Star Trek: The Next Generation
"Code of Honor"
Air date: 10/12/1987
Written by Katharyn Powers & Michael Baron
Directed by Russ Mayberry
Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan
Absolutely terrible. "Code of Honor" represents a period when bad TNG wasn't bad TNG, but instead bad TOS. In an attempt to negotiate the acquisition of a much-needed vaccine to cure a deadly plague, the Enterprise crew has dealings with the Ligonians, who value customs of ritualistic honor above all else. Play ball and respect their customs, or no vaccine. Now there's an evolved sensibility. And a premise that leads to an idiotic plot.
One of the rituals involves the kidnapping of Lt. Yar by Lutan (Jessie Lawrence Ferguson), who is quite taken by Yar's presence as a Strong Woman (or some such). Picard must subsequently figure out how to get Yar back without offending the Ligonians and losing the vaccine. It's about here where Lutan's wife demands Yar participate in a fight to the death.
The story requires unwavering endurance to sit through, moving at glacial pace and inviting ridicule at nearly every scene. It employs every cliche in the TOS rulebook, including Goofy Alien Customs, a Hand-to-Hand Fight to the Death, Clever Captain Trickery, and Silly Gender Roles Played Stupidly. The fight to the death is particularly inept; stunt sequences have rarely looked so cheesy. One of Trek's worst episodes.
Previous episode: The Naked Now
Next episode: The Last Outpost
47 comments on this review
Mon, Feb 28, 2011, 8:51am (UTC -5)
stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Emancipation
It was written by Kathryn Powers. Not only did she think this story was worth writing, she thought it was worth writing again!
Fri, Mar 23, 2012, 10:27am (UTC -5)
I didn't last 20 minutes when this was on TV the other week.
Dross of the highest order. I think half a star is generous.
Sun, Mar 25, 2012, 8:41pm (UTC -5)
That said, this is a pretty bad ep. Without going into details, it basically screamed "TOS ripoff" throughout. And the stale acting by most of the ensemble did not help things at all. When Tasha was beamed off, Picard just casually went "Shields up, red alert" and walked out like nothing much happened. If this were a TOS ep, there would have been dramatic music, a focus on Kirk's shocked face for a few seconds to give the audience time to realize what just happened, then he would have yelled "RED ALERT, BATTLE STATIONS!" and ran out of the room as fast as he could.
But it's no use nitpicking relatively little things like this, when the whole script leaves much to be desired. I can't believe that the writer was responsible for another ep just like it (Simon's comment above). 1 or 1.5 stars.
Sun, Mar 25, 2012, 8:46pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Apr 11, 2012, 2:02pm (UTC -5)
At this point everyone is a bad actor, but she's in the leading role of bad actors, and an episode centered around her didn't do any favor.
Oh, and I dont need to tell you how BORING "Code of Honor" actually is. Talk about a bad start for a new show.
Mon, Apr 23, 2012, 10:36pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Jun 21, 2012, 10:32pm (UTC -5)
The scenes involving Yar are initially not as bad as the later ones. I liked the exposition on how the holodeck worked as a concept. However the scenes involving Crosby/ Sirtis when discussing Lutan's obvious attraction for Yar are beyond cringeworthy. Jesse Ferguson, memorable as the self-loathing Black Cop from 'Boyz in the Hood' (subsequent to this I think) plays the role in hammy, entirely inappropriate fashion. The guest Actors playing his henchman and wife are if anything,even worse.
Surprisingly Wil Wheaton is proving weak but far from the weakest link here. Crosby ad Sirtis are far poorer in ths episode, and to make Crosby the lead in the third episode was a 'Bridge too far'. As 'The Snob' says, there's a good scene with Data and Geordi and Patrick Stewart is pretty reliable, but overall this merits it's less than stellar reputation -1star....
Sat, Oct 27, 2012, 3:04am (UTC -5)
Bad writing, bad acting, cheesy music.
