Star Trek: The Next Generation may be a beloved show, but one episode was so controversial that it was banned in a country for decades!
Star Trek: TNG fans know it took a while for the series to find its footing. Season 3 is when the series began clicking with good storylines and character work that also tackled the sort of high-minded themes and messages Trek was known for.
“The High Ground” clearly was a classic Trek tale, using real-world events for a powerful storyline examining the limits of hate mixed with some great action. However, those same themes also banned the episode for years in the United Kingdom!
A quick recap of The High Ground
Season 3, Episode 12, “The High Ground,” opens with Picard’s log explaining the Enterprise is delivering medical supplies to Rutia IV, a non-Federation world that does trade with them. There has been a spate of violence as 70 years earlier, the Rutian government refused to grant the Anstasa people independence, thus beginning a long, brutal fight.
Crusher, Data and Worf are at a cafe when a bomb goes off. Crusher, of course, races in to help, ignoring Worf and Picard warning her of the dangers. Their warnings are valid as an Anstasian terrorist uses a mysterious teleport device to abduct Crusher.
Crusher is taken to the leader of the separatists, Kyril Finn, who wants her to help wounded terrorists. It seems they’re using a device to shift through dimensions that can’t be tracked and allow them to show up anywhere. The downside is that human tissue isn’t meant to withstand this and several terrorists (including Finn) are slowly dying.
As things escalate, Finn decides to make a statement by blowing up the Enterprise. They’re able to stop the attack but Picard is also captured. Finn reveals he’s hoping to get the Federation involved so they can pressure the Rutian government to give concessions for the Anstasa.
The crew is able to finally track down the terrorists, with Finn killed in the firefight. Crusher, who had come to sympathize with him, talks one child from shooting his killer, summing up how all it takes is convincing one person to let go of the hate to start the path to peace.
Why The High Ground works
The episode is well-written by Melinda M. Snodgrass, capturing the tale well. The themes are clear with both the Rutians and Anstasa shown in equal terms. A good talk is between Riker and the Rutia security chief Alexna Devos, who clearly hates having to run a near police state but feels she has to against a force willing to bomb a school bus.
The growing bond between Crusher and Finn is also nicely written. She obviously hates being a captive but is a doctor first, so helping the wounded terrorists. Finn is obviously taken with her (who wouldn’t be?) and Picard even brings up “Stockholm Syndrome” in Crusher having sympathy for a man who tried to kill her son.
The episode directly addresses the classic mantra, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Finn compares himself to George Washington and “history is written by the winners.” He gives a powerful speech to Crusher about how the Federation had spread plenty of blood and violence during its time, and she had no room to talk about being “enlightened.” It’s always good when Trek can call out the Federation on hypocrisy and still address big issues.
There’s also Data who obviously has problems understanding these fighters…and that’s where we get the scene that led to the banning.
Why was this episode banned?
Talking to Picard, Data notes the history of terrorism and revolution, citing examples of Mexico freeing themselves from Spain and some fictional bits in the Trek universe like “The Kenzie Rebellion.” When Data asks if this means terrorism works when all other options have failed, Picard gets the wonderful reply, “These are questions that mankind has wrestled with for centuries. Your confusion is…only human.”
Among the examples Data cites is “The Irish Reunification of 2024.” While the entire Rutia-Anasta conflict can be an allegory for Israel/Palestine, it’s also obviously inspired by the decades-long war in Ireland. In fact, the original script was more about the American Revolution with Picard realizing he was in the role of the British oppressing a colony. It was changed to an Irish touch, which the producers seemed to later regret.
In 1990, the nation was still in the midst of “The Troubles,” as the Irish Republican Army fought to free Northern Ireland from British rule. This involved scores of bombings, with the IRA seeing themselves as freedom fighters. The political overtones would carry to the U.S. as well.
Thus, any mention of the IRA as possibly sympathetic was a tricky subject for U.K. TV, which meant that, unlike other TNG episodes, “The High Ground” wasn’t aired on RTÉ, Ireland’s main television network. In fact, to this day, it still hasn’t aired on that.
Likewise, the BBC wouldn’t show it until 2007. Even then, some broadcasts would edit out the Ireland line. It should be noted that the DVD and Blu-Ray releases of TNG season 3 have the line added.
The irony is that the episode was actually predicting the future. In 1994, the IRA and the British agreed to a cease-fire, and in 1998, the Good Friday Agreement ended the conflict at last. While we haven’t had a full reunification of Ireland, it has ended the long civil war in the region.
Despite that, Irish TV still won’t show this episode, which does present a fascinating Trek take on a real-life conflict that ended up being ahead of its time in history.
Star Trek: The Next Generation streaming on Paramount+.