In message <vhi9725tfd3b15un5sqhl23thf2dc4kirr@4ax.com>, Jester's mummy
<cocky2@nest.egg> writes

On Mon, 22 May 2006 21:18:54 +0100, Alan Harding <Alan@harding.demon.co.uk>
wrote:

<(((*>In message <2lf6k3-ckb.ln1@ID-107770.user.individual.net>, Whiskers
<(((*><catwheezel@operamail.com> writes
<(((*>
<(((*>>and another one with a 'living space ship' and a motley crew of
<(((*>>fugitives, whose name I've forgotten,
<(((*>
<(((*>"Farscape"? Is that still going, somewhere overseas? They haven't shown
<(((*>it here for a while.

Could also be a description of Lexx.

Not seen that one? I wonder if it made it over here. Too many things
only appear on some cable or satellite channel I don't find.

On 2006-05-21, Franz Bestuchev <franz.bestuchev@gmail.com> wrote:

Whiskers wrote:

On 2006-05-11, Alan Harding <Alan@harding.demon.co.uk> wrote:

In message <1147369183.782152.105890@i39g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>,
David <dav.drw@gmail.com> writes

What are the negative and positive aspects of the prime directive in
Star Trek?

What is the prime directive, when it's out there?

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive> It's essentially about not
interfering with 'primitive' alien cultures - this being a US fiction,
'primitive' is of course measured solely by machine technology actually in
use.

I remember some episode where they made "first contact" with a planet a
bit earlier than expected because one of their people who was gathering
intelligence on the culture of the new alien world was injured. So they
had to get him help and since they already had warp technology but just
hadn't gone flying yet it was close enough.

...anyway, the leader of the planet asked if joining the federation
would mean they get all the fantastic magical technology *overnight* and
it was explained to him how instantly pulling a society 400 years
forward isn't quite the best thing to do.

So it's better to have a planet full of people who know that there is more
to life, but they can't have it because some alien big-heads say they
aren't ready? The latest Star Treck series (depicting the earliest period
of Earth's being allowed by the Vulcans to go into space) touches very
slightly on that situation from the point of view of the 'primitive
planet'.

How slowly should 20th century 'western' cultures have allowed the
'primitive' societies in the Amazon or New Guinea to acquire our
technology? Could 'we' have restricted them for long anyway?

Sure they breech it a lot, but ***** happens - and it is part of the
canon so it's going to be brought into the story line. Then people will
be imperfect about adhering to it. It's part of the whole "humanity WILL
be better in the future" idea that Gene Rodenberry had.

I suspect that some writers don't actually meet very many real people ;))

On Thu, 11 May 2006 12:58:59 -0500, Bacon <rbkfour@yahoo.com> wrote:

On 11 May 2006 10:39:43 -0700, "David" <dav.drw@gmail.com> wrote:

What are the negative and positive aspects of the prime directive in
Star Trek?

Positive - genius in it's simplicity
Negative - offers no flexibility

There is some flexibility. Some of the flexibility is according to canon
(i.e. the TV series and movies) in that the Captains who violated the
general rule didn't get into trouble.

From non-canonical sources such as the Star Trek books, there are numerous
examples, the primary one being that the Federation can interfere in cases
of a natural disaster threatening to wipe out a civilization. They needed
that clause since the Vulcan's did the same for earth in 1917 when they
deflected an earth-killer asteroid, part of which did hit the earth in what
is now Evenkia, Siberia (The Tunguska Blast.)

In one novel, Kirk ordered the crew to shoot down ICBM's that a young
civilization had launched at each other because he felt that the triggering
of the event was caused by an outside influence (which it was) and,
therefore, the event amounted to a natural disaster.

He was court martialed and booted out of Star Fleet, but of course once he
found and dealt with the outside influence, he was reinstated and hailed as
a hero again.