This is one of my posts where I “review” Star Trek episodes. I will be giving each one a star rating. I sometimes will make some comments about non-political parts of them that I like or don’t like. I’ll sometimes use the issues raised in the episode to discuss similar issues in real life. And I will sometimes simply high-light the progressive politics of ST. ST is in-line with the three original themes of this blog, as I explain in the first ST post where I offer some general thoughts about ST.
I’m not very familiar with The Original Series and there might be some small amount of material there that would affect what I say about Star Trek (i.e. how often religion is mentioned)
Lastly. multi-culturalism is such a pervasive theme in ST that I only comment on it when it goes beyond the norm (i.e. inter-species partners).
“Arsenal of Freedom” See this for a plot summary.
Generally non-political, but could be interpreted as hostile to the defense industry.
Another aspect of it is one of the funniest things I’ve heard in an ST episode. When Riker is asked about his ship (the Enterprise) he says it’s the “Lollipop”- and then adds “it’s a good ship.”
I give it three stars out of five.
“Symbiosis” See this for a plot summary.
This reminds me of the allegations that the CIA was involved with crack flooding black communities in the 80s. I read a pretty convincing book by Gary Webb called “Dark alliance: the CIA, the Contras, and the crack cocaine explosion.” That is significantly different from what happens in this episode but it still reminds me of the CIA/crack story.
I give it three stars out of five.
“Skin of Evil” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode, but it’s also the one where Tasha Yar dies. Since she died before the show got better, I can’t say I really care about her being killed.
I give it two stars out of five.
“We’ll Always Have Paris” See this for a plot summary.
A non-political episode. I give it two stars out of five.
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