241: An Element of Ignorance

“Stigma” 20th-anniversary reflections

After the encounter with V'tosh ka'tur, or Vulcans without logic, in Season 1’s “Fusion,” T’Pol has contracted Pa’nar Syndrome, a disease spread by the practice of mind-melding. When Doctor Phlox sees an opportunity to help her during the Interspecies Medical Exchange, T’Pol’s career comes into jeopardy when she is identified as part of an undesirable element of Vulcan society.

In this episode of Warp Five, hosts C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing continue our 20th-anniversary retrospective that takes you through all of Star Trek: Enterprise, one episode at a time. In this installment, we continue Season 2 with “Stigma,” an episode that aired during Viacom’s HIV awareness campaign in 2003. We discuss how the story ties into this with a story that advances the development of Vulcan society while deftly balancing serious and comedic stories to make a strong statement about cultural differences and unfounded prejudice.

Hosts
C Bryan Jones and Matthew Rushing

Production
C Bryan Jones (Editor and Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Norman C. Lao (Associate Producer)