If memory serves, soon after McCoy ends his father’s life, a cure is discovered. That is actually the source of McCoy’s pain. Exploring this aspect would have been worthwhile.

@DanielAppleton-lr9eq

8 ай бұрын

That scene was damn difficult to watch. It hit HOME.

As a Star Trek and a Terry Pratchett fan, this was a genuinely terrific episode. It's always seemed insane to me that we euthanise our pets when we think their suffering has become to much, but when a human explicitly tells us they feel that way we don't afford them that same dignity.

@jamesboulger8705

10 ай бұрын

One reason is we've already affirmed our commitment that we aren't willing to pay more to try and treat them, but some people with the money and maybe some eccentricity do it. It's just that we never talk about it, because it's an unpleasant topic that makes the pet owner look bad. The vet is not going to chastise his customer.

@neverendinglute3125

10 ай бұрын

This line of thought leads to a lot of dead tweens and teens I’ll tell you that much.

@Talisguy

10 ай бұрын

​​​​​​@@neverendinglute3125 Why would it? If anything, it'd probably *lower* suicide rates among extremely depressed teens. The more steps there are between suicidal thoughts and actually killing yourself, the less likely you are to go through with it. If you had to go to the doctor, make your case that you were suffering so much that the kindest thing to do would be to put you out of your own misery, sign consent forms and complete all the steps between you and a euthanasia procedure, that would take weeks at a minimum. There's plenty of time for you to reconsider and there's a lot of additional steps between you and death. Even if nobody is screening out suicidal teenagers who are lying about being terminally ill, which seems exceptionally unlikely, it'd take a lot more effort to go through all the steps to be euthanised than it would to just get a gun and shoot yourself, and every additional step or obstacle increases your chances of changing your mind.

@DamienPalmer

10 ай бұрын

@@jamesboulger8705 I know that is an over simplification. I'm not contradicting you, what you say is also a thing, and sometimes not a thing the owner wants but is (often? 🤞) more of a consequence of their economic situation. But it's not always about money, sometimes it really is just the right decision. Just yesterday I met a man whose dog had cancer and the treatment would have been incredibly difficult on the poor doggy and would have meant maybe 6mos or a year more life probably, at most, and not a pleasant 6 mos. (It was advanced, the moral he was conveying was more and earlier screenings for beings in today's world.) This is also the one of the most common types of situation humans seeking assistance in dying are in.

@robert4123

10 ай бұрын

You mean people treat their pets better than we treat other people? Preposterous, no wait, exactly what we do.

*Sees title of video* "Counting down for Steve to mention Worf's deadliest enemy: an empty barrel."

Man, Death Wish was Voyager pulling out all stops to make a good episode. They had a comet, a court room, a crossover, and even Q! It had to be a great episode.

@timmoore9855

10 ай бұрын

And the Socrates analogy is not lost on me

Surprised you didn't mention DS9s The Quickening. An entire civilization was poisoned by the Dominion and instead of dying a painful death, the local doctor offers his patients a release that isn't painful

@JoeZasada

10 ай бұрын

Yes! Another excellent episode

@user-hx6ye4jq1n

10 ай бұрын

Excellent episode. And in subsequent episodes, Bashir is shown to be working on a treatment for the Quickening

@StormsparkPegasus

10 ай бұрын

@@user-hx6ye4jq1n He found a sort-of cure in the episode itself. While he couldn't help the people who already had it, he found a way to effectively innoculate the next generation. So noone will ever have to have the disease again, that doesn't have it already. It didn't help the people that already have it though.

@thomasoaxaca3379

10 ай бұрын

​@user-hx6ye4jq1n but he develop a vaccine

@NeilBlumengarten

10 ай бұрын

An interesting counterpoint to this topic is DS9's "Life Support," which kind of presents the topic of what lengths do we go to in order to keep someone alive and at what point are we keeping the body alive, as the person themselves dies. At first Bareil, in full control of his facilities, agrees to a procedure to allow him to continue the peace talks he initiated with the Cardassians. However, the longer it goes on, the more damage he suffers, resulting in a situation where decisions about his life are less made by him and more made by others. By the end, there is little left of Bareil Antos, even if his body persists. While not directly about euthanasia, I do think this makes a strong case for it, as when an individual cannot make the decisions for themselves, others are made to step in. Those others, even with the best of intentions (well, with Kira, at least), inevitably make the decisions based on what they think is best, which may not necessarily be what the person would have wanted. We have no idea if Bareil would have been okay with things like positronic implants to replace damaged brain parts, because he's not in a state to make that decision. We saw this play out in the case of Terri Schiavo as 8 years after she suffered massive brain damage her husband made the decision to appeal to the courts to take her off her feeding tube. What resulted was a 7 year legal battle, including interventions by the Governor of Florida and the President of the United States (aka the Bush brothers, Jeb and W) to try to prolong her life. Ultimately, though, political interventions aside, it was a battle between her husband (advocating that she would opt for euthanasia) and her parents (arguing that her religious upbringing would never condone euthanasia). Finally, the decision was made to allow the removal of her tube.

Thank you for this, back in the summer of 1989 i went with my dad to see Star Trek 5. Desipte its flaws, McCoy's scene touched us deeply, so much so my father said if this happens to me son make sure I'm not in pain. Fast forward to 2020, dad had been suffering from Parkinson's since 2013, it got so bad he just wanted to be out of pain, by 2020 he was rushed into hospital he was dying but still in pain. I remembered what he said back then I just wanted him out of pain, as with Nimoy, they increased his morphine until he passed away in his sleep. No more pain now, dad x

@IfYouInsist

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing this. 🖖🏾

@DawnDavidson

10 ай бұрын

I am so glad you were able to remember that interaction long ago, and to honor his wishes when the time came.

@Jermster_91

9 ай бұрын

Sorry for your loss.

Lwaxana Troi is honestly one of my favorite characters. She teaches us, by example, to live life open and honestly. She doesn't try to hide her emotions. She showes people how to have fun and disrupts the status quo! I think she's a bad-ass, and one of my heros.

@ComradePhoenix

10 ай бұрын

When I was a kid, I always wished my grandma was more like her.

