All 7 Banned Star Trek Episodes, Explained

Though the Star Trek franchise is generally considered safe for viewers of all ages, these seven episodes were banned for quite some time. With its utopian view of the future, Star Trek is unique among the major science fiction franchises. Optimism and curiosity are the driving forces behind the franchise’s philosophy, so the shows generally carry a great message for viewers of any age.

That’s not to say that Star Trek hasn’t courted controversy across its 60-year history. Even the concepts behind Star Trek: The Original Series were a radical departure from the status quo in the 1960s, and it boldly took on racial and gender stereotypes. By its very nature, Star Trek is antagonistic to racism, sexism, and any other -ism still present in modern society. That’s bound to ruffle a few feathers.

However, a few episodes weren’t just controversial, but scandalous enough to get banned by some broadcasters. Interestingly, no Star Trek episode has ever been fully banned in the United States, though many have caused a stir for the aforementioned reasons. Even when the franchise continued in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a few episodes were too much for TV in other territories.

The why behind the bans is quite interesting. Many were deemed too gruesome or shocking, while others were seen as promoting violent political rhetoric. With nearly 1,000 total episodes of Star Trek across six decades, a handful of episodes are bound to live in infamy. Thankfully, all the episodes that were once banned have been released in the territories that initially outlawed them, and no episode has been banned since the early ’90s.

7

“Miri” – Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1 Episode 8

Though the episode aired during Star Trek‘s initial run on the BBC in 1970, “Miri” was left out of subsequent broadcasts in the UK. Complaints from viewers led to the episode being banned from rebroadcast for years, though many details about the ban are unknown. However, looking at the episode, it isn’t hard to understand why the Brits were squeamish.

Kirk and crew discover an Earth-like planet where the adults have all died from a man-made plague, and the children are the only survivors. The plague itself manifests as strange lesions and temporary insanity, and it’s quite startling to see the Enterprise crew succumb to the disease. Any time children are involved in anything horrific, censors tend to take notice.

The episode drew ire in the States as well, and was rarely included in reruns after it originally aired. Though it’s one of the better episodes of season 1, “Miri” is no doubt one of the scariest of the series. The ban was eventually lifted in the UK, and the episode is often broadcast alongside the rest of the series.

6

“Patterns Of Force” – Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2 Episode 21

History has different meanings for audiences in different countries, and the episode “Patterns of Force” from season 2 is a perfect illustration of that idea. In the United States, it stood as a bitter reminder of how quickly evil can infiltrate government, but in Germany, it poked at a wound that was quite raw only two decades removed from WWII.

While searching for a missing historian, the Enterprise discovers a remote settlement of humans who have modeled their government after that of Nazi Germany from the 1940s. “Patterns of Force” pulls no punches and features all the horrific imagery of the Nazi regime in vibrant color. It’s still a startling and important part of Star Trek history.

German television banned the episode outright for all the reasons listed above, deeming it lacked any entertainment value. Considering the strict laws around Nazi imagery in Germany at the time, it wasn’t surprising that “Patterns of Force” didn’t sit well. The episode was restored to the broadcast roster decades later in 1995.

5

“Plato’s Stepchildren” – Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3 Episode 10

Like any groundbreaking moment in TV history, “Plato’s Stepchildren” was quite controversial. Season 3 of Star Trek: The Original Series had a few clunkers, and the episode in question wasn’t all that great. However, it is best remembered for featuring one of the earliest interracial kisses in American TV history.

The Enterprise stumbles across a race of telepaths that use their powers to control others. What results is a series of strange scenes where the crew are forced to do things against their will. This plot didn’t sit well with the BBC, who banned the episode because of its graphic depiction of torture, sadism, and overt sexuality. It’s unclear if the interracial kiss had anything to do with the ban.

The episode stayed out of circulation for years, but was eventually restored to BBC broadcasts. According to Nichelle Nichols in her autobiography, Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories, TV executives in the US expected a huge backlash from Southern stations. However, as she writes, no such backlash occurred and the episode was well-received.

