Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.2: Racism and Fascism in the Courtroom

One of the great things about the original Star Trek back in the 1960s was how it addressed then current issues like racism and fascism.  The crew encounters a humanoid species with faces that have two colors, black and white, and which was left and which was right determined which was the superior variant of the species ("Let That Be Your Last Battlefield").  Or, in another episode, Kirk and Spock go to a planet with a Nazi-like regime ("Patterns of Force").  Kirk has to pretend to be a Nazi, and Shatner plays the part perfectly with some casual sieg heils.

Well, sadly, as we know all too well, fascists and Nazis are still very much a part of this world, and Strange New Worlds takes a different kind of crack at addressing this in episode 2.2, with Lt. Commander Una put on trial because she hid her Illyrian genetic modifications, illegal in Starfleet.  So, yes, Star Fleet is the vehicle of the fascism and racism, including a Vulcan lawyer who is able to recite the policy chapter and verse.

The trial itself is a venerated plot device in TOS, most notably in "The Menagerie," the two-part blockbuster with introduced Pike himself in the Star Trek universe.  The courtroom at Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco is adeptly presented, with the SNW crew watching the proceedings via video on their ship.  Hey, our Supreme Court should get a clue about the value of video, not to mention the upcoming trial of Trump.

TOS excelled in its mix of action and heady philosophic issues, and it was a real pleasure to see SNW going forward with this tradition.  I think more than ever that Strange New Worlds is the very best of the new Star Treks that are now with us.

See also Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 2.1: Nurse Chapel

And see also Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 1.1-1.2: Great Characters, Actors, Stories ... 1.3: "Instead of terraforming planets, we modify ourselves ..." ... 1.4: The Gorn and the Wub ... 1.5 Going to the Chapel ... 1.6: Two Stories ... 1.7: The Kiss ... 1.8: Ends of the Continuum ... 1.9: Momentous! ... 1.10: Everything!