This feels like another show entirely! Like an episode of _'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, season 2'_ (With the flying poison-gauntlet taken out of a Moore-era Bond movie!)
Additionally, the episode's climax and resolution is clearly lifted directly out of TOS "Amok Time." A powerful priestess demands the crew member participate in a highly ceremonial battle to the death for the right to wed. The fight is allowed to conclude with the apparent death of one opponent, but medical trickery is used to bring them back afterwards. Predictably transparent. Also, it's framed by the all too overused device of urgently needing to deliver medicine to a desperate planet, and the dramatic events intervene to delay delivery of the treatment. It's something that even the classic original series used far too often.
Agreed. Beyond the stereotypical "African" style culture portrayed by all black actors, it was simply lazy writing. I wonder what people would have thought if they had done everything the same but had not used all black actors for the culture, and had stuck to on'y the body guards being black?
I agree that this episode is pretty awful, but I remember liking it when it first aired. This is only because it had been so many years since we had any Trek that we took anything with the name Trek like a junkie after a week long detox
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios I believe this changed for two reasons, the costume and make up would have been probably too intense to get it done in time and they didn't want to have too many ties to the original series so early on. I agree that it would have been pretty cool, tho.
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Honestly only reason I watched it since was because I was so young when I first saw it I really didn't get how bad the episode was until later.
I’m amused that the episode trailer did it’s best to make this thing not look like a piece of crap. Those early trailers, though. “On the next STAAAAAAR TREK”. I think on top of it being racist and sexist, it’s also just a bad episode. Definitely takes the bottom spot on this series.
Here's an interesting story I found out about this episode: At a Star Trek panel at DragonCon 2010, Garrett Wang who played Harry Kim on Voyager said this episode "stinks", to which LeVar Burton agreed, adding, "Without question." Furthermore, Wang attributed his viewing of the episode as the reason why he ended up landing the role of Harry Kim, stating that, had he watched another episode of TNG, he would have been "too nervous" during his audition, as he would have ended up being a big fan of the show: "So three times I tried watching [the series] and I realised God was telling me 'Do not watch Star Trek: The Next Generation'."
Season 2 of TNG is not much better than S1. It's still a crap overall, with a very few good/great exceptions. Roddenberry was still involved. The first two seasons of TNG (OVERALL) are the worst trash in the whole ST franchise along with the films Final Frontier and Nemesis.
@@subraxas I'd say that major reason Seasons 1 and 2 of TNG sucked as that Roddenberry tried to "fix" TOS with those seasons which is probably why we got TOS or TOS style scripts 20 years too late. Lets take this episode for example for TOS it would have been subpar with questionable depictions of the antagonist by 1960s standards, but what was "questionable" in the 1960s would be horrible racist in the late 1980s due to changing standards this combined with the rest of this episodes failings caused it to rightfully deserve its place among the worst Star Trek episodes ever made.
Great episode, I loved the edit for the s word. One you missed, and one that I think is deliberate, is Crusher is wearing a wrist watch when treating Yrinna on the transporter pad. This could be an oversight but it also could be a silent protest from McFadden. Ginger Rogers was famous for messing with her costume in such a way as to cause a continuity error and fans would know to look out for these as it meant that she was unhappy with either the directing or the choreography, others would also adopt this. Coming from a dance background I wonder if McFadden wearing the watch was deliberate perhaps also explaining the hand switch with Crosby's prop (Denise and her aunt Mary who appeared in DS9, and is Bing's daughter by his second marriage so actually two years younger than Denise his granddaughter, danced with Rogers as toddlers on Bing Crosby's Christmas show.)
There's also some more mistakes in the episode I spotted that you missed. When Tasha brings Lutan and Hagon to the holodeck, the floor is covered with a gray carpet and not the yellow lines with black background like the rest of the holodeck has. Also, when Tasha puts on her gi for the Aikido demonstration, she is wearing it with the right side on top of the left side instead of the left side on top of the right side. The right side on top symbolizes death and is incredibly unlucky.
Those arent mistakes though... The floor covered with carpet merely means the holodecks got an upgrade sometime after that episode, and Tasha gi could just be chalked up to Yar not knowing that...
Oh lord, I forgot about the messed up clone and drunk Irish train wreck of an episode. At least in DS9, Odo emphatically states that killing your clone is still murder.
@@patrickmccurry1563 If your clone has gained consciousness and is aware of him/herself and their possible demise, it is indeed murder. In the case of Up The Long Ladder, the clones they destroyed had never achieved consciousness and had no awareness. That's what cuts the difference.
*All* I like about this episode is that Tasha has a lot to do. Love her. However, the lines they have her say are questionable to say the least... But she gets to be 'action girl' and not a glorified 'receptionist'
I just avoid the whole first season of TNG. There wasn't enough good about it to justify watching it after the fact. It was clearly "good enough" at the time to have a second season green lighted, but season 2, for me, is where it started to get good (and season 3 was even better).
I think it was because Trek Fans were giving it a chance, it's ratings certainly werent stellar, but solid... And as ratings continued to decline in S2, they knew something had to change... So they gave Gene another ceremonial title and fired Hurley and suddenly the show got great!
Oh yeah, and "The Lonely", the episode preview where they forgot to put in the SFX, so we had an FX crew arcing with a welder off screen with strobes and no visual effects, while Deanna Troi freaked out about how it was blinding her. Like that Doctor Who episode where apparently the sound effects guys went on vacation, so there were no Dalek blaster sound effects, just guys clutching their chests yelling "Arrrrrrgh!" and falling over.
It looks like the Star Trek movie franchise is back on track with Noah Hawley set to write and direct the next film. No details on what universe the film is going to be set in. Interestingly Noah Hawley is not a trekker. So it seems Paramount is going down the Harve Bennett route
I love your voice you sexy man. Great to see this review. I'm liking this series. I am a weirdo who likes season 1. I liked the music and I found it had more energy. It might be interesting if you do a "best of, worst of" season 1 tng.
