10 Star Trek Episodes That Seriously Deserve A Second Chance

3. Pen Pals

Star Trek Pen Pals
CBS Media Ventures / Paramount Pictures

This second season episode of The Next Generation is one of the stronger offerings from that year, even though it tends to fade beside episodes like The Measure of a Man and Q, Who? The tale of Data breaking the Prime Directive to save the life of one child offers the audience one of the first, great discussion scenes in the show.

Picard invites the senior staff to his quarters to discuss Data's actions, which is then followed by a debate - did Data do the right thing, leading to the Enterprise interfering in the natural evolution of a planet, or, did his actions show a lack of judgement?

There are convincing arguments on both sides - Worf may be the stereotypical hardass in the scene, but his argument that the Prime Directive is clear on such matters is solid. In the end, emotion wins the day - the Enterprise does indeed go to Sarjenka's aid - but in true Trek style, this ending was by no means guaranteed.

The episode also features a good b-plot for Wesley Crusher, who in the second season had developed into a more capable, likable character.

In this post: 
Star Trek
 
Posted On: 
Contributor
Contributor

Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"