ALL SCI-FI

[Bogmeister]

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ANGEL ONE episode #14, first season / Air Date: 1/25/88
written by Patrick Barry; Directed by Michael Rhodes



Here was TNG's presentation of a matriarchal society — on this planet, the females are bigger & stronger than the males; the females were the hunters in the old days. They run things, and the men are strictly 2nd-class here, functioning as tolerated servants. The couple of actors we see portraying the male natives are very short, in the 5-foot-tall range.

As a reference, the TV movie Planet Earth (1974) was Roddenberry's previous depiction of such a society.



I'm not sure how much Roddenberry had to do with this particular episode, but it seems like another of his efforts to feature an adult approach to sexual topics in the TV format.

The problem is, due to the constraints and PC limitations of this format — especially back in those days — much of this comes off as cheesy & laughable, especially when Riker dons native garb to 'pretty himself up' for the female leader. Yar and Troi get their giggles here and so does the audience.





The plot takes a grim turn in the final act when some off-worlders from a merchant ship that crashed there years back are slated to be executed for subverting the natural order of things (this now copies the plot of TOS episode Bread and Circuses).

Also, in a B storyline, some fast-acting virus has disabled half the crew of the Enterprise. LaForge gets to be in command for a short spell while Dr. Crusher tries to figure out the cure. I never did figure out where this sickness came from, though Wesley had something to do with it when he threw a snowball at Picard.

BoG's Score: 5 out of 10



BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Bud Brewster]

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Having written his review in 2010, before the Me Too movement and the subject of women's rights became the hot topic it is today, Bogmeister may not have realized that this episode doesn't just "seem like another of [Roddenberry's] efforts to feature an adult approach to sexual topics in the TV format", as Bogmeister said.

It is, in fact, a forceful attempt to demonstrate just how sexiest and condescending some men can be. By reversing the roles of men and woman in the alien matriarchal society, it demonstrates (somewhat comically) just how frustrating it is for women to be treated like second class citizens.

I for one don't care much for turning a science fiction story into a thinly a disguised lecture on a contemporary social ill, at least not when the "message" is presented in such an heavy handed fashion. But Roddenberry leaned heavily on stories like this all through TOS, even though they usually weren't "one-trick ponies" like this one.

In that series he usually gave us enough science fiction in the plot to make the moral message seem like a little something extra to ponder.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

From IMDB.

First ST:TNG episode to show the Prime Directive in its modern incarnation.

First ST:TNG episode to mention the Romulans.

This episode shows that the Enterprise can do site-to-site transports without having to beam an away team back to the Enterprise first. Here the away team is beamed directly from the capital city to an outdoors location outside of the city.

Producers, cast and crew felt this was a poor episode.

The Angel One Matriarchal leadership & dominance was originally intended to be an allegory to South Africa's system of Apartheid.

The matte painting for the capital city of Angel One would be reused many more times in later episodes.

The Reverse role society theme in this episode was used by earlier by Gene Roddenberry as the plot for his 1974 TV pilot/movie Planet Earth.

Patrick Stewart had previously given staff writers and producers his notes on any disagreements he had with story elements of any episodes.

That lead Gates McFadden to think that she was also welcome to do the same thing. Finding this to be "one of the most sexist episodes we ever did," she let the writing staff know her feelings about it.

When Gene Roddenberry left the show and appointed a new show-runner at the end of the first season, the writers declared that they would quit unless McFadden was fired.
McFadden was written out of the series for the second season.

Sidebar: It is a terrible episode, no question about it.

So it seems as if the cast and crew all agreed that "Angel One" was a clunker. I have to wonder then as to why exactly the writers united to have McFadden fired if no one thought this episode was good?

Did McFadden present her unhappiness with the episode to the writers in a rude and undiplomatic manner?

Did she make a serious breach in studio protocol by incorrectly assuming that she, like lead star of ST:TNG, Patrick Stewart, could submit her views regarding the scripts for the show? Should she have known better?

If it had been one of the male cast members, other than Stewart, who complained about the script, would the writing staff have rallied to have them fired?

Ironically, were we seeing sexism at work here over McFadden's firing regarding an episode tackling sexism?

[Pow]

Nitpicker's Guide.

Data's knowledge and lack thereof concerning the English language are puzzling in this episode. When Data examines a spray bottle of perfume on the surface of the planet, Troi says that some cultures view the substance as an aphrodisiac.

Data then comments that he is not familiar with that term.

This episode purports that the Prime Directive binds only members of Starfleet, and therefore the survivors of the Odin are not required to leave Angel One.

Wait a minute: if the point of the Prime Directive is to protect peoples and cultures from outside interference, what is to stop an unscrupulous freighter captain from selling replicators to underdeveloped worlds?

Granted, Starfleet's specific rules and regulations should be binding only on Starfleet, but shouldn't the Federation of Planets have some corresponding laws that are binding on all those who pass through the sectors under Federation control? Isn't this necessary to enforce the spirit of the Prime Directive?

Indeed, wouldn't leaving the survivors of the Odin on Angel One be disruptive to the natural development of the planet and therefore be interfering with it?

[Bud Brewster]

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A VERY good question, Pow. And not one which isn't easily answered.

Even if there were profiteers who went around peddling advanced technology on various planets (something which would certainly happen), Starfleet can't impose its rules and regulations on non-Starfleet beings, even humans — even less so for alien races.

Even if Starfleet ships discovered Starfleet technology in the hands of aliens, the only thing they could do is confiscate and find out who was selling it. It the aliens refused to hand it over, taking it might cause serious diplomatic problems.

The bottom line seems to be that even though Starfleet personnel can't sell or give away technology, they can't police the galaxy and interfere with interstellar commerce unless they discover evidence of the wholesale trading of Starfleet technology.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)