Deep Space Dance with the Devil, Part 02

So I've been wanting to talk about the morality of Deep Space Nine for a while now. I'm finally launching into it, but before I get started, I wanted to take a few moments to establish some fundamentals of Star Trek morality. This week I'm talking a little bit about Starfleet captains as moral exemplars. 

"Where Silence Has Lease" is a Next Generation episode where the Enterperise gets sucked into a whole in space run by a puppy-nosed omnipotent energy being who isn't Q.

He thinks killing a third of Picard's crew is a worthwhile scientific endeavor and Picard responds by activating the ship's self-destruct mechanism. Picard will kill everyone on board Enterprise just to save a third of the crew.

You see, for Picard none of his crew is expendable. Sure, Starfleet officers have to take risks and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, but for Captain Picard it's not a matter of treating lives like math problems. His attitude comes across as more an "assault on some is an assault on all" perspective.

And his crew backs him up. While Riker in particular is a bit hesitant, he agrees. Nagilum is forced to fabricate imaginary members of Picard's crew in a futile effort to dissuade him.

Remember in one of the good Troi episodes, "Night Terrors," the ship is caught in an anomaly of the week and no one can sleep? Folks start going crazy and plotting mutiny and Guinan is forced to lay down the law. In "Where Silence Has Lease," everyone gets it. No one on board tries to overthrow the captain, deactivate the auto-destruct, and take their sixty-seven percent chance.

Picard doesn't impose his decision to destroy the ship on his crew; he makes it on their behalf. That's a pretty big distinction.

And the Deep Plays On

My internet access for now is spotty. My laptop has developed some (probably physical) problems I can't fix. I can't find funny YouTube videos. I can't alter images. I can't tumbl my tumblr (not that I have time). If all of my related skills haven't atrophied, I can prepare some simple texts posts and put them up when I have time.

I want to talk about Deep Space Nine. For those of you who have been paying attention, I've been thinking a lot about the morality of my favorite series named Star Trek. Mostly, it's the actions of Captain Benjamin Sisko, but there's a streak of cynicism in the series as a whole that I take some small issue with.

That will all come later. As with so many other things in life, definitions are important. Did you ever see City on the Edge of Forever? It's an Original Series episode where Kirk and Spock have to go back in time to fix some things that Doctor McCoy breaks in the near-future of the past.

The character of Edith Keeler is important. She's a pacifist who believes that--I can't really look up the exact quote these days--that one day all of the resources we currently dedicate to warfare and harming others will be used to feed, shelter, and care for others. She believes that humanity will get better in the future.

I submit that Star Trek believes that the good of mankind is a choice humankind makes; not the result of material surplus brought on by technology.

Kirk is proof of that. He and Spock arrive destitute in the past, but through hard work and education, they quickly make reputations for themselves.

I submit that the triumph of intellect, hard work, and sacrifice is a principle Star Trek is built on.

How about you guys?

Next time I'll try to talk a bit about how Starfleet captains exemplify the morality of Star Trek and how Star Trek believes in doing the right thing regardless of the circumstances (Where Silence Has Lease).

The Essential DS9: Season 4

You know I love Deep Space Nine. Not everyone has the time to invest in a new show, and DS9 has a rough introduction. To help some people get into it, I've compiled a list of five episodes from each season of Deep Space Nine that focus on essential stories and character moments of the series. I've also added a few supplemental episodes that are very good, but don't quite make the cut.

Way of the Warrior, Parts I & II (4x01): Hey, it's that Worf guy. Way of the Warrior is the first episode to get those big, epic fights DS9 becomes known for. The buildup to the fight and the fight itself at the end do a great job of keeping everyone busy, working characters, and keeping the action going. It is the best fight scene in Trek, hands-down. That title is sort of like winning a snail race, but it's still a win.

It's a repilot that clearly marks the point where the show hits its stride. This isn't a ratty, abandoned station with a crew that's trying not to kill each other. This isn't three runabouts, a commander, and two-dozen Starfleet officers thrown at a floating sprocket with a vague missive about "not fucking it up" that's faintly heard over the sound of an admiral's ship entering warp. This isn't those same officers bitching about being "in the middle of nowhere;" it's their home. 

This is Deep Space Nine, commanded by Captain Ben Sisko, home port of the USS Defiant, Gateway to The Celestial Temple, the quadrant's first line of defense against The Dominion, and an ass-kicking dispensary open 26/7, willing to serve Klingons, Cardassians, Jem'Hadar, Romulans, and Breen free of charge.