By Chris Snellgrove
| Printed
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 precipitated extra arguments within the fandom than virtually the rest. Paradoxically sufficient, Star Trek: The Subsequent Technology showrunner Michael Piller as soon as confirmed that the present’s employees had this identical debate about this theme when it got here to the climax of the episode “The Hunted.”
This episode was a few planet that needed 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 form) refrained from well mannered society when his struggle was over. By the top, these disgruntled veterans had been storming the planetary capital, and leaders had 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 keeping 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 folks on the employees” who hated the climax by which Picard clarified “this isn’t our affair” and “you guys are going to have to unravel it.” As for the Star Trek showrunner, he felt that this was “an vital sufficient theme” that The Subsequent Technology “can’t discover sufficient.”
In our all the time humble opinion, this Star Trek episode hit on the theme of interference in an ideal method…not solely is the captain’s choice to not assist the federal government in keeping 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 employees as a result of it proves that those that carry these episodes to life are usually not very totally different from the passionate followers watching at house. They spend loads of time behind the scenes, passionately debating the Prime Directive similar to the remainder of us.
And make no mistake: the Prime Directive is undoubtedly 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, but it surely 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 hundreds of thousands and even billions of useless folks on their palms as a result of their bosses determined to sentence numerous pre-warp planets to their grisly fates.
That is doubtless why Star Trek guru Michael Piller considers this noninterference coverage the most important theme of The Subsequent Technology. This coverage could successfully condemn dwelling beings to dying, but it surely’s additionally the one factor protecting the typical Starfleet captain from enjoying God and deciding for himself who lives and who dies (a bit just like the evil admirals of The Authentic Sequence). And contemplating how annoying he discovered Q, we are able to solely assume the final factor Captain Picard needs to do is play God.
