As an African American, I don't see any racism in this episode. (Whenever whites call out the so-called racism of this episode, I tend to think of it as feeling threatened of seeing so many black people onscreen...or "white guilt").
With that said, sfdebris's comments were interesting...
@joel1975 I'm white, but was raised to consider skin color essentially inconsequential. I very rarely if ever define a character by their race. Like Lutan for example. I see a guy who is a colossal jerk and thoroughly unlikable person... but he fact he is black is of no importance to me. I would think the same of him if he was white. His behavior and personality are what matter, not his skin color. Ditto for his people.
Really? You brought up the amphibian briefcase thing again?
"Amphibian" is a class of animals, but saying something is "amphibian" is just saying that it can live in both land and water. That's what it originally meant at least, but nowadays it can describe anything that is suited to both land and water, Have you never heard of amphibious vehicles?
A briefcase that looks like a fish is amphibian, because briefcases are meant for land, but it also has aquatic characteristics too.
@JimPlaysGames The sexism in this episode does seem to be overlooked. Tasha crushing on a guy who kidnapped her is just gross. Yareena was too forgiving of the man who tried to get her killed. Lutan should have been left alone and powerless in the end. Hagon needs to watch out. I wouldn't be surprised if, after the episode, he was in an "accident," making Lutan the first one again.
Great work! It's worthy of a long review, and it sure got one! But I have to disagree with you about the final score. I definitely rank this one higher than Shades of Gray, The Royale and The Outrageous Okona. Unlike those, this one is in "so bad it's good" territory. The irony of the racism and sexism is hilarious, and the claim about Starfleet's physical training... Come on! This episode is funny! Sure, it sucks, but it's got so much unintentional comedy in it, that it's actually entertaining.
At a young age, my family had copies of the first two seasons of TNG on video tape. I watched those episodes over and over and over again, even the horrible ones I'd never dream of looking at now other than in an SFDebris review.
But Code of Honor? Even my kid self wouldn't touch that one more than once. And this is the same younger me that happily rewatched even The Naked Now a number of times.
When I saw this at a young age, I wasn't really conscious of the racism. I don't think I knew about the stereotypes. As far as I remember, it didn't occur to me to really think of their skin colour as anything to pay attention to. I didn't think of them as black humans, I thought of them as aliens. It's clear now that the director was using a racist stereotype, but I think there's also an element of over-sensitivity to such things now. I think the sexism is actually worse than the racism here.
I prefer to think of it as a "sensor upgrade." We're simply much better at detecting the sexism and racism nowadays. And it is partly because folks have become far more adept at using weasel words, dog whistles, and passive-aggressive tactics (the linguistic equivalent of cloaking technology).
@SciFi2285 perhaps, but if I can stretch the metaphor, the increased sensitivity of our sensors results in more false positives. Often when someone is criticising someone of another race, the assumption is sometimes made that it is racially motivated. Or when people don't understand the difference between using a racial slur and simply mentioning it. We shouldn't have to go out of our way to assure people we aren't ignorant hateful and prejudiced. But now I'm way off topic.
A lot of it depends on our ability to analyze the information within the proper context. But, all things being equal, I'd rather do that than fly blind.
If you think that Code of Honour is racist, than you also cannot enjoy Indiana Jones. On that level, it's the same. Ok, Code of Honor is a silly episode, but i would not consider it racist. Stereotypical maybe.
a 3-part review from you and the RLM Indy 4 review. It was a Merry Christmas on Blip.tv this year. And the 2009 Star Trek movie review from you will make it a Happy New Year.
At least this forshadowed an annoying aspect of the series,
the theme of honor kept coming up. Almost as if they wanted to counter balence the "progressive" aspect of their future society with something most modern day people consider primative.
If I was meeting that 7up man character I would have taken a flash picture just to see him scream in horror "You stole my sole,"
The totally reminds me of the South Park episode when the class goes on a field trip to the rain forest. But that was a comedy, and this wants you to take it seriously.
Even after watching the review, I don't get the deep hatred. It was certainly a bad episode, but I don't see it as any worse than most of the season. The racism charge you level depends on accepting that this world is more dystopic than most of the all-white and mixed-race worlds we see, but I don't see how it is. They're technologically crude people who are portrayed as being bound by barbaric cultural norms which the PD forces our heroes to accept. No different, really, from the Aryans in
"Justice," or the Bonnie Tyler Fan Club in "Angel One," et cetera. While they are certainly patriarchal, they're less misogynistic than many pre-modern Earth cultures: The fact that women dominate property ownership means they won't be helpless if their husbands tire of them or disappear. And while Lutan's not a likable character, I did enjoy the performance the actor gave.
My biggest issue was the Data-Geordi scene. Weak character stuff for a duo that we know was capable of so much more. I
also have to ask why Geordi takes off his visor to shave when most men I know prefer to see what we're doing, and why Data took on such a menacing posture to tell his joke. The first time I saw that clip I thought he was going to reveal himself to be Lore, or something.
