Code of Honor is, at first, an offensive blunder that tries to recapture the glorious decade of sixties racial tolerance as it related to the Kirk series. We are made aware of the aliens being close to human. However the monotone color to offset them from the crew as well as garb reminiscent of a movie about the middle east from the fifties does not lend itself well to a series that tries to set itself up as more cerebral. Indeed this episode is full of poor written dialog. ponderous acting, and offensive overtones that mix Eddie Murphie's Coming to America with the Flash Gordon movie from the early eighties. However, this is not important to me, because i am not reviewing the episode, but analysing it structurally.
So here is how the main plot sequences play out.
1. Exploration and Necessity: Vaccine for a plague on a Federation Planet
2. Alien Meet Up: Meeting Lu-tan
3. Crew Endangerment: Tasha Yar taken
4. Rules and Regulations: Prime directive forces Picard to play by their rules (code of honor)
5. Crises Navigation: Explore the alien threat, goes to planet to meet with Lu0tan
6.Reasoning: Politely tries to get Yar back
7.Necessary Problem: Yar needs to fight to the death
8. Trickery: Scheme gets Yar back and punishes Lu-tan
9. Peaceful Beneficial Resolution: Taking Lu-tan out of power the Enterprise gets what it needs and moves on.
There are nine main plot structure points. The show blunders through hues and shades of bad writing to deepen and round out the characters but, for our purposes in this plot analysis, there are nine. The goal of these nine (of which perhaps more will show) is to create a basis for a structural analysis of the show by trying to see how these plot points change throughout the series and from episode to episode. This model is based partly on Vladamir Propp's model he used on Fairytales (Props to Propp yo).
So lets see how this all plays out. Lets compare the structure of this episode to the one we just watched, "The Naked Now"
1.Exploration and Necessity: Exploring the star that a science craft from Starfleet was exploring they need to solve the mystery of deaths and actions.
This function fits, there is exploring and necessity. Certainly this is a vague plot point but, it is one necessary to the series. Necessity can be described as any condition that requires direct Enterprise involvment.
2. Alien Meet Up: An unknown virus infects the ship
Is that a stretch? I don't think so. Alien can mean anything foreign and, certainly, the virus is foreign. It is made apparent to us that the virus is very foreign later in the episode when the original cure doesn't work.
3. Crew Endangerment: Virus spreads and causes the crew to act irrationally, leading up to Wesley messing up the engine room.
Many times, in many episodes it is the whole of the ship that is endangered, but, for this function, it is if any of the crew is endangered.
4. Rules and Regulations: This is one that perhaps does not apply to this episode and since no direct part of the episode flashes to mind i will not try to stretch.
The rules and regulations function is one that usually serves to show how and why the enterprise cannot take an easy way out. Usually they are stuck to diplomacy or to some aspect of Starfleet that will not let them take an easy out.
5. Crisis Navigation: Riker tries to find out the mysterious disease. Beverly Crushser searches for a cure. Engineers look for a way into Main Engineering.
Navigation of crew endangerment can be something such as gathering facts, reconnaissance, or the beginnings of solving a problem.
6. Reasoning: Picard tries to talk to Wesley to get control back. The old cure is used on Geordi.
Reasoning is the part when solutions are tried and fail. The failure of the reasoning function is what leads to the necessity of trickery. Reasoning can work, but usually doesn't because it is the obvious answer.
7. Necessary Problem: The star explodes and threatens to destroy the Enterprise.
The Necessary Problem is one that adds tension and makes the original problem presented in crew endangerment more prodominant. This function makes it so that the problem must be solved or we risk permanent consequences.
8. Trickery: Despite Wesley they get access to main engineering and try to manually take control back.
Trickery is necessary because Reasoning fails. This is when the crew's intellect is showcased and usually some miraculous way is provided to escape crew endangerment.
9. Peaceful Beneficial Resolution: Wesley, who cause much of the problems, solves them and shows his worth as a young man. Furthermore Data shows capabilities.
The PBR (wow i didn't even realize that, awesome) is one that, not only solves the episodes issues, but provides some sort of benifical respons. In "Code of Honor" it is the vaccine and peace with the alien species, in "The Naked Now" it is Wesley's reputation that gets a boost. It closes the episode and provides closure as well.