This episode was one of the few that was uncomfortable to watch. I saw it once and never again. No regrets whatsoever. Whenever I go back to Season 1, I watch "The Arsenal of Freedom," "Heart of Glory," even "Conspiracy" among others because it reminds me of Alien. But "Code of Honor" will not be on my watch list for the foreseeable future. No regrets. 🖖😎👍
It's a testimony to the reservoir of good will that existed for the Star Trek franchise that TNG was allowed to find its way in spite of some really horrible beginnings. Other series would have been outright cancelled had they aired something as racist as 'Code of Honor'. It was that bad.
Even as a kid, without understanding the themes, you can still sense something is off about it. Should've gone with the Gorn idea. Although a planet of all black people would be a change of pace from the usual all/mostly white planets they'd been to. Hell, there was even a planet full of Aryans.
When I first saw this episode with a friend my friend was like "WTF? Are you kidding me?". Keep in mind, I'm black and my friend was a white female. She was disgusted by the racist overtones.
Awesome video, I couldn't agree more. I can't watch it either because of how messed up it is. Nobody can deny the fact that it's racist as hell. I mean having a population that is completely African American is one thing, but to have them act in such tribal ways, I have no words. Honestly, whoever wrote that episode in terms of the final product should be slapped in the face. It's supposed to be the 24th century and this is how they viewed black people. And I'm talking about the writers of the episode and the producers.
Code of honor does sir one useful purpose. Being universally agreed is the worst episode. It's saved in episode not nearly as bad, from having to take that title.
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios ....yeah, since BBC America does 12 hour marathons of TNG on Monday's and Wednesdays, if I see "Encounter at Far Point" on Monday I usually check back in a week. Season 3 should be starting 😆
How much you wanna bet that all those Trek "fans" who bitch and whine about there being too much diversity in current Trek shows and fear "SJWs" corrupting their Star Trek consider Code Of Honor to be among the best TNG episodes ever produced?
While I didn't like this episode, it's still in the season that features space jellyfish. Same season where we met the Ferengi for the first time (and that there is a massive can of worms in itself).
I agree with it being far from a great episode, though when I saw it the first time at about 4 or 5 I didn't think it had anything to do with black people, I thought it was just a species that was like the Gorn or Klingons, grumpy, chauvinistic, warrior planet, just figured it was season one and no one could afford any good make up. As I got older I saw why the episode had so many issues with it, I'm just honestly not sure what that says about little me.
Not really seeing any racist qualities, unless that is said purely because the bad guys happen to be black. Overall it was lackluster but worth the occasional rewatch
I liked it. I even remember those days that the main cast championed this episode. I can't remember the show, but one promotion show were doing interviews and I remember someone saying that this episode was made because of criticisms that TOS was racist for not having a "Black" planet. That all the planets that they went to in TOS were all "White". What the Main Cast says, I don't trust. They'll say one thing today and another tomorrow. They're acting in interviews just as much as they are in the program. I don't remember any of the "Black" actors that portrayed the "Black" species, on the "Black" planet saying that this episode was racist. And even not to long ago, Karole Selmon, the chick that played Yareena, came out and championed this episode and said that claims of racism was crazy. That not only was it not racist, she felt that it was impowering. I've been talking to another regarding this episode and he's in agreement with you. I still like it. I'm going to put my own video together championing it's merits. No Star Trek episode is racist. You have to be racist to make something racist. There is nothing racist or bigoted about Star Trek. Thank you for your inspiration to start making my own videos. I've done some before, mostly political, but they're just me talking with some old posters in the back ground. This motivated me to do something more. Take care and Live Long and Prosper Dionysis.
On this entire comment, this time, I have to completely disagree with you. When the majority of the actors involved in the show, as well as the majority of fandom say it's racist, then, it's racist! Also Levar Burton spoke out about how racist this episode was many times! I've even conducted many polls about Code of Honor, and have seen many polls conducted in regards to the episode, and all come out the same way, it IS Racist... And these polls are never even close, with this channels receiving an 82% Racist and 13% abstaining, that left only 5% thinking it wasn't... And one black actress or person saying it wasn't racist doesnt change that fact that Many MORE Black People, and people of all races, view this episode as being quite racist! There are also MANY racist episodes, or episodes which unintentionally play on a racial stereotype, remember the drunk Irish Spacemen? Or how about the tree hugging, nondescript, stereotypical Native Americans? That's all racist. When you take something that is a known stereotype, and make your characters act as that known stereotype, whether you like it or not, it's racism! And finally, you're welcome to like or dislike any episode(s) of Trek that you want, but to ignore the racist over/ under tones just exasperates an already major problem in the world. Making it appear as though you are racist, because you can't see the obvious racist portrayal of black people in the episode!
PS... As an experienced UA-camr, I'd think carefully about what hills you're willing to die on... I never want to stifle creativity, however, UA-cam can be a very toxic place. And although you're a small channel now, who knows what the future holds, and making a video like you're suggesting, could bite you hard in the future. Just something to think about!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Thank you very much. You've been quite helpful. Also, thank you for that considerate advice but not to worry, I'm a fellow old person and can handle the 'toxicity', so to say. But again, thank you for your concern and advice. So, because you 'Completely' disagree with me in that comment, does that mean that you only 'Partially' disagree with me about the Archer Class? Take care, Man. As always LLaP!
In it's defence Code of Honour was the fourth episode of the first season. The first season of any television program is hit and miss because nobody from the cast to the crew haven't found there feet. Plus the first season is where you try experiment episodes to see if they are hit with fans
You wanna enjoy Code of Honor? Watch SFDebris' review of the episode. His jokes make this ridiculousness tolerable. But I have to admit, I love Lutan's hammy exclamation of "Then you shall have no treaty, no vaccine, and no Lt. Yar!"