I kind of feel that Justice, Angel One, and Code of Honor are equally bad and the three along with Sub Rosa and Shades of Grey are my worst episodes of TNG (but I can't decide which is the worst since I dislike them near equally). It's just that all of those episodes are just so embarrassing to watch. Of course Night in Sickbay and Threshold are even worse when comparing the franchise as a whole.
@shuboy05 For me the worst TNG episode is "The Last Outpost." That one actually hurts to watch. As for the ghosts of Christmas Past you've invoked, I can say that they're, at the very least, not as obviously silly. Performances aren't so over the top, sets and costumes don't look ridiculous (actually McNeill's salamander makeup looked quite good, considering) and the dialogue, especially in "Threshold," didn't make me keep rolling my eyes.
This episode made me cringe on so many levels. Wow it was so horrible, i even considered not watching the show again when i first saw it..and i was just a pre-teen then.
Episodes like this made me wonder what the hell was up with the prime directive, what with the enterprise crew making diplomatic relations with such a CLEARLY primitive culture, and it happened SEVERAL times in the early seasons. I'm certain there was one episode where they encountered people who didn't even have a concept of space travel!
SF made many great points in this but the two that stood out to me was this.
But his best one was in casting. Heck thinking about it more so many times it is hard to find black people as extras, hell even half of the Klingons (a people with brown skin) are played by white people . Yet this backwards behind world you could only get black people.
I tried to watch this episode before watching the review, and I barely made it through it. I kept having to pause it to take breaks from the awfulness, What helped me through it was wondering what Chuck would say about what I saw.
Incidentally, he didn't mention one thing: how horribly this episode drags. I'm pretty sure the exposition and otherwise irrelevant plot elements were just there to pad out the episode. People even talked slower.
Also, Tasha sounds really weak, like a little girl.
RE expository dialoge: 1) people do talk this way in real life (oftentimes considering themselves an authority on something that they can't acknowledge is common knowledge); 2) if they'd just had a character who wasn't briefed on these guys, and everyone was explaining it to that character, it would've worked. Pretty stupid that no one inserted this work-around.
sadly the movie inception used that super annoying exposition approach. i was thinking to myself. why are they "refreshing" each others memory? is it for the new girl? or the audience? either way, i was thoroughly annoyed by the end. i wanted to slap someone
I remember when one of my friends was trying to watch TNG and I think he got to this episode and asked "Is it all like this? Because if it is, I'll probably not bother."
I think it's a real testament to the Trek legacy (or possibly the sheer awfulness of early 90s TV) that this managed to stay on long enough to actually get good. A season one like this would kill most shows... but then this kind of set the tradition for taking 3 years to get their groove on for Trek shows...
@bildo1977 if you enjoyed that you should listen to his podcast "Memories of the Futurecast" where he reads sections of a book made from those reviews. It's especially gratifying to hear Wil Wheaton taking the piss out of Wesley Crusher. And he does an impression of Lutan doing the line "Then you shall have NO treaty, NO vaccine and NO Lt. Yar!" It's hilarious.
Holy cow star trek open brackets 2009 close brackets review AND new Sherlock next weekend? I thought today was christmas! Awesome review as ever, and a very merry christmas to all. :)
I'm disappointed that you didn't say anything about Yarr's final line, where she actually is attracted to Lutan even after learning what a colossal, manipulating prick he was. That was the most sexist moment in all of Trek.
@Nyarlathoteplol I must say I disagree with you there. It's pretty dodgy I grant you, but Yar still fancying him regardless could be interpreted as Stockholm syndrome or maybe she just likes a bit of rough. McGivers still fancying Kahn after he beat her is the most sexist moment in Trek.
@clearspira McGivers was portrayed as a weak willed, mentally unstable follower who gets exhiled along with Khan in the end. In this episode, everyone acts as if Yarr's behavior is totally normal.
And being attracted to someone who tries to get you killed in a moneymaking scheme isn't "liking it a bit rough."
@Nyarlathoteplol Actually yes it is. Why do you think there are literally millions upon millions of abused women that stay with their piece of shit wife beating husbands if at least some of them aren't turned on by it? and I refuse to believe that every single beaten woman is trapped in some way.
Oh and the McGivers being a weak willed, mentally unstable follower is more sexist that Yar's comment.
@clearspira Then you don't know much about how abusive relationships operate. Most frequently when the abusive partner escalates to killing or severely injuring their victim, it's because the abused partner tried to leave them. Additionally, abusers maintain power over their victims by doing everything they can to take away their autonomy and independence, emotionally and financially, and isolating them from friends and family. Leaving an abusive relationship is *not easy*.
@clearspira In "Space Seed," everyone acted like McGivers had gone insane, which she basically had. In this episode, everyone seemed to think that Yarr's sentiment was perfectly normal and to be expected. That's what makes this episode much more sexist than Space Seed.
