I have recently been watching some old episodes of series 7 of Star Trek Voyager with daughter Emma. We have always been big Trekkies but haven't seen any episodes for some while. Science fiction is generally dismissed by serious media but I am often struck by the view that this is a mistake. Often the very artificiality of science fiction serves to highlight the human condition so much more clearly. A prime example would be the episode of Star trek Next Gen with Data and his daughter - still one of the saddest things I have ever seen on TV.
Tonight's episode was a major "Seven of Nine" episode. I read somewhere ages ago that the character of Seven of Nine was based on someone with Asperger's syndrome - a form of "higher functioning" autism. Tonight Seven was running holodeck stories to try to and boost her ability to cope with close relationships and it was desperately sad to see her failing yet again. It always strikes me that Asperger's is one of the most tragic of conditions - the desire for close relationships is there, but the ability to create them isn't. The constant disappointment of rejection and failure is very sad. I continue to think that Seven of Nine is one of the greatest characters created in a TV series.
Which probably just shows what a geek I am!!
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