Tue, Nov 13, 2012, 8:20pm (UTC -5)
First off, kudos to Jesse Lawrence Ferguson puts in a scene-stealing performance at every turn. His presence makes the story far better than what it otherwise would have been, regardless if the guest cast were black, white, brown, or neon green. His confidence as an actor, and vocal cadence, are admittedly magnetici and he rises above how one-dimensional his role is. The role of Lutan is, obviously, as much cliched as anyone else's, however.
The other saving grace is how the Geordi/Data relationship is nailed from the get-go. One can't say that about many things in TNG's early days, but for the Geordi/Data double-act, they got it right.
Now, the story is one big walking cliche.
Picard's use of blowing up torpedoes around the planet is something Kirk would not be stupid enough to do.
Yar's holodeck stuff was good, but the assumption all women would consider Lutan (or any male in general) to be "their type" is indeed cringe-worthy and off-kilter. I want to like it, since Troi is trying to trip Yar up and be more than the usual "I'm saying what's already obvious to you, captain and to you viewers as well" but somehow it doesn't work. B+ for effort, and Marina Sirtis looks like she's enjoying the dialogue since it's not the samey-lamey claptrap...
Even Picard accepting Wesley was decently handled.
All in a story that is otherwise one big warp bubble of a cliche.
In Blu-Ray, this story looks VERY impressive.
I'd give it 2 stars. "Justice" is readily the worst excuse of an episode, which is a shame...
Wed, Feb 6, 2013, 8:15am (UTC -5)
I enjoyed the campy nods to TOS, and didn't get the mild racism.
Imagine this on a darker show... I don't think Captain Picard would be sitting around (was it a whole day?!) thinking Tasha Yar was A-OK. Anyhow, that was my main story related gripe.
2 stars from me.
Wed, Feb 6, 2013, 10:20am (UTC -5)
"Then you shall have NO treaty, NO vaccine, and NO Lieutenant YAH!"
Tue, Mar 5, 2013, 10:40pm (UTC -5)
Couldn't the Enterprise have simply locked on to her com signal and beamed her up straight away?
I mean, I realize this is a Roddenberry episode and all but that just seems like a real oversight.
Mon, Mar 11, 2013, 7:02pm (UTC -5)
Mon, Mar 18, 2013, 4:18am (UTC -5)
My girlfriend cheerfully pointed out how ridiculous it is that we learn at the end that "all women train" for the possibility of a life-or-death fight, to the point where Yareena [whose name is really similar to Yar's, weirdly] is nearly on the same level of strength as Yar, and yet the men are still shocked that a woman can be strong.
I do think the worst part of this episode -- and it's an episode with many "worst parts" -- is Yar's reaction to the whole thing. This is a woman who grew up on a world where she had to, as we learn in the previous episode, run away from and dodge rape gangs, but she somehow swoons at the notion that her kidnapper wants to marry her and needs to have Troi drag that out into the open in order to realize how her attraction is clouding her judgment. What? At the episode's end, Yar seems almost to consider marrying Lutan, dismissing it as being too "complicated" rather than dismissing him on the basis of having kidnapped her and manipulated her into a kill-or-be-killed situation. It's possible Yar doesn't know that he did it all because he wanted his wife's land, but she should maybe be able to figure out that that is part of what happened. Troi seems to act as if Yar's attraction to Lutan is normal, rather than framing it as some kind of Stockholm Syndrome-type psychological defense mechanism, the latter of which would have made some kind of sense.
But anyway, the overt racism of the Tribal African tone (reportedly, the original script didn't call for an all-black cast; that was the director's decision and he got, understandably, fired -- but too late), the nonsensical plot, the casual sexism, the silly sets and costumes, the constantly shifting definitions of "honour" to mean "whatever the plot requires the Ligonians to do at this given moment," etc. It is baaaaad.
Sun, Mar 24, 2013, 10:14am (UTC -5)
Sun, Sep 15, 2013, 6:20am (UTC -5)
I wonder if an actor has the power to tell a writer that they just can't SAY their lines because they're utter bullshit. I can't blame Denise Crosby for being bad in that episode, because, let's face it, her script was crap.
