• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Twenty Things That Never Happen on Star Trek

Non Sync

Rear Admiral
Premium Member
TWENTY THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN ON "STAR TREK"

1. The Enterprise runs into a mysterious energy field of a type it has encountered several times before.

2. The Enterprise goes to visit a remote outpost of scientists, who are all perfectly all right.

3. Some of the crew visits the Holodeck, and it works properly.

4. The crew of the Enterprise is struck by a mysterious plague, for which the only cure can be found in the well-stocked Enterprise sickbay.

5. The Captain has to make a difficult decision about a less advanced people, which is made a great deal easier by the Starfleet Prime Directive.

6. The Enterprise successfully ferries an alien VIP from one place to another without serious incident.

7. An enigmatic being composed of pure energy attempts to interface to the Enterprise's computer, only to find out that it has forgotten to bring the right leads.

8. A power surge on the bridge is rapidly and correctly diagnosed as a faulty capacitor by the highly trained and competent engineers.

9. The Enterprise is captured by a vastly superior alien intelligence, which does not put them on trial.

10. The Enterprise is captured by a vastly inferior alien intelligence, which they easily pacify by offering it some sweets.

11. The Enterprise visits an Earth-type planet called "Paradise" where everyone is happy all of the time. However, everything is soon revealed to be exactly what it seems.

12. A major Starfleet emergency breaks out near the Enterprise, but fortunately some other ships in the area are able to deal with it to everyone's satisfaction.

13. The Enterprise is involved in a bizarre time-warp experience, which is in some way unconnected with the late 20th century.

14. Kirk (or Riker) falls in love with a woman on a planet he visits, and isn't tragically separated from her at the end of the episode.

15. Counselor Troi states something other than the blindingly obvious.

16. The warp engines start playing up a bit, but seem to sort themselves out after a while without any intervention from boy genius Wesley Crusher.

17. Wesley Crusher gets beaten up by his classmates for being a smarmy git, and consequently has a go at making some friends his own age.

18. Data is fired from his high-ranking position for not being able to understand the most basic nuances of about one in three sentences that anyone says to him

19. The crew of the Enterprise discovers a totally new life form, which later turns out to be a rather well known old life form wearing a funny hat.

20. Most things that are new or in some way unexpected.
 
I'm gonna move this over to the GenTrek forum.

d6n0XsC.gif
 
There are tons of other ships besides the Enterprise within range and capable of responding to whatever emergency comes up

The warp core ejection system is functioning perfectly when a core breach is imminent

The abnormal / out of character behavior of a main character has nothing to do with the fact that they are possessed/taken over by/replaced by/influenced by an alien

The seemingly benevolent alien with oddities about them is actually not hostile / working toward a hidden and dangerous agenda

The transporters work perfectly at the most perilous time when they would be the most useful

The Enterprise, enroute to deliver much needed vaccines to a suffering planet, encounters no delays or difficulties

The crew beams down to investigate a parallel-Earth type planet and goes the entire episode without being taken prisoner.
 
Well, with the possible exception of 7, 13, 15,17,and 18, they don't sound like episodes I would want to see anyway (other than for the parody effect) :)
 
We never see other branches of the military (don't even start, yes whoever's reading this, I'm talking to you... ) in Star Trek. It would be nice to see the 23rd or 24th Century version of the Navy at sea, or the Army.
 
^It would be interesting, yes, to see those 24th century equivalents, but given that Star Trek mostly occurs in space, why would we see navies ?

Also, would Earth (being under a unified government, so all oceans have become internal seas) actually need a navy? Or more a kind of police force? Or do you mean navies patrolling on seas on alien planets where there are several power factions ?
 
Last edited:
^ Given that Star Trek mostly occurs in space, why would we see navies ?

Also, would Earth (being under a unified government, so all oceans have become internal seas) actually need a navy? Or more a kind of police force? Or do you mean navies patrolling on seas on alien planets where there are several power factions ?

Any planets. Doesn't have to be Earth. Just patrolling the seas or doing the oceanic equivalent of whatever they send Starfleet to do during peace time.

