TNG: Symbiosis

[clearspira]

https://sfdebris.com/videos/startrek/t123.php

There are some episodes in season one of TNG that I think would have made for great season 5 episodes and this is one of them. The idea as a concept is workable but is let down by the writing of its time.

For example, it is impossible to side with the Space Yuppies no matter what their arguments because they are clearly contemptible people who simply do not care that they are causing great suffering. Here's a suggestion: how about making them ignorant of the truth of the felicium? That way, we could have a greater emphasis on ''our society is going to burn in flames if you reveal the truth to them'' which would really have helped here.

Surely the entire planet cannot be in on this conspiracy. Lets be real here: from what we are told, Picard has just collapsed their global economy. There are a lot of completely innocent people who are going to wake up tomorrow to learn that they can no longer put food on their table because their government are a bunch of crooks and the Federation refused to help. Yeah sure, they could improve and develop like Picard says. But it is equally likely that they are going to be shanking each other for toilet paper by the end of the week.

Or worse, if they do hold it together, that an interplanetary war is going to break out. The Onarans are not going to be pissed off once they learn the truth, no? They are not going to want to rip the 80's perms straight off these people for causing them so much preventable suffering?

Picard at his worst was allowing a pink-clad little girl to die and comparing the Crystalline Entity killing people to a whale eating crayfish - but this has to be up there. It is a decision worthy of Jonathan Archer.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Yeah but it's heavily aligned to stealing. A Robinhood defense would be really strained by the fact that they're using rules of commerce to arbitrate the drugs back to them from Picard's possession. Okay now too, how does Picard violate the prime directive by simply projecting scientific fact? Is he supposed to go so far as to lie about the biological assessment of the people being exploited directly to them?

[pilight]

I remember liking this episode, relative to the rest of season one.

Picard was in a tough spot here. There's not really a good option for him. I agree with Chuck the the Prime Directive is properly applied here, Picard is keeping the Federation out of the affairs of these two backwater planets. He's willing to be a Good Samaritan up to the point that it's going to lead to assisting in the exploitation.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Chuck saying it's not unfunny is an understatement it's very very not unfunny.

[Valikdu]

I'm with Ross Scott on this episode; to me, it's more a case of "...wait, the hell did Picard just do?"