Throughout the Voyager series, the doctor struggles to define his identity and to understand his place within the fabric of social structure. Despite superior knowledge of medicine and skill that rivals any human doctor, he is not considered desirable as a physician or as a friend because of his status as a hologram. The dilemma […]
Posts in the Trek category:
Star Trek tear jerkers
I ran across an article this morning by Jordan Hoffman listing his top ten Star Trek tear-jerker moments. They are pretty good, and he invited comments at the end. I decided, instead, to do a series about my own favorite tear-jerkers. It is not So, to get us started…Belle’s death (Voyager, season 3, episode 22In […]
Do you understand?
When the Crew of the U.S.S. starship Voyager is stranded in the Delta Quadrant, they meet up with an alien from a planet called Talax whose name is Nelix. Nelix is a wanderer, having lost his family in a war previously; and he joins Voyager as a guide. He brings with him a companion, a […]
I wish I could be…
In Survivors, Deanna Troi gives Tasha an intriguing piece of advice as Tasha struggles to come to terms with her past. She says, “Tasha, you want to be the iron woman, able to defeat all enemies with any weapon or your bare hands, all pertinent facts ready at hand. Data has the physical strength and […]
Melora, self-advocacy, and effective relationships
In the last entry, we met Ensign Melora Pazlar, who was a guest on Deep Space Nine in the second season. Because Melora is native to a low-gravity environment, she uses a wheelchair to navigate Deep Space Nine. The episode entitled “Melora” explores the interplay of her and the crew’s reactions to her situation.When Melora […]
“The Melora Problem”: opening thoughts
I am amazed at the depth of issues the Star Trek writers can sometimes tackle in one episode. In the “disability community,” people often lament the rarity of disability themes in television shows. Star Trek sometimes tackles issues associated with life as a person with a disability amazingly well. One of my favorite such episodes […]
issues of difference: a unique twist
One of the interesting themes explored in Star Trek, Deep Space Nine, is the ongoing societal and personal impact of the use of genetic resequencing. This idea was first introduced in The Original Series but was not really explored again in The Next Generation. In Deep Space Nine, we learn rather late in the series, […]
healthy grief
In season 2 of Star Trek, Deep Space Nine, Commander Benjamin Sisko continues to wrestle with his feelings about Jennifer’s death. In the beginning of episode 9, he says, “Yesterday was the fourth anniversary of the massacre at Wolf 359, the fourth anniversary of Jennifer’s death. I’m not sure what bothers me more, the date […]
coping with the nonlinear
In the second episode of Star Trek, Deep Space Nine, Captain Benjamin Sisko encounters a race of noncorporeal beings who inhabit a stable wormhole leading between the Alpha and Gamma quadrants. The noncorporeal beings do not understand the concept of time; and Sisko tries to explain to them that humans experience life in a “linear […]
why I like Star Trek
As a seminary student, I got into the habit of watching episodes of Star Trek Voyager when I was under stress. I told my roommate that Star Trek made me think. She probably thought I was making a fine excuse for my Voyager addiction. What fun I had when my leadership class spent a class […]