@wushumsz-k7858

10 ай бұрын

It seems to me that Lwaxana is still pretending to be someone she is not. She hides herself in "flashy" behavior, clothes, hairstyles, constantly emphasizes her "betterness", is always looking for new partners, "clings" to others - and this is just, in my opinion, pretending. Lwaxana is lost, unable to live alone, constantly in need of attention and confirmation of her self-worth, sad person with complexes. And she can behave wonderfully, sometimes by throwing away her "mask". I think that in her case, the nudity at the wedding is symbolic. Because Lwaxana can suddenly throw away all artificiality, conventions, hiding behind attention-grabbing clothes, hairstyles, behaviors and "bare herself", show herself to everyone as she really is. An honest, wise, open, valuable and brave person.

@cryofpaine

10 ай бұрын

I'm halfway between. She had great episodes, and not so great. The episode with Alexander, and the episode where we learn about Deanna's sister are both great.

@natsume-hime2473

8 ай бұрын

The big problem with Lwaxana in my opinion is that she's a bit selfish, borders on being a narcissist, and isn't honest with herself. Despite her carefree attitude where she says she doesn't care what others think... She's very obviously deeply insecure and seeks constant validation as a result. She also doesn't respect other people's boundaries, which is abusive.

@DanielAppleton-lr9eq

8 ай бұрын

@@ComradePhoenix EVERYONE on my dad's family acts like they're scared of living. It's rather pathetic.

I’ve always been confused by the vitriolic reaction to Lwaxana Troi. She really isn’t that bad at all. Also in a franchise that occasionally has some pretty wooden acting or others just going through the motions, Majel did a great job bringing some life and vivacity to the proceedings.

@patrickcole7896

10 ай бұрын

Majel does some excellent acting, very compellingly portraying a narcissist. the fit she throws in Half A Life isn't truly on Timmason's behalf, it's about herself and her own existential angst about her age and her mortality. Every time she seems to take interest or issue in the dealings of others, it's really just about how she can make it about herself. Actually pretty realistic if you know any narcissists in real life, impressive that an actress can pull it off.

@artemisrose3065

10 ай бұрын

I agree. I think her character it's a bit of an awful person, self centered and pushy and all that, but she's not an awful character. She's weird and interesting in a way that no other Star Trek character is. I mean she's an alien, so it makes sense that she's strange and doesn't fit our norms or expectations.

@ellahyland1705

10 ай бұрын

I like her. I also think her best episode was the one in DS9 where she and Odo are trapped in a turbolift and she lets him use her skirt to go liquid in. It gave another dimension to the character.

@thobu6576

10 ай бұрын

@@ellahyland1705 it showed that under all the posturing and bluster, she really is a deeply caring person.

@DawnDavidson

10 ай бұрын

I love Majel’s portrayal of Lwaxana. She is a kick-ass woman who is confident in herself and doesn’t let her age stop her from anything. Yes, she and Deanna have a complicated relationship, but not all of that is on Lwaxana. I think she can be a bit self-centered, but she isn’t a true Narcissist. And how she interacts with Odo in DS9 shows a caring, gentle soul underneath her often overblown exterior. Also, the reason we know all of this is very much due to Majel’s stellar acting skills.

I faced a situation 30 years ago. My father, who had outlived my mother by several years, collapsed on the street. He had multiple conditions, any of which could have struck him at that moment. I lived 900 miles away and they phoned me to let me know he was considered brain dead. However, according to their rules, he would be kept on life support indefinitely unless he had a directive to the alternative. I knew he had one so I phoned his neighbor who had the spare key and told him where to find it and where to take it. The neighbor retrieved the document and took it to the hospital. My father was removed from life support and declared dead. The important point is that he had prepared and it was his decision.

Thank you for this video, Steve. As a registered nurse working in a hospice in the Netherlands, one of the few countries where euthanasia is legal, I appreciate the attention for this topic. However, from my professional perspective I feel obliged to comment on a specific aspect of your video. Specifically the use of morfine in end of life care. As a health care worker, I cannot comment on specific cases like Leonard Nimoy's death, but I can speak in general terms. One thing we learn as nurses is: scientifically speaking morfine does NOT accelerate death. Morfine is used in COPD and other lung conditions to relieve dyspnea (shortness of breath). It is one of the very few medications that work against that, and you can usually incrementally increase the dose in small steps without adverse reactions. If you give a high dosage of morfine at once, that could lead to accute adverse effects like serious side effects and even death. But when a normal dose is incrementally increased, it is meant to releave symptoms. Never to accelerate death, but to contintue to effectively treat symptoms. The body does get used to morfine, and symptoms might worsen as the disease progresses, so incrementally increasing the dose is common practice and also necessary to effectively keep relieving symptoms. But again, it does NOT accelerate death. In my work I deal with a lot of people who are scared of morfine, because they think that will accelerate death. But, again, that is NOT the case. Since this is a common misconception I have to deal with in my work, I do feel obliged to post this comment here to educate people. Again, I'm not commenting on any specific case, but trying to educate people from a scientific perspective as a health care worker. The fact that morfine is mentioned here as a "form of euthanasia", to me only exemplifies that 1) more/better education on common medications in palliative care and the difference with euthanasia is needed and 2) it's onfortunate that other practices are necessary in countries where actual legal euthanasia is not available. In your video you mention the example from the Kaelon where elderly people without a family were "left to die alone on hospice". As a hospice nurse that sentence really stings, because it paints a real bleak picture of hospice facilities. In fact we trie and make hospice a very warm place where people get the care they need with dignity and respect. As a Star Trek fan who is a hospice nurse, I was also bothered by the episode "The Quickening" DS9 4x24. On one side it presents Trevean who wants to let his patients die with dignity. On the other side there is Starfleet, with Bashir and Dax, whose positions can be described as "there must be a cure for everything, otherwise you're just giving up". I understand that in fiction it makes for an interesting story, but in reality it's a false dichotomy. Palliative care has nothing to do with "just giving up", and although there may one day be cures for diseases that are currently not curable, that doesn't mean we shouldn't provide dignified palliative care to people who need it right now. Also, in Star Trek, there have been a few examples of forced euthanasia. If I remember correctly, when Janeway is turned into a lizard in "Threshold" (VOY 2x15), there is this dream sequence where the doctor euthanizes Janeway. It's a forced euthanasia the Doctor is carrying out while saying he's "humanely euthanizing" her to relieve her suffering. I think calling a forced euthanasia "humane" like that in a Star Trek episode can be very harmful to an actual meaningful debate about it and dehumanizes the concept of euthanasia. So that's another onfortunate thing that Star Trek has done with euthanasia.