On the other hand, I may still be wrong because of the season seven episode "Sub Rosa." That may actually be more sexist than this one.
@clearspira Not necessarily - that episode was all we saw of her, we don't know what psychological issues she has as an individual, rather than as a female.
Yar is already relatively established at this point, and is shown as being relatively stable. Introducing this fetish for strong men to her character sort of hints that, in the ideology of the text, it's something more widespread than the individual.
Check out (or don't) Denise Crosby's episode of the Red Shoes Diaries. She basically kidnaps a man in order to "have her way" with him and he ends up falling in love. For some reason Crosby likes playing up the creepy roles
Bringing Wesley into this episode at all seems totally out of left field.
Is it just me or about halfway through Part 2 (right after the French language joke) are Picard, Troi, and Beverly standing ridiculously close together?
@clearspira That's my allegory for TNG because of the date (my opinion). Berman was there from TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, and the movies (Fact). Said aspect does not define the quality of every episode / film where he was credited. The the soon to be review from Abrams' movie is only a tease. Regardless of quality of this re-boot, I expect a lot of comedy / insight from the review. Until then, I need to re-assemble the gingerbread house I dropped with glue and duck-tape. Do not eat!
@cfs3mytube But the episode doesn't take place in sub-Saharan Africa, nor does it it parallel situations in sub-Saharan Africa in some way that could be taken as political commentary. In fact, the script makes comparisons to ancient Earth cultures everywhere *but* Africa.
And the attitudes of the "enlightened" Star Fleet officers are quite misogynistic as well. Suggesting that Yar, a rape survivor, is flattered by a guy forcibly abducting her as property is just... disgusting.
I have to say, I think this qualifies as the worst Trek episode ever. Something like "Spock's Brain" is stupid and completely implausible, but it's not offensive (well, beyond typical '60s sexism). They are plenty of stupid trek episodes, but this episode manages to be racist, sexist, AND stupid, all at the same time.
@thunderphoenix440 Don't worry - look at the ending of Nemesis where he has Kirk's car with that music playing in the background. There WILL be trash talk.
Take this idea. TNG, just the idea of more trek, was an amazing present you wanted. Then after all that wrapping and plastic you see, "Assembly Required". Your also missing crucial parts to this cursed yet amazing thing. So you order the parts and wait. But, Murphy's Law seems to love you and one part never arrives and the other is Pulaski. Eventually you fix the years old gift, but had to strip a part labeled berman and will never come off until the Abrams' addon, but is it any good??
@cloudskyff7 And then, by stripping the parts labelled Berman and Braga and gaining Abrams, we work out that, actually, Berman and Braga were actually pretty good.
I'm watching your review right now, and you say the director is responsible for the racism, and while I agree that it was his choice to cast all black people, I would like to note that the writer of this episode, Katharyn Powers, also wrote Stargate SG-1's Emancipation, which is a very early episode that features the show's short-haired blonde female character facing the sexist attitudes of an alien culture that resembles an ancient Earth culture and is made up entirely of non-whites.
@GeneralNerd "female character facing the sexist attitudes of an alien culture that resembles an ancient Earth culture and is made up entirely of non-whites." Hmm you know given that they both involve female victimisation its possible that the Racism was accidental, and the result of poor writing then ill intent. Powers may be an extreme anti Feminist and want to make a comment on the poor treatment of women in history, but do to clumsiness or contempt took the negativity to far.
@GeneralNerd but I must say the level of racism is greatly reduced and while Emancipation is considered one of the worst SG1 episodes ever it's still far better than Code of Honour, partially because it lacks much of the nonsense
I'm sorry I just can't agree this episode is worth a 0. Take away the racism angle ''Shades of Grey'' and ''Outrageous Okona'' were worse. Add the racism angle and I still fail to understand how the equally racist ''Tattoo'' and ''Justice'' was in any way superior.
I don't often disagree with Chuck (I've donated twice) but I simply can't agree that this episode deserves less than a 1.
Totally looking forward to Star Trek Open Bracket Two-Thousand Nine Close Bracket next week! The final flight of Randy Newman...unless he makes some goofy Heroes joke.
@KirinjiMcDohl Randy Newman will play again when the equally shit sequel to Star Trek 2009 is released. The actor who played Robocop is in it for fecks sake.
@clearspira Peter Weller is amazing. Haven't you seen Odyssey 5, his appearances in Dexter and ENT (the most compelling villain in all of that series, imho), and Buckaroo Banzai, which I haven't seen but keep intending to...
One of the rare actors who I genuinely think is great in everything I see him in.
The playlist on the website has a problem (it sometimes happens when the videos first go live, I should have it sorted out today). The individual parts should be unaffected.
Merry Christmas, and thanks again for another great year!
Mr Debris, how about this: who is more annoying, Lutan or Okana?
