At some point in the second season, things got a little less impressive. The guys find themselves in a culture that puts on shows for a television audience based on gladiatorial battles. The problem here is that there seems to be some stasis here, but when they find out some guy named Merik has broken the prime directive, they realize that they must put a stop to it. We know from the outset that our guys are going to end up in that arena, in front of the television cameras, replete with recorded booing and cheering. They must walk a fine line. This is yet another Starfleet citizen going bad (does anyone screen these guys?) and disrupting the order of a developing planet. It also begs the question of a parallel universe. Tired plots and tired ideas just don't make it.
Review of Bread and Circuses