Wed, Jan 8, 2014, 5:34pm (UTC -5)
Also, the ending is total bull: somehow Yareena's momentary death annuls her marriage but not her property ownership. But then again everybody was probably fed up with Lutan by now so they all just went along with it.
Sat, Mar 1, 2014, 2:10pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Jun 27, 2014, 6:21pm (UTC -5)
When I first saw this, I was pretty intrigued that they had a planet of dark-skinned aliens - being a dark-skinned individual myself - and I wished that they'd revisited the Ligonians in a later episode. (Not too mention, this episode featured Tasha Yar, who I had a crush on at the time).
While it could have been stronger, being that that 1st season episodes were a bit shaky, I would give this episode a 3 out of 5 stars.
Wed, Jul 2, 2014, 11:08pm (UTC -5)
This is a Minstrel Show, plain and simple. I believe the audience is meant to laugh at the primitive nature of this "native" space culture, and that's not what Star Trek ever has really been about. I was pretty offended watching this, and I'm still surprised that this was greenlit and filmed.
The only way this episode could possibly be defined as a success is as a subversive comedy. Other than the offensiveness, the only emotion I felt watching this was stupified bemusement. When Lutan said "then you shall have no treaty, no vaccine, and no Lieutenant Yar!" I admit I laughed, and laughed hard. Some definitely campy moments.
Side note: extremely distinctive old-school Star Trek music for this episode. Truly a VERY evocative score.
1 star if taken seriously, 3.5 stars if viewed through John Waters's eyes.
Sun, Sep 21, 2014, 2:05am (UTC -5)
Thu, Nov 27, 2014, 10:48pm (UTC -5)
But when tasha was asked if she wanted to take lutan and she replied "there would be complications" I wanted to see the missing scene where Picard goes up to Riker and says "this is our security chief? Can I fire her yet?"
Mon, Dec 29, 2014, 6:56pm (UTC -5)
While the previous episode was campy at times, yet entertaining, this one is overtly-campy, offensive, and boring. Any comparisons to TOS on it's supposed homage to "campiness" is incorrect. TOS was campy as in it is a product of its time. And their were MANY episodes of that show that came no where even CLOSE to this schlock.
Yes there were a couple of surprisingly good scenes and the scenery chewing from Jesse Ferguson was pretty awesome. It still isn't worth scraping out of the bottom of the barrel. Plop the lid back on and bury this one please.
Zero stars.
Tue, Feb 3, 2015, 4:33pm (UTC -5)
When I watched TNG as a child, I liked Yar a lot. She seemed like a tough, but also nice person to me, and I was sad when she got killed. Having rewatched all the episodes featuring her, I have to admit that the character does not hold up that well, though she might have developed in a better direction if Denise Crosby had stayed along for the next season.
"Code of Honor" might very well be the worst TNG episode, and I don't think it is necessary for me to add my reasons for hating it. On my recent rewatch I was baffled as to why this strong, independent person would not simply punch Lutan in the jaw and get out of there. However, thinking about the episode again after having watched the rest of the season, it seems much more in line with Yar's character for me.
In other first season episodes, as well as season 4's "Legacy", it is revealed that she grew up without parents, abused drugs and had to protect her sister (as well as her kitty cat) while fleeing from rape gangs.
This has obviously affected her perception of the concepts of sexuality and family. This has already been shown in last week's "The Naked Now", where she confided in Troi that she is unhappy with her own unfeminine appearance, seduced Data (the only person on the ship without any feelings) and afterwards told him to never speak of it again. In "Justice", she apparently wants to present herself as particularly promiscuous and kinky when she tells the whole bridge crew how the people of Rubicun III "make love at the drop of a hat - any hat".
In this episode, she seriously considers marrying a man who kidnapped her, and whom she admires for his raw masculinity and "I take what I want" attitude. And in "Hide and Q", Yar breaks down in the face of imminent death and confides in Picard that she sees him as some kind of father figure, which is immediately turned into a sexual direction by her (I think her words were something like "Oh, if you weren't my captain...").