Thechad201 1 month ago in playlist More videos from sfdebris
As an African American, I don't see any racism in this episode. (Whenever whites call out the so-called racism of this episode, I tend to think of it as feeling threatened of seeing so many black people onscreen...or "white guilt").
With that said, sfdebris's comments were interesting...
joel1975 2 months ago
@joel1975 I'm white, but was raised to consider skin color essentially inconsequential. I very rarely if ever define a character by their race. Like Lutan for example. I see a guy who is a colossal jerk and thoroughly unlikable person... but he fact he is black is of no importance to me. I would think the same of him if he was white. His behavior and personality are what matter, not his skin color. Ditto for his people.
The episode is still crummy though.
Kooshmeister3 1 month ago
@Kooshmeister3
Good post.
I agree the episode is not the best, and that Lutan is a jerk...
joel1975 1 month ago
Really? You brought up the amphibian briefcase thing again?
"Amphibian" is a class of animals, but saying something is "amphibian" is just saying that it can live in both land and water. That's what it originally meant at least, but nowadays it can describe anything that is suited to both land and water, Have you never heard of amphibious vehicles?
A briefcase that looks like a fish is amphibian, because briefcases are meant for land, but it also has aquatic characteristics too.
abk0100 2 months ago
Has anyone ever pointed out that 99 Red Balloons is in the opening of the TNG reviews, and yet the lyrics mention Captain Kirk?
abk0100 2 months ago
@JimPlaysGames The sexism in this episode does seem to be overlooked. Tasha crushing on a guy who kidnapped her is just gross. Yareena was too forgiving of the man who tried to get her killed. Lutan should have been left alone and powerless in the end. Hagon needs to watch out. I wouldn't be surprised if, after the episode, he was in an "accident," making Lutan the first one again.
Meushell 2 months ago
Great work! It's worthy of a long review, and it sure got one! But I have to disagree with you about the final score. I definitely rank this one higher than Shades of Gray, The Royale and The Outrageous Okona. Unlike those, this one is in "so bad it's good" territory. The irony of the racism and sexism is hilarious, and the claim about Starfleet's physical training... Come on! This episode is funny! Sure, it sucks, but it's got so much unintentional comedy in it, that it's actually entertaining.
Martymer81 2 months ago
good review, but I was kinda hoping it start with the "Welcome to the Idiocy that is.." that you usually put on the bottom barrel Trek episodes
QX1138 2 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@QX1138 Those are for Voyager episodes.... since the whole series was made of idiocy.
emenentia 2 months ago
One of your best mate. Keep it up and all the best for hollydays
MefCRO 2 months ago
"I surrender" and the X-Men joke, so awesome. :D
kranktank 2 months ago
Even Johnathan Frakes himself hated this one! I loathe it!
WABBITS8 2 months ago
Best review ever and worth waiting for!
amberace 2 months ago
I love how a review about an episode without Worf is featuring the funniest Worf sequence to date.
FlowinEnno 2 months ago
@shuboy05 That's how I feel about Sub Rosa.
aperson22222 2 months ago
At a young age, my family had copies of the first two seasons of TNG on video tape. I watched those episodes over and over and over again, even the horrible ones I'd never dream of looking at now other than in an SFDebris review.
But Code of Honor? Even my kid self wouldn't touch that one more than once. And this is the same younger me that happily rewatched even The Naked Now a number of times.
Kyronea 2 months ago
When I saw this at a young age, I wasn't really conscious of the racism. I don't think I knew about the stereotypes. As far as I remember, it didn't occur to me to really think of their skin colour as anything to pay attention to. I didn't think of them as black humans, I thought of them as aliens. It's clear now that the director was using a racist stereotype, but I think there's also an element of over-sensitivity to such things now. I think the sexism is actually worse than the racism here.
JimPlaysGames 2 months ago
@JimPlaysGames
I prefer to think of it as a "sensor upgrade." We're simply much better at detecting the sexism and racism nowadays. And it is partly because folks have become far more adept at using weasel words, dog whistles, and passive-aggressive tactics (the linguistic equivalent of cloaking technology).
SciFi2285 2 months ago
@SciFi2285 perhaps, but if I can stretch the metaphor, the increased sensitivity of our sensors results in more false positives. Often when someone is criticising someone of another race, the assumption is sometimes made that it is racially motivated. Or when people don't understand the difference between using a racial slur and simply mentioning it. We shouldn't have to go out of our way to assure people we aren't ignorant hateful and prejudiced. But now I'm way off topic.
JimPlaysGames 2 months ago
@JimPlaysGames
A lot of it depends on our ability to analyze the information within the proper context. But, all things being equal, I'd rather do that than fly blind.
SciFi2285 2 months ago
I think you missed a lazarus of the week. Yareena, killed by poison, brought back to life by ... scene change?
TXagnostic 2 months ago
If you think that Code of Honour is racist, than you also cannot enjoy Indiana Jones. On that level, it's the same. Ok, Code of Honor is a silly episode, but i would not consider it racist. Stereotypical maybe.
