The best Star Trek trial episodes
By Marc Kick
DS9: S2, E25: Tribunal: Chief Miles O’Brien is taken prisoner by the Cardassians and stands trial even when a verdict & his sentence have already been decided.
Chief O’Brien is framed for trafficking photonic warheads to the Maquis by an old crewmate, and when apprehended by the Cardassians while heading off on vacation with Keiko, he experiences first-hand just how broken the Cardassian penal system truly is. From not being told his charges, the court not permitting any new evidence, and being assigned a lawyer whose main objective is to advise Miles to accept the sentence and play up the courtroom drama so that the people of Cardassia can feel good about themselves, this one is packed full of comedy in the worst ways possible!
VOY: S7, E20: Author, Author: The Doctor pens a holonovel and submits a draft of it to a publisher on Earth, but unbeknownst to him, the publisher released it before the final draft is finished, and it depicts the Voyager crew in a very bad light.
When the Voyager crew manages to make contact with Starfleet in the Alpha Quadrant, the comm time with Earth is rationed off to the crewmembers, and The Doctor uses his time to speak with a holonovel publisher, to whom he’s sent a draft of a holonovel he has been writing, titled “Photons Be Free.” However, when the Voyager crew agree to test it out for The Doctor, they find all kinds of alarming scenes and characters which are based off of the real experiences and members of the Voyager crew. When The Doctor contacts the publisher to retract the rough draft he sent, the publisher says it’s too late and refuses to retract it, stating that The Doctor -a hologram- has no rights, and a hearing is held to decide if The Doctor should be extended the rights that any other organic artist would be granted.
Another great episode with a lot of comedy. From the tweaks of the characters like Lieutenant Marseilles, Kymble, and Chief Engineer Torrey to Tom’s “rewrite” in which he depicts The Doctor with a bad comb over, who has a terrible bedside manner and regularly seduces or mocks his patients, this is another one of my favorites that I’ve watched countless times!