"Stigma" is the title of an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise first broadcast in the spring of 2003 as part of the show's second season. The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the episode T'Pol learns she has an incurable condition called pan'aar syndrome contracted from her mind meld in "Fusion" and must face being ostracized by Vulcan society and losing her position on Enterprise as a result. Commander TPol is a fictional character played by Jolene Blalock in Star Trek: Enterprise. ... Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic. ... The Enterprise (NX-01) is a starship in the Star Trek fictional universe commanded by Captain Jonathan Archer. ...

Production history

In the fall of 2002, Viacom, the owners of the UPN network on which Enterprise was aired, mandated that all fictional programs on its schedule would, sometime during the 2002-2003 season, produce an episode addressing the AIDS crisis. This proved to be a challenge for Enterprise since it, being science fiction series set 150 years in the future, presumably takes place after a cure for AIDS had been discovered. 2002(MMII) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Viacom (short for Video & Audio Communications) [pronunciation: pre-Redstone/pre-1987: vee-a-com; post-Redstone acquisition: vi-a-com] NYSE: VIA, NYSE: VIAB is an international media conglomerate. ... The official logo for UPN. UPN (which originally stood for the United Paramount Network) is a television network in the United States, owned by Viacom Inc. ... The Red Ribbon is the global symbol for solidarity with HIV positive and people living with AIDS. The Red Ribbon made its public debut when host Jeremy Irons wore it during the 1991 Tony Awards. ...

The issue was addressed by indicating that T'Pol contracted an HIV-like condition during an incident in a first season episode in which she experienced one of her first mind melds, but from a Vulcan not sufficiently trained in the art. The human immunodeficiency virus, commonly called HIV, is a retrovirus that primarily infects vital components of the human immune system such as CD4+ T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells. ... Vulcans are a humanoid species in the fictional Star Trek universe who reside on the planet Vulcan and are noted for their attempt to live by reason and logic. ...

As with most Enterprise episodes, "Stigma" was controversial with many Star Trek fans who felt it was both untimely (despite the decision to tackle the years-old issue being made by Viacom, not the production team), and that it violated canon in some way. Others applauded the episode for adding new depth to the Vulcan race. In any event, T'Pol's pan'aar syndrome was only occasionally mentioned in future episodes, until it was finally rectified in the fourth season episode "Awakening", part of a story arc that addressed a number of issues first raised in "Stigma". http://www. ... In the context of fiction, the canon of a fictional universe comprises those novels, stories, films, etc. ... Awakening is the name of the 84th episode from the television series Star Trek: Enterprise. ...