While i love SG-1 i feel that Atlantis is much stronger as a show. SG-1 had to spend a lot of time on establishing stuff, the first 2 seasons were good but the real meat is Season 3-8. Seasons 9-10 just went overboard, after season 10 the franchise was powercrept to death. Sure Humans becoming a galactic power is a logical progression and them beeing able to deal with Hataks is reasonable as well but BC-304s can literally one shot everything that is not an Ori Mothership or a Wraith hive and even those are not much of a challenge. At this point 2 BC-304 could have probably destroyed Anubis entire assault fleet on their own. What the hell is supposed to challenge them anymore. To me Season 8 is the end of SG-1 and that is that. Atlantis on the other hand was strong from the very beginning, was funny but not as overbearing with it, had the best multi parters only rivalled by the season 7 or 8 finale, had a more fleshed out supporting cast and continued to be that the whole way through with only very few bad episodes. The Wraith were also better villains than the Groauld or the Ori IMO.
ST:TNG Code of Honor was the worst Episode made. The Premise was sound, Federation Culture having to interact with an Aliens Culture and having a misunderstanding due to cultural conflict is a great idea. But to portray it in this manner was the worst way to go. Using the Gorn was a much cooler idea.
Russell Mayberry also directed one of the best TV Pilots of a television show that was never seen well it was seen but it was practically ignored the TV pilot was called probe but was later changed to search which was created by Leslie Stevens and co-produced by Robert Justman they also work together on the outer limits just men was also the executive producer for the first season of Star Trek the next Generations also note that this is probably the only episode in which Michael Dawn does not appear in as the Klingon officer he definitely saw the writing on the wall for this episode
I totally agree ST:NG was just getting its footing and as anyone can attest without a proper direction a TV show will get lost very quickly in its search for indentity and as for this episode I tend to look at it from a sociological viewpoint because what is wrong with having a planet with just one race in this case Africans because what if they were Asian or white would that make it better I find this episode more cringe worth then racist and as for the fans who say it was, well everyone is entitled to their viewpoints. LLNP 🖖
+JorgeM -- The fact that the people on the planet are black is not the problem. They are behaving like primitive tribal stereotypes that were obsolete even in the 1980s.
The best that could be said is it's a really mediocre TOS episode that would feel at home in the 60s, with the same low quality set design & same racial stereotyping. It's still not as stupid & completely baseless like Spock's Brain was- an episode that had to completely make up some random Vulcan biology to explain why Spock's body didn't die instantly- but even TOS had betetr episodes. No doubt the casting went that way with generic humans because making a number of Gorn costumes would have been expensive. Gene may have been going senile by then, which a lot of fans theorize, due to his enforced "utopia" visions but inconsistent ideas. If humanity is so enlightened, why is Picard such an asshole in the early seasons? Especially to children. Bear in mind a lot of Gene's worse ideas were overturned(he wanted no TOS references at all- no returning aliens, no mentions of crew, nothing) otherwise TNG season 1 could have been quite terrible.
I was 8 when this episode air and now when I seen more then dozen times, That episode is a big mistake, the only good thing about it was at the beginning of the episode, right before LT. Yar and the end of the episode, after the s*** show happens. Because I feel uncomfortable watching it and I’m a white person saying this.
At least with "Spocks Brain" I can laugh at Leonard Nimoys bored expression, the bad acting and meme worthy bad dialogue. This episode is pure shite, with its overt racism, Picards "I'm not racist, I have a black friend" moment and its overall crappy plot this episode is just terrible.
The only truly cringe-worthy episode that I can think of in all of Star Trek. I can only read it as some level of European / African colonial metaphor. No matter what, it does not translate well. It is essentially racist and sexist and is far beneath the worth of everyone involved.
I wouldn't call this racist. It needs a filthier word. I was always disturbed by Picard agreeing with everything said about the nature and purpose of women. It wasn't just agreeing with a backwards concept it was outside of Picard's normal moral standards. Badly written.
I know this episode is pretty racist and I can understand why it's considered one of the worst, but I've always enjoyed it. I can't really explain why, it's just the way I feel about it I guess
Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another. How was this episode "racist"? Maybe a little stereotypical, and poorly written, but in no way is it racist! 🤔
Actually the definition is "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior." Portrayal of the Race in this show as Tribal drum beating, stick pounding, crime ridden, kidnappers of white women make it racist... If everyone says the episode is racist, including the actors that were in it, then that mean it is racist and the problem lies with you and NOT everyone else... So I would suggest you step back and examine why you missed something so obvious!
This episode flat out sucks. From a flat out bad and uninspiring story, to the super obvious racist overtones, this episode makes me cringe. While binging TNG on Netflix, I purposely skipped it. I didn't like it, when I first saw it in reruns, and o never ever want to see it again. It's a piece of trash that doesn't deserve to be part of Star Trek.
Spocks Brain and Way to Eden at least have campy fun to them, this episode is not any fun at all or campy one bit... It's simply a really bad and racist episode!
Honestly it is just a bad episode because its horribly written. However personally it would have been more racist if it would have been any other race acting like a characture of african tribesmen. Black people acting like african tribesmen isn't racist, it's just stupid. Also UA-cam recommended a scene from black panther after this video. Wait. Is black panther racist? A bunch of black people acting like african tribesmen. No? Fascinating.
When you laugh off important things, such as racism, it shows a lack of Intelligence, Understanding and Empathy. Racism can not be forgotten, until it no longer exists!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios I don't know. If you do something without malice I don't think that is as bad as doing it with it. I can apologize and learn from a mistake.
Also, I do not prescribe to social justice crap but even I think this episode was racist. I have never heard anyone reveal that the original script did not cast the planet as african americans. That is a game changer. I did hear a certain guest producer making those decisions. So perhaps it wasnt the fault of the regular staff. You handle things with a very balanced approach. I appreciate you
Well, they can’t all be great. Different writers and different directors are going to make things inconsistent. Even T.O.S. Episodes and novelizations had contradictions. That’s TV. I’m sure I saw this episode but, I don’t really remember doing so. Now because it’s considered “racist” I’d like to see it and judge for myself.