@artemisrose3065

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for bringing up these important topics. For sure there is not enough information available to most people regarding end of life care and practices. More education is needed as well as a change in attitude towards death as most people do not think about our discuss it at all.

@johncattley5919

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for the informed perspective. Part of the trouble might be that hospice in the United States is not a place so much as a service that comes into the home a few days a week. The patient wants to be at home, but it’s tough on the families unless they’ve got the cash to pay for additional care. I don’t think there’s any way to make dying of a terminal illness easy for anybody, but we could do a lot better.

Deathwish is the best episode featuring Q in all of Trek. The trip to the Q Continuum is proper use of the idea of immortal, omnipotent aliens along the lines of the encounters with the prophets in DS9.

@cl8733

10 ай бұрын

"We've all been the scarecrow"

@sopranohannah

10 ай бұрын

I hadn’t thought about this episode in awhile. It’s a great one. The concepts kind of reminded me of the end of The Good Place. Life in immortal bliss is great, until it’s not. And that it ends is the thing that gives life meaning.

@Donnagata1409

9 ай бұрын

One of my favourite episodes, really love it.

Thanks for this episode. Worf's choices in Ethics have meant different things to me over the years. When I first watched it, I was a young boy, whose father was confined to a wheelchair. He chose to carry on as best he could, and found ways to live life as a farmer. I didn't understand how Worf could consider taking his own life, and it hit especially close to home, due to the spinal injury they used to tell the story. This past winter, due to another injury, and complications from the original, my family again was posed with a choice. My father, this time, chose to end his suffering, rather than continue on for an indeterminate amount of time, in pain and indignity. I suspect, that the next time I watch that episode, I'll have a more complicated read on it. Sometimes, one of the worst insults we force upon one another, are when we assert that we know what is best for others.

@DawnDavidson

10 ай бұрын

Agreed. Time does have a way of change our perspective on things, as you’ve pointed out. When I first watched the episode with David Ogden Steirs, I was in my late 20’s. Now I am over 60. The idea that I should have ended my life over a year ago seems preposterous to me. On the other hand, my mother is now nearly 90, and deep into dementia. It’s becoming harder and harder to sit with the pain and lowered quality of life she has, and to know that there was never an option to end her suffering had she chosen to to do it. She’s been through so much in the past few years. It all seems rather pointless in ways. I believe that we should have the right to choose death with dignity. I don’t think we should make that EASY, mind you. But I fully understand places where it is legal after undergoing a process.

Your silly dialogue replacement this episode was gut bustingly hilarious

To me, what makes "Half a Life" a very special episode other than its subject matter is David Ogden Stiers' outstanding portrayal of Timicin. Truly one of Star Trek's best guest appearances in my book.

@williammorahan4907

3 ай бұрын

@@DavidRYates-tk2tqI always remembered him as Dr. Jumba Jookiba.

Good god damn. The care and thought you pour into these videos is always impressive, but in this one, the conclusion in particular; *DAMN* fine work. The delivery, the tone of voice, the words used... it hit close ro home. Actually brought a tear to ro my eye. I don't know what to say. Just... bravo, Steve.

I think DS9's "The Quickening" is a great episode on this topic. The way their culture came to embrace death and the conflict between Bashir and their "doctor" was really good.

If i ever find out I'm to lose my mind to dementia or Alzheimer's, this will become an option. I'll go out on my own terms, with my mind intact, thank you very much.

@torquetheprisoner

10 ай бұрын

robin Williams did that same thing

@animationforya

10 ай бұрын

That's a promise I made myself when I was 29 when I saw my mother going thru it.

@AndrewD8Red

10 ай бұрын

There's endless suffering in the world and finite joy. Moments of joy are what make life matter. It isn't checks-and-balances because suffering always wins out through sheer numbers. Unless it's an incredibly shitty person, a death is never a reason to smile and life, however you slice it and however long you live, is unimaginably brief. It will end one way or another. When someone dies, everything that person could have felt is gone. Everything they could go on to feel doesn't happen. Death isn't an escape plan, it's an end to all future moments of joy with a single act of misery. I have a hard time defending it... ...even if it can sometimes be the lesser of two evils.

@neverendinglute3125

10 ай бұрын

So what about people who never ever have a mind fully intact. You find out about it when they’re two, what next? Take them out back and do it the old country boy way?

@rog2224

10 ай бұрын

@@neverendinglute3125 What about it - you're throwing in a straw man that has nothing to do with this episode. That's a Babylon 5 episode at best, and thus, again, irrelevant noise you want to talk about.

I think the best reaction to give to Worf in this situation is "okay, try to live for like a few months, see how you feel once the shock wears off and you see what life is like with your injury. If you still want to end it after that, I'll help."

@neverendinglute3125

10 ай бұрын

Really fucking stupid to kill someone instantly after they got an injury just cuz they say so bc we KNOW that that is an impulsive response that does tend to wear off. Hate how little stuff like this is accounted for. Also if we just killed people any time they wanted it what percent of people are living past their teens?

@LathosZan

9 ай бұрын

@@neverendinglute3125I believe that according to studies of teen and child mental health, the percentage would actually be very very high. While there ar eindeed instances of suicidal ideation among teens, this is an extremely uncommon experience that affects as few as 1% of the population, when confronted with the reality of their own actual death. Notably, this number is lowest in situations where teens are also offered life affirming treatment and therapy, and rates rise to around 5% among groups where affirmation care for LGBTQ+ youths and a large presence of one or more marginalizing factors affects some part of the family severely (often heavy marginalization based on ethnicity or gender) and families in which one or more parents is abusive with a lack of support provided for victims of abuse. The vast majority of teens tend to adjust fairly readily to adversity and emotional difficulty, even those unfortunate enough to live in societies that marginalize or otherwise socially exclude one or more of the groups they are a part of. Do take everything I have said with a grain of salt, especially given that I cannot locate the sources I would cite for this. I urge you not to take my word for it, but instead to take it as an inspiration to do deeper research on the topic rather than giving into one's own biases about the emotional stability of youths.

Man.... My dad just passed, I didn't know that about Nimoy. I had to make a decision like that on his behalf, knowing what he would want. This episode made me cry.

Well done essay, thank you. Didn't know that about Nimoy. Glad he was able to go on his own terms.

