As someone who served post vietnam , I can say first hand that formalities and decorum did not get dropped in any way shape or form. Im not sure where you got that malarky from.
As someone who served post vietnam , I can say first hand that formalities and decorum did not get dropped in any way shape or form. Im not sure where you got that malarky from.
But is that the only way military members interacted was strict formality, and just as robots?
Nobody was a robot,(I dont recall any robot types on TNG except Data), but you were certainly not lounging around like on a beach or talking to a superior officer in an informal manner. When you were in uniform, you were professional. Everyone addressed each other by their rank and last name. You weren't saying "High Chris", it was Good morning Captain."
Out of uniform in the barracks or hanging in town was different of course. But even then you still weren't calling superior officers , or even superior non officers by their first names. Many of them didnt even know the first names of others unless they hung out together after hours.
Which are traditions Roddenberry tried to eschew.
How is making someone in the middle of getting dressed stand at attention in your presence rather than allowing him to finish getting dressed "better" or representative of "improved humanity?"
Because they are superior.
They have no need for modesty because of their superior form. Same with emotions. They are only to be expressed at sanctioned times.
This is the superior humanity we should all strive for.
Do you realize how often first names are addressed in all of Star Trek, even before the reboot? I'll grant you that superior officers are rarely addressed by their first names from subordinates, unless its by their first officers or really close friends like Bones and Dax. Otherwise, commanding officers seem to have a real knack for referring to their subordinates by their first names or nicknames. How often is "La Forge" mentioned compared to "Geordi"?
Why are you making a special case for modern Trek in this regard when it was so common in older Trek?
Hell, I'm pretty sure Janeway and Archer referred their crews by their first names a lot more often than by their last names.
Oh especially with Archer’s folksy approach. I sometimes forgot Travis and Hoshi weren’t their last names.
I do think it’s funny in the pilot episode Janeway states she prefers being referred to as “captain” instead of “sir”, regards “ma’am” as only acceptable during a crunch. Then for the rest of the series everyone except Tuvok addresses her with “ma’am”.
I do think it’s funny in the pilot episode Janeway states she prefers being referred to as “captain” instead of “sir”, regards “ma’am” as only acceptable during a crunch. Then for the rest of the series everyone except Tuvok addresses her with “ma’am”.
So did some of the early novels in Hoshi's case, where she actually was referred to (repeatedly) as "Ensign Hoshi."
Then again, I think her first name is only mentioned once onscreen during the entire first season.
"Harry." "Chakotay." "B'Elanna." "Tom."
"Trip." "Malcolm." "Travis." "Hoshi."
To me the familiarity displayed between the main characters of any ST series shows the camaraderie of shared dangers and ties of friendship from serving together.
Archer probably calls Phlox by his given name as often as he refers to him as "Doctor."
La Forge was was referred to as Geordi almost on a regular basis by the main characters.
That's different.
Don't ask me why.
Don't ask me why.
Here's something: Jellico is considered by many to be the strict hardass, yet he was always referring to everyone under his command by their first names.
And he proudly displayed drawings from his kid in his Ready Room.
When he retires from the fleet, maybe he'll be the headmaster of a (uniformed) private school.
I remember Ron Moore commenting on the Blu-Ray that's something none of the main characters who had kids in any of the Trek shows ever did.
Interesting that not even Sisko did something like that, and he's the best-written father in the franchise. You'd think he'd have had mementos of him, Jake, and Jennifer in his office or quarters.
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