Star Trek: 10 Terrible Scenes That Ruined Episodes
5. Slut Shaming Harry - The Disease
The Disease is a very strange episode of Star Trek: Voyager. The ship encounters a generational ship peopled by the Varo. In the course of their interactions, Harry develops feelings for Tal, played by Musetta Vander. They have sex, leading to an incredibly awkward, puritanical reaction from both The Doctor and Captain Janeway.
The initial scene is framed like Harry is receiving some bad news from his sexual health practitioner, though The Doctor immediately treats the ensign like a foolish child, before telling the Captain. So much for Doctor-Patient confidentiality. The scene that follows establishes that Starfleet has a rule-book when it comes to relations with alien races - one that includes this gem:
All Starfleet personnel must obtain authorization from their C.O. as well as clearance from their Medical Officer but initiating an intimate relationship with an alien species.
How sexy.
This is all, of course, because it was Harry who slept with Tal. Were it Tom, or even Tuvok, the odds are that this conversation would never have taken place. Riker and Kirk would have simply laughed at the rule book as well. So, it doesn't make any sense for that rule to exist, let alone for it to be enforced with such disappointment in Janeway's voice.