Exverlobter 2 months ago
@Exverlobter Completely disagree, it is flat out racist. A huge part of racism is the blanket application of stereotypes to a group of people.
Xondar11223344 2 months ago
a 3-part review from you and the RLM Indy 4 review. It was a Merry Christmas on Blip.tv this year. And the 2009 Star Trek movie review from you will make it a Happy New Year.
Thanks again for all your great work.
MattinNC74 2 months ago
At least this forshadowed an annoying aspect of the series,
the theme of honor kept coming up. Almost as if they wanted to counter balence the "progressive" aspect of their future society with something most modern day people consider primative.
charlesvan13 2 months ago
@charlesvan13 Behaving honorably is considered primitive?
aperson22222 2 months ago
If I was meeting that 7up man character I would have taken a flash picture just to see him scream in horror "You stole my sole,"
The totally reminds me of the South Park episode when the class goes on a field trip to the rain forest. But that was a comedy, and this wants you to take it seriously.
charlesvan13 2 months ago
Even after watching the review, I don't get the deep hatred. It was certainly a bad episode, but I don't see it as any worse than most of the season. The racism charge you level depends on accepting that this world is more dystopic than most of the all-white and mixed-race worlds we see, but I don't see how it is. They're technologically crude people who are portrayed as being bound by barbaric cultural norms which the PD forces our heroes to accept. No different, really, from the Aryans in
aperson22222 2 months ago
"Justice," or the Bonnie Tyler Fan Club in "Angel One," et cetera. While they are certainly patriarchal, they're less misogynistic than many pre-modern Earth cultures: The fact that women dominate property ownership means they won't be helpless if their husbands tire of them or disappear. And while Lutan's not a likable character, I did enjoy the performance the actor gave.
My biggest issue was the Data-Geordi scene. Weak character stuff for a duo that we know was capable of so much more. I
aperson22222 2 months ago
also have to ask why Geordi takes off his visor to shave when most men I know prefer to see what we're doing, and why Data took on such a menacing posture to tell his joke. The first time I saw that clip I thought he was going to reveal himself to be Lore, or something.
aperson22222 2 months ago
@aperson22222
I kind of feel that Justice, Angel One, and Code of Honor are equally bad and the three along with Sub Rosa and Shades of Grey are my worst episodes of TNG (but I can't decide which is the worst since I dislike them near equally). It's just that all of those episodes are just so embarrassing to watch. Of course Night in Sickbay and Threshold are even worse when comparing the franchise as a whole.
shuboy05 2 months ago
@shuboy05 For me the worst TNG episode is "The Last Outpost." That one actually hurts to watch. As for the ghosts of Christmas Past you've invoked, I can say that they're, at the very least, not as obviously silly. Performances aren't so over the top, sets and costumes don't look ridiculous (actually McNeill's salamander makeup looked quite good, considering) and the dialogue, especially in "Threshold," didn't make me keep rolling my eyes.
aperson22222 2 months ago
@aperson22222
Agree that the makeup was quite good (heck the episode got an Emmy for that).
Now I'm going to need to rewatch The Last Outpost because I found the episode extremely boring but no where near as bad as the ones I've mentioned.
shuboy05 2 months ago
This episode made me cringe on so many levels. Wow it was so horrible, i even considered not watching the show again when i first saw it..and i was just a pre-teen then.
yaahyak 2 months ago
wow 0? really? guess it deserved it.
eyallev 2 months ago
Episodes like this made me wonder what the hell was up with the prime directive, what with the enterprise crew making diplomatic relations with such a CLEARLY primitive culture, and it happened SEVERAL times in the early seasons. I'm certain there was one episode where they encountered people who didn't even have a concept of space travel!
wakeangel2001 2 months ago
SF made many great points in this but the two that stood out to me was this.
But his best one was in casting. Heck thinking about it more so many times it is hard to find black people as extras, hell even half of the Klingons (a people with brown skin) are played by white people . Yet this backwards behind world you could only get black people.
Joeybsmooth 2 months ago
I tried to watch this episode before watching the review, and I barely made it through it. I kept having to pause it to take breaks from the awfulness, What helped me through it was wondering what Chuck would say about what I saw.
Incidentally, he didn't mention one thing: how horribly this episode drags. I'm pretty sure the exposition and otherwise irrelevant plot elements were just there to pad out the episode. People even talked slower.
Also, Tasha sounds really weak, like a little girl.
trlkly 2 months ago
Ha Yar's revenge
rmeddy1 2 months ago
"This is becoming a speech."
So, that's the episode where that part of the Captain Picard song comes from. I wasn't sure which one it was until I watched this review.
