doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of privacy?

[ixfd64]

One thing I've noticed after watching some TNG episodes is that crew members can enter their fellow officers' quarters without permission. The episodes "The Outrageous Okona" and "Measure of a Man" come to mind. It's almost as if people aboard the Enterprise have no expectation of privacy.

Is this ever touched upon? I mean, do the doors to quarters not have locks? Do crew really trust each other to the point that they keep their quarters unlocked? Or do senior officers have some sort of ability to override security?

 

[Christopher]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

There are many episodes in which we see that people need a security override to get into someone's quarters without permission. More generally, we hear the door chime sounding and the occupant giving verbal permission to enter before the doors open, which can be interpreted to mean that the computer recognizes the verbal cue and unlocks the door.

If there are scenes of people just coming into quarters uninvited, that's just dramatic shorthand to get the scene moving. You can see the same thing on countless sitcoms -- nobody in sitcoms ever seems to lock their front door, because going through the business of knocking and giving permission and opening the door would throw off the comic timing so it's better just to have the wacky neighbor barge in on cue.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

"Who is it?"
"Feldman...from across the hall."

Wait...that was the Bizarro Jerry....

 

[treknician1701]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

Even in the TOS trek, you can see sometimes when Spock had to get Kirk to let him into Kirk's quarters. Don't remember the episode, but I do remember that scene, and there were a couple of times that a "doorbell" of sorts was heard.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

Yes... if the doors were locked, Lenny & Squiggy would not be able to barge in unexpectedly on Beverly & Deanna.....

Perhaps the door mechanism can be set so that the combadges of close friends are allowed to enter freely, if the crew member is in a gregarious mood. In a more solitary mood, the door setting can be set accordingly. As Christopher pointed out, the need to move the action along smoothly seems like the logical real world explanation.

 

[nightwind1]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

There are many episodes in which we see that people need a security override to get into someone's quarters without permission. More generally, we hear the door chime sounding and the occupant giving verbal permission to enter before the doors open, which can be interpreted to mean that the computer recognizes the verbal cue and unlocks the door.

If there are scenes of people just coming into quarters uninvited, that's just dramatic shorthand to get the scene moving. You can see the same thing on countless sitcoms -- nobody in sitcoms ever seems to lock their front door, because going through the business of knocking and giving permission and opening the door would throw off the comic timing so it's better just to have the wacky neighbor barge in on cue.

We hardly ever see screen doors or window screens in TV, either, even though never seen a house without window screens. And have rarely seen a house with no storm door/screen door.

 

[Christopher]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

Yes... if the doors were locked, Lenny & Squiggy would not be able to barge in unexpectedly on Beverly & Deanna.....

Well, both Lenny and Squiggy have actually appeared on Star Trek...

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

I really struggle to think of a time in TNG when we see the door-chime entry method not happen. And the only times we see someone enter a room without permission they first had to call security for permission and, I assume, this isn't something granted to just anyone who calls for it.

At the very most there may have been a small handful of times the door chime wasn't used which, as Christopher said, is just a TV trope we have to accept for the sake of faster-paced drama.

But pretty much always someone pressed the door chime button, the person inside the room says "Come!" then the doors open. What always sort of "bugged" me is that the large Starfleet emblem button on the exterior panel didn't seem to be the door chime button as more often people seemed to press one of the smaller buttons on the panel.

Now, what *is* odd is the lack of privacy when it comes to the holodeck. There are a few times in the series, at the very least, I can think of where people walk in on someone else's holodeck experiences. One is in "Hollow Pursuits" where Riker, Troi and Geordi go looking for Barcaly on the holodeck and walk in on him while he's sleeping in the arms of a holodeck version of Doctor Crusher. (And this was a fantasy world where Barcaly had created copies of all of the main cast. Including embarrassing versions of his male superiors and sensualized versions of his female superiors.)

Picard walks in on Scotty's recreation of the TOS Ent-Nil in "Relics."

Both Riker and Wesley walk in on Data's forest fantasy in the pilot.

And Captain Cockblock walks in on Riker and "Minuet" in "10110001." Seriously, had Picard been a few minutes later chances are he would've walked in on something *very* awkward.

 

[sojourner]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

"Knock knock knock" "Penny!"
"Knock knock knock" "Penny!"
"Knock knock knock" "Penny!"

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

"Knock knock knock" "Penny!"
"Knock knock knock" "Penny!"
"Knock knock knock" "Penny!"

^

 

[Robert D. Robot]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

Yes... if the doors were locked, Lenny & Squiggy would not be able to barge in unexpectedly on Beverly & Deanna.....

Well, both Lenny and Squiggy have actually appeared on Star Trek...

