r/startrek: The Next Generation
Star Trek news and discussion. No slash fic...
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New to Star Trek and wondering where to start?
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| Date | Episode | Title |
|---|---|---|
| 08-28 | SNW 3x08 | "Four-and-a-Half Vulcans" |
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The Prime Directive is that the Federation won’t interfere with the development of a pre-warp society.
It is NOT foreign policy that they try to enforce against other warp-capable civilizations.
A couple that come to mind is VOY “False Prophets” where they expel a couple parasitic Ferengi or ENT “Civilization” where warp-capable aliens are causing toxic pollution in a pre-warp society.
Literally watching False profits as this comes up.
ENT “Civilization” where warp-capable aliens are causing toxic pollution in a pre-warp society.
I'm going to turbo nitpick here. That episode took place before the Prime Directive was written, so it can't be held up as an example of how the PD is treated.
The Prime Directive is that the Federation won’t interfere with the development of a pre-warp society.
While warp capability (or a rough equivalent) is the prerequisite for first contact, the Prime Directive is broader, forbidding intervention in the internal affairs of any non-Federation civilization.
In Star Trek: Insurrection, the Enterprise protected the Baku from the So'na, though if I remember right, there was some debate as to whether the prime directive applied as the Baku weren't native to the planet.
there was some debate as to whether the prime directive applied as the Baku weren’t native to the planet.
...which is an absolutely insane debate. No one tries to argue that the PD doesn't apply to the Romulans, even though they're not native to their world.
Colony planets aren't considered "fair game" for interference.
Romulans: Don’t ~~Tread~~ Mintaka On me
And... Spoiler... It was an internal conflict anyway
There's the TNG episode where Federation scientists are observing a non-warp capable civ from on the planet, when an accident exposed their lab and the aliens take one of the scientists hostage thinking they are demons. In this case, the external influence they are trying to limit and fix is the federation itself.
There is also another in the same vein where Data is damaged during an away mission on a planet with a non-warp capable civ and inadvertently is spreading radioactive material around the settlement because he lost his memories, and then has to correct all the damage when he is repaired.
These are the only two I can think of that even come close while also being within Federation space. As others have pointed out, the Voyager episode where they run into the Farenghi that ended up there from another episode of TNG is the exact thing you are asking... Just not in the right part of space.