Strange New Worlds (I'm such a fanboy) seems to hit a good balance between "We're all buddies having a good time" and "Hey we are actually part of a thing that has rules and training." Disco has its ups and downs in this regard.
I think both
Discovery and
Strange New Worlds make the Starfleet hierarchy a part of the storytelling.
Picard has never heard of such a thing.
Well, up until Season Three,
Star Trek: Picard was not about Starfleet! Seriously. Season One especially is about people
who are not in Starfleet. Picard and Raffi are both civilian former Starfleet; Jurati is a civilian working for the Daystrum Institute; Rios is an independent contractor; Elnor is part of the Qowat Milat; Soji works for the Borg Reclamation Project; Seven is part of the Fenris Rangers; and Narek is part of the Zhat Vash.
None of the principal characters are part of Starfleet, so why would Starfleet hierarchy and protocols be part of the story?
Also, finally getting a
Star Trek series whose POV is not primarily that of Starfleet was
really wonderful. It's a big galaxy and not everyone wants to be a space cop.
A related issue is at play in Season Two. Picard, Raffi, Elnor, and Rios have all joined Starfleet, but Jurati and Seven are
not Starfleet officers, and neither is Tallinn. They
do form a de facto Starfleet hierarchy, but it's perfectly reasonable that it would be less formal both because of the extraordinary circumstances the characters are in and a third of the people on the ground aren't Starfleet.
PIC Season Three brings back the Starfleet setting and the Starfleet hierarchy that comes with it.
(Prodigy and Lower Decks not really being appropriate to the discussion.)
I think
Prodigy is another good example of an extremely loose hierarchy in place for emergencies but the group otherwise operating on the basis of an egalitarian democratic practice.
The current generation seems very dead set against any kind of hierarchical structure.
Because hierarchy is inherently a bad thing that should only be practiced insofar as it is absolutely necessary for groups to function and should otherwise be avoided.
While that is fine in some jobs and scenarios, it can't be applied to everything. 'A flat command structure', I think Jodie Whittaker's Doctor called it during her run. This kind of thinking does not work well within a ship's functional command structure.
I mean, a flat command structure
can work on a small scale with people who trust each other. In combat situations or emergency situations, you want to have a pre-set hierarchy in place to make decisions when there's not time for egalitarian deliberation, but otherwise democracy is a good thing.
What a flat command structure is not adequate for is the marshaling of resources and personnel for state-level operations. So, no, you're not going to have a flat command structure when you're fighting a war with massive fleets. But there's no particular reason a small ship, such as the crew of
La Sirena, couldn't function on the basis of egalitarian democracy.
And while PICARD season 3 can get a pass on this because all of the characters are highly ranked and have decades of friendship to draw on, it's hard to justify DISCO allowing it when they seem to forget about hierarchy.
Discovery never forgets about hierarchy. There is always a clear chain of command. They're just not as strict in enforcing hierarchical deference at all times -- which is a good thing, because that sort of thing is harmful and toxic.
I wonder what a Trek workplace sitcom would be like (Maybe the likes of Parks and Recreation?). I think Lower Decks is the closest we would have to that kind of thing, but I think i would watch a Parks and Rec style Star Trek series, maybe.
I really think that's basically what
Lower Decks is.
(<--- PLEASE NOTE THE SELF-EFFACING WINKING EMOJI.)
