Post by Mr. Atoz on Jun 27, 2009 8:33:32 GMT -6
On Ventax II, a Federation science team has been abducted by a mob, terrified because of the reappearance of a supernatural being called Ardra, who made a contract with the planet 1,000 years ago. She would grant them 1,000 years of peace and prosperity, after which time the planet and everything on it would belong to her. Although the Federation people are released, Picard challenges the contract in a legal proceeding with Data as impartial arbitrator.
This was a very entertaining episode, especially during the trial itself ("The advocate will refrain from making her opponent disappear."), but one that raises a few questions. Picard comes off as terribly closed-minded. He has personally encountered beings capable of all the things Ardra was (Q, for one example), and yet he seems to have arbitrarily decided that she isn't one of them. Another thing that puzzles me is, since the planet abandoned modern technology long ago in favor of an agrarian lifestyle, why did the Federation send a contact team in the first place? What happened to the Prime Directive?
This was a very entertaining episode, especially during the trial itself ("The advocate will refrain from making her opponent disappear."), but one that raises a few questions. Picard comes off as terribly closed-minded. He has personally encountered beings capable of all the things Ardra was (Q, for one example), and yet he seems to have arbitrarily decided that she isn't one of them. Another thing that puzzles me is, since the planet abandoned modern technology long ago in favor of an agrarian lifestyle, why did the Federation send a contact team in the first place? What happened to the Prime Directive?