This was not the worst episode. It was the most offensive. But I will say on my deathbed that Threshold was the worst episode of Star Trek ever made, Discovery notwithstanding. lol
Andy Hughes waaay racist. Not in imagery but in how one culture sees me. Do they think I’m that? Because we weren’t that. “That” was a biased idea created by a culture that visited Africa as tourists but never valued the cultures there as anything but monolithic oversexualized savages. Unfortunately, until I had traveled that’s the same view I had of this other culture! With growth I have opened my eyes and see the people of that culture as varied as the others I grew up with. I wonder what someone would think of America if resorts like Vegas were the only place they’d ever known of our modern America. Stage shows, hookers, drugs drunks and casino bosses. That’s not us... right?
Just because the cast has a problem with it and fans have a problem with it does not make it a racist episode I don't think is anything racist about it what's wrong with an all-black planet with an all-black cast dressed in traditional African clothing? This is a great pro-black episode there's nothing wrong with that Advanced civilization with Transporter technology and the ability to fabricate advanced vaccines that the Federation wasn't.
Actually it does, in fact, that's EXACTLY how racism works! LOL And one white man doesnt change that fact! When the majority of the actors involved in the show, as well as the majority of fandom say it's racist, then, it's racist! Also Levar Burton spoke out about how racist this episode was many times! I've even conducted many polls about Code of Honor, and have seen many polls conducted in regards to the episode, and all come out the same way, it IS Racist... And these polls are never even close, with this channels receiving an 82% Racist and 13% abstaining, that left only 5% thinking it wasn't... It is NOT pro-black, as the portrayal of Black people in this episode as Tribal, Backwards and Criminals make it racist, so you should actually think through your position, as the good, does not outweigh the bad! You're welcome to like or dislike any episode(s) of Trek that you want, but to ignore the racist over/ under tones just exasperates an already major problem in the world. Making it appear as though you are racist, because you can't see the obvious racist portrayal of black people in the episode! You may not like it, but that's how it is!
Does anyone feel that this episode was deliberately written to belittle African Americans? Or is it just a spectacular example of ignorant and tactless minds having no conception of what they were doing?
good question; one that deserves analysis and evidence before jumping to a conclusion. but a deplorable episode that strikes one as racist whatever the intent was
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Excellent point, it is ridiculously racist. Definitely the most racist episode of Trek I can think of. Maybe I should eventually do a video about the worst episodes of Trek this one if not the worst would definitely be near the top.
Last time I was this early, I spent 3 months afterwards being interrogated by the Department of Temporal Investigations.
pixel girl uhoh
LOL
Oh my God, that old trailer at the end... Those early TNG trailers were awesome!
LOL I know right?
This feels like another show entirely!
Like an episode of _'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, season 2'_
(With the flying poison-gauntlet taken out of a Moore-era Bond movie!)
but TNG was started in the Moore era, more or less
Additionally, the episode's climax and resolution is clearly lifted directly out of TOS "Amok Time." A powerful priestess demands the crew member participate in a highly ceremonial battle to the death for the right to wed. The fight is allowed to conclude with the apparent death of one opponent, but medical trickery is used to bring them back afterwards. Predictably transparent.
Also, it's framed by the all too overused device of urgently needing to deliver medicine to a desperate planet, and the dramatic events intervene to delay delivery of the treatment. It's something that even the classic original series used far too often.
Agreed. Beyond the stereotypical "African" style culture portrayed by all black actors, it was simply lazy writing. I wonder what people would have thought if they had done everything the same but had not used all black actors for the culture, and had stuck to on'y the body guards being black?
I'm, actually pretty sure you won't find anyone who liked this...
Unfortunately, there are always some... And indeed, some have tried to defend the blatant racism as how African Americans actually are...
I agree that this episode is pretty awful, but I remember liking it when it first aired. This is only because it had been so many years since we had any Trek that we took anything with the name Trek like a junkie after a week long detox
Kind of wish they had gone with the Gorn idea. It would've just been a weird and goofy episode instead of this racist nonsense
I think that would have certainly improved the episode a great deal!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios I believe this changed for two reasons, the costume and make up would have been probably too intense to get it done in time and they didn't want to have too many ties to the original series so early on. I agree that it would have been pretty cool, tho.
Loving the Back Treck series!
Thank you very much! :)
I remember watching this when it first aired. I don't think I've intentionally watched it ever since!
Me either!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Honestly only reason I watched it since was because I was so young when I first saw it I really didn't get how bad the episode was until later.
I’m amused that the episode trailer did it’s best to make this thing not look like a piece of crap. Those early trailers, though. “On the next STAAAAAAR TREK”. I think on top of it being racist and sexist, it’s also just a bad episode. Definitely takes the bottom spot on this series.
I couldnt agree more!
Here's an interesting story I found out about this episode: At a Star Trek panel at DragonCon 2010, Garrett Wang who played Harry Kim on Voyager said this episode "stinks", to which LeVar Burton agreed, adding, "Without question." Furthermore, Wang attributed his viewing of the episode as the reason why he ended up landing the role of Harry Kim, stating that, had he watched another episode of TNG, he would have been "too nervous" during his audition, as he would have ended up being a big fan of the show: "So three times I tried watching [the series] and I realised God was telling me 'Do not watch Star Trek: The Next Generation'."
Yeah just start with season 2 to be perfectly honest.
Season 2 of TNG is not much better than S1.
It's still a crap overall, with a very few good/great exceptions.
Roddenberry was still involved.
The first two seasons of TNG (OVERALL) are the worst trash in the whole ST franchise along with the films Final Frontier and Nemesis.
@@subraxas I'd say that major reason Seasons 1 and 2 of TNG sucked as that Roddenberry tried to "fix" TOS with those seasons which is probably why we got TOS or TOS style scripts 20 years too late.
