64 – Chosen Realm

Grade: D-

Summary

Religious zealots who worship the creators of the Delphic Expanse spheres take over the Enterprise so that they can destroy their enemies, whom they consider to be heretics.

Commentary

OK, so here’s the deal. Star Trek folks obviously don’t like religion, because they always have to have at least one episode per season that pokes fun at it. I’m certainly not a fanatical religious zealot, but it sure would be nice to see an episode in which the religious folks don’t come across as complete freaks.

I agreed with the message of this episode, that sometimes a fanatical devotion to extreme religious beliefs can lead to disastrous results, but it seemed so one-sided. A much better exploration of the religion vs science debate was in the film, Contact. At least it was respectful to both sides of the argument. There’s no doubt where Star Trek is headed and what it intends to do.

This episode was also a nod to the TOS episode, “Let that be your last battlefield.” Other than that, the episode seems to follow the standard format – first, they find some new people, they try to help, the people take over the ship, and then they have to fight their way out. It’s the same kind of thing we’ve seen a zillion times before. Yippee.

Of Note

One of the guest actors who is credited in this episode actually does not appear in it. Her name is Kim Fitzgerald.