I thought it was the worst episode of the first season. Yeah, it technically poses a moral dilemma, but it doesn’t do anything with it. The truth of the matter isn’t revealed until the very end, so there’s no time for anything other than Pike abruptly giving up and walking away from it. No exploring alternatives or grappling for clever solutions, just… giving up.
That’s my recollection, anyway — haven’t watched it since it came out.
Thats a fair critique for sure. I may have been a bit starved for classic Trek by the time this aired 😂 . I dont think it was the WORST episode though. I’d probably vote for the orion episode as worst of season 1…
edit: thinking about it more, i think the main “point” of the story was that sometimes the best intentions simply aren’t enough. no matter how much starfleet might try to impose their moral viewpoint on other cultures, there will be no-win scenarios with no good answer. you just have to learn how to live with the guilt of not being able to save everyone.
I dont think it was the WORST episode though. I’d probably vote for the orion episode as worst of season 1…
I can see that. Personally, “Pike cooks himself out of a bad situation and then pirate-speaks on the bridge for fun” is all gold, but that’s clearly a matter of how high your tolerance for very dumb humour is…
It’s entirely possible I’ll see more value in “Lift Us…” when I rewatch the series. I hope so!
Yeah, I think I get what they were trying to do with bringing back the camp of the original series but it was a bit too much for me. That said, I didn’t mind their version of a “holodeck” episode! (the elysian kingdom)
i disagree with your “it doesn’t do anything with it” critique tho. not everything needs resolution. it’s a retelling of a classic le guin. there’s no resolution in the le guin either.
I love episodes with no neat resolution, like DS9’s In The Pale Moonlight or TNG’s Journey’s End. But episodes like that are about the struggle with the unresolvable problem. We watch the show’s respective captains grapple with and debate the problem for the whole episode.
This episode is mostly a mystery about what the situation with the planet might be. It poses it’s dilemma at the end and then immediately throws up its hands.
And honestly, my recollection is that the “unresolvability” is less than there’s no conceivable way this society could carry on without child torture, and more that the prime directive means this is all outside of Federation jurisdiction. Which feels more like moral abdication than a real ethical dilemma.
I think there’s lots of reasons Le Guin’s story works for me when this doesn’t, but a big one is that there’s no heroic “captain” figure. It’s about making the reader face their own complicity in unethical societal structures. I don’t feel pushed to do that with SNW because I’m busy yelling at Pike about what he should do, not looking inward.
Which feels more like moral abdication than a real ethical dilemma.
this is like the core of federation society haha. they wouldn’t be able to live with themselves if they couldn’t handwave things away with the prime directive.
I thought it was the worst episode of the first season. Yeah, it technically poses a moral dilemma, but it doesn’t do anything with it. The truth of the matter isn’t revealed until the very end, so there’s no time for anything other than Pike abruptly giving up and walking away from it. No exploring alternatives or grappling for clever solutions, just… giving up.
That’s my recollection, anyway — haven’t watched it since it came out.
Thats a fair critique for sure. I may have been a bit starved for classic Trek by the time this aired 😂 . I dont think it was the WORST episode though. I’d probably vote for the orion episode as worst of season 1…
edit: thinking about it more, i think the main “point” of the story was that sometimes the best intentions simply aren’t enough. no matter how much starfleet might try to impose their moral viewpoint on other cultures, there will be no-win scenarios with no good answer. you just have to learn how to live with the guilt of not being able to save everyone.
I can see that. Personally, “Pike cooks himself out of a bad situation and then pirate-speaks on the bridge for fun” is all gold, but that’s clearly a matter of how high your tolerance for very dumb humour is…
It’s entirely possible I’ll see more value in “Lift Us…” when I rewatch the series. I hope so!
Yeah, I think I get what they were trying to do with bringing back the camp of the original series but it was a bit too much for me. That said, I didn’t mind their version of a “holodeck” episode! (the elysian kingdom)
i disagree with your “it doesn’t do anything with it” critique tho. not everything needs resolution. it’s a retelling of a classic le guin. there’s no resolution in the le guin either.
I love episodes with no neat resolution, like DS9’s In The Pale Moonlight or TNG’s Journey’s End. But episodes like that are about the struggle with the unresolvable problem. We watch the show’s respective captains grapple with and debate the problem for the whole episode.
This episode is mostly a mystery about what the situation with the planet might be. It poses it’s dilemma at the end and then immediately throws up its hands.
And honestly, my recollection is that the “unresolvability” is less than there’s no conceivable way this society could carry on without child torture, and more that the prime directive means this is all outside of Federation jurisdiction. Which feels more like moral abdication than a real ethical dilemma.
I think there’s lots of reasons Le Guin’s story works for me when this doesn’t, but a big one is that there’s no heroic “captain” figure. It’s about making the reader face their own complicity in unethical societal structures. I don’t feel pushed to do that with SNW because I’m busy yelling at Pike about what he should do, not looking inward.
this is like the core of federation society haha. they wouldn’t be able to live with themselves if they couldn’t handwave things away with the prime directive.