this post was submitted on 24 Jun 2023
32 points (97.1% liked)

Star Trek

10571 readers
11 users here now

r/startrek: The Next Generation

Star Trek news and discussion. No slash fic...

Maybe a little slash fic.


New to Star Trek and wondering where to start?


Rules

1 Be constructiveAll posts/comments must be thoughtful and balanced.


2 Be welcomingIt is important that everyone from newbies to OG Trekkers feel welcome, no matter their gender, sexual orientation, religion or race.


3 Be truthfulAll posts/comments must be factually accurate and verifiable. We are not a place for gossip, rumors, or manipulative or misleading content.


4 Be niceIf a polite way cannot be found to phrase what it is you want to say, don't say anything at all. Insulting or disparaging remarks about any human being are expressly not allowed.


5 SpoilersUtilize the spoiler system for any and all spoilers relating to the most recently-aired episodes, as well as previews for upcoming episodes. There is no formal spoiler protection for episodes/films after they have been available for approximately one week.


6 Keep on-topicAll submissions must be directly about the Star Trek franchise (the shows, movies, books etc.). Off-topic discussions are welcome at c/quarks.


7 MetaQuestions and concerns about moderator actions should be brought forward via DM.


Upcoming Episodes

Date Episode Title
11-21 LD 5x06 "Of Gods and Angles"
11-28 LD 5x07 "Fully Dilated"
12-05 LD 5x08 "Upper Decks"
12-12 LD 5x09 "Fissue Quest"
12-19 LD 5x10 "The New Next Generation"

Episode Discussion Archive


In Production

Strange New Worlds (2025)

Section 31 (2025-01-24)

Starfleet Academy (TBA)

In Development

Untitled comedy series


Wondering where to stream a series? Check here.


Allied Discord Server


founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

Personally I would probably put "Devil's Due" at number one, but I realized not everyone can have such a refined taste in Trek.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[โ€“] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I have to say I was absolutely blown away by Ad Astra Per Aspera because it so clearly showed, but didn't explicitly hammer in, the complicity of the majority and their complete lack of understanding of how laws can be applied separately to a minority group.

Pike said "put me on the stand and let me tell a story and we'll get out of this mess" because it's always worked for him to get out of rule-breaking. April became upset that it was so obviously pointed out how the law applies differently to him, and yet after his witness statement he was still stuck on "I didn't get to tell a nice story about Una" as if that would have sorted everything out, because it's always worked for him to get out of rule-breaking - even after it was shoved in his face how differently the law applied to him.

Even Chin-Riley herself started with "put me on the stand and let me tell a story and explain myself" because it always worked for her previously, because she had always been seen by the Federation as a member of the acceptable majority class, and she hadn't yet come to terms with how that would no longer work now that she had been deemed "unacceptable" by society.

As far as sci-fi goes, this was an excellent sci-fi story. It parallels a current issue in society without explicitly calling it out, which allows people to reframe and re-consider their thinking without being subject to pre-existing biases. It also showed off so clearly how a "utopic society" is only utopic for those deemed acceptable. This is what I consider to be "excellent Star Trek".

[โ€“] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Absolutely this. Best part of the episode, for me, was the examination of April.

A) It's a not uncommon legal tactic for the defence, to just mess shit up and cast doubt over the whole trial.

B) It, as you point out so well, laid out the morality of the issue and the cultural hurdles it was running into ... the kicker being the judge's statement at the end of the examination that it was all "stricken from the record", which on the one hand made perfect legal sense, but on the other perfectly demonstrated how hard it is to even talk about the issue from an outsider's perspective. All of which also gets back to A ... Neera knew what she was doing and let it set the tone for what the trial was really about, even though it wouldn't register legally, it would register in everyone's guts, where she had the actual legal argument coming to stick the landing.