Star Trek TNG - Justice

Originally aired: November 9th 1987.

First, a quick foreword. This is the first Wesley Crusher centred episode. It's also really, really bad and I've been dreading it, and that;s probably why my Star Trek: Next Generation blogging project had stalled, but it's time to get it moving again. Without further ado - time to inflict some bad sci-fi on myself.

The action starts as Picard lets us know they're visiting a planet they stumbled across in the star system next door to where they dropped off some colonists, and is pleasantly surprised to find a lovely and inhabited planet. Soo Picard, you're telling us Starfleet colonises planets without checking the nearby systems? And is basically colonising within the space likely to be claimed by this new race you've just met. Really, Picard? Anyway, it's such a nice planet he decides to allow shore leave on this newly discovered, barely investigated planet. Although Tasha Yar seems to have actually done some homework about the planet, though clearly not enough to see what's coming in about 10 or 15 minutes.

Down on the planet, the away teem meet the Edo, who dress in next to nothing and run around all over the place like idiots. Riker seems a little eager to meet the local women and Troi gets a little jealous. Even Worf gets a little of the local love. And apparently the local's favourite game is love-making. Who the hell came up with this childish fantasy of a planet?

Back on the ship, there's a mysterious "something" hovering off the bow of the ship. Despite all their technology they can't tell what it is. So they talk to it, and a weird ghostly transparent ship appears, and tells them to stand by. It then fires a little energy thingy towards the ship which seems to have no trouble passing into the interior of the ship and flying around the corridors. So much for wonderful Starfleet shield technology. Picard understandably get's pissed off that no-one on the bridge seems to have a clue what's happening when the energy blob reaches the bridge and talks to Picard in an incredibly loud bridge shaking voice, asking why they are here.

Picard gets the third degree about why they're here and what they did at the last planet they visited. He stumbles his way through explaining what their mission is, and is told not to mess with the Edo. The blob then interfaces with Data's forehead for exhcange of info and he keels over. Has the advanced energy blob not heard of USB ports?

Back on the planet, boring stuff happens, including Wesley thinking that a local girl is hitting on him even though she just wants to play games. The run off to the garden to play, and Wesley is about to put his foot in it in more ways than one. Worf shares a little too much info about his sex life with Riker. Ew. Did not need to hear any of that. The away team only know realise they're cut off from the ship. Freaking geniuses. They decide to regroup and go looking for Wes. The locals are explaining to the rest of the team how they're bizarre arbitrary legal system works using the death sentence for any crime committed. Showing some initiative they decide to find Wes and the others and tell them about the local laws, just in time to see that Wes has already gone and cocked up, by falling bodily into a plant nursery when trying to catch a ball and getting caught by the local cops. The cops are prepared to inject Wesley with a lethal injection on the spot. Talk about a harsh legal system. Work and Tasha leap in and threaten the cops with phasers to stop them. The situation looks bad a nd Riker calls the ship for help but can't get through.

Back up there Data and the orb are still linked and Data's out of it. Either they're swapping lots of info, or file transfer speeds have gotten waaay slow in the future. The orb suddenly leaves, and the away team gets back in touch and Picard goes down to sort out this mess. He spouts a lot of crap about why capital punishment is bad and offends the locals with his implied statements about how inferior their legal system is. They challenge him to just take Wesley and leave, but he cites the Prime Directive. And I have to wonder - just like when Tasha was abducted a few episodes, back Picard seems to think the Directive stops him from acting in this case too. When one of your own is kidnapped or on trial, I don't think the Directive applies. There are other good reasons to not barge in and take Wes of course.

During this discussion, the locals explain that the entity the Enterprise met in orbit was god. Picard comes back up with a local to talk to Data and show the local her god. Jesus, this plot is boring. She confirms that this entity is god. God is super pissed that they took someone from the planet, so he beams the girl back home and god backs off. Picard justifies what he did in a lame fashion, and then remembers to talk to Data, and finally gets around to discussing Wesley's fate with Dr. Crusher. Data explains that the entity is an advanced collective being that can be in many places at once and has claimed this area of the galaxy and it was a bad idea to colonise that planet. I fucking knew it. Starfleet are idiots.

The "god" is curious about the Enterprise and what they're going to do. Picard wonders what "god" will do if they break the Prime Directive and steal Wesley back. Hours later and all Picard can think to do is talk to Data again, and asks him for help to stop Wesley from being executed but is worried that "god" will smite him for it. When did this episode get all pseudo-religious? Picard refuses to let it simply become a question of letting one life go to avoid risking a thousand lives of the crew aboard the ship. I know that many in the Federation would disagree as we see in later Star Trek, but the show does always portray those people as in the wrong.

Crusher comes back and she and Picard head to the planet. He assures her that he won't let them kill her son. Almost seems like Picard is trying earn points with her by saying that. Down on the planet, Picard starts speechifying about how he can't let Wesley die but must find a way everyone agrees on to do it and blah, BLAH, BLAH. He waffles on and on about why he's doing the right thing breaking laws left, right and centre but manages to convince none of the locals. Or Wesley for that matter who's worried that the crew is being endangered for him. The "god" in orbit won't let him beam out though. Even he's not convinced by Picard's speech. So how to solve this problem? More speechifying about how justice cannot be absolute.

Funnily enough Riker chimes ion with a comment about justice not being "as simple as a rulebook", and then the transporter kicks in. So did Picard convince "god" or was it Riker's simple summary of the situation in one line and not a boring speech that did it? Picard even says that "god" must agree with Riker, so even he seems to give Riker the credit. Back on the ship, Picard hails "god" and offers to clear the colonies out of the space belonging to "god" if he wishes, but it seems that "god" had had enough of Picard and just leaves.

And it ends. A badly told story about how Picard forced true justice on backwards aliens and even "convinced" their "god" that his way was the right way. And "now" I can't "seem" to "stop" using "quotes". Jesus, this was a bad episode. What annoys me the most about Picard's decision is that while he's not wrong, not more than a handful of episodes ago Picard refuses to interfere when one of his crew members was kidnapped and placed in a life threatening position in breach of numerous laws. But now, when Wesley is held for a far more legitimate and quasi-legal reason Picard seems to have little trouble interfering - he just struggles to justify his decision to the natives. It just seems a little hypocritical to me.

Next: The Battle, which isn't a half bad episode, even if it introduces the Picard Manoeuvre, an offensive starship tactic that an idiot could deal with if he knows the trick and yet everyone acts like it's unbeatable.