Summary
ThroughoutStar Trek’s long and varied history, several incredible episodes have been written by women. SinceStar Trek: The Original Seriespremiered in 1966, the franchise has championed diversity on screen. While this philosophy did not always extend to the people working behind the scenes,Star Trek: TOSdid have several women writers, including D.C. Fontana as a story editor.As trends in the entertainment industry began to shift, more women have become writers and directors across television, includingStar Trek.
From Nichelle Nichols' Lt. Uhura to Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Kathryn Janeway to Sonequa Martin-Green’s Captain Michael Burnham,women have always played a vital role inStar Trek.It’s important, then, thatStar Trekchampions women behind the scenes, as well. D.C. Fontana was the first woman to write forStar Trek,penning the second episode ofTOS,“Charlie X,” based on an idea from Gene Roddenberry. Fontana went on to write nine moreStar Trekepisodes throughoutTOS,several of which were based on her own original ideas, helping to pave the way for all the women writers who came after her. Here are 10 greatStar Trekepisodes written by talented women.
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10"Damage" - Written By Phyllis Strong
Star Trek: Enterprise Season 3, Episode 19
As part of the season-long Xindi arc inStar Trek: Enterpriseseason 3, “Damage” featuresCaptain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)facing a tough choice whenthe Enterprise NX-01 suffers heavy damage and losses.When Archer returns to the Enterprise after being captured by the Xindi, he learns that his ship needs a new warp core. Archer tries to negotiate with a nearby Illyrian spacecraft, but the captain refuses to give up his own warp core.
Desperate to save Earth from destruction at the hands of the Xindi,Archer decides to attack the Illyrian ship and steal their warp core.Sub-Commander T’Pol (Jolene Blalock) reacts emotionally to Archer’s decision, eventually revealing to Dr. Phlox (John Billingsley) that she hid a three-month addiction to Trellium-D. With a tense plotline, “Damage” takes some unexpected turns and shows another side to Captain Archer.
9"Red Directive" - Written By Michelle Paradise
Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 1
Star Trek: Discovery’sfifth and final seasongets off to an explosive start with “Red Directive,“sending Captain Michael Burnham and the USS Discovery on an intergalactic treasure hunt.With the introduction of Captain Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) and the villains Moll (Eve Harlow) and L’ak (Elias Toufexis), “Red Directive” sets the stage for an action-packed final season. Burnham and Rayner must work together on a mysterious Red Directive mission to investigate an 800-year-old Romulan ship.
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Moll and L’ak manage to evade capture and visit anandroid named Fred (J. Adam Brown), who bears a striking resemblance toStar Trek: The Next Generation’sLt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner). In the end,Dr. Kovich (David Cronenberg) lets Captain Burnham in on the secret Red Directive mission,revealing the search for the powerful technology the Progenitors used to create humanoid life. With spectacular scenes of sci-fi action and several nods to pastStar Trekshows, “Red Directive” gotStar Trek: Discovery’sfinal season off to a thrilling start.
8"All Our Yesterdays” - Written By Jean Lisette Aroeste
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3, Episode 23
In the penultimate episode ofStar Trek: The Original Series,Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) find themselves trapped 5,000 years in the paston a planet in the middle of an ice age. Spock and McCoy soon encounter a woman named Zarabeth, the only other humanoid on the planet. As Spock grows increasingly emotional, reverting back to the barbarism of the ancient Vulcans, he begins to experience feelings for Zarabeth.
Spock falls in lovewith Zarabeth, and the Vulcan Science Officer wishes to remain in the past. McCoy, however, eventually convinces Spock that they must return to their own time, and Spock reverts back to his stoic self after the return trip. AStar Trekfan herself,Jean Lisette Aroeste penned “Is There in Truth No Beauty?” and “All Our Yesterdays"and sold the scripts with no prior television writing experience. They remain her only television writing credits.
7"Author, Author” - Written By Phyllis Strong & Mike Sussman, Story By Brannon Braga
Star Trek: Voyager Season 7, Episode 20
ThroughoutStar Trek: Voyager’sseven seasons,Robert Picardo’s Doctorbecame one of the show’s most compelling characters, and “Author, Author” gives him the spotlight. When the Doctor creates a holonovel entitledPhotons, Be Free,his rights as a hologram are called into question(much like the rights of Data were questioned inTNG’s"The Measure of a Man”). Voyager’s crew members take issue with the Doctor’s holonovel, as the characters resembling them are not particularly flattering.
Writer Phyllis Strong co-wrote four episodes ofStar Trek: Voyagerand twelve episodes ofStar Trek: Enterprise. She also served as a story editor throughout Enterprise season 1.
The Doctor goes to edit his story, making it more fictionalized, but soon discovers that his holonovel has already been distributed without his permission. An arbiter eventually determines that while the Doctor is not considered a person under Federation law, he is an artist and has control of his art. Withhilarious portrayals of Voyager’s crew and clever meta-commentary aboutStar Trek:Voyageras a show,“Author, Author” remains an incredibly fun and entertaining episode.
6"Seventeen Seconds" - Written By Jane Maggs & Cindy Appel
Star Trek: Picard Season 3, Episode 3
With the reunion of the main cast fromStar Trek: The Next Generation,Star Trek: Picardseason 3was a nostalgic tour-de-force and a resounding success all around. In “Seventeen Seconds,” Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) takes over command of the USS Titan, continuing the battle with the Shrike until the Titan gets pulled into a gravitational anomaly.Commander Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) uncovers a Changeling infiltratoraboard the Titan who has been sabotaging the ship.
