“Worst Star Trek Episode Ever Made”: This was in 1987, and the stars of the series flatly deny it.

Jonathan Frakes gained international fame as Commander William T. Star Trek: The Next Generation as Riker. And while she has a lot to be proud of during her time on the show, there’s one episode I’m beyond ashamed of — and it’s not the only one.

Since its inception, Star Trek has been synonymous with inclusion and diversity. Gene Roddenberry’s vision was a utopia in which humans would unite and explore space side by side. But the creators of the show have not always been able to do justice to this idea. The low point of the series with Patrick Stewart came in episode 4 of the first season Star Trek: The Next Generation (Episode 4, if we count the two parts of the episode “Rendez-vous à Farpoint” as two separate episodes), the episode which Jonathan Frakes He hates it so much that he reiterated his disdain during a panel last month.

Shame, which is an “honor code”

In the episode in question, titled “Code of Honor,” the Enterprise crew members visit the planet Ligon II to urgently return the vaccine to the planet Styris IV. On Lygon II, they then attempt to negotiate a treaty that will allow them to obtain the precious resource. But in order to leave this planet, Lieutenant Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) must first fight the local warrior Lutan (Jesse Lawrence Ferguson), who wants to marry her. After her refusal, Ligonelli kidnaps her and things get complicated.

Originally, the Ligonians were described as a reptilian species and their culture was intended to recall the Japanese samurai. However, the episode’s director, Russ Mayberry, took the liberty of having only black actors play the Lygons. In addition, Ligon culture was represented in a primitive form, clichés and stereotypes of various African cultures. In the years since its release, many members of the cast and crew have denounced the episode for its blatant racism.

as for Ras MayberryHe just thanked her Gene Roddenberry And was never called to direct the second episode A grave road. In a review of the episode, author Keith RA DeCandido wrote: “Apparently, the casting of an all-African-American cast as aggressively primitive Lygonians was not a good fit.” to the creator of the series, hence his decision.

Generalized total rejection

Last month, GalaxyCon brought it together Jonathan Frakes, Dennis Crosby and John de Lance (Q) for a virtual event dedicated to Star Trek: The Next Generation. during the panel, Jonathan Frakes Thus he recalled the episode where he spoke of his deep embarrassment and denied any good intentions on the part of those responsible.

It wasn’t the first time Frakes had shown his distaste for the episode. TrekMovie reported that in 2011, the actor once told her “M**** racist” during the STLV panel. And he is not alone. In 2012, Brent Spinner (Data) also told TrekMovie that he felt the “code of honor” was “racist” and “Worse” series episode. During a TNG reunion panel in 2013, Michael Dorn (Worf) also called him “The worst Star Trek episode ever madeAnd during a DragonCon 2010 panel, Levar Barton (Geordi La Forge) agreed with the assessment that the episode “It is bad, no doubt“. Finally, in the book Fifty Year Mission: The Next 25 YearsSeason one writer Tracy Torme stated that the episode simply “Offensive“.

On the other hand, fans and critics alike do not favor it, far from it, as evidenced by its IMDb rating, which is the lowest among the episodes of the first season, which itself is considered the worst of the entire series. Some fans even called the “honor code” sexist, aside from the obvious racism. Den of Geek joins in Michael Dorn calling it “The worst Star Trek episode ever made”, Jammers describes it as “stupidScreenprism describes it aspure garbage“And OkayAfrica, a magazine that covers the arts, sports and politics of African countries, describes it as “Absurdly racist“. Everyone agrees, so it is written.

Star Trek: The Next Generation season 7 is available on Netflix, MyCanal or Paramount+.

A similar article has already been published on our German site Filmstarts.de.