Since biofiltering in transporter is common place, it is surprising that unrecoverable injury is a thing in Star Trek. It is also surprising that Starfleet doesn't save everyone's pattern just in case.

Half a Life is interesting to me. While I find Lwaxana's reasoning to be dubious, I largely agree with her conclusion. I don't believe children inherently owe their parents anything, but I do believe that a society with the means to do so has an obligation to care for its citizens of any age, able-bodied or not. The alternative that Timicin presents, of citizens without living friends or family wasting away in hospices until they die alone and forgotten is certainly a bleak one, but doesn't really support his society's conclusion which he's defending. If anything, it points to that society's need to be vigilant for those sorts of citizens, to make sure they have opportuntities to build new, meaningful relationships at any point in their lives if they so desire it. Hell, he all but refutes his own argument in admitting his newfound love for Lwaxana. She isn't his family. He only just met her. And while he himself has family, what would be to stop any other individual from building similar ties with new people in the latter years of their lives? The part that really kills Timicin's argument for me is that it's in defense of a mandate which entirely ignores the autonomy of the individual in question. The only honest reasoning I can fathom for such a mandate is to reduce the number of "useless eaters," a "surplus population" that puts a strain on (or at least inconveniences) the rest of the society that doesn't want to deal with them. They can dress it up in as many kind words as they like, but from where I'm standing, Timicin isn't defending euthanasia. He is, in effect if not in intent, defending eugenics.

@kaitlyn__L

9 ай бұрын

This is exactly how I've always felt about the episode.

@MR-rj2qw

4 ай бұрын

Not to mention, in his specific case, it is also idiotic to put him down like a sick dog as he might be the only one who could save the dying sun. (I do not remember how it went with the sun, just from what is presented here)

The older I get, the more I don't mind the Lwaxana Troi episodes. Dare I say, I kind of enjoy them. She seemed fun and I'd hang out with her and listen to her wild stories.

@DawnDavidson

10 ай бұрын

Lwaxana would be an awesome gal pal. I can understand not wanting to be her daughter, though!

@rmdodsonbills

10 ай бұрын

This is another area where Steve and I fundamentally disagree. Annoying she may be but she's fun to watch and I like the perspective she adds to the episodes she's in.

Thank you for this episode. I'm still struggling with a family member's recent passing in a similar way. I always thought I supported death with dignity - and supported my relative in choosing it - but it was hard to go from supporting it intellectually to dealing with the actual messy emotions and "what if"s that followed the choice and the end. This episode has given me a bit more clarity, and as a result, a bit more peace.

So, I've got a lot of experience thinking about this subject, specifically because its come up so often in my family. My great-grandfather stormed the beach on D-day. He understandably never talked much about that experience, other than to say he was there, but he had this great recipe for peanut butter cookies. I honestly never got to interact with him that much. He lived in a military retirement home, and while it was within day-trip distance to me, we just never got to visit that much. And I never got to learn that much from him before his Alzheimer's' set in. The last I got to talk to him was on the D-Day anniversary in 2004. And not long after that, Hurricane Katrina hit. The home kept their residents on-site, but given its location literally within walking distance from the beach, it had to evacuate them not long after. Apparently, they had a sister facility near DC. But the change in location caused his condition to rapidly deteriorate, and in 07, he passed away. I hope he didn't suffer. About a year later, my grandpa (well, one of them, not related to my great-grandfather) needed some surgery for stomach cancer. Thankfully, I got to see and learn from him a lot more during my childhood. But the last time I saw him, was before he went in for his surgery. I told him goodbye, as if I'd see him again. I wouldn't. Apparently there were a lot of complications. My mom didn't let me see him, she didn't think I should remember him in that state. Maybe she's right, IDK. He was in the hospital for months, all kinds of tubes coming in and out of him. One day, though, my mom and her brother and sister were visiting him, and my uncle just realized it was time to pull the plug. Nobody objected, and there was a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order on him. My mom said he had a peaceful look on his face as he went. Speaking of my mom, in 2018, she was diagnosed with COPD. She's also got other issues and has since become fully disabled. I take care of her full time. Nobody else in my family is an able-bodied adult who isn't already taking care of an older, disabled family member. I've heard horror stories about abusive home nurses, and even more about abusive facilities. In 2021, Hurricane Ida hit my area, and some asshole who owns 8 assisted care facilities in the New Orleans metro area sent those patients to a fucking non-air-conditioned warehouse about half an hour north of me (I already live north of New Orleans, so it wasn't the worst general location to send people) ahead of the storm. 8 of them died. The rest were found living in absolutely horrid conditions that I'm not sure I can type out in a youtube comment, but the story is google-able. I'm not willing to put my mom through that. So when I rewatched Half A Life, I fucking felt the argument about a child's duty (or lack thereof) to take care of their parent(s). Personally, I feel I have a duty. Nobody else I trust is willing or able to take care of my mom, and trusting outsiders doesn't seem to be viable. The biggest worry I have, though, is about what happens when mom's COPD reaches a critical point. She's indicated that she'd like to be kept from suffering, but the thought of her dying at all terrifies me. The thought of me being part of that decision terrifies me even more, even if its something she wants. For now, though, I just mentally kick that can down the road, and try to enjoy the time (hopefully decades) I still have left with her.

@DawnDavidson

10 ай бұрын

Sending you empathy, Comrade. I am watching my mother die slowly with dementia, as her mother died before her. It’s excruciating. She and my dad chose to stay in TN years ago, and not to return to CA where both my sister and I reside (and have for decades; our parents left the state in the 1980’s). So we really have not much choice but to have them in assisted living/nursing care. (My sister and I have been trading off going to visit them several times a year for 3-8 weeks at a time.) Our elder care systems in this country (US) are just TERRIBLE, and we have struggled to find a place that works for them AT ALL. Some places have been awful. More than one has stolen from us. Some have had awful caregivers who didn’t deserve to have “care” in their title. But through it all, there are people who really DO care, and who do the best they can for these people in the last days, when often they literally have nowhere else to go. Those people are truly angels, and I am glad they exist. I’m glad you are there to help, and I wish you both the best on this difficult journey.

@ComradePhoenix

10 ай бұрын

@@DawnDavidson Thank you. I'm sorry to hear about your mother. I hate that she has to go through that in TN. I know well its a shit state, I used to live there myself.