In one of theTNGduo’s best scenes,Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) discuss their son, Jack (Ed Speleers),and why Beverly kept him a secret from Jean-Luc. Meanwhile, Worf (Michael Dorn) and Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) realize the Changelings had something to do with the recent attack on Starfleet.Star Trek: Picard’s “Seventeen Seconds” never lets up, jumping from one action-packed scene to the next, but still allowing for emotional character moments.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4, Episode 21
After an explosion occurs on the USS Enterprise-D,Admiral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons)visits the ship to conduct an investigation. Although Data and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) determine the explosion was an accident, Satie continues to seek out traitors.She grows more paranoid, questioning Picard’s actions as Locutus of Borgand whether he remains loyal to Starfleet.
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Captain Picard responds with words once spoken by Satie’s father, saying:“With the first link, the chain is forged.The first speech censured, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.“Starfleet’s chief of security, Admiral Thomas Henry (Earl Billings), eventually puts a stop to the trial, condemning Admiral Satie’s fanaticism. With a powerful speech from Picard and a message that is even more relevant today, “The Drumhead” remains one ofTNG’sstrongest hours.
4"Duet” - Written By Peter Allan Fields, Story By Lisa Rich & Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Season 1, Episode 19
When Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) suspects visiting Cardassian Aamin Marritza (Harris Yulin) of being a war criminal, she interrogates him about his time at a brutal labor camp called Gallitep.Marritza then claims to actually be Gul Darhe’el, the so-called “Butcher of Gallitep,“but he later admits to taking on Darhe’el’s identity. A file clerk at Gallitep, Marritza was so traumatized by the horrors he witnessed, that he now wishes to be prosecuted as a Cardassian war criminal.
Although the teleplay for “Duet” was penned by Peter Allan Fields, the idea came from a pitch by Lisa Rich and Jeanne Carrigan-Fauci, two interns onDS9’swriting staff.
Kira begins to realize she may have misjudged Marritza and agrees to let him go. On the way off the station, however, a Bajoran kills Marritza, claiming that he is guilty simply because he is a Cardassian. Despite her earlier sentiment,Kira insists that being Cardassian did not make Marritza responsible for all of Cardassia’s crimes.“Duet” remains one ofStar Trek: Deep Space Nine’sfinest hoursand a standout moment for Major Kira.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 2
In one ofStar Trek’sbest courtroom episodes,Strange New Worlds’Number One (Rebecca Romijn) faces a court martial for lying on her Starfleet Academy applicationabout being a genetically enhanced Illyrian. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) recruits Illyrian civil rights attorney Neera Ketoul (Yetide Badaki) to defend his First Officer, and she points out the unfairness of the law banning genetic manipulation. Una delivers a powerful speech about her childhood and why she chose to join Starfleet.
Neera points out to the judges that, in joining Starfleet,Una was effectively seeking asylum from the persecution she faced as an Illyrian. Although the judges do not alter the Federation ban on genetic engineering, they do accept Neera’s interpretation of the law and acquit Number One. With strong performances and stirring speeches,Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' “Ad Astra Per Aspera” celebrates everything great about Starfleet andStar Trekas a franchise.
2"Journey To Babel” - Written By D.C. Fontana
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 10
In this classicStar Trek: The Original Seriesepisode, theUSS Enterprise transports several important Federation delegatesto an important intergalactic conference.Among the VIPs are Spock’s Vulcan father, Ambassador Sarek (Mark Lenard),and his human wife, Amanda (Jane Wyatt). Because Spock chose to join Starfleet rather than attend the Vulcan Science Academy, he and his father have been estranged for many years.
Dorothy “D.C.” Fontana served as a script editor onStar Trek: The Original Seriesand wrote or co-wrote 10 episodes. While some of her episodes were based on the stories of others, Fontana herself originated the story that became “Journey to Babel.”
When one of the delegates is murdered suspicion falls on Sarek, which exacerbates his heart condition. Sarek then needs emergency surgery, which requires Spock to act as a blood donor. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) eventually unmasks the murderer, but not before he, too, is attacked. Not only does"Journey to Babel” introduce two newStar Trekspecies in the Andorians and the Tellarites,but it also establishes the history of Spock and his parents, which continues to influence the character even today.
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1"The Measure Of A Man” - Written By Melinda M. Snodgrass
Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 2, Episode 9
In one ofStar Trek’smost celebrated episodes, Data’s very right to exist is put on trial. WhenDr. Bruce Maddox (Brian Brophy)arrives on the USS Enterprise-D requesting to have Data dismantled for further study,Captain Picard fights for Data’s right to make his own choices.With a background as a lawyer, writer Melinda M. Snodgrass wrote “The Measure of a Man” as a spec script that was picked up for theTNG’ssecond season. Snodgrass later went on to work on theTNGwriting team as a story editor.
With captivating performances from everyone involved,Star Trek: The Next Generation’s"The Measure of a Man" offers a compelling commentary on what it means to be human.Data’s trial continues to have repercussions even in modernStar Trekand Picard’s passionate defense of his android officer remains one of his finest moments. Simply put, “The Measure of a Man” is a near-perfect episode of television that representsStar Trekat its very best.
