Videos

Below you will find various clips from J.J. Abrams' shows Alias and Lost, as well as Mission Impossible III.  Each Abrams clip depicts instances where the "heroes" in the story either torture or make statements in direct contradition to human rights values.  In contrast, there are just a few Star Trek clips below that which demonstrate that in every Trek incarnation - from The Original Series (TOS) to The Next Generation (TNG), Deep Space Nine (DS9), and Voyager (VOY), (sorry, still missing Enterprise clips) as well as the feature films - human rights are a core value and torture is repulsive to the main characters in Trek. 

Of course, there are many more clips such as these throughout Star Trek and this is just a small sample.  If you have suggestions for other clips from any of the shows, please let us know.

 

Abrams Clips:

  • ALIAS: 1 - Dixon tells a suspect they have no right to a trial.
  • ALIAS: All The Time in the World - Another instance of torture by Sydney and hero Vaughn shoots a defenseless villain.
  • ALIAS: APO - "governed by US law, with no accountability" – uhh... what's wrong with that picture?
  • ALIAS: Counteragent - "Good guy" Jack Bristow encourages Sloan to torture an "asset" - not even a "ticking time bomb" scenario here.
  • ALIAS: Fait Accompli - The Alias team shows it knows of other kinds of torture and even jokes about it.
  • ALIAS: Maternal Instinct - Another creative torture technique by Dixon.
  • ALIAS: No Hard Feelings - Aah good old fashioned revenge killing, yes this is a "good guy".
  • ALIAS: Pandora - Our hero Vaughn brutally beats a suspect for lying to him and information.
  • ALIAS: Search and Rescue - Sydney tortures a suspect for information after going to a lot of effort to deceive him.
  • ALIAS: SOS - Jack shoots and brutalizes a man for information and clearly revenge.
  • ALIAS: Succession - Sydney needs some vital information?
  • ALIAS: The Shed - One of the "best" lines in the series. The poetic justice is great since this woman really DIDN’T know what she had done wrong and became a "good guy".
  • LOST: Confidence Man - Sayid tortures Sawyer early in the first season.
  • LOST: One of Them - Sayid, now clearly a hero of the show, tortures and then declares no remorse or regret on top.
  • Mission Impossible III - Ethan almost kills a "bad guy" out of revenge and anger - very "un-Jim Phelps".

Trek Clips:

  • TOS: Armageddon - Kirk tries to end a war. To some in this Administration war probably seems as clean the Emenians had made it.
  • TOS: Court Martial - A passionate plea for human and civil rights.
  • TOS: Dagger - Kirk endures a torture chamber.
  • TOS: Errand - The Organians: "super-evolved" and completely pacifistic.
  • TOS: Mirror - Scotty and Bones shocked at mirror universe brutality.
  • TOS: Patterns - Star Trek first confronts Nazi Germany.
  • TNG: Chain of Command - Picard becomes a torture survivor.
  • TNG: Drumhead - Picard speaks of justice and the danger of paranoia.
  • TNG: Measure of a Man - Anti-slavery and in defense of the rights of the individual. Trek at its best.
  • DS9: Hard Time - Miles fails to live up to 24th century standards - in his mind.
  • DS9: Hippocratic Oath - Bashir is ready to help "the enemy" overcome an addiction; Star Trek seeing the bigger picture.
  • VOY: Death Wish - Janeway defends euthanasia for a being who is suffering.
  • VOY: Equinox - No justification for torture.
  • VOY: Nothing Human - Excellent episode about medical ethics with SPECIAL guest star and human rights advocate David Clennon.
  • Star Trek Insurrection - Picard risks his career to stop a forced relocation.