Ethics was the very first episode of Star Trek I ever saw. I remember being up late and channel surfing and there was literally nothing good on so I thought "I like space ships, lemme see if I can handle this". I was like... a tween or a teen so lemme tell you that this was some pretty heavy stuff, but I watched the whole thing, and I talked to my dad about it. We both ended up watching all of Next Gen and DS9, and I kept being a Star Trek fan after that thanks to Ethics.

This is a topic that's near and dear to me. My mother, after seeing her parents face long, debilitating declines, became interested in choosing dying with dignity rather than slowly declining. My grandmother had a stroke and lived for a few months, but the quality of life was lacking, I don't remember much specifically, since I was 6 at the time. My grandfather, I do remember slowly declined over years, ending up in a nursing home, unsure who he or we were. I saw his decline from an independent man to a bed ridden, confused, husk of his former self. Four years ago, after beating cancer, my mother developed complications from a trial for an immunotherapy drug. Within a month she had a heart attack and was later struggling to breathe without a respirator. After several failed attempts to be taken off the respirator, she had a talk with her doctors, who informed her that while it was still possible to eventually breath on her own again, she would never have the quality of life she had before. She decided then that he wanted to be taken off the respirator and die with dignity rather than to face a life where she slowly declined, never again to regain her former quality of life. I admire her for this decision, though I still live with the grief of losing her. She made me proud to be her son by choosing to die with dignity. I do want to say the phrase is a little bit of a misnomer, as we stayed with her for the hours it took to slowly die after being removed from the respirator. It's so strange that the medical profession is okay with a person struggling to breath until they cannot do so any longer over hours, but are not okay with giving that person something to pass away quickly and painlessly. Ultimately, the result is the same. Even though we have made strides in allowing people to die with dignity, there is still a long way to go.

This reminds me of the disabled Canadian awhile ago who was offered/suggested euthanasia over actually being given dignity in their situation. The opioid epidemic scare also has people regularly under treated for pain. I don't know, i used to work in aged care, and theres a range of feelings, but no real choice here.

I'm in Ontario, and I'm glad they legalized doctor assisted dying. I had an idea like Worf before. Nobody was going to stop me from choosing when to check out, but there's a lot of comfort knowing that a doctor can help me when my time comes now.

@Ryanookami

10 ай бұрын

Fellow Ontario watcher here also glad these laws exist. My Papa could have gone on living for a long time being forced to stay alive even though his mind was gone, but we were able to do the compassionate thing, the right thing, because these laws exist. I hate when people argue against laws like these, saying it enables suicide. No. It allows for death with dignity. When our pets are sick and unable to tell us what they want we choose for them out of compassion. Why can’t we do that for ourselves? It should be allowed the world over.

@Donnagata1409

9 ай бұрын

@@Ryanookami I have signed a legal document, where it clearly states that if I am in unsufferable pain, unable to help myself or mind-disabled, I want to be put out of my misery as far as the law at that time allows. It is legal to do that in my country. Some of my pets were helped by the vets when they were suffering too much; some were suffocating, do any of you think it would be better to let them suffocate to the end? Not me.

@kaitlyn__L

9 ай бұрын

@@CSGraves 100% agreed. 15 years ago I used to passionately argue we wouldn't let the latter happen, because it would be ludicrous and undermine the former. Now sadly Canadian and Dutch friends have informed me we sadly do let the latter happen far more often than it should (which of course should be never).

An excellent video as always. This is definitely a companion piece to your video on disability in star trek and I think some of the same themes come up. The Federation is presented as a utopia, where magic technology makes all ills go away. Sometimes, for plot reasons, that magic fails and people have to make hard choices. I think that might be a source of some of the conflict in "ethics", troi and riker see Worf rejecting life as a betrayal of sorts. To quote your favorite villan "he rejected paradise and no one rejects paradise".

Thank you for this episode. I’m coming up on the anniversary of the passing of a family member which was very similar to Nimoy. The nurses who helped him were actual angels (and I don’t believe in that). The compassion and understanding shown gave such relief to him and all his family members who were unable to do anything but sit and watch him suffer needlessly.

Half A Life is one of those episodes that I thought was fantastic until the end. It stretches belief to see an entire planet that is so committed to euthanasia that (1) they will start a war with Starfleet over one refugee and (2) they will refuse information that will save the planet. I think making it just about his daughter would have been better. Maybe if she was just as good a scientist as him, ready to take over his work, and she is horrified that he would selfishly refuse the ritual just so he could see the fruits of his labor, even though there was someone ready and able to take up the work.

@michaelramon2411

10 ай бұрын

I could also see him being convinced to have faith in his people, that they can resolve the issue without him and that it is presumptuous to think that he is so important that they cannot continue without him. I'm not saying I believe that, but I could see the character feeling that way. Or the daughter could argue that his plan is to abandon their society's traditions in order to save it, and that they must hold onto their values rather than their lives.

@Ken-fh4jc

10 ай бұрын

I figure they are worried if a single person bucks their societies custom that it will start a trend. The optics are bad and they don’t want to take the risk.

@clairemercer3099

10 ай бұрын

Euthanasia is about ending the suffering. Half a Life was about killing elders before they came inconvenient.

@cl8733

10 ай бұрын

Have you seen how the GOP is behaving in the US for the last 10+ years? They are willing to burn down the entire planet to prove a point or to stop a single woman from having an abortion, which is not that different.

The first episode that comes to my mind on the topic is Yesteryear with young Spock being forced to face his first no-win scenario. :(

@Willpower-74205

10 ай бұрын

As someone who grew up with two cats and had to endure both of them being euthanized due to incurable illnesses, "Yesteryear" hit me harder than I expected. I grieved with young Spock. 😔

Amazing how I sometimes have the exact opposite interpretation of episodes. I always took Crusher's response as being motivated by the knee jerk response Worfs deathwish was. And his crewmates' response as pretty much in keeping with how a True Klingon like Worf would want or need to he talked to. And the futility of "I should've kept him alive" was precisely the point of the McCoy scene. It is not forgiveness that alleviates guilt in "hindsight is 20/20" cases. It is the full acceptance that you made the best possible choice, with the information available and resources available to you at that time. That information or weighing of options might have been flawed, especially given insights you did not have at that time. But it was the honest best you could do then.

