Signing up to Starfleet means you're forever alone?

[Jedman67]

Hmm, from the TNG crew, Picard had "flings" but never settled down, he was too much of an explorer. Not unrealistic.
Riker and Troi used to be lovers but Riker dumped her for his career and probably scared of a relationship.
Worf wants to marry Kheylar, but she thinks that old-fashioned. He raises their son after she dies.
Pulaski, we have no idea but its not beyond reason that she was married at some point.
Geordi is a wet blanket and Data is a robot.
Beverly is a widow with a son and eventually married (and divorced) Picard.

So from a main cast of 7, only three are real loners. Really small sample size.

 

[DonIago]

We know Pulaski was previously married and divorced three times per "The Icarus Factor" (via Memory Alpha).

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Do I need to state the obvious 4th wall reasons that main casts of TV shows are never allowed to be happy in a relationship for too long for fear of making the character stale?

Writers love leaning on the big 'ol "Will they/won't they" crutch for as long as it's plausible.

 

[Nyotarules]

Or, perhaps by then, with a galactic human population in/approaching the trillions, people have moved past the idea that breeding is necessarily an essential part of life for absolutely everyone?

Then whats the point in having colonies? Earth seems to have a population of 8 billion by the 24th century as per First Contact, assuming say 80% are human and the rest offworlders, humans are still being fruitful and multiplying. Whether the Starfleet crew have kids is one thing, but none of them seemed to have a decent relationship that lasted longer than the plot, except for Worf and O'Brian. Bones runs away and joins the deep space navy when his daughter is still a child, what kind of father is that? Oh yes a deadbeat one, just like Kirk.

 

[Nyotarules]

Do I need to state the obvious 4th wall reasons that main casts of TV shows are never allowed to be happy in a relationship for too long for fear of making the character stale?

Writers love leaning on the big 'ol "Will they/won't they" crutch for as long as it's plausible.

If you have an ensemble cast, they can't play that silly game for all of them.

TOS - where was the will they, won't they? Between Kirk and Spock? That was never going to happen. Also poor TOS Uhura was never going to be anyone's love interest back then, since as we all know old school TV black folks were sexless creatures who cloned their offspring.

TNG - I guess Picard/Crusher and Troi/Riker fell into that set up. I think it would have been more interesting if Crusher joined the ship as Picard's lover

VOY - A ship is doomed to take 70 years to get home and none of the main crew try to link up for years... very realistic. Must be using holographic vibrators and blow up dolls

DS9 - at least they made an attempt

ENT - Assuming Starfleet are still following ancient, human fraternisation rules so no nooky for anyone for 4 years. Unless they go to Risa to 'ease their tensions'. At least Archer had Porthos......

 

[dahj]

TOS - where was the will they won't they?

Janice/Kirk was supposed to be that.

 

[Nyotarules]

Janice/Kirk was supposed to be that.

Whitney and Shatner had no chemistry

 

[MadeIndescribable]

Janice/Kirk was supposed to be that.

I considered them to be a will they, won't they even less than Chapel and Spock...

 

[Nyotarules]

So Starfleet Constellation class ships are sent on five year missions and it never crosses anyone's mind at Starfleet Command that sending virile, mainly humanoid, young adults out for five years is bad for morale?

 

[USS Triumphant]

Then whats the point in having colonies? Earth seems to have a population of 8 billion by the 24th century as per First Contact, assuming say 80% are human and the rest offworlders, humans are still being fruitful and multiplying. Whether the Starfleet crew have kids is one thing, but none of them seemed to have a decent relationship that lasted longer than the plot, except for Worf and O'Brian. Bones runs away and joins the deep space navy when his daughter is still a child, what kind of father is that? Oh yes a deadbeat one, just like Kirk.

Well, first, I never said that *no* humans were breeding or saw families as worthwhile (despite what I linked to, which was really just an example of non-breeder thinking). Just that they may have moved past believing that doing so is an *essential* part of *every* human's life. And there may be a high correlation between people who believe they have a purpose for their lives that is as good or better than makin' babies and people who enter Starfleet.

Second, just because there were 8 billion Borg on Earth in the same time period of an altered timeline does not mean the population was 8 billion in the unaltered timeline. There might be many fewer, and the Borg just went drawer baby crazy in the timeline where they took Earth in the past. Or, Earth being the capital, it might actually support many more than 8 billion in cities built with the tech available them - but not in the past when the Borg assimilated it in the other timeline.

And third - whoa. Why you beating up so hard on Kirk and McCoy? They steal your tribble or sumtin?

So Starfleet Constellation class ships are sent on five year missions and it never crosses anyone's mind at Starfleet Command that sending virile, mainly humanoid, young adults out for five years is bad for morale?

Dealing with that is why the (unseen) Love Instructors are onboard, of course.

