Author: Lillyan Ratcliffe

Lillyan Ratcliffe has degrees in history and Library Information Sciences. She is a newish Trekkie, but she's enthusiastic about seeing the franchise become even more diverse and inclusive.

Why Tasha Yar Matters

Tasha Yar faces off against Armus

  As Picard airs its last episodes, fans are saying goodbye to beloved characters, yet one of the most important—Tasha Yar—is missing from the series except as a fleeting image in Data’s memory. Even though she originally died in the…

Nog’s Legacy

Aron Eisenberg as Nog

Deep Space Nine premiered thirty years ago. Although it divided fans as it was very different from prior Trek, the evolution of the Ferengi from semi-feral aliens to a species that was meant to satirically reflect the audience is widely…

Irish Stereotyping in Early Star Trek

Kevin Riley singing into his console while under the influence of the polywater disease

Star Trek is well-known for creating positive representation of diverse characters, yet early Trek seems to have an odd prejudice against the Irish, with beloved Irish engineer Miles O’Brien not seeing most of his character development until Deep Space Nine.…

The Hetero-fication of Garak

Garak in "The Wire"

Star Trek has often been ground breaking, whether that meant having an ethnically diverse cast, promoting peaceful protest, advocating birth control, or discussing many other taboo subjects. Yet one area where Trek noticeably lagged behind for decades was in its…

Star Trek’s Blandest Love Interests

Shakaar

Star Trek  often suffers when adding romantic plotlines, sometimes resulting in a rotating line up of “Love Interest of the Week” or “Villain Seducing Lead” if not pairing off characters who do not compliment each other. Then there are the…

“Threshold” and Consent

Space salamanders in "Threshold"

“Threshold” from Voyager manages to be simultaneously famous and infamous. Famous for the body horror make-up, including Tom Paris’ tongue falling out of his mouth, and infamous for the transformation of Paris and Janeway into ‘space salamanders’ who then have…