Title: Code Of Honor
Airdate: 10/12/1987
Plot Summary
The Enterprise arrives at a planet where they have a vaccine that is desperately needed by another colony. Lutan, the leader of the people has the vaccine but there is a lot of protocol and honor and well… hoops the crew has to jump through to satisfy him. Upon seeing Yar and her physical prowess, he kidnaps her and beams her back down to the planet in a show of boldness. The crew agrees to go through the ceremony to ask for her back in a show of respect but he backs down on his word and wants to make Yar his first wife, enraging his current first wife and demanding a battle to the death with Yar. Yar doesn’t want to kill anyone but they need the vaccine. And what is this society hiding?
Make It So
Picard really has his struggles with the prime directive. He certainly will not violate it but is also not going to leave a man behind. It would be so easy to just start phasering everyone, get Yar and vaccine but he won’t do it. So he has to come up with a sneaky plan that works for everyone. Except Lutan.
Number 1
Riker isn’t happy with Picard allowing Yar to go through with the fight but understands the plan at the end.
Fully Functional
Data mostly just studies the weapons and helps Yar to know what’s what. She doesn’t need much help. He also has a moment with Geordi in his endless quest to understand humor with a shit joke and Geordi nearly killing himself. Well ok, I’m being a dramatic, he just tried unsuccessfully to escape.
Today Is A Good Day To Die
Worf is there. Somewhere.
Phase Inducers
Geordi has to deal with Data’s humor. He also is able to see the poison on the weapon Yar has to use.
Counselor Cleavage
Troi correctly reads that Lutan is up to no good but isn’t sure what. She also makes Yar confront her own feelings on Lutan though I don’t think it was really necessary. Sure she was attracted to him on a primal level but not to any degree that she would betray the ship or anything. She’s no Marla McGivers.
Dancing Doctor
Crusher is able to bring Yareena back to life after losing to Yar in the fight.
Security Chief Dead Meat
She had a fight to the death but fortunately was able to escape death. She shows off her aikido skills to Lutan in the holodeck before getting kidnapped. She’s able to quickly jump on Yareena and they both beam up to the ship for Crusher to do her magic.
Shut Up, Wesley
Wesley gets to sit at ops for a while while they are orbiting.
Canon Maker
Really not much that I could pick out.
Canon Breaker
Wesley just getting to sit at the ops station because its fun is just annoying as hell. Later on when he’s enrolled in the academy and studying while on board the Enterprise, his duties at helm are more of an internship for lack of a better word. Point is, I could buy it. But here? He’s just a punk kid who playing around. Drives me nuts these early episodes.
Data calls French “an obscure language” much to Picard’s annoyance. I really don’t think “obscure” makes sense as we’ll see later on. French may not be the predominant language in the 24th century but I hardly believe it’s just become latin either.
A Little Bloody Nose
One poor bastard in the stands dies from catching a poisoned weapon in the gut. Yareena dies but she gets better.
Technobabble
This is the first time we see the holodeck without a program running. The giant yellow grid pattern on black background. Yar uses some sort of panel to create the Aikido opponent but later everyone would just use voice commands.
I Know That Guy:
Jessie Lawrence Ferguson played Lutan. His biggest role would be Officer Coffey in Boyz In The Hood.
Karole Selmon played Yareena. This was probably her best known role.
Jim Watkins plays Hagon. He had a lot of bit parts after this.
What It Means To Be Human – Review
This is the episode everyone mistakenly thinks is the racist episode because its stupid and the aliens are all black. That’s just nonsense. Good rule of thumb, if you switched it out for any other race, including fake ones like Klingons, would it still be as stupid? The answer is a resounding “Yes.”
Ok they have a weird culture based on honor and respect or whatever. They come across like primitives. But they also have transporter technology and advanced medicine? But they don’t have warp speed? And transporters are no big deal but a holodeck is like magic sorcery to them?
Those are the contradictions that make it stupid. The Klingons have honor challenges to the death, sure. But they don’t behave like primitives. It’s all so ridiculous. But because they used a black race for all the aliens on this planet, typically they look only at skin color and make a judgement that it’s racist. You know. Like what actual racists do.
My biggest gripe with this episode and so many in season 1 is that they feel like some of the lousier episodes of the original series. Like the Kapellans who wore curtains, and acted a lot like this. I can give those episodes somewhat of a pass because the entire show feels dated in many respects. Like a product of the 60s. Doesn’t mean I don’t love the show in general, but it does have a certain atmosphere about it that you can kind of accept some of those type of episodes.
But even in the 80s, this bullshit doesn’t fly anymore. You can’t have more modern sensibilities in an episode that was dredged up from some screenplay from the 60s. I know they didn’t but DC Fontana invited a friend of hers to write a screenplay. They both came from that era. Plus Gene Roddenberry and his lunatic showrunner at the time were a little stuck in their thinking and that’s why the first season feels so off from the rest of the seasons. People don’t give Rick Berman enough credit.
This fight to death trope, who gets to be who’s wife, it’s just all so tiresome.
