tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post2612222190561509639..comments2024-03-28T23:03:57.917-04:00Comments on Doux Reviews: Star Trek The Next Generation: The OutcastBillie Douxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-14354673358071370202021-04-21T13:02:52.746-04:002021-04-21T13:02:52.746-04:00When I originally wrote this review I was posting ...When I originally wrote this review I was posting under the name J.D. Balthazar. While always a pen name, it was also conforming to my birth gender. I am a trans-woman, and have come out as such to my family, friends and now my readers. I will post a somewhat longer explanation on my about me page, but I thought I would comment here on this episode first, as a tribute to the conversation about gender this particular episode invokes. Samantha M. Quinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06818761353490065669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-75291868924543623552019-02-07T04:57:17.172-05:002019-02-07T04:57:17.172-05:00Thinking about what could have made this episode b...Thinking about what could have made this episode better, I think they probably should have focused on the J'naii society a lot more.<br /><br />They clearly intended them to be a mirror to the intolerance found in our own society. In the "court" scene this actually worked, pointing out our own intolerance by showing us the intolerant J'naii point of view.<br /><br />All those other scenes trying to show the Federation side of it fail because of the reasons mentioned earlier. The writers clearly need a bit more distance, they need the alien species mirror, to address this subject. If they had realised that and had set the episode mostly in J'naii society, I think it could have worked. Compare the way season 4's First Contact addressed xenophobia.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-76398064617201509962019-02-07T04:35:13.223-05:002019-02-07T04:35:13.223-05:00At the time, even choosing this subject was probab...At the time, even choosing this subject was probably seen as daring and progressive. Watching it again now, it mostly shows how much the 24th century in this show is rooted in the late 20th century.<br /><br />It starts with Picard's first line, introducing the new aliens. I'd hope in the 24th century, the androgynous nature of an intelligent species wouldn't be the first (and only) thing you'd mention when describing them. After that, of course, every time the gender matter is brought up the show brings to our attention how little society seems to have progressed since the early 1990's.<br /><br />Still, I can't really dislike this episode. Even in its failure, it's part of what TNG tried to be. I prefer a Star Trek that tries to address such issues to one that doesn't, even if it sometimes fails.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13727952.post-16601913255492912722017-07-06T20:46:48.932-04:002017-07-06T20:46:48.932-04:00This is undoubtedly a not-great episode and it did...This is undoubtedly a not-great episode and it didn't age well. I thought Melinda Culea did a good job with her character, but the fact that it was "her" character was a problem for me -- Next Gen started with an interesting idea, exploring what a culture with no gender would be like, but then they didn't really do that. The whole story was about the fact that some of them were oppressed because they secretly had gender, and of course, Soren had to be straight. It might have been interesting if she had been attracted to, say, Beverly or Deanna instead. <br /><br />It didn't help that they decided to make the J'naii so neutral looking and plain and made them wear ugly onesies. Or that the gender-neutral pronoun couldn't "translate." Or that the only other J'naii with speaking parts were clearly played by women. Oh, well. I totally agree that Soren's speech was deeply moving and I'm sure you're right that it was supposed to be the backbone of the episode. <br /><br />Terrific review, J.D.Billie Douxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17141769005175631213noreply@blogger.com