So simply judging from the first season, we can assume that Yar is deeply disturbed in her understanding of sexuality. She dresses up as hot as she can, only to bed the one person whose only requirement for sex is the command "start intercourse subroutine", and who by design can not attach any feelings to the experience. And when it comes to relationships, she longs for a mate who is a strong father figure, who will care for her and tell her what to do.
This is an interesting parallel to Riker, who also grew up without parents (well, his father was still alive, but he wasn't around much and cared more for his career than for his son) and has promiscuous sex with as little strings attached as possible, while striving for the admiration of a father figure (Picard) and the caring, warmness and understanding of a mother figure (Troi).
Sun, Jun 28, 2015, 1:24pm (UTC -5)
Tue, Jul 21, 2015, 6:05pm (UTC -5)
Thu, Jul 30, 2015, 2:28pm (UTC -5)
That said it is rather weak (1-1/2 stars for me), but ok when judged in the context of 1st season.
In regards to Adara's point about Tasha dodging rape gangs wouldn't be attracted to an abducter...while her planet HAD rape gangs it is never asserted that a rape gang actually caught her.
Sun, Aug 9, 2015, 8:09am (UTC -5)
But the nice little set up between Geordi and Data provides some compensation. 2 stars.
Wed, Dec 30, 2015, 3:22am (UTC -5)
Tue, Feb 16, 2016, 11:18am (UTC -5)
Tue, Jun 28, 2016, 3:20pm (UTC -5)
Fri, Jul 15, 2016, 8:42pm (UTC -5)
I can't believe the Ligonians ever developed space travel considering they still have ritualistic battles to the death and their guards seem to prefer melee weapons to phasers.
Tue, Aug 2, 2016, 5:50am (UTC -5)
Wed, Aug 10, 2016, 1:25pm (UTC -5)
Wed, Oct 12, 2016, 4:04pm (UTC -5)
He says to his friend, "It's utter crappilies."
His friend says, "You mean crap don't you?"
The man says, "I said crappilies, diddle I ?"
Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 9:00am (UTC -5)
It makes me wonder how TNG survived the first season.
Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 10:07am (UTC -5)
Fri, Nov 11, 2016, 6:23pm (UTC -5)
Anybody found the jokes in the first half REALLY weird and out of place? These people are having lighthearted banter, arguing over silly bullshit, while their security officer is kidnapped by a bunch guys they know are sexually attracted her and right after-hell, I think in the same scene-they are talking about how important the vaccine is and how many lives are at stake. It just makes them look like a bunch of assholes.
And what's up with how during the fight, Lutan interrupts and orders that his wife will get her glove back? Yeah, I guess he can violate the rules on the grounds of "I'm in charge, I can do whatever I want", but I thought his whole plan was to get her killed so he can get her stuff?
Oh, and you gotta love that scene between Crusher and Picard. "This is extremely important, millions will die if you don't get the vaccine, you need to take this seriously! Oh, and could my fifteen-year old son spend some time on the bridge please? Thanks :-)"
Fri, Jan 20, 2017, 3:35pm (UTC -5)
She cries
She's ogled
She's kidnapped
She stands around uselessly
She moralizes against drug use
She gets zapped by a castoff skin.
Her best moment was her pursuit of data in "Naked Now" - fanservice I suppose, but at least that interlude showed her as an interestinglydamaged human with a will of her own.
This episode was one of her lows. But... Good for laughs 30 years later!
Tue, Feb 21, 2017, 12:46am (UTC -5)
Wesley on the bridge at ops? In what military organization would that be allowed? A kid, or any untrained officer for that matter? No way. Was that why Worf was missing from the episode--to give Wesley a place to sit?
And Riker takes over as head of security? He'd be the next one in line for that? Really?
The joke scene with Data and LaForge was the only redeeming thing in it.
It almost seemed like the script was written by a checklist: kidnapping, vaccine, negotiations, fight sequence, etc.
The quality of the first couple seasons is appalling. It's truly amazing what the series was able to evolve into, given it's beginning episodes.
