3 ms·

Sorry to go on a tangent, but I am surprised how many TNG episodes have 'alien species that is thinly veiled stand-in for some human race'. And this is a show t

by Gunax 6y ago

Sorry to go on a tangent, but I am surprised how many TNG episodes have 'alien species that is thinly veiled stand-in for some human race'. And this is a show that would have been woke for it's time. [1] https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Up_The_Long_Ladder_(episode) https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Up_The_Long_Ladder_(epi... [2] https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Code_of_Honor_(episode) https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Code_of_Honor_(episode)

gumby 6y ago
Well science fiction is merely a way to examine current society. The SF angle is an attempt to get a little "outside" perspective. It's pretty hard to make truly alien aliens, as the more alien they are, the harder they are to understand, identify with etc, making the stories themselves less interesting. The aliens in The Gods Themselves are pretty alien but still have, from time to time, a human-like mode of thinking which Asimov used to explain their behavior. The Bug Wars is the only book I've read that has no humans at all, though the aliens' mentalities are somewhat human, again to make them comprehensible. Famously "different" aliens (e.g. Moties, the bugs of Ender's Game & sequels) are actually pretty human in motivation. And the inscrutable aliens (e.g. Starship Troopers) are clearly inscrutable stand-ins for contemporary political enemies. The various literature on intelligent machines has the same problem.
- agumonkey 6y ago
  Arrival was a good attempt at that
dasyatidprime 6y ago
Not to detract from the whole point as far as Star Trek showing its social-commentary age, but AFAIK “Code of Honor” specifically was very much an early outlier in TNG history, including starting with a director who didn't direct any other Star Trek episodes.
- walshemj 6y ago
  The writer did get it made again as an early sg1 episode - though Sam Did look cute in her steppes princess outfit
matheusmoreira 6y ago
Ah, the insane early TNG episodes... For every Measure of a Man and Q Who, there's loads of this. Here's more fun recaps: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E3CodeOfHonor https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext... https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E18UpTheLongLadder https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext... Honorable mentions: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E7Justice https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext... https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E13AngelOne https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext...
jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago
Yeah, it's pretty bad. Babylon 5 is super blatant about it, bordering on racist stereotypes.
yongjik 6y ago
Tangent on a tangent, but my daughter was recently binge-watching The Clone Wars animated series and at one point I had to ask: "So they have Space Asians there?" Well, they already have Space Knights, Space Gunmen, and Space Witches, so why not.

by Gunax 6y ago

gumby 6y ago

Well science fiction is merely a way to examine current society. The SF angle is an attempt to get a little "outside" perspective. It's pretty hard to make truly alien aliens, as the more alien they are, the harder they are to understand, identify with etc, making the stories themselves less interesting. The aliens in The Gods Themselves are pretty alien but still have, from time to time, a human-like mode of thinking which Asimov used to explain their behavior. The Bug Wars is the only book I've read that has no humans at all, though the aliens' mentalities are somewhat human, again to make them comprehensible. Famously "different" aliens (e.g. Moties, the bugs of Ender's Game & sequels) are actually pretty human in motivation. And the inscrutable aliens (e.g. Starship Troopers) are clearly inscrutable stand-ins for contemporary political enemies. The various literature on intelligent machines has the same problem.

agumonkey 6y ago
Arrival was a good attempt at that

dasyatidprime 6y ago

Not to detract from the whole point as far as Star Trek showing its social-commentary age, but AFAIK “Code of Honor” specifically was very much an early outlier in TNG history, including starting with a director who didn't direct any other Star Trek episodes.

walshemj 6y ago
The writer did get it made again as an early sg1 episode - though Sam Did look cute in her steppes princess outfit

matheusmoreira 6y ago

Ah, the insane early TNG episodes... For every Measure of a Man and Q Who, there's loads of this. Here's more fun recaps: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E3CodeOfHonor https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext... https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E18UpTheLongLadder https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext... Honorable mentions: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E7Justice https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext... https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS1E13AngelOne https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/StarTrekTheNext...

jasonwatkinspdx 6y ago

Yeah, it's pretty bad. Babylon 5 is super blatant about it, bordering on racist stereotypes.

yongjik 6y ago

Tangent on a tangent, but my daughter was recently binge-watching The Clone Wars animated series and at one point I had to ask: "So they have Space Asians there?" Well, they already have Space Knights, Space Gunmen, and Space Witches, so why not.