I included episodes from all 5 series, though I'm a die-hard TNG fan. It was a bit difficult, since episodes which ask interesting questions are rather unusual (and far outnumbered by 'What if they got stuck on the Holodeck again?'-type episodes, which are admittedly fun but don't really fit the angle I was trying to sell the class on). And sometimes, it was a bit of a stretch, but this class is mostly an excuse to watch Star Trek every week anyway, so I'm not beating myself up too much over whether or not Space Seed is actually a good counterpart to the questions raised in Duet. But at the beginning of each class, I'll put the class to a vote to see which of the two episodes we'll watch--and then I'll cross my fingers and hope they choose the better of the two.
Here's the episode list and the themes I was stretching to the point of breaking to get them on the episode list. I freely admit that I just picked some of my favorite episodes from all five series and then tried to pair them up with similar episodes:
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1. Do 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'? In these episodes, captains must decide if it is worth it to kill one to save millions. TOS 01x29 The City on the Edge of Forever/TNG 03x26 The Best of Both Worlds |
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2. Where does personhood lie? In these episodes, captains must deal with the ethics surrounding personhood. VOY 02x24 Tuvix/ENT 03x10 Similitude (Bonus: TNG 02x09 Measure of a Man touches on similar themes regarding Data and personhood rather than cloning and personhood, and doesn't put the captain in the position of executioner, so everyone goes home happy.) |
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3. Is The Prime Directive a good thing? In these episodes, captains must wrestle with Starfleet Directive #1: Starfleet may not interfere in the social order of any planet. TNG 03x04 Who Watches the Watchers/ENT 01x13 Dear Doctor (Bonus: The opening segment of Star Trek Into Darkness deals directly with the question of the Prime Directive, and more to the point, it emphasizes the gravity that the Federation and Starfleet gives to it's Directive #1 by actually punishing someone for violating it.) |
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4. What responsibility does society have to war criminals? In these episodes, crews must deal with heinous figures from past wars. TOS 01x23 Space Seed/DS9 01x19 Duet |
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5. Is victory worth it if you must sacrifice all that your side stands for? In these episodes, captains must wrestle with the problem of personal integrity in times of war. DS9 06x19 In the Pale Moonlight/ENT 03x14 Stratagem |
The other requirement for episodes was 'All of the options that I give them have to be episodes I'm okay with watching for the umpteenth time', so you'll notice the lack of Wesley Crusher-centric episodes. (And yes, that was me admitting that I kinda-sorta like Enterprise.)