Excellent examination. One episode I think is worthy of examination is DS9's Sons of Mogh. Kurn comes to Worf begging to die with honor as Worf's actions have stripped him of everything he values in his life: His house, his family, his honor. Everyone around Worf disagrees that he should fulfill his brother's wishes, and Worf himself is torn between his dedication to the ideals of his Klingon heritage and his own doubts. Kurn is suicidal, in much the same way as some people with severe mental issues can get, but his Klingon morals prevent him actively from taking his own life. He passes the buck to Worf time and again in the episode, and Worf's solution is... frankly almost worse than the alternative. I always did wonder what became of Rodek, son Noggra.

@albertmartinez2539

10 ай бұрын

His story is continued in the mmo Star Trek Online.

@renatocorvaro6924

10 ай бұрын

Worf's family has the unfortunate tragedy of being related to Worf.

@park2sp

10 ай бұрын

This was the only one I was hoping would get mentioned that didn't. To me it has the least satisfying conclusion/answer to the questions it raises and yet the episode seems very satisfied at the end.

David Ogden Stiers acts his ass off in half a life. He does an incredible job in the role of Timicin.

@williammorahan4907

3 ай бұрын

Really should get a follow up on the Kaelons. Maybe the time had come for things to change in their culture. After all, it is the necessity of all existence.

Steve, I admire you. You've been doing these Trek Actually videos for a long time and yet you keep coming up with new, interesting topics. 🖖

An interesting discussion, and yes, those 3 episodes probably best exemplify the moral quandary. I would just add, the middle episode involved David Odgen Stiers who also played Major Winchester in MASH (and who has sadly died), with a brief appearance of his daughter in the show, done by actress Michelle Forbes, who later played Ro Laren in STNG.

The case of society wide senicide in "Half a life" reminds me of "Ättestupa" as depicted in "Midsommar". Many forms of this are known throughout mankind.

@williammorahan4907

3 ай бұрын

kzread.info/dash/bejne/dqt4mchuirrOcc4.htmlsi=Dg6ZgfkO5YqrdUTy I’m sorry. I just had to.

I wish Lwaxana and Q had met on screen.

@MLeoDaalder

10 ай бұрын

Q knows better than to do that. XD

@Willpower-74205

10 ай бұрын

The next best thing would be the Peter David novel "Q in Law." It's one of the best in the Trek library. 🖖😎👍

@neverendinglute3125

10 ай бұрын

In front of Prichard

Imagine what an intelligent, compassionate badass Alexander would have grown up to be if Deanna had been forced to raise him. He was one botched surgery away from having a loving parent!

@wushumsz-k7858

10 ай бұрын

I'm not sure if Diana is a good choice to raise a child. Diana, herself, is "lost" in life. She doesn't really know what she wants. In addition, in my opinion, she often lacks compassion towards others, usually, she is more focused on herself and does not notice many "issues" from the "outside". She encourages others to take risks without considering whether it will be harmful, dangerous, for them, for everyone on the Enterprise, etc. And even if it is, she doesn't care much. Diana, doesn't even understand her own mother. And rather, he doesn't try. He sees her, like others - superficially - as something constantly irritating, for no reason. It's just that Lwaxana's behavior has its reasons. Just like most people's behavior and not only them. Diana should first "mature" herself mentally, otherwise she would only be a lost person, a guardian, for Alexander. Beverly Crusher would, in this case, be a much better choice. /Sorry, for my Google - english/.

@thobu6576

10 ай бұрын

I think it's clear that worf does care a great deal about Alexander. He just doesn't know how to be the father his son needs.

@Everilid

10 ай бұрын

Riker would be a great step Dad to a teenage Klingon, he got along better with the Klingons on that warship better than Worf ever did.

@DawnDavidson

10 ай бұрын

@@wushumsz-k7858It’s possible that Deanna raising Alexander would have led to both Deanna and Alexander maturing. It happens in real life a lot. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen that way, and then the kid/s can get seriously traumatized or at least permanently resentful.

It's an episode that leaves me feeling very conflicted. I've always believed there should be a right to self determination. After all, it's your life, and if you truly no longer consider it to be worth living, why should anyone else have the right to decide otherwise? However, I lost my father to suicide, and I'm now all too aware of the pain such a loss causes those you love.

I think Steve is wrong that Lwaxana’s expectations that children care for their parents in old age is somehow bad. We live in a very individualistic society and to think that someone that spent two + decades to provide and support you doesn’t deserve support when they can no longer care for themselves? That doesn’t make sense. No one asked to be here, so that’s no excuse. Not saying every parent deserves to be supported in old age. I could write so much on this topic. I had my first child at 40, and I was hit with a revelation that I was wrong about EVERYTHING that I thought about family, family structure, parental responsibilities and so much more. I had to admit that my pre-child ideas were selfish, unrealistic, and basically all bull 💩 and that I had no idea what I was talking about for the first 40 years of my life when it comes to children, parenting and expectations.

@lordpelagius5078

10 ай бұрын

My rebuttle would be, who looks after them if they don't have kids, or the kids can't for whatever reason By placing that expectation you are kinda implying that if you don't have a family safety net that your screwed

@Ryanookami

10 ай бұрын

The problem is that Lwaxana presents it like an inalienable right that parents be looked after by their children upon becoming too old to care for themselves. This is wrong. Not all parents are created equal, and to say a child has a duty to look after their parents no matter what ignores the sad fact that some parents were terrible to their children, some parents were selfish and horrible and treat their children like extensions of themselves rather than people with their own will and right to choose. Lwaxana takes it for granted that a child is meant to look after their parents, and forgets that sometimes, parents are undeserving of the love of their children.

@genlando327plays2

10 ай бұрын

​@@lordpelagius5078and in many cultures, this is EXACTLY how it is. What of it? Are they inherently bad like Steve pretty directly implies?

Just the mental image of Worf giving a genuine college try of lopping off his own head is going to bring me giggles all day. Followed up with him literally trying to eat a phaser, not euphemistically, but literally, with a klingon knife and fork.

That Dr. McCoy scene in Star Trek 5 missed out on a great line that wasn't thought of: (McCoy explaining the situation to Kirk) "He's dad, Jim!"

Lots of singing lately! Not that I mind, I’m just wondering when Steve will do a full Subspace Rhapsody-esque video discussion that’s entirely sung

@AndrewD8Red

10 ай бұрын

I keep petitioning him for an album, but he just deletes my comments.

Great essay! I appreciate how you put these different episodes together. I love the "social issue" series of reviews you've been doing recently!