Lets take this episode for example for TOS it would have been subpar with questionable depictions of the antagonist by 1960s standards, but what was "questionable" in the 1960s would be horrible racist in the late 1980s due to changing standards this combined with the rest of this episodes failings caused it to rightfully deserve its place among the worst Star Trek episodes ever made.
I lived for those commercials when I was 8 on Fox Channel 6 in San Diego.
Great episode, I loved the edit for the s word.
One you missed, and one that I think is deliberate, is Crusher is wearing a wrist watch when treating Yrinna on the transporter pad. This could be an oversight but it also could be a silent protest from McFadden. Ginger Rogers was famous for messing with her costume in such a way as to cause a continuity error and fans would know to look out for these as it meant that she was unhappy with either the directing or the choreography, others would also adopt this. Coming from a dance background I wonder if McFadden wearing the watch was deliberate perhaps also explaining the hand switch with Crosby's prop (Denise and her aunt Mary who appeared in DS9, and is Bing's daughter by his second marriage so actually two years younger than Denise his granddaughter, danced with Rogers as toddlers on Bing Crosby's Christmas show.)
“Where no one has gone before” is my favorite season 1 episode. Are there any recaps on that?
Well I do intend to make one on that episode in the future :)
There's also some more mistakes in the episode I spotted that you missed. When Tasha brings Lutan and Hagon to the holodeck, the floor is covered with a gray carpet and not the yellow lines with black background like the rest of the holodeck has. Also, when Tasha puts on her gi for the Aikido demonstration, she is wearing it with the right side on top of the left side instead of the left side on top of the right side. The right side on top symbolizes death and is incredibly unlucky.
Those arent mistakes though... The floor covered with carpet merely means the holodecks got an upgrade sometime after that episode, and Tasha gi could just be chalked up to Yar not knowing that...
Up The Long Ladder was just about as bad
Oh lord, I forgot about the messed up clone and drunk Irish train wreck of an episode. At least in DS9, Odo emphatically states that killing your clone is still murder.
@@patrickmccurry1563 If your clone has gained consciousness and is aware of him/herself and their possible demise, it is indeed murder. In the case of Up The Long Ladder, the clones they destroyed had never achieved consciousness and had no awareness. That's what cuts the difference.
Thank you for explaining this story. I just called it planet blakmen
LOL you're welcome :)
Look forward for more back trek series
Great video as always!
This episode stunk out loud.
Indeed it does!
Another great episode in my favorite series.
Love the scene where the dude just casually catches the glove and dies of poisoning. Such a bad episode.
LOL I know right?
Especially since the poison was described as split-second lethal. Took too long to die.
This episode feels like it would fit great into the TOS era.
LOL I suppose, though I think even TOS took great strides not to be racist!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios yes true. But this would have been a season 3 episode probably. Lol
@@SchardtCinematic Only if Kirk and the "not lizard King" exchanged bodies. ;)
*All* I like about this episode is that Tasha has a lot to do. Love her. However, the lines they have her say are questionable to say the least... But she gets to be 'action girl' and not a glorified 'receptionist'
I just avoid the whole first season of TNG. There wasn't enough good about it to justify watching it after the fact. It was clearly "good enough" at the time to have a second season green lighted, but season 2, for me, is where it started to get good (and season 3 was even better).
I think it was because Trek Fans were giving it a chance, it's ratings certainly werent stellar, but solid... And as ratings continued to decline in S2, they knew something had to change... So they gave Gene another ceremonial title and fired Hurley and suddenly the show got great!
I really didn't think much about Code of Honor. I treated it just like any other episode. Thanks for your thoughts.
You shall have NO vaccine and NO Lt. Yar!
LOL that was horrible
VERY horrible!
Oh yeah, and "The Lonely", the episode preview where they forgot to put in the SFX, so we had an FX crew arcing with a welder off screen with strobes and no visual effects, while Deanna Troi freaked out about how it was blinding her. Like that Doctor Who episode where apparently the sound effects guys went on vacation, so there were no Dalek blaster sound effects, just guys clutching their chests yelling "Arrrrrrgh!" and falling over.
It looks like the Star Trek movie franchise is back on track with Noah Hawley set to write and direct the next film. No details on what universe the film is going to be set in. Interestingly Noah Hawley is not a trekker. So it seems Paramount is going down the Harve Bennett route
I love your voice you sexy man.
Great to see this review. I'm liking this series.
I am a weirdo who likes season 1. I liked the music and I found it had more energy.
It might be interesting if you do a "best of, worst of" season 1 tng.
Well thank you very much :)
This is the BESTEST comment, you "sexy man" ! ! ! ! :-D :-D :-D
I will remember that for a looooooong time.
Michael Baron was one of those writers who only wrote this episode?
This episode was one of the few that was uncomfortable to watch. I saw it once and never again. No regrets whatsoever. Whenever I go back to Season 1, I watch "The Arsenal of Freedom," "Heart of Glory," even "Conspiracy" among others because it reminds me of Alien. But "Code of Honor" will not be on my watch list for the foreseeable future. No regrets. 🖖😎👍
It's a testimony to the reservoir of good will that existed for the Star Trek franchise that TNG was allowed to find its way in spite of some really horrible beginnings. Other series would have been outright cancelled had they aired something as racist as 'Code of Honor'. It was that bad.
Even as a kid, without understanding the themes, you can still sense something is off about it.
Should've gone with the Gorn idea. Although a planet of all black people would be a change of pace from the usual all/mostly white planets they'd been to. Hell, there was even a planet full of Aryans.
When I first saw this episode with a friend my friend was like "WTF? Are you kidding me?". Keep in mind, I'm black and my friend was a white female. She was disgusted by the racist overtones.
A few episodes later they went to the all white and blond people planet in Justice. Guess they never made it to the all Asian planet.
