The Outcast (ST:TNG episode): Difference between revisions
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| Writer = Jeri Taylor | | Writer = Jeri Taylor | ||
| Director = Robert Scheerer | | Director = Robert Scheerer | ||
| Guests = | | Guests = Melinda Culea as Soren | ||
| Episode list = | | Episode list = | ||
| Prev = | | Prev = Ethics | ||
| Next = | | Next = Cause and Effect | ||
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: I am female. I was born that way. I have had those feelings, those longings, all of my life. It is not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way. I do not need to be helped. I do not need to be cured. What I need, and what all of those who are like me need, is your understanding. And your compassion. We have not injured you in any way. And yet we are scorned and attacked. And all because we are different. What we do is no different from what you do. We talk and laugh. We complain about work. And we wonder about growing old. We talk about our families and we worry about the future. And we cry with each other when things seem hopeless. All of the loving things that you do with each other - that is what we do. And for that we are called misfits, and deviants and criminals. What right do you have to punish us? What right do you have to change us? What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other? | : I am female. I was born that way. I have had those feelings, those longings, all of my life. It is not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way. I do not need to be helped. I do not need to be cured. What I need, and what all of those who are like me need, is your understanding. And your compassion. We have not injured you in any way. And yet we are scorned and attacked. And all because we are different. What we do is no different from what you do. We talk and laugh. We complain about work. And we wonder about growing old. We talk about our families and we worry about the future. And we cry with each other when things seem hopeless. All of the loving things that you do with each other - that is what we do. And for that we are called misfits, and deviants and criminals. What right do you have to punish us? What right do you have to change us? What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other? | ||
— Soren, to Noor | — Soren, to Noor at the tribunal | ||
==Commentary== | ==Commentary== | ||
[[Image:STTNG-Outcast-SorenButch.jpg|left|thumbnail|Soren, looking relatively [[butch]].]] | [[Image:STTNG-Outcast-SorenButch.jpg|left|thumbnail|Soren's colleague Krite (played by Callan White), looking relatively [[butch]].]] | ||
[[Image:STTNG-Outcast-Soren-headshot.jpg|right|thumbnail|180px|Soren (played by Melinda Culea).]] | |||
Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker on the series, wanted the episode to feature the queer angle more, and do a better job of it. Frakes has said that the actor to play Soren should have been male, and presented more masculinely, thus making their televised kiss comparable in social impact to the [[Uhura-Kirk kiss]]. Frakes generally thought the episode didn't go far enough in raising the issue. | Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker on the series, wanted the episode to feature the queer angle more, and do a better job of it. Frakes has said that the actor to play Soren should have been male, and presented more masculinely, thus making their televised kiss comparable in social impact to the [[Uhura-Kirk kiss]]. Frakes generally thought the episode didn't go far enough in raising the issue. | ||
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Outcast (ST:TNG episode)}} | {{DEFAULTSORT:Outcast (ST:TNG episode)}} | ||
[[Category:Star Trek episodes]] | |||
[[Category:Star Trek]] | |||
[[Category:Queer]] | [[Category:Queer]] | ||
Latest revision as of 14:11, 25 February 2007
| ST:TNG episode | |
|---|---|
| “The Outcast” | |
 Riker and Soren kiss. | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 17 |
| Guest star(s) | Melinda Culea as Soren |
| Writer(s) | Jeri Taylor |
| Director | Robert Scheerer |
| Production no. | # 40275-217 |
| Original airdate | 1992 March 16 |
| Episode chronology | |
| ← Previous | Next → |
| "Ethics" | "Cause and Effect" |
The Outcast is one of the few Star Trek episodes to deal with queer issues.
Plot synopsis (and spoilers)
Will Riker falls in love with Soren (played by Melinda Culea), a member of a more-or-less androgynous species (the J'naii) that disapproves of overt masculinity/femininity. Soren is "the outcast", who has secretly considered herself female since she was a child. Her attraction to Riker, and experience with the rest of the Enterprise crew, heighten her curiosity about gender. She ultimately elects to identify as female, and have a relationship with Riker. Her secret(s) are discovered by other J'naii, and she is tried for perversion, which she freely admits. Soren's government forces her to undergo a sort of reparative therapy to eliminate her perversion. When Riker attempts to rescue Soren, she apologizes for leading him into the relationship.
Dialog
- I am female. I was born that way. I have had those feelings, those longings, all of my life. It is not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way. I do not need to be helped. I do not need to be cured. What I need, and what all of those who are like me need, is your understanding. And your compassion. We have not injured you in any way. And yet we are scorned and attacked. And all because we are different. What we do is no different from what you do. We talk and laugh. We complain about work. And we wonder about growing old. We talk about our families and we worry about the future. And we cry with each other when things seem hopeless. All of the loving things that you do with each other - that is what we do. And for that we are called misfits, and deviants and criminals. What right do you have to punish us? What right do you have to change us? What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other?
— Soren, to Noor at the tribunal
Commentary
Jonathan Frakes, who played Riker on the series, wanted the episode to feature the queer angle more, and do a better job of it. Frakes has said that the actor to play Soren should have been male, and presented more masculinely, thus making their televised kiss comparable in social impact to the Uhura-Kirk kiss. Frakes generally thought the episode didn't go far enough in raising the issue.
All the actors who played the J'naii were female.