Ok, so I jumped back in- Pulaski and Riker just got zapped
Looks like I’m there now! I found it another way. Riker just zapped the clones in the incubators.
Did you catch the subtle reference to the abortion debate? :rolleyes:
Subtle? LOL!
“Send in the clones.” 
Oh. My. God. He really said it…
Interesting comments from YouTube:
and why must the primatives help the clones? if the crew doesn’t they shouldn’t either. i don’t see why the primatives need to change the simplistic lifestyle… to help a race of pruddish clones. ? this episode shreds the star trek principles.
what if one or any of either society is gay? forced reproduction? yeah… great society. that’s just as bad as rufusing to clone… then destroying that clone. riker is morally? justified to do that… but 3 husbands… no not bad at all. sounds like a double standard to me.
I have to agree. It’s a fun episode, but the moral and ethical implications of everything that happens are staggering.
BTW, the actress who played the woman who boinked Riker was gorgeous!
And, sadly, only members of his “primitive” society would even get the joke.
True, but Picard did tell them it was their choice. And no one said they HAD to have 3 husbands. What’s-her-nuts just said that was how they could guarantee enough genetic variation. But the killing of the clone, yeah, that was a bit non-Trek.
From Memory Alpha:
[ul]
[li]“Up the Long Ladder” was criticized from two directions. Snodgrass recalled, “I got enormous flack from the right to life coalition because they destroyed the clones. They thought I was condoning abortion. In fact, I did put a line in Riker’s mouth that was very pro-choice and the right to life coalition went crazy. He says I told you that you can’t clone me and you did it against my will, and I have the right to have control over my own body. That’s my feeling and it was soapbox, and it was one I got to get on. I was supported by Maurice all the way.” (Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
[/li][li]On the other hand, the episode was criticized by Irish Americans for presenting an overly-stereotyped and somewhat racist view of their culture. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
[/li][li]Ronald D. Moore called it “embarrassing”. (AOL chat, 1997)
[/li][/ul]
Particularly since the implication is that clones aren’t actually people. Taking that its logical extreme, why would they bother helping the Mariposans at all, then? In fact, why not just kill them all and dump the Irish stereotypes on their planet?
Discontinuity: It’s apparently legal to kill your own clone but in a later DS9 episode, it’s stated that killing your own clone is still murder.
Unless the Federation allows for it and Bajor doesn’t.
That actually makes sense, though. Bajor’s a theocratic society. It’s probably illegal to kill anything that they believe has a pagh, whereas the Federation is clearly a bit more pro-choice.
OTOH, wouldn’t having control of your own body end when cells are outside said body? I mean, the idea that a doctor could diagnose the lose of epithelial cells is ludicrous. We shed millions of cells every day, any of which could be clone-fodder, given the proper technology.
For Thot:
[ul]
[li]Melinda Snodgrass remarked, “It was intended to be a commentary about immigration, because I hate the current American policy. I wanted it to be something that says sometimes those outsiders you think are so smelly and wrong-colored, can bring enormous benefits to your society because they bring life and energy. That’s what I was going for. Now my boss, at the time, was Maury Hurley, who is a major Irishman and leads the Saint Patrick’s Day parade. When I was describing to him what I wanted to do, I was trying to come up with an analogy, and I said it was like a little village of Irish tinkerers, and he loved it so much he made me make them Irish tinkerers. I said okay, and that’s how it came about.” (Captains’ Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages)
[/li][li]Snodgrass admitted that rewrites and budget restrictions resulted in the intended commentary being lost.(Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion)
[/li][li]The episode title, “Up The Long Ladder”, derives from an expression, “Up the long ladder and down the short rope”, a reference to the gallows in an Irish rhyme popularized in the Tommy Makem song, “Are You Ready for a War?”.
[/li][/ul]
Wow! I never caught any of that. Must have been the redhead with the bare midriff that distracted me. Have to say, this is not one of my favorite episodes. RDM’s comments sum it up, “Embarassing.” I think the first time I saw this, I just shook my head and sighed by the conclusion.
During these days, TNG wouldn’t have made it past the third season. Then again, HEROES is still on the air. 
Yeah, well, that was before “Black Market.”
For an early ep, this is a decent one. But I disagree with whoever said earlier in this thread that Troi actually made a good point. I have not seen that happen yet.