Fri, Apr 14, 2017, 10:27pm (UTC -5)
Mon, May 29, 2017, 12:05pm (UTC -5)
Other episodes have failed for hokey ideas (Way to Eden) or ridiculous plot contrivances (Spock's Brain) or execution (Threshold), but this one is all of those things with a generous dollop of inexplicable racist African savage/strongman stereotyping.
The unsubtle biggotry may have been passable in 1966, but 21 years later? Inexplicable. Unconscionable. Embarrasing. It may be the sole episode that would have benefited from network broadcast standards oversight.
No way this episode gets made today.
Thu, Jun 1, 2017, 4:07am (UTC -5)
What I actually liked about this episode is to see how Starfleet officers have to deal with backwards societies like these in order to obtain a much needed vaccine, for example. It is a somewhat believable scenario. What's no doubt insulting is how black people are stereotyped to be backwards like this - the episode could've been saved if they had just used white actors. I would have given it 2 stars with white actors. It should also be noted that episodes like "Angel One" are equally terrible when it comes to sexism. Because in "Angel One", it is insinuated in the end that the men on the planet will grow to be more masculine in the future because that's how the natural course of evolution goes. In other words, the matriarchy is shown to us to be less evolved than the patriarchy it will be superseded by. A terribly sexist message: Men will take their rightful place in the end.
I don't want to sugar-coat "Code of Honor", but at least it bears some realism. If you think of the cheesiness of the Edo, for example, who live in a paradisical fantasy garden (episode "Justice"), I'd much rather see a believable alien society like here.
One star from me.
Thu, Jun 1, 2017, 1:28pm (UTC -5)
- The first time he tried watching it, the episode was "Code of Honor."
- A year or so later, others told him that the show had gotten a lot better and he should give it another chance. So he did, and came upon a repeat of "Code of Honor."
- When he took the Kim role, he was given tapes of some TNG episodes to watch to familiarize himself with it. The first episode on the tapes? "Code of Honor."
(Burton seemed to be in full agreement that the episode was terrible.)
I think it's been 17 years since I saw even part of this episode, but in addition to the racism and sexism, I remember a lot of very cheesy background music, and having the plot hinge on two people fighting a duel was pretty dumb.
Fri, Jun 2, 2017, 11:37am (UTC -5)
Sat, Jul 8, 2017, 2:30pm (UTC -5)
It felt much more sexist than racist to me. I understand why a lot of people find it very racist. It might even actually be very racist.
But the sexist bullcrap would have been very easy to eradicate from the episode. The racist stuff, you would have just had to make This Week's Planet of Hats a bunch of caucasians, just like pretty every other Weekly Monopersonality Humanlike Aliens. If you randomly picked a race or ethnicity and then randomly picked an alien species from a Trek episode, and replaced said white alien species with that race or ethnicity, odds are 50/50 you just made an episode look racist.
Which isn't to say that it's not racist, but every option seems a bad one.
* Make different alien species different races - gonna look racist
* Make every alien species white - looks racist
* Make every alien species mixed just like earth - doesn't hold up
On the other hand, making most alien species both male and female holds up better and shouldn't be so damn hard to avoid the horrid sexist cliches.
Sat, Jul 8, 2017, 3:17pm (UTC -5)
This means that the only option is to assiduously avoid ascribing negative traits to a dark skinned alien race - which is again an arbitrary decision and arguably one that denies dark skinned actors the full range of roles white actors enjoy. Or more likely, to simply never present a dark skinned alien race, which leads to the accusation that black actors are being unfairly shut out in favour of white ones.
For the record, I found nothing particularly villainous about the Ligonians as they were portrayed. I suppose much of the criticism of the episode centres on the sense of primitiveness they exude, which isn't really valid either since they clearly have transporters and other advanced technology. Or perhaps it's their culture of honour? Is that a black stereotype? I'm not sure it is. Is it because they are male dominant and black people are perceived as male dominant? Again, unclear since the women are stated to own the property in their society. It is all rather fuzzy to me.
On the balance, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint a cogent explanation of the episode's supposed obvious "racism".
My personal view is that this conclusion is actually a reflexive response to the fact that the alien race is dark skinned and not portrayed in a uniformly and unambiguously positive light.
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