So what did Lu-tan show us? He showed us that, though there is a lot of smoke screen action in these episodes there may also be a underlying deep structure that we can analyze. I will look at all the episodes after this with this structure in mind, and will analyze them accordingly as well. Since we won't have to go through the functions again, i can analyze other aspects in a fuller capacity. Also it should be know that these functions will be flexible. They will grow and maybe change and become more concise as i go through the episodes and see more of the deep structure of STNG.
Thanks for reading.
So here is how the main plot sequences play out.
1. Exploration and Necessity: Vaccine for a plague on a Federation Planet
2. Alien Meet Up: Meeting Lu-tan
3. Crew Endangerment: Tasha Yar taken
4. Rules and Regulations: Prime directive forces Picard to play by their rules (code of honor)
5. Crises Navigation: Explore the alien threat, goes to planet to meet with Lu0tan
6.Reasoning: Politely tries to get Yar back
7.Necessary Problem: Yar needs to fight to the death
8. Trickery: Scheme gets Yar back and punishes Lu-tan
9. Peaceful Beneficial Resolution: Taking Lu-tan out of power the Enterprise gets what it needs and moves on.
There are nine main plot structure points. The show blunders through hues and shades of bad writing to deepen and round out the characters but, for our purposes in this plot analysis, there are nine. The goal of these nine (of which perhaps more will show) is to create a basis for a structural analysis of the show by trying to see how these plot points change throughout the series and from episode to episode. This model is based partly on Vladamir Propp's model he used on Fairytales (Props to Propp yo).
So lets see how this all plays out. Lets compare the structure of this episode to the one we just watched, "The Naked Now"
1.Exploration and Necessity: Exploring the star that a science craft from Starfleet was exploring they need to solve the mystery of deaths and actions.
This function fits, there is exploring and necessity. Certainly this is a vague plot point but, it is one necessary to the series. Necessity can be described as any condition that requires direct Enterprise involvment.
2. Alien Meet Up: An unknown virus infects the ship
Is that a stretch? I don't think so. Alien can mean anything foreign and, certainly, the virus is foreign. It is made apparent to us that the virus is very foreign later in the episode when the original cure doesn't work.
3. Crew Endangerment: Virus spreads and causes the crew to act irrationally, leading up to Wesley messing up the engine room.
Many times, in many episodes it is the whole of the ship that is endangered, but, for this function, it is if any of the crew is endangered.
4. Rules and Regulations: This is one that perhaps does not apply to this episode and since no direct part of the episode flashes to mind i will not try to stretch.
The rules and regulations function is one that usually serves to show how and why the enterprise cannot take an easy way out. Usually they are stuck to diplomacy or to some aspect of Starfleet that will not let them take an easy out.
5. Crisis Navigation: Riker tries to find out the mysterious disease. Beverly Crushser searches for a cure. Engineers look for a way into Main Engineering.
Navigation of crew endangerment can be something such as gathering facts, reconnaissance, or the beginnings of solving a problem.
6. Reasoning: Picard tries to talk to Wesley to get control back. The old cure is used on Geordi.
Reasoning is the part when solutions are tried and fail. The failure of the reasoning function is what leads to the necessity of trickery. Reasoning can work, but usually doesn't because it is the obvious answer.
7. Necessary Problem: The star explodes and threatens to destroy the Enterprise.
The Necessary Problem is one that adds tension and makes the original problem presented in crew endangerment more prodominant. This function makes it so that the problem must be solved or we risk permanent consequences.
8. Trickery: Despite Wesley they get access to main engineering and try to manually take control back.
Trickery is necessary because Reasoning fails. This is when the crew's intellect is showcased and usually some miraculous way is provided to escape crew endangerment.
9. Peaceful Beneficial Resolution: Wesley, who cause much of the problems, solves them and shows his worth as a young man. Furthermore Data shows capabilities.
The PBR (wow i didn't even realize that, awesome) is one that, not only solves the episodes issues, but provides some sort of benifical respons. In "Code of Honor" it is the vaccine and peace with the alien species, in "The Naked Now" it is Wesley's reputation that gets a boost. It closes the episode and provides closure as well.
So what did Lu-tan show us? He showed us that, though there is a lot of smoke screen action in these episodes there may also be a underlying deep structure that we can analyze. I will look at all the episodes after this with this structure in mind, and will analyze them accordingly as well. Since we won't have to go through the functions again, i can analyze other aspects in a fuller capacity. Also it should be know that these functions will be flexible. They will grow and maybe change and become more concise as i go through the episodes and see more of the deep structure of STNG.
Thanks for reading.
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