“Up the Long Ladder” could they get away with an episode like this today?
Posted by Fart_stew@reddit | TNG | View on Reddit | 9 comments
There are lots of shows (All in the Family) and movies (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) made in the past that today’s productions wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.
I usually laugh at anachronisms from old stuff instead of judging, but this episode of TNG is so full of “wow”. From the depiction of the Irish to the colonists using black Eddie Murphy look-a-likes as muscle, and they didn’t even want Geordi’s tissue sample. And what about Riker destroying the clones? Those were sentient beings. That seems very anti-Federation behavior.
yaremaa_@reddit
I found Riker’s unwillingness to give them his DNA to be so arrogant and unreasonable. They did “scientifically/medically” explain the issues that would arise from cloning and why they would not be able to survive like that, but Riker was never concerned about their species dying out, he was just obsessed with being special. He was fully up his own ass, convinced that the existence of riker clones would somehow affect him personally and make him less important or unique, even though he would’ve provided them with a new bloodline to broaden their species and would never have had to interact with or see them ever again. Even though Riker is a tad arrogant to begin with, this particular time really struck me as being super strange and irrational.
execpro222@reddit
Yeah Riker should have just given over his DNA willingly so he could doom his clone to the same fate that these idiots were facing now in a couple hundred years.
How dare Riker care about his own body!
yaremaa_@reddit
My point is he denied them his DNA for all the wrong reasons. It wasn’t out of concern for them it was purely about his ego
Dakinitensfox@reddit
I can understand why Riker and the rest of the crew refused to be cloned, but why couldn't the crew of the Enterprise donate sperm and eggs? You can do that with 20th century technology, and the end of the episode has the Mariposans accept polyamorous sexual reproduction, so it shouldn't be unacceptable to them. And why did they not come up with the solution of getting the Irish stereotypes to settle there in the first place?
flywearingabluecoat@reddit
They might have had similar objections. But realistically this would have been a good option to bring up.
ety3rd@reddit
They didn't really get away with it then.
Irish-Americans criticized it at the time for the stereotypes presented and anti-abortion folks hated it because of the clone destruction and Riker saying (paraphrased), "My body, my choice." Oh, and my Christian zealot father hated it because they "whored" out the women at the end to bring some genetic diversity to the cloners.
flywearingabluecoat@reddit
I liked it for the pro-abortion implications heheh
Elmer-E-Verdergergen@reddit
I didn't really have a problem with that episode, but then I've never been big on getting offended on someone else's behalf. I didn't see it as a statement about all Irish just that particular group. And I would have gotten along with them just fine. They look like they would have been a fun loving bunch. As far as not wanting Geordi's tissue, suddenly having a bunch of blind people in a society that is not set up for them physically or socially is understandable to me. However if you still think these are reasons for an awful episode then "Code of Honor" would definitely be it.
UraRenge@reddit
Code of Honor is one of those things where after you learn about the director, it was definitely meant to be racist, yet at the same time like Maurice Hurley said, the IDEA for the episode isn't bad. The premise is fine, the problem is it's executed by having all of the aliens played by black people in tribal garb like this was filmed in the 40s. I was half expecting one of them to literally chuck a spear.
And yet wierdly the alien leader is smart, capable, respected, regularly makes the Enterprise crew look like fools. Now if only he wasn't a giant stereotype.