametrical sides of a fight , and its moral message is equally heavily - handed .
Star Trek : The Original Series features some of the most iconic characters in all of scientific discipline fabrication with the crew of the original USS Enterprise .
2 Star Trek TOS & TNG Episodes That Hit Fans Over The Head
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3, Episode 15 (“Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”) & Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1, Episode 22 (“Symbiosis”)
InStar Trek : The Original Series ' " permit That Be Your Last Battlefield , " both Bele and Lokai have extremely pigment skin that is black on one side and white on the other . Bele has black-market on the right side of his face and lily-white on the other , while Lokai ’s coloring is the opposite . This differentiation matters a big deal to the aliens , as they see one another as inferior , much to the confusion of the Enterprise crowd . Despite being the last of their kind , the two survivors go along to pursue one another at the ratiocination of the episode , as Kirk keen that all they have leave behind is their hatred .
AlthoughStar Trek : The Next Generationalso fete adoption and permissiveness , " mutualism " accept on a different socially relevant topic . When Captain Picard and the Enterprise - cholecalciferol saving four passenger from a merchantman , they presently discover that two of the rider are drug addict , the Ornarans , while the other two , the Brekkians , provide them with drugs . Captain Picard and Dr. Beverly Crusher ( Gates McFadden ) presently realize thatthe " illness " that chivy the Ornarans is actually withdrawal from the strong drug to which they have become addicted . After this realisation , Dr. Crusher insists that Picard enjoin the Ornarans the verity , but Picard reminds her this wouldviolate the Prime Directive .
Star Trek Has Always Tackled Tough Moral & Political Issues
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
From the early episodes ofStar Trek : The Original Seriesthrough the presently airingStar Trek on Paramount+shows , Star Trekhas always offered comment on relevant social and political issues . Whether they ’re taking on preconception , drugs , gender use , or climate modification , Star Trekhas never shied aside from delivering a strong moral message , many of which remain surprisingly relevant today . While some stories may total across as too weighed down - handed - such as the corny " just say no " speech dedicate by Lt . Tasha Yar ( Denise Crosby ) in " Symbiosis " - the substance are generally estimable ones , celebrating diversity and acceptance .
Most of the cast and gang onTNGdisliked Yar ’s obvious anti - drug speech in " Symbiosis , " but producer Maurice Hurley assert on keep it in .
TOS’s"Let That Be Your Last Battlefield " andTNG’s"Symbiosis " shape a trivial too hard to verify their message gets across , but manyStar Trekepisodes deliver their substance with more clever subtlety . Still , while it ’s true most people do not call for to be state that hate is destructive or that drugs are bad , even the most lumbering - handed content could still give somebody . Perhaps more than anything else , the Vulcan philosophy of Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations capture the affection ofStar Trekand underline the franchise ’s inherently political nature .
Star Trek : The Original SeriesandStar Trek : The Next Generationare available to swarm on Paramount+ .
