I understand the expectations, but I don't understand the "dark" timeline because people retire. I imagine very few of the characters we saw in the 24th century shows would still be in Starfleet in 2399.
They don't look young, they look like they are reaching retirement age. And we don't even know if Starfleet still allows children on starships after the Borg, Dominion Wars, Synth attacks and destabilization of the Romulan Empire.
It isn't about being a coward. It is about father time and the next generation. Eventually, all of us are moved on by the combination of the two.
Just to be clear, I referred to the TOS crew being essentially static, always reverting to the same position on the same ship (and direct successors thereof) as "silly". I wasn't saying it made sense!
Bringing up kids on a Starship or space station is not going to be for everyone and brings challenges of its own.
Out of all the main crew, I imagine only LaForge is still in Starfleet. But it seems there isn't going to be a lot of focus on Starfleet adventures with Picard, not yet anyway. I still think the Enterprise will turn up eventually, hopefully the Enterprise-E, and we get to see it go out in style. I like to think Worf got over his midlife crisis and is paling around with Martok still.
It has only been twenty years since we saw them. But many of Picard's crew would've joined in the late 2350's/early 2360's. So they would've had long careers.
Would be cool to see Picard go down with his ship as it would be a fitting sendoff, just like we sort of saw with Kirk on the Enterprise B, leaving the much younger Harriman on the bridge. He could be if events dont follow STO, I liked Martok and hoped to see him again. At this point anything could happen.
That’s only somewhat true. Chekov was the first Officer in the Reliant, but after the incidents in WoK preferred to stay with Kirk on the Enterprise our of loyalty. Sulu eventually did leave for the Excelsior. The others are easy to explain. McCoy was just a doctor who stayed with Kirk out of friendship and Scotty was married to the Enterprise.
Now Worf should be the captain of the Enterprise. Would be a cool misdirect. You think the Enterprise comes in to stop Picard and his renegades only for it to reveal Worf as the captain.
The Nexus fantasy of Kirk at his cabin with Antonia was supposed to have been something like 12 years before the Enterprise-B launch in 2293. This placed the moment being recreated as happening between TMP and TWOK, suggesting that Kirk had temporarily left Starfleet sometime during that period.