How come we saw Worf kick arse, but not investigate?

[indolover]

The role of Security chief is similar to an investigator, as well as providing physical security to the ship. We saw Tuvok conduct investigations on Voyager, but most of the time we saw Worf just kick arse.

Did the writers simply think "oh, well Worf's a Klingon warrior, Klingons like to beat people"

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

They had him somewhat investigating during the trails of Tarses in "The Drumhead", but, yeah, there really wasn't much during TNG's run. And a bit in "The Mind's Eye". He actually caught LaForge just in time. Sure, with help, but that's all part of the game.

Then again, on a Starfleet vessel filled mostly with humans, there probably wasn't a lot of crime and need for many mysteries to be solved that fell under his jurisdiction. Most mysteries were on a more technical/theoretical level.

I have to admit. I DID enjoy it when he laid the smack-down on the opposing enemy when the script allowed him to.

 

[sonak]

there weren't a lot of investigation episodes period, so it makes sense. TNG wasn't a police procedural set in space.

 

[Christopher]

There's a TNG novel, Contamination by John Vornholt, that's all about Worf and Troi conducting a murder investigation. It's a good exploration of that side of Worf's duties that we hardly ever saw onscreen.

I've long had a problem with the tendency to portray Starfleet security personnel just as soldiers, people who shoot and get shot at. Really, security should be more like police -- taking charge of potentially dangerous situations, trying to defuse them before they become violent. Security's job should be about protecting people and keeping the peace, not just standing by passively until the shooting starts. Or like the Secret Service. If the captain or first officer is leading an away team and things start to get dangerous, then the head security officer on the team should step forward and say, "All due respect, sir, but this is my responsibility now," and take charge of the situation until the threat is defused, while the rest of the security team spirits the command officers to safety.

 

[Saspearia]

There seemed to be a lot less crime on the Enterprise but I did like the way they would involve lots of characters to maximise their traits in investigations. You could pair up Worf with Troi and that always worked well, and then throw in a bit of Data to look at the logic and you have a good team.
I felt that Tuvok and Odo lacked that team player element somewhat, they would have Quark or Neelix interfere at some point in an investigation to give them the illogical way of looking at things.

 

[Timo]

Worf did appear to think that investigating was part of his job description - that's what initially got him into trouble with Odo when he got the DS9 job. But Worf might be taking the Klingon view on things: he only investigates when things are not to his liking, in a territory quest of sorts, and settles for enforcing when the territory becomes his.

On the other hand, all our Starfleet heroes are investigators of sorts, and every encounter with aliens is a crime of sorts - the aliens are guilty of a non-UFP way of life, and it is vital for our heroes to uncover their foreign motivations. The team approach taken in solving the various puzzles of TNG thus comes very naturally to the heroes, and Worf will have learned early on that it's actually Picard who is in charge of all investigations and likely to use a veto over the enthusiastic methods Worf would prefer.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Owain Taggart]

I guess because it was easier to show a Klingon intimidate and kick ass, not to mention it's likely what people wanted to see, seeing as he was the first Klingon in Starfleet, which created conflict and contrast for the show.

 

[The Dominion]

Investigating something peaceably is not the Klingon way. There must be blood and honor!

 

[Balrog]

He did a bit of investigating for Sisko in Way of the Warrior, but that was about it.

 

[sojourner]

What was that episode where Deanna was having dreams about someone getting killed in the warp nacelle? He investigated in that.

 

[Dr. Crusher]

I think one of TNG's occasional failings was some stereotyping. For example, both Sirtis and McFadden pointed out that they were not involved in as many physical confrontations as the male characters were, although they did have their moments. I think Worf, as a Klingon, was similarly stereotyped along the lines of his species being very combat-oriented. However, there were many moments in season 7 particularly when his character went a bit further.

 

[Christopher]

Yeah, that's my whole problem with Worf, the way he was just a stereotypical Klingon -- even more so than most other Klingons, as we eventually learned.

I had the idea not long ago that TNG would've been much cooler if, at the start of season 2, they'd made Worf the chief engineer and Geordi the security chief. It would've encouraged developing Worf away from the warrior stereotypes, and would've made vastly better use of Geordi's VISOR.

 

[Timo]

Then again, it follows story logic that Worf would be the archetypal Klingon, given that he learned being Klingon from studying archetypes. He has no reason to "break out of the mold" built into his personality, and every reason to desperately try and fit in (and dramatically fail). It would just detract from the story of his struggles if he tried to avoid stereotypes - he's the victim of stereotypes, sure, but all the drama is in him not realizing that.

Really, Worf is the guy who despises those acting contrary to their cultural stereotype - he even hates his girlfriend for that. And that's truly refreshing, because how pious would it get if this type of conservative character were the recurring villain instead? Much of the charm of Worf lies in him being the villain and the hero at the same time, in a rare old-fashioned show where the good guys aren't all rotten to the core.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[indolover]

there weren't a lot of investigation episodes period, so it makes sense. TNG wasn't a police procedural set in space.

But investigation is a major aspect of the Security/Tactical officer role. It just seems odd that this side of Worf's job was not highlighted.

 

[Timo]

Why should investigation be part of the job description? If the security officer finds out that there has been a disturbance, it shouldn't require much investigating: either the culprits are obvious, or then they are so cleverly hiding themselves that this in itself solves the problem - because thanks to the hiding, there no longer is a disturbance, and that's all that matters. The good of the ship does not require the culprits to be punished, not if they have gone underground and are not doing anything any more. Discipline is different from law enforcement there.

Only very few special types of security matter would warrant actual investigating. Smoking out a saboteur or a spy would be one of those cases. But TNG doesn't feature too many saboteur or spy storylines...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[sojourner]

there weren't a lot of investigation episodes period, so it makes sense. TNG wasn't a police procedural set in space.

But investigation is a major aspect of the Security/Tactical officer role. It just seems odd that this side of Worf's job was not highlighted.

Maybe the writers failed to pitch good episode?

 

[Shon T'Hara]

there weren't a lot of investigation episodes period, so it makes sense. TNG wasn't a police procedural set in space.

But investigation is a major aspect of the Security/Tactical officer role. It just seems odd that this side of Worf's job was not highlighted.

Well obviously everyone on the Enterprise is too afraid of Worf to do anything that might get investigated.

 

[Christopher]

We've seen Tuvok investigate in cases where members of the crew were accused of crimes on alien worlds, like in "Ex Post Facto" and "Random Thoughts." They could've done the same with Worf. But the TNG writers tended to stereotype him as Warrior Guy, so I guess they didn't really think of him as the investigator type.

 

[Trek Survivor]

There's a TNG novel, Contamination by John Vornholt, that's all about Worf and Troi conducting a murder investigation. It's a good exploration of that side of Worf's duties that we hardly ever saw onscreen.

A great book incidentally, I recommend it!