Ah! Thanks, Christopher! I remember Michael McKean's creepy clown from Voyager, but I had forgotten the exact role David Lander had played (a Ferengi on TNG), remembering only vaguely a TV Guide photo featuring a group of the better-known Trek guest stars.

Lenny & Squiggy's trademark entrances (door slams open *BANG* "Hello!") were a running a joke with my old college roommate & me. He eventually went on to a job in television and I have a fine picture of him together with Lander when they met at some Hollywood event. Just the thought of that photo still makes me laugh.

 

[Lance]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

And Captain Cockblock walks in on Riker and "Minuet" in "10110001". Seriously, had Picard been a few minutes later chances are he would've walked in on something *very* awkward.

It might just be me... but the following scenes (where Minuet goes on to flirt with Picard and Riker at the same time) seems to suggest that our bald French captain would more than certainly be up for a little 'menage a trois' with his first officer and their new holographic friend.

 

[Green Shirt]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

And Captain Cockblock walks in on Riker and "Minuet" in "10110001". Seriously, had Picard been a few minutes later chances are he would've walked in on something *very* awkward.

It might just be me... but the following scenes (where Minuet goes on to flirt with Picard and Riker at the same time) seems to suggest that our bald French captain would more than certainly be up for a little 'menage a trois' with his first officer and their new holographic friend.

Nah. Picard and Riker giving each other jaw while Minuet spanks them isn't my idea of entertainment.

 

[Lance]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

And Captain Cockblock walks in on Riker and "Minuet" in "10110001". Seriously, had Picard been a few minutes later chances are he would've walked in on something *very* awkward.

It might just be me... but the following scenes (where Minuet goes on to flirt with Picard and Riker at the same time) seems to suggest that our bald French captain would more than certainly be up for a little 'menage a trois' with his first officer and their new holographic friend.

Nah. Picard and Riker giving each other jaw while Minuet spanks them isn't my idea of entertainment.

Hmm, yes I know what you're saying. But the question is: Is it Picard and Riker's idea of entertainment?

 

[doubleohfive]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

If there are scenes of people just coming into quarters uninvited, that's just dramatic shorthand to get the scene moving. You can see the same thing on countless sitcoms -- nobody in sitcoms ever seems to lock their front door, because going through the business of knocking and giving permission and opening the door would throw off the comic timing so it's better just to have the wacky neighbor barge in on cue.

The notable exception of one Doctor Sheldon Cooper notwithstanding of course.

 

[The Old Mixer]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

In defense of a pioneering wacky neighbor, Norton only came down after Ralph shouted up the fire escape at him....

 

[sojourner]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

If there are scenes of people just coming into quarters uninvited, that's just dramatic shorthand to get the scene moving. You can see the same thing on countless sitcoms -- nobody in sitcoms ever seems to lock their front door, because going through the business of knocking and giving permission and opening the door would throw off the comic timing so it's better just to have the wacky neighbor barge in on cue.

The notable exception of one Doctor Sheldon Cooper notwithstanding of course.

Agreed.

 

[doubleohfive]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

If there are scenes of people just coming into quarters uninvited, that's just dramatic shorthand to get the scene moving. You can see the same thing on countless sitcoms -- nobody in sitcoms ever seems to lock their front door, because going through the business of knocking and giving permission and opening the door would throw off the comic timing so it's better just to have the wacky neighbor barge in on cue.

The notable exception of one Doctor Sheldon Cooper notwithstanding of course.

Agreed.

 

[Ro_Laren]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

Yes... if the doors were locked, Lenny & Squiggy would not be able to barge in unexpectedly on Beverly & Deanna.....

Well, both Lenny and Squiggy have actually appeared on Star Trek...

Why did you make me open a link to the Voyager clown!!! If I were stuck in that simulation then I would have died from a heart attack as soon as the clown appeared!

 

[od0_ital]

Re: doors to quarters have no locks / crew have no expectation of priv

One thing I've noticed after watching some TNG episodes is that crew members can enter their fellow officers' quarters without permission. The episodes "The Outrageous Okona" and "Measure of a Man" come to mind. It's almost as if people aboard the Enterprise have no expectation of privacy.

Is this ever touched upon? I mean, do the doors to quarters not have locks? Do crew really trust each other to the point that they keep their quarters unlocked? Or do senior officers have some sort of ability to override security?

In 'The Outrageous Okona', it was Worf who had to get the freighter captain. Its easy to assume the ship's chief of security would be able to open pretty much anyone's door. And it was an emergency at the time, and Worf was under orders from Picard to get the guy.

And in 'The Measure of a Man', Maddox didn't consider Data to be an individual at the time he entered Data's quarters unannounced, and Data called him on his bullshit.

Pretty much any other time I can think of, there was a door chime or an emergency override involved, so yeah, the doors do lock on the Big E.