4

“The Empath” – Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3 Episode 12

“The Empath” was yet another down episode in Star Trek: The Original Series‘ third season, and though it had great ideas, it mostly missed on its execution. However, because Star Trek was largely viewed as a children’s show by the BBC, the episode’s “graphic” content was just too much for viewers across the pond.

Once again, the Enterprise falls victim to a race of powerful aliens who use them to test theories about the inner workings of mankind. Like “Plato’s Stepchildren”, “The Empath” features several scenes of the heroes being tortured and subjected to grievous bodily harm. Hence, the episode was swiftly banned from broadcast in the UK until the 1990s, when the other offending episodes were restored.

3

“Whom Gods Destroy” – Star Trek: The Original Series Season 3 Episode 14

The sultry dance by Marta in “Whom Gods Destroy” is probably the episode’s lasting legacy, and the biggest reason the season 3 outing was banned in the UK for decades. Episode 14 was one of the more underrated episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, and was a prime example of the show’s strong ideas, even if the execution was weaker.

Kirk and Spock beam down to an asylum planet to render medical aid, but are soon held captive by an ex-Starfleet captain who can change his form. Yvonne Craig co-stars as the Orion named Marta, and her one-off performance completely steals the show. Unfortunately, the episode was a bit too violent and sexy for the BBC until it was finally aired in 1994. Similarly, “Whom Gods Destroy” didn’t air in Germany until the ’80s.

2

“Conspiracy” – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 1 Episode 25

The debut season of Star Trek: The Next Generation saw the show get off to a rocky start, but the penultimate episode was better than most. “Conspiracy” is one of the few episode of TNG to draw any sort of controversy, and it sticks out from the rest of the series like a sore thumb.

Captain Picard travels to Earth to dispel rumors of a conspiracy among the top brass of Starfleet, but what he finds is beyond his imagination. The shocking reveal at the end of the episode is perhaps the most gruesome and horrific moment in the entire franchise, and people don’t typically tune in to an episode of Star Trek to see a character’s head explode.

The BBC initially banned the episode outright, but it eventually aired with several moments censored from the broadcast. The Canadian broadcast featured a warning, and even the show’s producers were a bit worried about its content on American TV. Ironically, the episode helped TNG secure an Emmy that year for Best Makeup.

1

“The High Ground” – Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 Episode 12

Star Trek: The Next Generation never shied away from tackling hot-button topics, but season 3’s “The High Ground” was too hot for broadcasters in England and Ireland. The episode tried hard to pose a challenging philosophical question, but the episode itself was somewhat lackluster and certainly didn’t get its point across very well.

Dr. Crusher is kidnapped by a radical terrorist group on a planet in the middle of a civil war, and she leads them to question their own morality in the process. The episode draws direct parallels to “The Troubles” in the UK, and filters a 20th century issue through the moral relativism of the 24th.

The BBC felt much of the language was too incendiary, especially Data’s mention of the “Irish Unification of 2024“, so it didn’t air until 1992. The unedited version wasn’t available in the UK until 2007. Because Star Trek is set so far in the future, it’s rare that such a contemporary issue catches up with the crew of the Enterprise.

Sources: SlashFilm, Nichelle Nichols, MeTV, Wired, The BBC

TV Show(s)

Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: The Animated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Short Treks, Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek Lower Decks, Star Trek: Prodigy, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy

Cast

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Wil Wheaton, Avery Brooks, Nana Visitor, Rene Auberjonois, Alexander Siddig, Cirroc Lofton, Armin Shimerman, Colm Meaney, Terry Farrell, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Roxann Dawson, Jeri Ryan, Robert Duncan McNeill, Robert Picardo, Ethan Phillips, Garrett Wang, Jolene Blalock, Connor Trinneer, Dominic Keating, Scott Bakula, Linda Park, John Billingsley, Anthony Montgomery, Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Simon Pegg, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Chris Hemsworth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Idris Elba, Sonequa Martin-Green, Mary Wiseman, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Wilson Cruz, Oyin Oladejo, Emily Coutts, Jess Bush, Christina Chong, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Rebecca Romijn, Michelle Yeoh

Created by

Gene Roddenberry