Despite reappearing sporadically in Star Trek: Next Generation and in a couple of episodes in Star Trek: Enterprise, why is it that Col. Green remains a “mysterious” villain to the casual Trekkie?
By: Ringo Bones
Despite the actor Philip Pine saying that Col. Green was one
of the most recognizable villains of Star Trek, it seems that to younger Trek
fans – especially those born after the last episode of Star Trek: The Next
Generation aired back in 1994 – Colonel Philip Green is still a relatively
obscure minor character that, to them, is probably reserved for high-stakes
Star Trek trivia games. But despite his picture inexplicably appearing in TNG
after Data was assimilating the Dixon Hill novels prior to participating in a
Holodeck role-play in the episode The Big Goodbye, and a few episodes in the 21st
Century era Enterprise, why is it that Col. Philip Green is still a relatively
obscure and mysterious villain to the young Trekkie?
When he first appeared in the original Star Trek series
episode titled Savage Curtain, Colonel Philip Green was a despotic militia
leader on Earth in the 21st Century during World War III, Green,
known for his motto: “Overwhelm and devastate,” was notorious for striking at
his enemies during treaty negotiations. During the war, Green led a faction of
violent eco-terrorists whose actions led to the death of 37-million people.
Barely two years after a cease-fire had ended the war Green ordered the
euthanasia of thousands of radiation-sickened humans so they would not pass on
mutations to future generations. Green outlined his rationale by speaking to a
crowd about how they must “reject the impure and cast it out.” This act was met
with mixed feelings by survivors, may regarding him nothing more than a
genocidal madman. Others saw him as a pragmatic visionary who “humanely” euthanized
radiation-afflicted individuals, preventing those afflicted and their descendents
from passing on deadly mutations and the suffering that would come to that.
(ENT: “Demons”) This controversial and posthumous view of Col. Green resulted
in the heated debates about him and the impact of his policies for many years;
among the students of Green’s teachings, years afterward, John Frederick Paxton
made use of his ideologies to lead a group known as Terra Prime in an unsuccessful
bid to expel all non-humans from the Sol System in 2155 (ENT:”Terra Prime”).
As a Star Trek fan himself, Philip Pine – the actor who
played Col. Philip Green when he first appeared in Star Trek TOS – was delighted
to receive the role of Green, play the part, and be associated with it. “The
character of Green was well-written,” he remarked. To the first generation of
Trekkies, Col. Green proved extremely popular. Although Philip Pine had previously
played many villains in television productions, he found Col. Green to be most
often recognized by Trekkies at the time. “I think Colonel Green is probably
well-remembered because he was such an unmitigated bastard,” Pine mused. “He
had no redeeming qualities at all, none. The guy’s smile was even sinister! He
probably had bad teeth and they hurt. Everything about him was bad.” Col. Green’s
timeline in the Star Trek universe happened way after the Eugenics Wars / Gene Roddenberry's Sino
Indian War of 1992 – 1996.
