We all know Star Trek is a show for thinkers, but every now and then an episode comes along that is so powerful that it never leaves your mind. For me that episode was "Chain Of Command" Parts I and II from the Next Generation. I don't think any other episode of Star Trek has hit me quite as hard as that one. If you haven't seen this particular episode let me give you a quick synopsis.
Captain Picard goes on an away mission with Beverly and Worf to destroy a Cardassian weapon of mass destruction, the plan is all a trap and everyone escapes except for Picard who is taken prisoner by the Cardassians. The cardassian who is holding Picard prisioner uses a vast aray of torture techniques (and they aren't shy on showing the horrifying graphic nature of it) He then moves onto another method...he hookes up a device that induces insane amounts of pain at the push of a button, the pain can be increased at will. He then shows Picard four very bright lights and demand he say that there are 5, inflicting increasing pain if Picard disagrees. This goes on for a while with Picard refusing to give in, then after days of this the cardassian offers Picard a choice "remain in captivity for his whole life...or say there are 5 lights and live in comfort on Cardassia. Picard ponders for a moment and as he is about to answer another cardassian enters saying Picard has been granted release. Once his restraints are removed he walks away, stops turns around and screams crying at the top of his lungs "There were four lights!" Once back on the Enterprise he sits with counselor Troi to talk about what happened and at one point he turns to her and says that, he was willing to admit anything for the torture to stop, but what really concerned him was for a moment...he really saw five lights."
This episode was a testament to the kind of psychological effect torture has on the human psyche. For a moment Picard was so broken that his brain actually fabricated a fifth light causing him to momentarily lose sanity. Being in the military we are trained for capture situations and the idea never really frightened me. This episode however put fear into me. It shows just how sadistic people can be and how damaging an experience like that can be. I thought a lot about that episode and even to this day it haunts me. The idea of having to endure such torture is unfathomable, and even though Star Trek is fictional, that portrayal scared me more than any real life reenactment ever has. On top of that Patrick Stewart did such a phenomenal job acting in that episode that I would say it was his best performance ever. He was so convincing that I almost thought they WERE actually torturing him. If you haven't seen this episode please go watch it.
That was my eye opening episode, but what I want to know is were there any episodes of Star Trek that have hit you so hard that you will never forget them as long as you live? If so what episode and why did it have such a profound effect on you? I can't wait to hear what everyone has to say!
Captain Picard goes on an away mission with Beverly and Worf to destroy a Cardassian weapon of mass destruction, the plan is all a trap and everyone escapes except for Picard who is taken prisoner by the Cardassians. The cardassian who is holding Picard prisioner uses a vast aray of torture techniques (and they aren't shy on showing the horrifying graphic nature of it) He then moves onto another method...he hookes up a device that induces insane amounts of pain at the push of a button, the pain can be increased at will. He then shows Picard four very bright lights and demand he say that there are 5, inflicting increasing pain if Picard disagrees. This goes on for a while with Picard refusing to give in, then after days of this the cardassian offers Picard a choice "remain in captivity for his whole life...or say there are 5 lights and live in comfort on Cardassia. Picard ponders for a moment and as he is about to answer another cardassian enters saying Picard has been granted release. Once his restraints are removed he walks away, stops turns around and screams crying at the top of his lungs "There were four lights!" Once back on the Enterprise he sits with counselor Troi to talk about what happened and at one point he turns to her and says that, he was willing to admit anything for the torture to stop, but what really concerned him was for a moment...he really saw five lights."
This episode was a testament to the kind of psychological effect torture has on the human psyche. For a moment Picard was so broken that his brain actually fabricated a fifth light causing him to momentarily lose sanity. Being in the military we are trained for capture situations and the idea never really frightened me. This episode however put fear into me. It shows just how sadistic people can be and how damaging an experience like that can be. I thought a lot about that episode and even to this day it haunts me. The idea of having to endure such torture is unfathomable, and even though Star Trek is fictional, that portrayal scared me more than any real life reenactment ever has. On top of that Patrick Stewart did such a phenomenal job acting in that episode that I would say it was his best performance ever. He was so convincing that I almost thought they WERE actually torturing him. If you haven't seen this episode please go watch it.
That was my eye opening episode, but what I want to know is were there any episodes of Star Trek that have hit you so hard that you will never forget them as long as you live? If so what episode and why did it have such a profound effect on you? I can't wait to hear what everyone has to say!
you see, I was military too. And my brother is currently overseas. Like you, this stuff scares the crap out of me!
