by Hbasm
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This post has been edited 3 time(s). Prior versions are displayed from the original.

Original message modified Jan 15, 2004 @ 19:12:
Topic: A mess that got worse in the end... but...
I'm somewhat relieved to see that it was about fanatism only, and not religion in general. I was afraid it was going to be "religion bashing" as someone said here but that's not how I percieve this episode.

But I think O. Deus's review is spot on! The episode has all the problems he mention, and was quite messy in the portrayal of this species religion. Some elements were taken out of todays major religions, and I don't really see how it fits in. Things like abortion, about the proper way to treat the enemy, about paradise, are much more complex matters than even hinted at here. These elements were just thrown together. Maybe if the story took ONE thing and went into detail about that, it wouldn't seem so crazy.

On the other hand, it was probably wise not to go into details about things like I mentioned above and risk to alienate half the audience who believe in something else. I will make a very strong point out of saying: It's NOT Star Trek's job to teach religion, and that includes taking a stand on religious beliefs.

There was some focus on violence as a result of fanatism, which I think is fine to bring up. But apart from that, the second half of the episode developed into a mindless "lets regain control over the ship" story which dropped all reasoning and sense on the floor. I was bored and ashamed. The worst thing is, I don't understand why TPTB can do this; it's certainly not going to save the Trek franchine! Time to END this mindless action.

The episode had a few interesting moments but honestly I can't give this more than "4" on Trekweb's rating scale.

Message modified Jan 15, 2004 @ 19:15:
Topic: A mess that got worse in the end... but...
I'm somewhat relieved to see that it was about fanatism only, and not religion in general. I was afraid it was going to be "religion bashing" as someone said here but that's not how I percieve this episode.

But I think O. Deus's review is spot on! The episode has all the problems he mention, and was quite messy in the portrayal of this species religion. Some elements were taken out of todays major religions, and I don't really see how it fits in. Things like abortion, about the proper way to treat the enemy, about paradise, are much more complex matters than even hinted at here. These elements were just thrown together. Maybe if the story took ONE thing and went into detail about that, it wouldn't seem so crazy.

On the other hand, it was probably wise not to go into details about such things and risk to alienate half the audience who believe in something else. I will make a very strong point out of saying: It's NOT Star Trek's job to teach religion, and that includes taking a stand on religious beliefs.

There was some focus on violence as a result of fanatism, which I think is fine to bring up. Some religion can amplify hatred and that's very sad. I believe in peace, even with the enemy.

But then the second half of the episode developed into a mindless "lets regain control over the ship" story which dropped all reasoning and sense on the floor. I was bored and ashamed. The worst thing is, I don't understand why TPTB can do this; it's certainly not going to save the Trek franchine! Time to END this mindless action.

The episode had a few interesting moments but honestly I can't give this more than 3 or 4 on Trekweb's rating scale.

Message modified Jan 15, 2004 @ 19:20:
Topic: A mess that got worse in the end... but...
I'm somewhat relieved to see that it was about fanatism only, and not religion in general. I was afraid it was going to be "religion bashing" as someone said here but that's not how I percieve this episode.

But I think O. Deus's review is spot on! The episode has all the problems he mention, and was quite messy in the portrayal of this species religion. Some elements were taken out of todays major religions, and I don't really see how it fits in. Things like abortion, about the proper way to treat the enemy, about paradise, are much more complex matters than even hinted at here. These elements were just thrown together. Maybe if the story took ONE thing and went into detail about that, it wouldn't seem so crazy.

On the other hand, it was probably wise not to go into details about such things and risk to alienate half the audience who believe in something else. I will make a very strong point out of saying: It's NOT Star Trek's job to teach religion, and that includes taking a stand on religious beliefs. It's not that I think there isn't any "truth", on the contrary I think there is. But I doubt it should come from Star Trek.

There was some focus on violence as a result of fanatism, which I think is fine to bring up. Some religion can amplify hatred and that's very sad.

The second half of the episode developed into a mindless "lets regain control over the ship" story which dropped all reasoning and sense on the floor. I was bored and ashamed. The worst thing is, I don't understand why TPTB can do this; it's certainly not going to save the Trek franchine! Time to END this mindless action.

The episode had a few interesting moments but honestly I can't give this more than 3 or 4 on Trekweb's rating scale.