The Asian planet never needed any help.
Awesome video, I couldn't agree more. I can't watch it either because of how messed up it is. Nobody can deny the fact that it's racist as hell. I mean having a population that is completely African American is one thing, but to have them act in such tribal ways, I have no words. Honestly, whoever wrote that episode in terms of the final product should be slapped in the face. It's supposed to be the 24th century and this is how they viewed black people. And I'm talking about the writers of the episode and the producers.
Thank you so much :) :) :)
Once Will Riker grew the beard, episodes improved.
Go figure!
Code of honor does sir one useful purpose. Being universally agreed is the worst episode. It's saved in episode not nearly as bad, from having to take that title.
i dont think its the worst episode... But it is season 1 so you know its not good.
LOL It certainly is among the worst of TNG and Trek all together! :P
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios i agree, but spocks brain exists. lol
Like you, when it comes on BBC America I skip it. Actually I skip most episodes with "young Wesley"
There are very few episodes in S1 I actually truly enjoy or watch often...
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios ....yeah, since BBC America does 12 hour marathons of TNG on Monday's and Wednesdays, if I see "Encounter at Far Point" on Monday I usually check back in a week. Season 3 should be starting 😆
1963Iota “Wesley, the boy?” Oh how many times did they call him the boy in that season??
I've got all Star Trek series on dvd & this is definitely the worst TNG episode but I still totally love watching Star Trek TNG
How much you wanna bet that all those Trek "fans" who bitch and whine about there being too much diversity in current Trek shows and fear "SJWs" corrupting their Star Trek consider Code Of Honor to be among the best TNG episodes ever produced?
Actually so far, all but 3 people have commented their agreement in regards to this episode... And when fandom agrees, that's a scary thing :P
While I didn't like this episode, it's still in the season that features space jellyfish. Same season where we met the Ferengi for the first time (and that there is a massive can of worms in itself).
I agree with it being far from a great episode, though when I saw it the first time at about 4 or 5 I didn't think it had anything to do with black people, I thought it was just a species that was like the Gorn or Klingons, grumpy, chauvinistic, warrior planet, just figured it was season one and no one could afford any good make up. As I got older I saw why the episode had so many issues with it, I'm just honestly not sure what that says about little me.
Well you were 4 or 5 back then. Just a baby :)
I really can't remember fine details of this episode because i avoid watching everytime i rewatch the series but it was pretty bad.
VERY bad :P
G E N E ' S
V I S I O N
BOO!!!
:-D :-D
LOL
Not really seeing any racist qualities, unless that is said purely because the bad guys happen to be black. Overall it was lackluster but worth the occasional rewatch
I liked it. I even remember those days that the main cast championed this episode. I can't remember the show, but one promotion show were doing interviews and I remember someone saying that this episode was made because of criticisms that TOS was racist for not having a "Black" planet. That all the planets that they went to in TOS were all "White". What the Main Cast says, I don't trust. They'll say one thing today and another tomorrow. They're acting in interviews just as much as they are in the program. I don't remember any of the "Black" actors that portrayed the "Black" species, on the "Black" planet saying that this episode was racist. And even not to long ago, Karole Selmon, the chick that played Yareena, came out and championed this episode and said that claims of racism was crazy. That not only was it not racist, she felt that it was impowering.
I've been talking to another regarding this episode and he's in agreement with you. I still like it. I'm going to put my own video together championing it's merits. No Star Trek episode is racist. You have to be racist to make something racist. There is nothing racist or bigoted about Star Trek. Thank you for your inspiration to start making my own videos. I've done some before, mostly political, but they're just me talking with some old posters in the back ground. This motivated me to do something more.
Take care and Live Long and Prosper
Dionysis.
On this entire comment, this time, I have to completely disagree with you.
When the majority of the actors involved in the show, as well as the majority of fandom say it's racist, then, it's racist! Also Levar Burton spoke out about how racist this episode was many times! I've even conducted many polls about Code of Honor, and have seen many polls conducted in regards to the episode, and all come out the same way, it IS Racist... And these polls are never even close, with this channels receiving an 82% Racist and 13% abstaining, that left only 5% thinking it wasn't... And one black actress or person saying it wasn't racist doesnt change that fact that Many MORE Black People, and people of all races, view this episode as being quite racist!
There are also MANY racist episodes, or episodes which unintentionally play on a racial stereotype, remember the drunk Irish Spacemen? Or how about the tree hugging, nondescript, stereotypical Native Americans? That's all racist. When you take something that is a known stereotype, and make your characters act as that known stereotype, whether you like it or not, it's racism!
And finally, you're welcome to like or dislike any episode(s) of Trek that you want, but to ignore the racist over/ under tones just exasperates an already major problem in the world. Making it appear as though you are racist, because you can't see the obvious racist portrayal of black people in the episode!
PS... As an experienced UA-camr, I'd think carefully about what hills you're willing to die on...
I never want to stifle creativity, however, UA-cam can be a very toxic place. And although you're a small channel now, who knows what the future holds, and making a video like you're suggesting, could bite you hard in the future.
Just something to think about!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Thank you very much. You've been quite helpful. Also, thank you for that considerate advice but not to worry, I'm a fellow old person and can handle the 'toxicity', so to say. But again, thank you for your concern and advice. So, because you 'Completely' disagree with me in that comment, does that mean that you only 'Partially' disagree with me about the Archer Class?
Take care, Man. As always LLaP!
I don't hate this episode, but its not my favorite. There are things that I like and things I find silly like most episodes.
I did not like Code of Honor. If they would of change some of the story and other things there is a chance that the episode would be better.
da fan di star trek, questo non mi pare di averlo mai visto, e a dire il vero non me lo ricordavo proprio...
Tienes suerte
In it's defence Code of Honour was the fourth episode of the first season. The first season of any television program is hit and miss because nobody from the cast to the crew haven't found there feet. Plus the first season is where you try experiment episodes to see if they are hit with fans
There is no defense for racism!