I adore the humorous paraphrased re-enactments in your videos. Always good for a giggle.

Death Wish is one of my favourite VOY episodes, actually examining the whole "immortal omnipotent watcher" trope and making the Q actually kind of interesting. Also, the actor who plays Quin/New-Q is absolutely adorable, and hits it out of the park.

That opening song made my theatre kid heart so happy

While I think it was right not to include them in this essay, I cannot help but consider Deep Space Nine's "Blood Oath" and "Once More Unto the Breach" episodes, and what they bring to the table about choosing death.

We have said it before, but Picard Season 1’s ending with Data asking to be allowed to die is one of our fav. moments of modern Trek because of how it reflects the subject of autonomy like these episodes do.

This song, and others, now available on K-Tel... featuring the hits "Oh, what a beautiful mourning" "Coffin, with a fridge on top" and of course "People will say we're interred"

Holy wow that last segment and outro. Went from your typical Shives describing Star Trek to wisdom, emotion and swaying speech in moments. Well said :)

"Ethics" is a hard but meaningful episode for me. I have a degenerative genetic disorder that took away my mobility. When the wheelchair showed up, I couldn't even get into it at first. It has been much more stressful than anytime I've moved, got married, or divorced. Now I've been using my chair every day and it allows me a good amount of independence. But "now" is a decade after it first showed up. I'll admit, I was emotionally destroyed. I really understand Worf in this episode.

Having seen some elderly relatives survive way beyond actually living I'm pretty sure that the way we treat our elderly who are suffering intolerably will be seen as a fucking scandal by future generations. In the same way that we look back on torture now.

@ScamallDorcha

10 ай бұрын

If we develop Star Trek-like values in the future, then we will look back at us now the same way that we look at medieval people now.

@NeilBlumengarten

10 ай бұрын

The way I think of it is that if a pet is sick beyond having a decent life, we euthanize them, and consider it the "humane" thing to do. The word humane literally is derived from human, but when it comes to humans suffering and, as you put it, "surviving beyond living," we fight to keep them surviving, without realizing how inhumane that is. Well, at least we used to thankfully more and more, it's becoming acceptable to allow a person to choose to die than to live with pain and suffering that has no hope of improving in any significant way.

@williammorahan4907

3 ай бұрын

I respectfully disagree, since I believe that there *are* ways people can still find meaning and happiness in their final years even if they are suffering from a condition or illness that makes that difficult. I lost a Grandmother to COP and she was in hospice for her finally days like many others, but her life wasn’t terminated prematurely - she just choose not to extend it any further with medical treatment and testing. I’ll always remember you Nanny.❤🪦🕊️

When I saw the video title, I thought you’d talk about Kurn’s last appearance in “Sons of Mogh” since it’s a kind of twist on “Ethics”

I had to make this decision 2 years ago. My dog Suzi was suffering from an age related disease. She was no longer having fun being alive. She couldn't eat but was still throwing up green fluid. I raised her from a puppy. She was my constant companion. She had her games she liked to play with me. Every night when I went to bed, she would go outside to make sure everything was okay. Then later she would come in and jump up on the bed and go to sleep. I could not stand seeing her deteriorating. I did not want the power of life over death. But I couldn't stand seeing her this way. I took her to the vet, the doctor came out to my car and gave her, first a shot to make her sleep. Then one to stop her heart. I held her in my arms during this. When it was over, I cried. I am in tears just writing this.

@wushumsz-k7858

10 ай бұрын

🫂

I had a similar vibe from DS9's "The Visitor", with old Jake's solution.

And we can't forget that one of the common responses to "Live long and prosper" is "Peace and long life." So not only prosperity, but also peace.

Love your content Steve! Keep it coming, your thoughtful commentary, humor and insight is always appreciated.

This is a very personal issue for me because of my grandmother. She had cancer and was doing as well as can be expected when toxins started building up in her system. She was in pain so they sedated her and the family was told that she would never be able to regain consciousness without severe pain. We are primarily a liberal leaning family and we agreed that she would be allowed to die. But legally the only thing they were allowed to do was stop feeding her. So we had to wait a week for her to starve to death (incurring a hospital stay the entire time) instead of just increasing the sedation and allowing her to pass quickly. It was the worse thing I've ever experienced in my life and cemented my belief that euthanasia should be a choice we are allowed to make for ourselves. (Additionally, and I understand you didn't want to muddy the water here, but Superman: Grounded really resonates with this issue as well even though that is more closely related to suicide. "But if you think there's a chance - no matter how small-that there might be just one more happy day out there-then take my hand")

Brilliant points, all. Fascinating subject. What really blew me away though was when you freakin’ put George Hazard on the display. Whew. That is a deep cut. I grew up watching North and South with my mom countless times and to see a reference to it here??? Damn, son. Mad respect.

one complication in the world we're living in is the sheer volume of obstacles to prosperity or even the barest quality of life for an increasing large amount of people. we have to collectively fight for everyone to live in dignity first

Exactly in our groups, we talk about the mindset of the person, at such rock bottom that suicide or euthanasia IS the only choice, but by, as you said ' quilt tripping them' makes them feel we can't. So we suffer more in silence and the pain feelings inside intensify to the point... Some of us snap

As usual this was an on point, thoughtful and wonderful exploration of something many fear discussing...Steve, I wish I knew you I'd truly enjoy any discussion with such a well rounded and compassionate individual, mixed with humour in all the right spots :)

Death Wish is a fiercely powerful episode for me as a longtime sufferer of depression. Both Q make impressive cases for their point of view, and frankly I'm not sure there *is* a right answer. I am a firm believer in carefully supervised euthanasia. There are times when continuing to live is simply impossible, when pain and suffering becomes so bad that there is no quality of life to be had. It's working out how to legislate it that is the difficult part, because there will always be potential for abuse. It's been an ongoing and complicated argument in my country since I was a child and I suspect it will continue to be for a long time to come.

David Ogden Stiers was always wonderful in everything he did

I'll comment to this as a ST fan and a person who grew up around and worked in and around heath care for over 20-years. I have seen countless people die, from newborns to people over 100 years old. I consider death, including hastening it for a person who's extremely ill, to usually be a blessing to that person and sometimes the family. I've always said: "Death itself is not tragic, but how someone dies can be."

Beautiful and thoughtful episode Steve. Wonderfully done.

