TV Series (Oct 2024)
Star Trek : The Next Generation (1987-1994) ; un procès caché de l’humanité en sept saisons
Abstract
Ethical issues are at the core of Star Trek: The Next Generation (CBS, 1987-1994). The starship Enterprise, led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, explores the galaxy, guided by the principles of the Prime Directive, although this does not prevent the crew from being confronted with tough choices. Almost each episode introduces a new planet, prompting anthropological debate on the universality of ethics. Imbalances in the hierarchical order (abduction of the captain, conflicts between crew members) are essential to both the rhythm of the plot and to social considerations: these imbalances being partially re-established but forgotten in the following episode, their temporary resolution allows the mission to continue indefinitely. And yet, a deus ex machina does indeed make this space expedition a series of of ethical trials, appearing in the pilot and coming back in the finale: the judgment of the humans by Q, Captain Picard’s nemesis. Q can be seen as both the orchestrator and arbiter of all incidents faced by the crew: in the pilot, he warns that humans will be judged on the basis of their conduct during the mission. Ethically speaking, Q is both judge and prosecutor, but from a narrative point of view, he could also be considered a « covert narrator ». This hidden, deferred and forgotten dimension of the trial of the humans and the archinarrator in Star Trek: TNG is what will be examined in this contribution.
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