Stardate: 41255.6
Original Air Date: November 7, 1987
Writers: John D.F. Black and Worley Thorne
Director: James L. Conway
“Good health to you!”
After delivering a party of earth colonists to the Strnad Solar System, the Enterprise-D has discovered a new Class-M planet in the adjoining Rubicon Star System where the ship is currently in orbit. It is apparently inhabited and “unusually lovely.” Riker is returning from a landing a landing party to make contact on the planet’s surface and he claims it is startingly beautiful, so Dr. Crusher suggests some much-needed shore leave.
According to Geordi and Tasha Yar, the native population on the planet known as the Edo are “wild in some, actually puritanical in others –neat as pins, ultra-lawful, and they make love at the drop of a hat… any hat.” They are a bunch of scantily clad, overtly sexual, physically fit human-esque aliens. They spend their days running around and greeting one another: “Good health to you!” and “Happiness to you!” However, they are a society with strict rules punishable only by death. Unfortunately, while playing ball with some of the children, Wesley accidentally violates one of these rules by stumbling into a planter (“it’s forbidden to disturb new plants!” Wesley is then arrested by the Edo.
Meanwhile, back aboard the Enterprise, a strange object appears and a tiny bubble with a booming voice enters the ship and demands that Picard “State… The… Purpose!” He warns them not to fraternize with his “children.” This is followed by an information exchange between Data and the bubble. And while Picard speaks with the Edo, he beams one of them (named Rivan) back aboard the Enterprise to assess the strange ship situated next to the Enterprise. Predictably, this goes awry as it turns out to be a god of the Edo. Picard then returns to the planet surface and has a discussion about justice before taking Wesley and attempting to beam back up to the Enterprise. However, the “god” entity stops them until Picard delivers a brief monologue about justice, after which he and his crew are simply allowed to escape without explanation.
My Thoughts on “Justice”
What a ridiculously bizarre, uncomfortable, and cringeworthy episode –an alien sex cult, a god-like being that is never fully explained, and a child facing capital punishment for no reason. I have so many questions about what happened to this script: Why would Dr. Crusher allow her son Wesley to beam down to this planet? Isn’t it inappropriate for a young boy visit a highly sensual culture? Why would the landing party allow Wesley to run off with other children in this unknown place? Is it realistic that the crew wouldn’t want to learn more about the Edo culture? How in the world did Tasha Yar not list the punishments for violating the laws of the Edo in her initial report? Hasn’t she encountered this culture in the past? Why does the Prime Directive take precedence over rescuing Wesley? Isn’t the Prime Directive already violated for the crew to beam down to this primitive culture? Isn’t the Prime Directive violated anyway when Picard beams over an Edo member aboard the Enterprise? Doesn’t the Prime Directive only apply to organically evolving cultures, rather than ones ruled over by all-powerful godlike aliens? Also why does Picard seem to act with minimal urgency knowing that Wesley’s time in captivity is limited? And why does the Enterprise abandon Edo in the end, knowing the planet will be ruled by a tyrannical alien god? Doesn’t this warrant further investigation? There are so many frustrating holes in this plot. At least there is a mildly interesting examination of justice in this episode, but this is easily one of the worst episodes of Trek I have yet encountered.
Writer/Director
This script was written by TOS and TNG writer John D. F. Black as well as Worley Thorne. Black initially had the idea for a story about capital punishment. Apparently, Gene Roddenberry significantly re-worked the script and included the heavily sexualized elements.
This episode was directed by James L. Conway who also directed a total of 18 episodes of TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise, as well as other popular shows like Smallville and MacGyver.
Star Trek Trivia:
- In this episode, Picard shares that the Federation does not practice capital punishment under any circumstances.
- The two main Edo characters, Rivan and Liator, are played by Brenda Bakke (actress and real estate broker), and Jay Louden.
- Some fans have noted some similarities between “the people of Vaal” in the TOS episode “The Apple” and the Edo in TNG’s “Justice.
- This episode was shot at the Japanese Garden of the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, CA. It was located directly under the flight path so many actors needed to separately re-record their lines.
- Other scenes, such as the scene of Wesley falling into the miniature greenhouse, were shot at the Huntington Library in Pasadena, CA.
- During the era of TOS, costume designer William Ware Theiss was known for the “Theiss Theory of Titillation” which effectively stated that the degree to which a costume is sexy is directly proportional to how likely it seems as though it will fall off. Though the designs in TNG were much more subdued than TOS, “Justice” gave him a chance to reinvigorate those more sexualized costume designs.
When the Prime Directive, certainly as it has been depicted in Star Trek, can make us question the real justice of the universe, it’s certainly most understandable why many Trek characters may feel ethically driven to disregard it. I always resent how most Trek characters are often made out to be hot-headed or hubris-oriented. I think that’s just stereotypical. But I can certainly agree with how Picard’s dilemmas with the Prime Directive were dramatically more delicate as opposed to Kirk’s. Even with the quite natural justification to save one of his crew like Wesley. Thank you for your review and trivia.