ExplodingConsole 2 months ago
RE expository dialoge: 1) people do talk this way in real life (oftentimes considering themselves an authority on something that they can't acknowledge is common knowledge); 2) if they'd just had a character who wasn't briefed on these guys, and everyone was explaining it to that character, it would've worked. Pretty stupid that no one inserted this work-around.
depaderico 2 months ago
Sfdebris, you have made me a happy man tonight.
1. You mentioned Fight Club, an awesome book.
2. Feliz Navidad
3. Star Trek (2009) review. Whether you liked the movie or not, I cannot wait. :DDDDD
sfs2040 2 months ago 3
sadly the movie inception used that super annoying exposition approach. i was thinking to myself. why are they "refreshing" each others memory? is it for the new girl? or the audience? either way, i was thoroughly annoyed by the end. i wanted to slap someone
hurmpfff 2 months ago
@sfdebris
You are right; I had forgotten about this episode. This is the one episode of TNG that is worse than "Shades of Gray" by far.
CALQL8R 2 months ago
You have forever ruined Worf for me! WHY!?
RabiesBunny 2 months ago
The Outrageous Okona was a two part episode.
And this is a three part one?
Oh god, can it possibly be that bad?
KatayokoNoTenshi 2 months ago
I remember when one of my friends was trying to watch TNG and I think he got to this episode and asked "Is it all like this? Because if it is, I'll probably not bother."
I think it's a real testament to the Trek legacy (or possibly the sheer awfulness of early 90s TV) that this managed to stay on long enough to actually get good. A season one like this would kill most shows... but then this kind of set the tradition for taking 3 years to get their groove on for Trek shows...
ProphetTenebrae 2 months ago
Awesome review.
Trencher1375 2 months ago
This ep ain't great, but Sub Rosa is worse...
iluvatar003 2 months ago
@notpointed In the episode "Allegiance," during a conversation they have a small bit where everyone is saying what they all know.
TEAL'C: Not Nirrti, an Ashrak. A highly trained Goa'uld assassin of great strength and power, most likely in the service of Anubis.
FRAISER: Wasn't it an Ashrak who was able to penetrate SGC security and try to kill Major Carter?
TEAL'C: Indeed. The Ashrak succeeded in killing Jolinar, to whom Major Carter was host.
O'NEILL: That guy wasn't invisible.
Meushell 2 months ago
Merry Xmas, sir!
Glad to see another great review!
ZJP 2 months ago
Wil Wheaton wrote a rather humorous and snark filled review of this episode. You can find the link on the Wikipedia article of this episode.
bildo1977 2 months ago
@bildo1977 if you enjoyed that you should listen to his podcast "Memories of the Futurecast" where he reads sections of a book made from those reviews. It's especially gratifying to hear Wil Wheaton taking the piss out of Wesley Crusher. And he does an impression of Lutan doing the line "Then you shall have NO treaty, NO vaccine and NO Lt. Yar!" It's hilarious.
JimPlaysGames 2 months ago
@JimPlaysGames It's on my to-do list now. :)
bildo1977 2 months ago
Holy cow star trek open brackets 2009 close brackets review AND new Sherlock next weekend? I thought today was christmas! Awesome review as ever, and a very merry christmas to all. :)
mushroomshrub 2 months ago
Merry Christmas Mr Debris, and thanks for the reviews, and hours of chuckling.
DonAlcopop 2 months ago
Before today I was sure I'd heard every episode of TNG.
Now, I wish I hadn't.
TheJboy88 2 months ago
Beware! TNG season 1 O_O
Nitiiii11 2 months ago
I'm disappointed that you didn't say anything about Yarr's final line, where she actually is attracted to Lutan even after learning what a colossal, manipulating prick he was. That was the most sexist moment in all of Trek.
Regardless, great review.
Nyarlathoteplol 2 months ago
@Nyarlathoteplol I must say I disagree with you there. It's pretty dodgy I grant you, but Yar still fancying him regardless could be interpreted as Stockholm syndrome or maybe she just likes a bit of rough. McGivers still fancying Kahn after he beat her is the most sexist moment in Trek.
clearspira 2 months ago
@clearspira McGivers was portrayed as a weak willed, mentally unstable follower who gets exhiled along with Khan in the end. In this episode, everyone acts as if Yarr's behavior is totally normal.
And being attracted to someone who tries to get you killed in a moneymaking scheme isn't "liking it a bit rough."
Nyarlathoteplol 2 months ago
@Nyarlathoteplol Actually yes it is. Why do you think there are literally millions upon millions of abused women that stay with their piece of shit wife beating husbands if at least some of them aren't turned on by it? and I refuse to believe that every single beaten woman is trapped in some way.
Oh and the McGivers being a weak willed, mentally unstable follower is more sexist that Yar's comment.
clearspira 2 months ago
@clearspira Then you don't know much about how abusive relationships operate. Most frequently when the abusive partner escalates to killing or severely injuring their victim, it's because the abused partner tried to leave them. Additionally, abusers maintain power over their victims by doing everything they can to take away their autonomy and independence, emotionally and financially, and isolating them from friends and family. Leaving an abusive relationship is *not easy*.