I remember this episode as a teenager and even for 1987 it’s pretty racist and low quality.
That episode is a complete turd storm.
You wanna enjoy Code of Honor? Watch SFDebris' review of the episode. His jokes make this ridiculousness tolerable.
But I have to admit, I love Lutan's hammy exclamation of "Then you shall have no treaty, no vaccine, and no Lt. Yar!"
Stargate SG-1 is still the best thing out there.
While i love SG-1 i feel that Atlantis is much stronger as a show. SG-1 had to spend a lot of time on establishing stuff, the first 2 seasons were good but the real meat is Season 3-8. Seasons 9-10 just went overboard, after season 10 the franchise was powercrept to death. Sure Humans becoming a galactic power is a logical progression and them beeing able to deal with Hataks is reasonable as well but BC-304s can literally one shot everything that is not an Ori Mothership or a Wraith hive and even those are not much of a challenge. At this point 2 BC-304 could have probably destroyed Anubis entire assault fleet on their own. What the hell is supposed to challenge them anymore. To me Season 8 is the end of SG-1 and that is that.
Atlantis on the other hand was strong from the very beginning, was funny but not as overbearing with it, had the best multi parters only rivalled by the season 7 or 8 finale, had a more fleshed out supporting cast and continued to be that the whole way through with only very few bad episodes. The Wraith were also better villains than the Groauld or the Ori IMO.
Wrong
ST:TNG Code of Honor was the worst Episode made. The Premise was sound, Federation Culture having to interact with an Aliens Culture and having a misunderstanding due to cultural conflict is a great idea. But to portray it in this manner was the worst way to go. Using the Gorn was a much cooler idea.
Russell Mayberry also directed one of the best TV Pilots of a television show that was never seen well it was seen but it was practically ignored the TV pilot was called probe but was later changed to search which was created by Leslie Stevens and co-produced by Robert Justman they also work together on the outer limits just men was also the executive producer for the first season of Star Trek the next Generations also note that this is probably the only episode in which Michael Dawn does not appear in as the Klingon officer he definitely saw the writing on the wall for this episode
I totally agree ST:NG was just getting its footing and as anyone can attest without a proper direction a TV show will get lost very quickly in its search for indentity and as for this episode I tend to look at it from a sociological viewpoint because what is wrong with having a planet with just one race in this case Africans because what if they were Asian or white would that make it better I find this episode more cringe worth then racist and as for the fans who say it was, well everyone is entitled to their viewpoints. LLNP 🖖
You mean the majority of fans (and the actors that are in it) who say it is...
+JorgeM -- The fact that the people on the planet are black is not the problem. They are behaving like primitive tribal stereotypes that were obsolete even in the 1980s.
The only redeeming quality of this episode is that it’s the worst episode ever. Everything only got better from here. Good 👏 riddance 👏.
Yeah, but it got better very, very slowly.
Season 3 of TNG was still pretty far away at this point.
A horrific, absolute racist episode. The worst episode of all ST series!
The best that could be said is it's a really mediocre TOS episode that would feel at home in the 60s, with the same low quality set design & same racial stereotyping. It's still not as stupid & completely baseless like Spock's Brain was- an episode that had to completely make up some random Vulcan biology to explain why Spock's body didn't die instantly- but even TOS had betetr episodes. No doubt the casting went that way with generic humans because making a number of Gorn costumes would have been expensive.
Gene may have been going senile by then, which a lot of fans theorize, due to his enforced "utopia" visions but inconsistent ideas. If humanity is so enlightened, why is Picard such an asshole in the early seasons? Especially to children. Bear in mind a lot of Gene's worse ideas were overturned(he wanted no TOS references at all- no returning aliens, no mentions of crew, nothing) otherwise TNG season 1 could have been quite terrible.
To say that Code of Honor is a piece of S---- episode is being kind.
I was 8 when this episode air and now when I seen more then dozen times, That episode is a big mistake, the only good thing about it was at the beginning of the episode, right before LT. Yar and the end of the episode, after the s*** show happens. Because I feel uncomfortable watching it and I’m a white person saying this.
At least with "Spocks Brain" I can laugh at Leonard Nimoys bored expression, the bad acting and meme worthy bad dialogue.
This episode is pure shite, with its overt racism, Picards "I'm not racist, I have a black friend" moment and its overall crappy plot this episode is just terrible.
The only truly cringe-worthy episode that I can think of in all of Star Trek. I can only read it as some level of European / African colonial metaphor. No matter what, it does not translate well. It is essentially racist and sexist and is far beneath the worth of everyone involved.
I wouldn't call this racist. It needs a filthier word.
I was always disturbed by Picard agreeing with everything said about the nature and purpose of women. It wasn't just agreeing with a backwards concept it was outside of Picard's normal moral standards. Badly written.
I know this episode is pretty racist and I can understand why it's considered one of the worst, but I've always enjoyed it. I can't really explain why, it's just the way I feel about it I guess
We all like something that's objectively trash. I loved Space 1999 as a kid.
@@patrickmccurry1563 The first season of Space 1999 is great, if you ignore the mystical hooey.
@@patrickmccurry1563, that's something I want to see. I don't pay attention to what others think of something I prefer to judge it for myself
You were wondering if there was anyone who liked this episode.
Not me.
LOL
Awful episode... Awful!! But it's not the worst of TNG....
Racism is the belief in the superiority of one race over another.
How was this episode "racist"? Maybe a little stereotypical, and poorly written, but in no way is it racist! 🤔
Actually the definition is "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior." Portrayal of the Race in this show as Tribal drum beating, stick pounding, crime ridden, kidnappers of white women make it racist... If everyone says the episode is racist, including the actors that were in it, then that mean it is racist and the problem lies with you and NOT everyone else... So I would suggest you step back and examine why you missed something so obvious!
And BTW stereotyping IS a form a racism... It's saying all these people of color act this way and are like this when it isnt true at all....