Excellent episode. And thanks for the North & South reference 😂

I would like to have seen some comment on "The Menagerie". Although the plot does not involve euthanasia as such, it presents closely related situations and could be an interesting discussion piece.

@myrabeth77

10 ай бұрын

I was looking for this comment. "Spock tries to help his severely disabled friend get to what is essentially heaven, and there's a hearing about it" isn't exactly subtle.

@Ryanookami

10 ай бұрын

I think given the role Pike plays now in an ongoing Trek show that perhaps this situation is worth a video dedicated to just him, rather than in here. I mean, the issue with Pike is far more than just what happens in the menagerie, it’s also about how Pike knows about his future and is still taking a course which will lead to that grim inevitability, rather than choosing to run from it.

'Dark Page' was also a good STNG episode. Always makes me cry.

When you talked about the right to choose and picked Death Wish(good choice) I thought you were going to pick the brilliant DS9 episode "Son's of Mogh" after Worf turns his back on the Klingon Empire again and Kurn wants Worf to kill him.

Great episode! Almost made me tear up in the end.

You got me a little choked up there... too soon with the Barrymore burn!

Hey, Steve: awesome portrait on a tough subject. Thank you. 🖖 LLAP. ~ PF

I think Riker and Crusher's attitude in "Ethics," including the guilt trips are because they don't believe that Worf is approaching the issue of his euthanasia "thoughtfully or rationally," as you say. The way he gives up on the other treatment Crusher offer him in literal seconds because he imagines it would make him a lurching freak and an object of ridicule/pity would provide at least some evidence to support that perspective. They probably go too far on that score, with too little sensitivity for the Klingon cultural factors and too much of their personal feelings wrapped up in their judgments, but the line between suicide and euthanasia in that situation is blurry. The character's divided attitudes seem to reflect that. It's a question I wouldn't have minded seeing this video delve into in more than just passing.

as a nurse who has watched dozens of people die and someone who was there as my parents succumbed to disease I value this discussion, we have the right to say when suffering is too much I did not know that about Mr Nimoy, thanks for this Steve

I don't know how I forgot that the Orville have a Kalon too. Who are essentially immortal.

"I don't want to see it coming. Or hear it. Or feel it, or smell it..."

Hey Steve, great vid ,also love the shirt.Where can I get one?

Let's be honest, David Ogden Stiers carries "Half A Life." A great actor.

that opening song hit me like a ton of bricks 😂💀

I don't know why, but I love "this is an essay, not a listicle".

The real life analogy to Timicin would be Eskimos sending their sick and elderly off on ice floes back in the day.

I never really liked the Spinal Column euthanasia episode much. While I agree that it did a fine job presenting several of the normal responses to a situation where a person's life and well-being are impacted and Euthanasia might be considered by the living patient (albeit without life-altering levels of pain that may come into play in several real life situations), and in this sense it was one of the best reflections I saw in the early 1990s of the subjects that were coming into the mainstay with Jack Kevorkian's Death Consultations from the late 80s through '98 and associated topics of advocacy? I definitely feel that some of the characters were stretched to accommodate the different responses, where we had never seen this kind of disparity of worldview amongst them. The solution involving Alexander to the cultural matter was a bit of a cheap heartstring tug to 'settle' the topic while making Riker feel exonerated of the task, which I thought never really sat well with the character trying to 'get out of it.' Riker's openness to the particulars of Klingon Culture as demonstrated in Season 2 (and his ability to move past squeamishness or concern regarding diet and various cultural norms), along with his openness to many traditions of other species were pretty well established by Season 5. Had they reflected a bit more on the fact that a big part of his unwillingness was that Worf was his friend and he didn't want to lose him, and so his willingness to comprehend Klingon Culture properly and find a solution that would guilt-trip Worf into getting a surgical option attempted first would have made a bit more sense. Honestly? Crusher's part didn't surprise me quite as much. But I've always felt that Dr Crusher's perspective tended to be a very "High Road" of medical ethics in terms of "I know what is best for my patient." It was a trait that was particular to her, so it didn't really surprise me, though it was definitely ramped up to 11 in the episode. In all, the episode covered the topic mostly well, but it did some of the characters dirty just a little bit, and the use/abuse of the character of Alexander in that fashion wasn't the best writing moment in NG's history. Still, it's a very well known and lauded episode for a reason. ========= Oh wait, my opinions on Euthanasia? "There is no easy answer to this question." Going to totally cop out of this, but good overview of SNG's portrayals.

During my nursing career, there have been occasions when treatment has been reduced or stopped, because to continue would actually cause greater suffering, as well as the DNR request (do not {attempt} rescusitation) should the patient go into cardiac arrest. I'm not quite sure if that counts as euthanasia, I'm not sure but comfort and dignity then becomes the priority.

This was a terrific analysis, Steve.

As a citizen of an advanced country that has policies on the right side of the 'quantity' verses 'quality' of life debate, and an active member of Death With Dignity, I abhor the conservatives who treat reproductive and suicide rights as a matter requiring government intervention. Well done Steve, good review of some essential core messages!

I would also think that "Half a Life" would also strongly parallel mandatory retirement. As an American, I know a lot of people who feel that once they retire, they feel that their life no longer has purpose. IDK, I think there are multiple layers for interpretation on this.

You also have to remember the era this episode was written in. Doctor Jack Kevorkian, and the nationwide push (ESPECIALLY in the media) to discount and vilify his methods; and, collaterally, the entire concept of euthanasia. The early 90s was NOT a time to speak openly about it.

"Do you want to end your life, Captain? Beep once for "No", and 9,372 times for "Yes"."

Trek does well with this topic. I especially like 'death wish'. I also especially liked David Ogden Stiers' performance as Timicin on TNG.

Lol “gag reflex,” I get it!

Pure love. Steve and all Live long and prosper Please please please never stop ♥️

It’s too bad Worf didn’t go for the 60% mobility thing. Him and Riker could’ve had such amazing sitting-down-weird contests.

Lovely starting 10 second morbid serenade!

I've always liked Lwaxana Troi, as a character. She reminds me of my mom, so I can really relate to Deanna Troi getting embarrassed by her all the time.

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels the way about Lwaxana Troi as you do. I love Majel Barrett, but I never liked her 'Auntie Mame' character of Mrs. Troi. But, other than Half a life, I also love her in Dark Page, when we find out about Deanna's Sister.