Note: This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.
Most of the time, the various Star Trek series were able to get a point
across with subtlety. You might not get the point right away. Even if
you did, it was more like, “Oh. I see what you did there.” On a few
occasions, it was about as subtle as a flyswatter to the forehead.
Repeatedly. One of those flyswatter episodes was “The Hunted.”
The
episode starts with the Enterprise visiting Angosia. They’re applying
to be in the United Federation of Planets. Everything looks good. They
just got out of a messy war, but they seem to have recovered nicely.
They’re a peaceful race that values the intellect above all. There’s
just one slight problem: Roga Danar. He’s escaped from a prison colony
on Lunar V. The Angosian prime minister, Nayrok, warns the crew to be
careful. He has a long list of crimes and is very dangerous.
He
tricks the crew a few times, but is eventually beamed aboard. As per
the warning, it takes five Starfleet officers to subdue him. Once in
captivity, he has nightmares so strong that Counselor Troi senses them.
She goes to see who this troubled person is only to find out that he’s
very calm and rational, much like any other Angosian. It’s hard to
believe that he’s some madman, except that it took five Starfleet
officers to subdue him.
Here’s the thing: That long list of
crimes against Angosian society doesn’t exist. It’s a military prison,
but Danar has committed no crimes. The Angosian military created these
genetically and psychologically enhanced soldiers. After the war,
little attempt was made to undo what was done. They were made to defend
themselves at all costs, so the littlest threat would provoke them to
kill someone. The solution was to move them all off world.
Danar
will escape by any means necessary, including busting out of a
transporter beam. I know. I didn’t think it was possible either. It’s
never mentioned how he can do this and I’ve never seen it done before
or after. I think this is done simply because the writers couldn’t
think of another way for him to escape. Either that, or it’s to show
that this guy really is that good. I’m going with the first one,
though.
When the episode first aired, I remember thinking that it
was an obvious take on how we don’t treat returning veterans that
well. Even if I didn’t fully get that war changes a person, I got that
veterans don’t always get access to basic stuff they need and that we
need to treat them better. Upon rewatching the episode, it comes across
as a very blunt criticism. I don’t really want to get into this,
though. I’ve never served in the military and I don’t know that it’s my
place to comment. I would, however, like to see a veteran’s response
to this episode.
Danar points out that it was his bad timing that
got him caught. I wonder what would have happened if he had tried to
escape when the Enterprise wasn’t there. The Federation might never
have known about Angosia’s dirty little secret. Oh, and if Prime
Minister Nayrok looks familiar, yes, that’s James Cromwell. Yes, that
James Cromwell. There’s not much makeup, but it’s kind of odd seeing
him as an alien.
This is one of those episodes I don’t know that
I’d recommend watching unless you were set on watching them all in
order. Technically, I’m reviewing the episode on VHS and I don’t know
that I’d recommend buying VHS to begin with. (Can you even buy the VHS
episodes new?) Instead, put your money towards the season set.
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