The Outcast (TNG episode)

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Star Trek: TNG episode
"The Outcast"
Soren is "The Outcast".
Episode no.	117
Prod. code	217
Airdate	March 16, 1992
Writer(s)	Jeri Taylor
Director	Robert Scheerer
Guest star(s)	Callan White Megan Cole Melinda Culea
Year	2368
Stardate	45614.6
Episode chronology
Previous	"Ethics"
Next	"Cause and Effect"

"The Outcast" is a 5th season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation first broadcast on March 16, 1992.

1 Plot
2 Background
3 Notes
4 References
5 See also
6 External link

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Commander William Riker (played by Jonathan Frakes) falls in love with Soren who is a member of an advanced, humanoid alien race called the J'naii. The J'naii are an androgynous species that views the expression of any sort of male or female gender, and especially sexual liaisons, as a sexual perversion. According to their official doctrine, the J'naii had evolved beyond gender and thus viewed the idea of male/female sexuality as primitive. Those among the J'naii who viewed themselves as possessing gender were ridiculed, outcast, and forced to undergo "psychotectic therapy" - a psychological treatment to remediate gender-specificity and allow acceptance back into J'naii society. When the affair between Riker and Soren is discovered, J'naii diplomats force Soren to undergo this therapy. When Riker beams down to the planet to rescue her, she has already undergone the therapy. She refuses to go with him, claiming that she is happy now, and that she was sick during her affair with Riker. She apologizes to him for his feelings of love toward her. Riker remains unconvinced of the righteousness of the procedure.

[edit] Background

This episode contains obvious allusions to the debate over homosexuality in our own world. The conclusion of the episode does not espouse one point of view over the other but instead allows the viewer to decide whether being forced to undergo therapy was right for Soren.

Although many Star Trek fans were pleased to witness the Star Trek franchise tackling complex gender and sexuality issues, others felt that the episode was incongruous with Star Trek's legacy of controversially presenting an egalitarian, prejudice-free future society. Jonathan Frakes, notably commented that the episode wasn't "gutsy" enough and that "Soren should have been more evidently male". In fact, while the J'naii actors were all female, Frakes thought there should have been male actors, including Soren's character. Many felt that the episode did not adequately condemn J'naii society and that Star Trek had faltered given the opportunity to condemn modern societal prejudice in the same way it had confronted societal racism in Star Trek: The Original Series.

[edit] Notes

The poker game includes a mention of "Federation Day", the founding of the Federation. If 1000 stardates equal a year, then it can be calculated that it was on the 238th day of 2161 that the Federation was founded, which would equate to August 26th. However, one year has apparently not always equaled 1000 stardates (judging by the inconsistency between TOS stardates and TNG ones), so this is not certain.