TheNarratorNarration 2 months ago
@TheNarratorNarration very true
bradwolf07 2 months ago
@clearspira In "Space Seed," everyone acted like McGivers had gone insane, which she basically had. In this episode, everyone seemed to think that Yarr's sentiment was perfectly normal and to be expected. That's what makes this episode much more sexist than Space Seed.
On the other hand, I may still be wrong because of the season seven episode "Sub Rosa." That may actually be more sexist than this one.
Nyarlathoteplol 2 months ago
@clearspira Not necessarily - that episode was all we saw of her, we don't know what psychological issues she has as an individual, rather than as a female.
Yar is already relatively established at this point, and is shown as being relatively stable. Introducing this fetish for strong men to her character sort of hints that, in the ideology of the text, it's something more widespread than the individual.
David171985 2 months ago
@clearspira
Check out (or don't) Denise Crosby's episode of the Red Shoes Diaries. She basically kidnaps a man in order to "have her way" with him and he ends up falling in love. For some reason Crosby likes playing up the creepy roles
shuboy05 2 months ago
The Honor and Courage part cracked me up!
iLaurock 2 months ago
Knew this ep was going to get roasted worse than my turkey when I saw it had three parts to it.
Octavius433 2 months ago
Merry Christmas SfDebri and fellow fans!
Cape Cod, MA
bsgtrekfan88 2 months ago
Bringing Wesley into this episode at all seems totally out of left field.
Is it just me or about halfway through Part 2 (right after the French language joke) are Picard, Troi, and Beverly standing ridiculously close together?
jliller 2 months ago
You guys should check out my Yesterday's Enterprise Review: watch?v=6P7S_hUlRpQ
Yewon2001 2 months ago
@clearspira That's my allegory for TNG because of the date (my opinion). Berman was there from TNG, DS9, VOY, ENT, and the movies (Fact). Said aspect does not define the quality of every episode / film where he was credited. The the soon to be review from Abrams' movie is only a tease. Regardless of quality of this re-boot, I expect a lot of comedy / insight from the review. Until then, I need to re-assemble the gingerbread house I dropped with glue and duck-tape. Do not eat!
cloudskyff7 2 months ago
@cloudskyff7
But the duct tape and glue are the best part!
thunderphoenix440 2 months ago 4
Going on about everyone talking about what they already knew cracked me up. Stargate has a scene where the characters do just that.
I don't agree that the Edo (from "Justice") came off looking good. Writer's intent or not, they were trigger happy, sex-crazed idiots.
Meushell 2 months ago
@Meushell which scene do you mean?
notpointed 2 months ago
Merry Christmas, Chuck!
Asher8328 2 months ago
This episode was broadcast in 1987. Many of the attitudes shown in it were common at the time in Africa.
I guess when we show the misogyny or racism of whites, it's okay, but it's not okay when they're black.
cfs3mytube 2 months ago
@cfs3mytube But the episode doesn't take place in sub-Saharan Africa, nor does it it parallel situations in sub-Saharan Africa in some way that could be taken as political commentary. In fact, the script makes comparisons to ancient Earth cultures everywhere *but* Africa.
And the attitudes of the "enlightened" Star Fleet officers are quite misogynistic as well. Suggesting that Yar, a rape survivor, is flattered by a guy forcibly abducting her as property is just... disgusting.
TheNarratorNarration 2 months ago 5
Thank you, Chuck! Merry Christmas, to you and yours!
IanRed 2 months ago
I have to say, I think this qualifies as the worst Trek episode ever. Something like "Spock's Brain" is stupid and completely implausible, but it's not offensive (well, beyond typical '60s sexism). They are plenty of stupid trek episodes, but this episode manages to be racist, sexist, AND stupid, all at the same time.
Cassadinegirlaz 2 months ago
I DID find it amusing in the Data scene when Geordi tried to run out of the room WITHOUT HIS VISOR when Data tried to tell a joke.
thunderphoenix440 2 months ago
Also, under your definitions, this episode's name is actually "Code of Balls".
One other thing that really stuck in my craw with this episode was the horrible wannabe-TOS music. It was really the crap topping on the vomit cake.
Oh, and if you don't trash Trek '09, you might want to consider hiring bodyguards, some Trek fans might put out a hit on you. :P
thunderphoenix440 2 months ago
@thunderphoenix440 Don't worry - look at the ending of Nemesis where he has Kirk's car with that music playing in the background. There WILL be trash talk.
clearspira 2 months ago
Take this idea. TNG, just the idea of more trek, was an amazing present you wanted. Then after all that wrapping and plastic you see, "Assembly Required". Your also missing crucial parts to this cursed yet amazing thing. So you order the parts and wait. But, Murphy's Law seems to love you and one part never arrives and the other is Pulaski. Eventually you fix the years old gift, but had to strip a part labeled berman and will never come off until the Abrams' addon, but is it any good??
cloudskyff7 2 months ago
@cloudskyff7 And then, by stripping the parts labelled Berman and Braga and gaining Abrams, we work out that, actually, Berman and Braga were actually pretty good.
clearspira 2 months ago
@clearspira I'd say we discover that Ron D. Moore was really good and should have been in charge of Star Trek from TNG on.