 

[Nyotarules]

And third - whoa. Why you beating up so hard on Kirk and McCoy? They steal your tribble or sumtin?

Just pointing out a flaw, I like the characters but being 'Father of the year' was never going to happen for them.

Dealing with that is why the (unseen) Love Instructors are onboard, of course.

 

[Nyotarules]

Second, just because there were 8 billion Borg on Earth in the same time period of an altered timeline does not mean the population was 8 billion in the unaltered timeline.

I am sure there is a TNG episode where Riker tells a character how many folks live on Earth (billions) and how diverse it is.
Well Memory Beta states 10 billion on Earth , perhaps Andorians colonised Antarctica.

 

[USS Triumphant]

I am sure there is a TNG episode where Riker tells a character how many folks live on Earth (billions) and how diverse it is.
Well Memory Beta states 10 billion on Earth , perhaps Andorians colonised Antarctica.

Perhaps it's just me, but everything I've seen on screen has always led me to believe that Earth has been largely "returned to nature" except for scattered communities and a few very large cities. Even so, if they're VERY large cities, built with the technologies available in the 23rd/24th century, then 10 billion doesn't seem impossible.

 

[Nyotarules]

Perhaps it's just me, but everything I've seen on screen has always led me to believe that Earth has been largely "returned to nature" except for scattered communities and a few very large cities. Even so, if they're VERY large cities, built with the technologies available in the 23rd/24th century, then 10 billion doesn't seem impossible.

Star trek does not show much of 23rd/24th century Earth and when it does it does not represent a whole planet. E.g. Everyone in France or Europe are not necessarily
y a wine makers like the Picards.

 

[USS Triumphant]

Everyone in France or Europe are not necessarily
y a wine makers like the Picards.

The weird thing is that yes, they are. But just France. France has gotten weird. It's probably all the beer and fiberglass insulation they consume.

 

[MadeIndescribable]

Perhaps it's just me, but everything I've seen on screen has always led me to believe that Earth has been largely "returned to nature" except for scattered communities and a few very large cities. Even so, if they're VERY large cities, built with the technologies available in the 23rd/24th century, then 10 billion doesn't seem impossible.

Pretty sure there's more than one planet with cities that go for underground as much as skyscrapers, so why not Earth too?

 

[B.J.]

Writers love leaning on the big 'ol "Will they/won't they" crutch for as long as it's plausible.

Lazy writers. It's much more interesting to me when they can work within the limitation (if you want to call it that) of a happy home life. On M*A*S*H, B.J. Hunnicut was one of my favorite characters not just because of the name ( ), but because they were able to work with the angle of a family man being away from home.

 

[Smellincoffee]

Starfleet isn't necessarily a life sentence. In today's military, people serve tours (or a set of tours) before returning to civilian life. It just so happens that the people the shows focus on are lifers.

 

[GabyBee]

I think it's a balancing act between the necessity for having single characters on a show to provide a means of romantic storylines, while working in unseen family relationships.

For instance, Geordi grew up with two parents in Starfleet.

Beverly Crusher and her husband Jack Crusher were both in Starfleet during their marriage.

Edward Jellico was married with at least one son, and while neither his spouse nor his son (or any other possible children) came aboard during his tenure as Captain of the Enterprise-D, one could speculate that they were aboard his more permanent posting on U.S.S. Cairo.

Benjamin Sisko had a wife and son aboard U.S.S. Saratoga pre-Wolf 359.

Kathryn Janeway was engaged, and her fiancé didn't seem to have any hesitation to marrying a Starfleet captain before U.S.S. Voyager was lost in the Delta Quadrant.

Samantha Wildman was married to Greskrendtregk, though it is unclear if he is in Starfleet or not.

Alyssa Ogawa became engaged to fellow Enterprise-D crew member Andrew Powell, and after they were married they had a child together.

 

[The Wormhole]

Starfleet isn't necessarily a life sentence. In today's military, people serve tours (or a set of tours) before returning to civilian life. It just so happens that the people the shows focus on are lifers.

Not only are they lifers, but they seem to spend their entire careers deployed or at space, with the exception of DS9. In the Navy or other sea-faring organizations people aren't always at sea, the ship spends significant time docked at home port or people get transferred to ground assignments for a spell. Granted, DS9 is basically a ground assignment, so there's that.

Edward Jellico was married with at least one son, and while neither his spouse nor his son (or any other possible children) came aboard during his tenure as Captain of the Enterprise-D, one could speculate that they were aboard his more permanent posting on U.S.S. Cairo.

If Jellico's family were on the Cairo, they would have joined him on the Enterprise. Remember, Starfleet was trying to sell a fiction that Jellico was the permanent captain of the Enterprise for now, as Riker and Geordi noted when they went to the trouble of even having an official full-dress change of command ceremony, which isn't done for temporary assignments.