Would you like the captain for the next Trek TV series to never leave the ship or to constantly leave the ship on away missions?
Captain leaving the ship on away missions for next series
- Thread starter jefferiestubes8
- Start date
It really depends on the setting. I'd love to see something like the stories of Horatio Hornblower for the next Star Trek series. Shift the attention of the audience away from the command, watch the crew instead. The captain doesn't have to be the hero protagonist. Let him be more like captain Pellew of Hornblower fame - a man in his early fifties, the big figure in the background, the wise man and the extension of King's own will. He'd leave the ship only to have a dinner with the starbase governor or to lead a diplomatic mission, and in the VERY rare occasions, in the heat of battle, he'd proceed to kick some alien ass one on one, Yoda-style.
He's the star of the show. He goes.
Shouldn't the Captain be able to decide whether or not to go on away missions themselves? I mean what did they do before they sat in the center seat, they went on away missions so they already know the risk involved.
Where did that stupid rule that Starfleet Captains can't go on away missions come from anyway?
Where did that stupid rule that Starfleet Captains can't go on away missions come from anyway?
Maybe the next Trek should have the Captain not even be a main character, sort of like Charlie from Charlie's Angels. The 2nd shift would hardly even see the captain.
You can't leave the captain behind to be a piece of furnitureall the time because that's no fun. For the sake of some realism, let's have him/her go only on the really vital missions where he/she can make some kind of real difference. If you're just expecting to fight, captain stays behind.
As for negotiations, that's what a viewscreen is for. Nobody goes planetside till everyone is reasonably certain it's safe. Maybe the first officer can go if anything seems squirrely. There are a lot of surly natives in the galaxy.
Probably the very sensible strategy of not putting your most senior officer's life in danger. Most of the away missions don't need the captain's skills - redshirts can fight the the monsters or surly natives. I'm not even certain the first officer is needed to lead the charge. Can't they just have the MACOs handle the messy stuff planetside?
As for negotiations, that's what a viewscreen is for. Nobody goes planetside till everyone is reasonably certain it's safe. Maybe the first officer can go if anything seems squirrely. There are a lot of surly natives in the galaxy.
IMO, it depends on the kind of captain. You have some captains that are very hands-on and others that delegate authority to others. I'd rather see a captain that is a little of both, myself--he or she doesn't lead every landing party mission, but will do so in a heartbeat when the stakes are very high...
That's dangerously close to something like TEEN TREK! And now random dancing...
It's better dramatically to have the captain doing the cool stuff on the planet, but if you limit the times s/he goes down, then they seem like a bigger deal.
Next Gen trek, pretty much.
I tend to think the Captain shouldn't USUALLY beam down, but does on certain cases. Diplomatic missions, etc.
I think that's the kinda of shake-up Trek needs. Maybe the next series could just focus on Federation spies or something.
Or maybe a newly-minted ensign (or newly-promoted lieutenant) on her first deep-space assignment.
There is no rule that a Captain doesn't go on away mission. That was Riker's own agenda, not official Starfleet policy. They say so multiple times in the first season of TNG.
They tried making Riker the man-of-action on TNG while Picard was supposed to stay on the ship. But they found so much of the drama revolves around the man-in-charge they kept drifting back to having Picard get involved in the action. After a while they said "screw it" and left Riker with not much of a job anymore.
If they were going to go really "realistic", you wouldn't even have the first or even the second officer going down on away teams, really not even any of the senior staff. You'd have dedicated teams for SAR's, geological surveys, first contact missions, etc.
I know that's not really doable for a TV show that needs to take certain dramatic licences, but I do think it would be possible to have more of a "Lower Decks" POV that would provide good storytelling fodder.
I know that's not really doable for a TV show that needs to take certain dramatic licences, but I do think it would be possible to have more of a "Lower Decks" POV that would provide good storytelling fodder.
This.
Making the captain stay aboard ship in TNG was one of Roddenberry's lamer ideas. Good thing they found ways to work around that.
I think the next Trek series should take the time to build up one or two non-Captain characters, but they should still be bridge officers. Spreading the plot equally over 5-10 characters weakens the entire ensemble most of the time, in my opinion. Get a really good actor, toss them a really good script, and all the others get second potatoes.
Personally, I'm voting for Liam Neeson in some sort of mentor/caring father role; he does that really well (Taken; Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)
Personally, I'm voting for Liam Neeson in some sort of mentor/caring father role; he does that really well (Taken; Star Wars: The Phantom Menace)
It should/would depend on the mission, the character, etc... because even with drama and so forth, sending a Captain (or better termed Commanding Officer) into a war zone isn't that realistic. The Starfleet regs were probably placed into being for that very reason, I mean how often was Kirk nearly killed (and mission outcome therefor doubtful)? The CO's job is to give orders and to command the situation/ship/installation crew, not explore the planet of the week.
As for other comments, I could get into an idea where the CO is "The Old Man" and not a primary focus all the time (or ever).
As for other comments, I could get into an idea where the CO is "The Old Man" and not a primary focus all the time (or ever).