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Uhm, it's an alien race on an alien planet in a fictional universe. 😜
That doesnt make the episode any less racist... review my previous comment and learn what racism actually is...
@@MrKeech666 "alien race on an alien planet in a fictional universe" -- but they act like stereotypical African tribesmen from 1930s movies.
It's a total piece of shit.
Yeah, I'm calling it, people.
This episode flat out sucks. From a flat out bad and uninspiring story, to the super obvious racist overtones, this episode makes me cringe. While binging TNG on Netflix, I purposely skipped it. I didn't like it, when I first saw it in reruns, and o never ever want to see it again. It's a piece of trash that doesn't deserve to be part of Star Trek.
This is the worst of star trek on tv?!?! Its bad but not as bad as Spock's Brain or the one with the space hippies.
Spocks Brain and Way to Eden at least have campy fun to them, this episode is not any fun at all or campy one bit... It's simply a really bad and racist episode!
Very cringeworthy episode...
Indeed it is!
As well as being racist I always found this episode to be horribly sexist.
Honestly it is just a bad episode because its horribly written. However personally it would have been more racist if it would have been any other race acting like a characture of african tribesmen. Black people acting like african tribesmen isn't racist, it's just stupid. Also UA-cam recommended a scene from black panther after this video. Wait. Is black panther racist? A bunch of black people acting like african tribesmen. No? Fascinating.
When you can laugh at yourself you have grown. Forget racist, this show is funny.
When you laugh off important things, such as racism, it shows a lack of Intelligence, Understanding and Empathy. Racism can not be forgotten, until it no longer exists!
At the time i didn't think it was racist. Just bad.
And now?
Unintentionally racist. And still bad
Unintentional Racism is much worse!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios I don't know. If you do something without malice I don't think that is as bad as doing it with it. I can apologize and learn from a mistake.
Also, I do not prescribe to social justice crap but even I think this episode was racist.
I have never heard anyone reveal that the original script did not cast the planet as african americans. That is a game changer. I did hear a certain guest producer making those decisions. So perhaps it wasnt the fault of the regular staff.
You handle things with a very balanced approach. I appreciate you
Well, they can’t all be great. Different writers and different directors are going to make things inconsistent. Even T.O.S. Episodes and novelizations had contradictions. That’s TV. I’m sure I saw this episode but, I don’t really remember doing so. Now because it’s considered “racist” I’d like to see it and judge for myself.
No one said ALL episodes had to be great, but certainly NO episode should be racist :P
It was TERRIBLE!! I skip it every time
Me too! (except for this review of course :P)
Blackface in space.
"look at how progressive and socially conscious we are!"
This was not the worst episode. It was the most offensive. But I will say on my deathbed that Threshold was the worst episode of Star Trek ever made, Discovery notwithstanding. lol
I never thought of it as racist, just a bit boring.
.... and lame.
Andy Hughes waaay racist. Not in imagery but in how one culture sees me. Do they think I’m that? Because we weren’t that. “That” was a biased idea created by a culture that visited Africa as tourists but never valued the cultures there as anything but monolithic oversexualized savages.
Unfortunately, until I had traveled that’s the same view I had of this other culture! With growth I have opened my eyes and see the people of that culture as varied as the others I grew up with.
I wonder what someone would think of America if resorts like Vegas were the only place they’d ever known of our modern America.
Stage shows, hookers, drugs drunks and casino bosses. That’s not us... right?
Then Andy i suggest you watch it again and analyze it as it is clearly racist!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios I will do mate, not seen it for a long time.
LOL I kind of feel sorry for you having to watch it though... :P
Just because the cast has a problem with it and fans have a problem with it does not make it a racist episode I don't think is anything racist about it what's wrong with an all-black planet with an all-black cast dressed in traditional African clothing? This is a great pro-black episode there's nothing wrong with that Advanced civilization with Transporter technology and the ability to fabricate advanced vaccines that the Federation wasn't.
Actually it does, in fact, that's EXACTLY how racism works! LOL And one white man doesnt change that fact!
When the majority of the actors involved in the show, as well as the majority of fandom say it's racist, then, it's racist! Also Levar Burton spoke out about how racist this episode was many times! I've even conducted many polls about Code of Honor, and have seen many polls conducted in regards to the episode, and all come out the same way, it IS Racist... And these polls are never even close, with this channels receiving an 82% Racist and 13% abstaining, that left only 5% thinking it wasn't... It is NOT pro-black, as the portrayal of Black people in this episode as Tribal, Backwards and Criminals make it racist, so you should actually think through your position, as the good, does not outweigh the bad!
You're welcome to like or dislike any episode(s) of Trek that you want, but to ignore the racist over/ under tones just exasperates an already major problem in the world. Making it appear as though you are racist, because you can't see the obvious racist portrayal of black people in the episode! You may not like it, but that's how it is!
Does anyone feel that this episode was deliberately written to belittle African Americans? Or is it just a spectacular example of ignorant and tactless minds having no conception of what they were doing?
good question; one that deserves analysis and evidence before jumping to a conclusion. but a deplorable episode that strikes one as racist whatever the intent was
Yeah this episode was TERRIBLE but is it worse than Sub Rosa? Hhhhmmm
Yes because Sub Rosa was bad, but not Racist! That adds an ENTIRELY new level of bad to the episode!
@@TriAngulumAudioStudios Excellent point, it is ridiculously racist. Definitely the most racist episode of Trek I can think of. Maybe I should eventually do a video about the worst episodes of Trek this one if not the worst would definitely be near the top.
I really do not like this episode but when black Panther came out that was a very good movie
And we always say SJW’s complain about everything being racist.
Im not a subscriber to the SJW agenda, however THIS episode is certainly racist!
TriAngulum Audio Studios Can I guess we can definitely agree on that.
Although the first season of Discovery was awesome. Only one bad episode in the entire season