Personally I would probably put “Devil’s Due” at number one, but I realized not everyone can have such a refined taste in Trek.
Personally I would probably put “Devil’s Due” at number one, but I realized not everyone can have such a refined taste in Trek.
Not sure that I would rank TNG Measure of a Man or The Drumhead ahead of SNW Ad Astra Per Aspera.
Only rewatches and time will determine the final place of Ad Astra Per Aspera in the franchise, but I have a sense that it will become as significant or more than either of the TNG ones. While the decision was taken on the narrow application of an asylum provision for one individual, in terms of allegory, the episode echoes with the experiences of so very many marginalized groups and peoples.
Measure of a Man was groundbreaking but feels pretty dated to watch. Back when it aired, the idea that sentient AIs should be treated as humans was far from the mainstream. Today, we’ve seen so many sympathetic robots in pop culture (including, of course, Data) that the situation is reversed: the arguments aired against Data in this episode seem shockingly bigoted.
Imagine if the plot contrived to make Riker get up in front of the court to argue for slavery – even if he’s clearly labelled as playing devil’s advocate, it feels beyond the pale.