- Released in 1990, The High Ground was broadcast only once in Britain in 2007
A Star Trek episode that referred to ‘Irish unification in 2024’ is still banned in Ireland.
Episode 12 of series three, titled The High Ground, was released in 1990 and concerns a terrorist organization who take a crew member of the Federation Starfleet starship USS Enterprise-D hostage in an attempt to achieve their goals.
But a controversial moment when an android character called Data, played by Brent Spiner, cites ‘Irish unification by 2024’ as an example of a political goal achieved through violence meant that the episode has only been aired once in the 34 years since. was shown in Ireland. his release.
Such was the concern about the possible consequences of the line that the episode, which first aired in the US, was shown neither on the BBC nor on Ireland’s RTV network.
An edited version was broadcast on Sky in 1992 without the sensitive line.
An episode of Star Trek titled The High Ground was never shown in Ireland and Britain upon release due to concerns over its political message about ‘Irish unification in 2024’.
A character named Data referred to Irish unification as an example of a political cause achieved through violence
Although the episode aired in the US, it was never broadcast in Ireland and only shown once on the BBC, in 2007.
The High Ground was finally broadcast on the BBC on 29 September 2007, in what is believed to be its only broadcast.
In addition to Irish unification, Data provides two other examples of violence successfully achieving a political cause: Mexico’s independence from Spain and the Kenzie Rebellion (an event in the Star Trek universe).
The decision not to air the 1990 episode reflects the febrile political situation at the time, during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, amid terrorist threats from the Provisional IRA, which aimed to free the region from British rule.
More than thirty years later, Northern Ireland has elected its first republican prime minister, Michelle O’Neill, the leader of the region’s Sinn Fein – a party with roots as the political arm of the IRA.
Last month, the devolved Stormont government began work on the return of power-sharing after a two-year hiatus.
Melinda M. Snodgrass, who wrote the Star Trek episode, said the story deliberately resembled the situation in Northern Ireland in the 1990s.
The episode’s writer, Melinda M. Snodgrass, confirmed that the reference to terrorism was an intentional parallel to the feverish situation in Northern Ireland at the time.
She said she wanted to explore the idea that “one man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist.”
The original season of Star Trek first appeared in 1966 and lasted two years.
It returned for a second series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, which aired between 1987 and 1994.
The BBC said it could not determine exactly why a ban was introduced as it “goes way back.”