Low key one of the obnoxious things about sf in general and ST in particular is how sickeningly competent everyone is. Lower Decks makes a feint against it, but then falls into it. I was so happy that the pilot in The Expanse was a self-admitted bus driver, but then he turned into “the best damn pilot in the galaxy.”
I guess I’m at the age where I value relatability more that wish-fulflliment, the age I realize I’ll always be more Barclay than I’ll ever be La Forge.
I mean I get what you’re saying, but in the case of TNG specifically it’s a little bit easier for me to forgive it as this is the flagship and there are 100s of billions of people in the Federation from which to choose the absolute most competent people. In the other shows yeah… There’s no reason that Voyager should have the same level of competence as the Enterprise. No offense to Voyager but it’s just Voyager is a random ass Intrepid class that’s only claim to fame is getting thrown halfway across the galaxy.
I kinda get what you’re saying about the differences in crew quality, but it’s been said that to even get into Starfleet Academy you need to pass entrance exams which both Picard and super-boy-genius Wesley Crusher didn’t accomplish on their first try. It’s one thing to say the best of the best get posted to the flagship. But the best of the best they selected from were already made up of the best of the best applicants. And even then, this is post-scarcity where people apply to the Academy because they legitimately want to, but like current times where you are almost forced to go to college for a better shot at jobs, or join the military for reasons beyond wanting to or some patriotic sense.
Yeah, Voyager was comparably a less impressive ship than Ent-D but it’s still a brand new, state of the art science ship with experimental technology. The mid-at-best officers and crew would be the ones assigned to remote outposts (not by choice), aged Miranda, Oberth, Jenolan class ships doing supply runs deep within Federation borders, and other middling assignments.
Then there’s little ol’ field recruit Motherfucking Miles Edward O’Brien.
“Rocks into replicators, my boy.”
I mean, there still aren’t that many Intrepid-class ships (or even California-class, for that matter), compared to the population to draw staff from. Comparing them unfavorably to the flagship is quibbling about slightly different positions that are all still way off the top end of the bell curve.
I go back and forth. Sometimes I like seeing the “here’s how things could be if we were all incredibly competent and reasonable” and sometimes I like seeing the more realistic struggle.
Who does the struggle well? Futurama is the only one I can think of.
In Blake’s 7 the whole cast of heroes are misanthropes in a crapsack universe who low-key hate each other but do what they can to make the best of it, with varying results.
The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is about a bunch of inveterate losers in a smug universe who would generally rather be doing anything at all apart from their adventures.
Red Dwarf is a fun tale of screwups in space struggling to accomplish anything meaningful in six seasons (followed by more seasons of diminishing returns.)
(The Brits seem to be pretty good at this sort of thing.)
You reminded me of a comment Michael Caine made.
He said that he and his mates liked American war movies better than the British ones, because the British movies were almost always about the officers and the American ones were usually about the enlisted men.
In Blake’s 7 the whole cast of heroes are misanthropes in a crapsack universe who low-key hate each other but do what they can to make the best of it, with varying results.
Farscape is this, more or less, and a mix of british , american and australian attitudes (and cast)
Very true! I loved Farscape, and not enough people know about it any more.
The Orville, maybe? One of the plot points in the first episode was how the Federa—sorry, “Planetary Union” had so many thousands of ships they were having trouble finding qualified captains for them all.
(That’s in direct contrast to how Star Trek does it, as I pointed out in my other comment. Neither setting really gives hard numbers, but the vibe is that Star Trek has way fewer ships per capita.)
Thinking about this more, I think The Enterprise has a realism advantage in that most of the crew has subject-area competence–that is they have to know engineering, or medicine, or navigation, or tacitcs, or whatever. These are things that can be taught and tested and developed.
I think where The Federation Office corps strays is in a few areas:
1a) multiple areas of competence–like everyone is always WORKING so hard to get BETTER at everything, like why do people need to also master classical instruments as well as advanced fluid dynamics? It reflects a striving typical among Ivy League merit-obsessed individuals, which is a real thing, but it also doesn’t ever criticize this mindset.
1b) the Science is Science trope, common SF trope --where a doctor might also know about quantum capacitors and an engineer might have enough basic biology to whipup a cure for a rapidly spreading degenerative illness. I still remember an episode with Kira and Odo getting stranded because neither of them knew shit about fixing engines and I’m still recovering from the shock.
-
Emotional intelligence – everyone seems to be on a pretty even keel, which is unusual for the driven types from 1a.
-
Command as meritocracy. Maybe someone in the military can speak to this, but in my view organizations have always been chock-a-block with ass-kissers and incompetent aristocrats. An actual command consistently competent is less believable than teleporters.
I think the Orville really shines at 1a–they have some seriously flawed characters.
1a) multiple areas of competence–like everyone is always WORKING so hard to get BETTER at everything, like why do people need to also master classical instruments as well as advanced fluid dynamics?
due to the post scarcity of it all, people are able to not only able to excel in their careers, but their pasttimes. Also, you should look into tech death metal and its creators. 90% of them work two jobs, and about 70% are doing well in some kind of engineering. One of the most important early composers, Muhammed Suiçmez of Necrophagist worked at BMW as an engineer.
So if we can achieve that level of greatness in our shitty world, imagine where free therapy and free life would lead people to achieve.
Sounds like a recipe for burnout for me personally; to me that is a hell society where people hide their dissapointment in me with their encouragement that I could do better. I’ve come a long way from perfectionism to satisficing on good enough.
I’m not sure if you’re referring to star trek or IRL.
It just means that people turn to hobbies that allow them to develop their skills and gain nuance instead of just simple pleasure, because they are mentally stable enough to achieve their best.
-
I realize I’ll always be more Barclay than I’ll ever be La Forge.
I could be LaForge, if I HAD THE FUCKING TIME AND OPPORTUNITIES
is how sickeningly competent everyone is.
This is what I like about shows and movies, especially horror movies. Where competent people make all the right decisions but still get out-matched
“That’s not weakness, that’s life”
I like being more Barclay than LaForge.
Barclay screwed up badly and made an ass of himself, but eventually chose to work on himself and get his shit together enough to be the one who Saves the Day now and then. I like imagining that people like me would still have a valued place in Starfleet.
(Coincidentally, my regular appointment with my therapist is today.)
From what I learned watching cartoons: Smoke a cigarette.
Like it was such a stereotype, it took me until my 20s before I got the “do you smoke after sex? IDK, I never looked” joke.
You both did things you wouldn’t in daylight, so you sleep to wash away the memories.
