Star Trek: The Next Generation, 103 (Oct. 10, 1987) - "Code of Honor"
Written by: Katharyn Powers & Michael Baron Directed by: Russ Mayberry
The Breakdown
YIKES. Well that was uncomfortable to watch.
So basically there’s this alien race, the Ligonians, cast as all-black-noble-savages, adorned with what feels like a stereotypical depiction of a middle eastern/Asian aesthetic, if it had been designed in the 1930's by someone who had only read about “the mysteries of the orient” in pulp magazines. the Ligonians all live by a code of honor so bafflingly convoluted that the Klingons seem downright reasonable by way of comparison. This code also promotes kidnapping because it's so risky that it can be deemed honourable... somehow.
So the King (Lutan) kindaps Tasha because he’s horny and wants to make her his number one babe, which obviously his wife takes issue with. Naturally, the Queen demands a fight to the death with Tasha, because that’s the contrived way their society works. I wish I could say that’s as ridiculous as things get, but somehow the episode continues to get weirder as it goes right up until the end.
The Verdict
I’m not going to waste time explaining why so much of this episode is in poor taste, since it’s shittiness is both obvious, and fully acknowledged by the cast and crew. Honestly, it’s hard to imagine this wouldn’t have raised some eyebrows even in 1987, but then I guess it must have since the director was fired by Gene Roddenberry himself. Even disregarding the in-your-face racism, this episode is filled with lazy writing and contrivances that would make it difficult to enjoy on any level. I’d read about this episode years ago, but had forgotten the specifics. Needless to say ‘code of honor’ is indeed dog shit, and also a valuable reminder why representation matters in front of AND behind the camera.
0 stars
Additional Observations
Oh yeah! At one point Troi essentially resorts to victim blaming when she more-than-implies that Tasha “totally loved the attention”. Holy shit.
Data tries to learn about jokes: Laforge is the last person who should be teaching anyone about humour. His example of “what IS funny” is somehow even dumber than Data’s attempt. Also, Data has slip of the tongue? Shouldn’t he be incapable of that type of error?
Picard’s an asshole: “Is the whole ship deaf!?” Well EXCUSE ME captain, it’s just that every time Wesley even looks at the bridge you nearly bite his head off, so yeah, inviting him to hang out at Ops is kind of a shock. Jesus Christ dude, get laid or something.
