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“Nothing Human”, Star Trek: Voyager, Season 5 ep 8
Another episode in which murderer and tyrant Captain Janeway violates the rights of a crew member and crumples up the Prime Directive and takes a dump on it before firing it out of a photon torpedo tube. Chief Engineer B’Elanna Torres is attacked by an alien species that bonds itself to her internal organs and creates an organic link. Any attempts to remove the creature would kill Torres in the process.
In researching a solution The Doctor (Far and away the best character on Voyager, and played by Robert Picardo. Tied for last: Ensign Kim and Chakotay) finds in the database a Cardassian doctor, Crell Moset, who was a genius in the field of exobiology. The Doctor recreates Crell Moset on the holodeck to help, but the crew learns from a Bajoran member that Moset conducted unethical experiments on Bajorans during the Cardassian occupation of Bajor in order to gain his knowledge. Torres, when learning the hologram is of a Cardassian also refuses to have him be involved in her care. She is especially sensitive to the Bajoran cause because she is a member of the resistance group called the Maquis. In the end, The Doctor discovers that Crell Moset is the monstrous turd the Bajoran and Torres claimed he was, but Janeway doesn’t care about that. They use his knowledge to save Torres and the alien, and Janeway says oopsiewoopies to Torres after she recovers. What the Hell, Janeway?
“Carbon Creek”, Star Trek: Enterprise, Season 2 ep 2
At a dinner with the captain and the chief engineer, Sub-Commander T’Pol regales them of the actual, undocumented first time Vulcans had first contact with humans on Earth, and answers the question of what The Andy Griffith show would have been like if there was a family of Vulcans that lived in town. While observing the launch of Sputnik a Vulcan vessel carrying T’Pol’s grandmother experiences problems, and crash lands outside of a Pennsylvania mining town. Low on food and desperate, they cover up their pointy ears and learn to mix with the rubes in various comedic antics. The three Vulcans all start off contrite and smug, but fall into a three bears approach to humans at the end. One sees a bright future for humanity, and wants to stay. One never comes off his thinking that we are the useless creatures we are, and T’Pol’s grandmother falls more on the side of humanity being good.
“In a Mirror, Darkly”, Star Trek: Enterprise, Season 4 ep 18, 19
We venture back to the mirror universe for this one, and it’s probably the best two episodes of Enterprise’s run. It also should have been the series finale over the abomination they were forced to use instead. This is technically a sequel to the Original Series episode “The Tholian Web” and a prequel to the same series’ “Mirror, Mirror.” In terms of plot, I think you could easily argue that the Defiant is the most important ship in Star Trek next to the Enterprise. Mirror Universe Captain Archer has discovered that the Defiant from the future, and alternate universe, is encased in an asteroid. He wants to take it from the Tholians because the advanced weapons technology of the ship would give the Terran empire an even bigger advantage over its enemies. What follows is a lot of murder, assassinations, torture, more murder, sex as a means of influence, Vulcans trying to stop things, and everyone having a good time hamming it up. They even change the opening credits to be Mirror Universe based.
“If Memory Serves”, Star Trek: Discovery, Season 2 ep 8
OK, so while I technically lied about not including Discovery this episode hadn’t come out yet, and it is worthy of inclusion. Halfway through this second season I’m fully on board with the show. The first season was basically Star Trek in name only in many ways, but still a very good sci-fi series. There wasn’t much attempt to tie it into the larger universe, which is strange because it takes place only 10 years before the Original Series. This second season has done a much better job being not just good sci-fi, but good Star Trek as well. I think having Captain Pike helm the ship over season one’s more morally ambiguous captain has been a big help in this regard. “If Memory Serves” is a sequel to the original un-aired Star Trek pilot “The Cage” that had Pike in the captain’s chair and visiting the Talosians on Talos IV. They cleverly include a “Previously on Star Trek” opening to get people up to speed, and did a great job tying everything together. This also continues the introduction of Spock into Discovery, and he’s actually himself instead of a raving lunatic. The dude needs a haircut and shave, but I’m excited to see what happens. With three (!) more Star Trek series coming out in the near future (Picard, a Section 31 series, and a cartoon) there is definitely a lot of potential after almost two decades being Star Trek free.
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