Since the beginning, Star Trek has stood for Inclusion and diversityGene Roddenberry’s vision was a utopia in which humans are united and explore space together with other beings. But the series creators have not always managed to live up to this idea. The low point of the popular Star Trek series with Patrick Stewart came in the fourth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Jonathan Frakes, who played Commander William T. Riker, hates this episode so muchthat he once again expressed his displeasure at the panel of the fan event GalaxyCon. In addition to Frakes, Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) and John de Lancie (Q) were also invited to this event.
This is how badly racist the Star Trek episode The Code of Honor is
This is what the Star Trek episode is about: The crew of the Enterprise visits the planet Ligon II, where a vaccine against Anchilles fever exists. The leader of the Ligonians, Lutan (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), is impressed by Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) and wants to make her his wife. After she refuses, the Ligonian kidnaps her.
Paramount
Star Trek episode The Code of Honor
Originally, the Ligonians are portrayed as a reptilian species. Their culture was supposed to be somewhat reminiscent of the Japanese samurai. However, the director of the episode, Russ Mayberry, decided to have the Ligonians portrayed by black actors.
They portrayed the Ligonian culture as primitive and adopted Clichés and Stereotypes of different African cultures. This was the first and last time Mayberry had anything to do with Star Trek.
Jonathan Frakes and his colleagues reject the Star Trek episode
The fan site Trek Movie reports Frakes’ mention of the episode during the GalaxyCon panel and other opinions about the episode. The episode belongs one of the most unpopular episodes among both critics and audiencesThis is evidenced, among other things, by the low IMDb rating of 5.1.
Den of Geek even calls it the “worst episode of Star Trek ever filmed”. OkayAfrica , a magazine for art, sports and politics from African countries, describes the episode as “absurdly racist”.
Many of Frakes’ colleagues have also expressed negative views on the episode’s disgrace. No one in the cast has a good word to say about this episode. Brent Spiner (Data) and LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge) called the episode racist and the worst in the series.