S1 E18 - Coming of Age

Discussion in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' started by Ianburns252, Apr 9, 2021.

  1. Mojochi

    Mojochi Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Aug 18, 2007
    Well, they do make a point of having the Vulcan candidate mention that Wes doesn't look like he meets the age requirement (& he's not yet 16 at the time)

    If we assume a realistic minimum serving age of 18, there's still a slim window to suggest that the other 3 might be still be under that but slightly older than him, & still in an early entrance program. I didn't see anything to mention the other 3's ages. So, it's a slim ledge on which to build a head canon, but it does kind of help the canon along some
     
  2. Swedish Borg

    Swedish Borg Commodore Captain

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    Mar 18, 2021
    Yes, this is just as stupid as Crusher getting a field promotion of full ensign (not acting ensign mind you!!) only to be demoted back to cadet upon his admission to the academy.
     
  3. DGCatAniSiri

    DGCatAniSiri Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2008
    i think part of this also goes back to the question of just how big an organization Starfleet is - the Earth campus of Starfleet Academy and Utopia Planitia over Mars have often been framed as THE Academy/shipyards respectively for Starfleet, rather than necessarily being prestigious historical places, which... I mean, take a look at any given fleet screencap from the Dominion War. You’re telling me that all those ships, ranging in crews from a couple hundred (Reliant class) to upwards of a thousand (Galaxy class) and everywhere in between, were all built in orbit of Mars and crewed by people who went to that one campus in California in Earth?

    But season one portrayed a different view of Starfleet, where it was a small enough organization that everyone on the Enterprise knew people on ships who’d be nearby. So... yeah, that’s why I’m comfortable just calling Relva’s test some kind of AP test that would give aspiring cadets a chance to get in sooner, maybe take some advanced courses that mark them as deserving a spot on the more prestigious ships, like a pipeline to the Enterprise after making it through the Academy, or a jump past Ensign in rank right off.
     
  4. Swedish Borg

    Swedish Borg Commodore Captain

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    Mar 18, 2021
    Maybe not the best of ideas. Look at what happened to "Red Squad".