CBS Airing Star Trek Marathon Today In Support Of Black Lives Matter

One of the most common complaints you see on social media is that fantasy and science fiction shows are being “too political.” It feels especially absurd when that criticism is thrown at Star Trek, which has been openly political and progressive since 1966. The show hasn’t let up over time, either, with each separate series having its own political inclinations and outlook.

In recognition of this legacy, CBS All Access have announced a Star Trek marathon, picking 15 episodes as the most culturally impactful in the franchise’s long history. The purpose of this marathon is to raise money for Black Lives Matter, with CBS pledging to donate a dollar for each use of the #StarTrekUnitedGives hashtag (which seems like something that could backfire if bots get on it, but heyo).

Here are the episodes they’ve chosen:

It’s a decent selection. The first, “Plato’s Stepchildren,” is famous for pushing the boundaries on 1960’s US television by showing an interracial kiss between Kirk and Uhura. The rest, meanwhile, are a fairly good cross-section of allegorical tales from across the long history of the series. My only criticism would be that showing the first three episodes of Picard is a bit much. Most people will have seen them relatively recently and while they’re fun to watch, it feels like that space could be occupied by more relevant episodes.

There’s also a surprisingly weak showing from Deep Space Nine, with just one episode included. DS9 is generally considered to have some of the best Trek stories and stars Avery Brooks as Captain Sisko. If you’re doing a run in support of Black Lives Matter, maybe showcase some more of one of the most prominent black characters in Star Trek rather than retread stuff we all saw a few months back?

The marathon will commence tonight, June 17th on CBS.com and will run for a week. In addition, these episodes will be free to watch on StarTrek.com, Pluto TV and will each be streamed for a single day on Twitch.

Source: TrekMovie.com

Source: wegotthiscovered.com