Star Trek mostly takes place in space, but as an off thing. One episode among hundreds.
 
We never see other branches of the military (don't even start, yes whoever's reading this, I'm talking to you... ) in Star Trek. It would be nice to see the 23rd or 24th Century version of the Navy at sea, or the Army.
ENT did have the MACOs, which were essentially Space Marines, but yes you are correct. Starfleet shoud not have been the solitary, all-purpose organization that we saw onscreen.
 
^It would be interesting, yes, to see those 24th century equivalents, but given that Star Trek mostly occurs in space, why would we see navies ?
We see them going to the land surface of planets, so why not bodies of water, water craft?

Tom Paris mentioned a service branch that used boats.
 
The crew arrive at a planet of humanoid nudists.

Data owns up that he does use contractions and that the claims before that he doesn't - or can't, was just baloney.

The bridge module situated in a very vulnerable spot gets taken out in one lucky shot.

Data got relieved off duty to cool off in Generations after having several emotional breakdowns in several critical situations.

Picard accepts a recommendation from Worf.
 
TWENTY THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPEN ON "STAR TREK"
3. Some of the crew visits the Holodeck, and it works properly.

Happens frequently. For instance, the first Barclay episode: the holodeck never malfunctions, even though it sees intensive use by Barclay.
Happens at other times on TNG/DS9/VOY.

5. The Captain has to make a difficult decision about a less advanced people, which is made a great deal easier by the Starfleet Prime Directive.
I'd argue that it does, all the time. The decision might remain difficult, but less than with lack of a guideline. Yes, sometimes the Prime Directive is sidestepped or violated, but it's a general guideline that informs decisions a lot.
The decision would almost always be harder if the Captain had to weigh the repercussions and angles on his own.
It's been shown on ENT, by the way, with Archer struggling a lot more in those instances.

6. The Enterprise successfully ferries an alien VIP from one place to another without serious incident.

Pretty sure that one has happened on screen, but can't remember an example.

13. The Enterprise is involved in a bizarre time-warp experience, which is in some way unconnected with the late 20th century.

Poor wording, but does happen. For instance, that "after WWIII" DS9 two-parter.

15. Counselor Troi states something other than the blindingly obvious.
This one is a slightly annoying myth, because she is frequently quite useful. Yes, sometimes she states the obvious, but it's lazy humour to generalise that.

19. The crew of the Enterprise discovers a totally new life form, which later turns out to be a rather well known old life form wearing a funny hat.
What of the poparians of christania II?

Picard accepts a recommendation from Worf.

Pretty sure he does, quite frequently. It's like the Troi myth.
Although Worf getting turned down is more frequent, but that serves a purpose: Worf raises the security concerns/military approach, and Picard chooses to take the risk in the pursuit of nobler goals.
Sometimes, it works out; sometimes not.

I'll add one, though: people not called Damar finishing their glass or meal. I understand why you wouldn't want to make long scenes with people eating or drinking, but someone interrupts me while I'm at the bar over the intercom, I'm absolutely quaffing down my synthale before walking off!
Edit: even worse are the cases where there is no interruption: people order something, barely touch it (or don't touch it at all!), have a conversation and then walk off.
 
It's okay for some common and/or obvious activities and things - like bodily functions - really don't need to be addressed because we know they happen and it's done offscreen and some shows are better as being tasteful because all the parodies are more likely going to "go there" anyway. Plenty of cheap soap operas and talk shows discuss those things already. Even the nightly news! :guffaw:
 
6. The Enterprise successfully ferries an alien VIP from one place to another without serious incident.


This has happened before.

In "Manhunt", they reach the conference without incident. It's at the end when Lwaxana reveals they have bombs hidden. So they were picked up and arrived with no incident.

"Too Short A Season" - not an alien, but Admiral Jameson was a VIP. They picked him up and got to Mordan IV with no issues.
 
A Starfleet admiral is revealed to be a perfectly reasonable and professional officer,open to suggestions and opinions.

A Starfleet security officer doesn’t fall over in a stiff breeze.:shifty:
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top