Xondar11223344 2 months ago
I'm watching your review right now, and you say the director is responsible for the racism, and while I agree that it was his choice to cast all black people, I would like to note that the writer of this episode, Katharyn Powers, also wrote Stargate SG-1's Emancipation, which is a very early episode that features the show's short-haired blonde female character facing the sexist attitudes of an alien culture that resembles an ancient Earth culture and is made up entirely of non-whites.
GeneralNerd 2 months ago 2
@GeneralNerd "female character facing the sexist attitudes of an alien culture that resembles an ancient Earth culture and is made up entirely of non-whites." Hmm you know given that they both involve female victimisation its possible that the Racism was accidental, and the result of poor writing then ill intent. Powers may be an extreme anti Feminist and want to make a comment on the poor treatment of women in history, but do to clumsiness or contempt took the negativity to far.
CommissarRed 2 months ago
@CommissarRed Sorry I meant Anti Sexist not anti feminist,
CommissarRed 2 months ago
@GeneralNerd but I must say the level of racism is greatly reduced and while Emancipation is considered one of the worst SG1 episodes ever it's still far better than Code of Honour, partially because it lacks much of the nonsense
notpointed 2 months ago
@notpointed
well, at least it had Carter wearing... that thing.
Valikdu 2 months ago
@GeneralNerd
Ironically Emancipation was ALSO Stargate's fourth episode.
shuboy05 2 months ago
@shuboy05 fourth? its s1e3
petrino 2 months ago
@petrino
Emancipation is listed as the fourth episode in the production order (since the pilot is two hours they typically list them as two episode).
shuboy05 2 months ago
The review was even funnier then I anticipated. Thanks Chuck.
I acually watched Code of Honor in preperation a few days ago. So I laughed quite hard when you said "Or dont watch it at all".
ThePariahDark 2 months ago
This is a great Christmas present. :3
jhohcable 2 months ago
I'm sorry I just can't agree this episode is worth a 0. Take away the racism angle ''Shades of Grey'' and ''Outrageous Okona'' were worse. Add the racism angle and I still fail to understand how the equally racist ''Tattoo'' and ''Justice'' was in any way superior.
I don't often disagree with Chuck (I've donated twice) but I simply can't agree that this episode deserves less than a 1.
clearspira 2 months ago
This is my favorite episode!! Just kidding.
Monty22001 2 months ago
I remember seeing this episode a year or so ago, and I thought it was SOOOO racist. Easily as bad as "Shades of Gray" :)
I'm going to watch the review soon, I'm curious to know why this episode deserves such a long review.
Foebane72 2 months ago
Totally looking forward to Star Trek Open Bracket Two-Thousand Nine Close Bracket next week! The final flight of Randy Newman...unless he makes some goofy Heroes joke.
KirinjiMcDohl 2 months ago
@KirinjiMcDohl Randy Newman will play again when the equally shit sequel to Star Trek 2009 is released. The actor who played Robocop is in it for fecks sake.
clearspira 2 months ago
@clearspira Peter Weller is amazing. Haven't you seen Odyssey 5, his appearances in Dexter and ENT (the most compelling villain in all of that series, imho), and Buckaroo Banzai, which I haven't seen but keep intending to...
One of the rare actors who I genuinely think is great in everything I see him in.
David171985 2 months ago
Comment removed
happosai27 2 months ago
NOOOOOOOOO!!! Sorry. Just I hate the ep. Love your reviews.
nightwing4077 2 months ago
worst episode of all of star trek
CIarKent 2 months ago
@CIarKent What about Threshold and Spock's Brain?
FNGLHR 2 months ago
@CIarKent What? Even worse than "Threshold"? ;)
Foebane72 2 months ago
@CIarKent 11.59 was worse.
clearspira 2 months ago
@CIarKent I would vote for Outrageous Okona as the worst episode.
Asher8328 2 months ago
Code of Honor, a real Christmas classic.
erisi236 2 months ago
A Two-parter?! Merry Christmas to us all! Enjoy the rest of your holiday, Mr. Debris!
KirinjiMcDohl 2 months ago
@KirinjiMcDohl Three Parter ;)
Perion 2 months ago
The playlist on the website has a problem (it sometimes happens when the videos first go live, I should have it sorted out today). The individual parts should be unaffected.
Merry Christmas, and thanks again for another great year!
sfdebris 2 months ago 10
@sfdebris
Hey Chuck, really, thank you for your entertaining reviews and bringing a little bit of joy into our lives.
Nothingisasitseems 2 months ago