By Chris Snellgrove
| Revealed 2 weeks in the past
Star Trek followers usually debate the franchise’s themes, together with the concept that superior civilizations shouldn’t affect the event of much less superior civilizations. That is the Prime Directive, and it has brought about extra arguments within the fandom than virtually the rest. Satirically sufficient, Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology showrunner Michael Piller as soon as confirmed that the present’s workers had this identical debate about this theme when it got here to the climax of the episode “The Hunted.”
This episode was a couple of planet that wished to affix the Federation, however they wanted Captain Picard’s assist to trace down an escaped convict. It seems that he was a former soldier enhanced by the federal government after which (like others of his type) refrained from well mannered society when his warfare was over. By the top, these disgruntled veterans have been storming the planetary capital, and leaders have been horrified that Picard refused to assist them out, all as a result of this was an inner affair by which Starfleet had no enterprise interfering.
Contemplating how Star Trek’s Prime Directive works, this ending is arguably in step with the franchise’s theme of noninterference. However “arguably” is the key phrase right here as a result of Michael Piller revealed that “there are individuals on the workers” who hated the climax by which Picard clarified “this isn’t our affair” and “you guys are going to have to resolve it.” As for the Star Trek showrunner, he felt that this was “an vital sufficient theme” that The Subsequent Technology “can not discover sufficient.”
In our all the time humble opinion, this Star Trek episode hit on the theme of interference in an ideal manner…not solely is the captain’s determination to not assist the federal government in step with the Prime Directive theme, however the planetary chief had beforehand insisted that this was an inner matter. Nevertheless, we discover it fascinating that this episode’s climax was so divisive among the many present’s workers as a result of it proves that those that convey these episodes to life are usually not very totally different from the passionate followers watching at dwelling. They spend loads of time behind the scenes, passionately debating the Prime Directive identical to the remainder of us.
And make no mistake: the Prime Directive is unquestionably price debating. It is smart that a complicated civilization just like the Federation wouldn’t need to disrupt the evolution of a pre-warp planet, however it all the time appears monstrous to consider what number of primitive planets Starfleet officers have left to die. Like, our heroes are simply bombing across the galaxy and having debates about philosophy and honor, all whereas having the blood of tens of millions and even billions of useless individuals on their fingers as a result of their bosses determined to sentence numerous pre-warp planets to their grisly fates.
That is seemingly why Star Trek guru Michael Piller considers this noninterference coverage the most important theme of The Subsequent Technology. This coverage might successfully condemn dwelling beings to loss of life, however it’s additionally the one factor protecting the common Starfleet captain from enjoying God and deciding for himself who lives and who dies (a bit just like the evil admirals of The Unique Sequence). And contemplating how annoying he discovered Q, we will solely assume the very last thing Captain Picard desires to do is play God.
