Season 1 Roles (or lack thereof)

[MatthiasRussell]

In season 1, before Tasha was killed, what were the roles of Worf and Geordi? They seemed to float around a bit in their responsibilities.

I also find it odd that no title character was the chief engineer but in TNG the head of security was a title character whereas this wasn't the case in TOS. In The Naked Time, we see Sarah MacDougal as the chief engineer and in other episodes, Argyle was the CE. Why wasn't more attention given to the role of CE at the beginning of TNG?

 

[PsychoPere]

Geordi was the chief conn officer, as established in "Encounter at Farpoint." Worf was likely gaining experience between the various bridge stations he assumed as a relief officer during the first season, since he also was a command division officer that year.

MacDougal and Argyle were each introduced as "one of our chief engineers," as was Leland T. Lynch in "Skin of Evil." There was also Lieutenant Logan who was identified as chief engineer in "The Arsenal of Freedom." Perhaps there were multiple chief engineers during the 1701-D's first year in service since the class was still relatively new.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Was it said there were multiple chief engineers? Besides, it seems there should only be 1 "chief". In TOS and all the subsequent shows, the chief engineer was a main cast spot, why was this not considered important when forming the cast/characters for TNG? Why was it decided to put Geordi in that role?

I also think they didn't know what to do with Worf at first. A security/tac officer just makes sense to me.

 

[SchwEnt]

Worf was a last minute addition to the cast.
There are early promo photos of TNG without Dorn/Worf, he was a latecomer.

I've read that he was added primarily as a symbol that UFP/Klingon Empire relations has changed significantly since TOS, and that we can learn to work alongside prior enemies, and so on.

Any actual character work and crew position for him may have been an afterthough, which would explain his lack of regular posting.

From these humble beginnings, quite an achievement that Worf/Dorn went on to be one of the most popular of all ST characters ever.

 

[WNMHGB]

I'm not too familiar with the US Navy, but it doesn't strike me as unlikely that there are multiple "chief engineers" for different systems on a large ship like an aircraft carrier. So, having multiple chief engineers, as was implied in season 1 of TNG, may not be too unreasonable.

When TNG was being developed, Roddenberry, etc. felt that the ship seemed too unreliable in TOS, and it was a cliche they wanted to avoid in TNG. In particular, the show's "bible" stated that the new ship would be able to replenish its supply of dilithium crystals. The thinking was probably that the Enterprise-D would be reliable enough that a regular chief engineer would not have been necessary as a regular character. Still, making Geordi the chief engineer in season 2 provided him with the clearly defined role which he lacked in season 1. Overall, TNG avoided the cliche of the Enterprise seeming to break down every other week. Geordi more often worked with Data (and Wesley, Barclay, etc.) to overcome novel problems, albeit with a healthy side of technobabble, instead of keeping the ship from falling apart like Scotty.

Worf was not developed until fairly close the show's premiere, so his role was unclear in season 1. It was clear from early on that Worf and Tasha Yar occupied the same dramatic "slot" in TNG and that Worf was the superior character. Yar really should've been replaced by Worf before the show premiered, but they corrected that mistake before the end of season 1.

 

[SonicRanger]

There wasn't even going to be a Main Engineering built until a scene of Picard walking through was written into EaF. Chalk this up to GR wanting TNG to be quite different from TOS, just like there was no "Science Officer" in TNG.

 

[SchwEnt]

I think it would have been interesting if they had kept a number of "Chief" Engineers.

Aside from actor and character considerations, a Galaxy class starship probably should have a variety of chief engineers. The guy that's in charge of the warp engines isn't necessarily the same guy that's running all the LCARS computer cores. And another guy should be in charge of impulse systems, and someone else for hull and structural engineering, and environmental engineering, and so on.

Those are all different disciplines, I can see different chiefs for each department. Woulda been interesting.

 

[Christopher]

Worf was supposed to be the bridge watch officer. A watch officer is essentially the captain's right hand, the guy who commands the bridge when the captain isn't there and otherwise fills any post that needs to be filled (I'm simplifying). We saw a bit of this in "Farpoint" when Worf held the con while Picard was in his ready room. But it's a concept that the episode writers didn't really seem to keep track of.

I also find it odd that no title character was the chief engineer but in TNG the head of security was a title character whereas this wasn't the case in TOS.

Why would it be odd that Roddenberry wanted to do things in a fresh and different way rather than just rehash something he did twenty years earlier? Creators like to grow, not just stay in a predictable rut.

 

[Tiberius]

I thought Worf was always Tactical officer, and he took on the second job of security after Tasha died.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

There wasn't even going to be a Main Engineering built until a scene of Picard walking through was written into EaF. Chalk this up to GR wanting TNG to be quite different from TOS, just like there was no "Science Officer" in TNG.

True, DS9 and ENT both had Science officers but VOY didn't. I always felt Data was more or less the science officer though he didn't sit at a science station. he always seemed to be the go-to guy for that.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

Worf was supposed to be the bridge watch officer. A watch officer is essentially the captain's right hand, the guy who commands the bridge when the captain isn't there and otherwise fills any post that needs to be filled (I'm simplifying). We saw a bit of this in "Farpoint" when Worf held the con while Picard was in his ready room. But it's a concept that the episode writers didn't really seem to keep track of.

I also find it odd that no title character was the chief engineer but in TNG the head of security was a title character whereas this wasn't the case in TOS.

Why would it be odd that Roddenberry wanted to do things in a fresh and different way rather than just rehash something he did twenty years earlier? Creators like to grow, not just stay in a predictable rut.

I can understand wanting to hash it up with different characters, personalities and even different roles but the chief engineer just seems to be a pivotal role for a ship set show, more so than the CMO to me (but then I AM an engineer). I would expect engineering and the engineer to be so involved in the goings on to make it an important role to fill. To me, the importance of the chief engineer to the crew and many situations is second only to the captain.

 

[od0_ital]

To me, Redshirt Worf was a utility officer - he could cover Ops, Conn, Tactical & those back stations equally before the back stations were even defined. Plus, he got to go on away missions!

 

[inflatabledalek]

True, DS9 and ENT both had Science officers but VOY didn't. I always felt Data was more or less the science officer though he didn't sit at a science station. he always seemed to be the go-to guy for that.

I've read claims that they actually invented the Operations Officer title so they could stick Data in the mustard uniform after a costume test with the originally planned blue one showed it didn't look too good with the gold skin.

 

[Pauln6]

The show could have featured recurring guest science officer and chief engineer and it would have worked fine. Data was a science officer in all but name - effectively being a replacement Xon who was a replacement Spock but in 7 years they never formally introduced a science officer, which was daft - neither did Voyager.

I think it was hoped that Brooke Bundy would return as the chief engineer but she was unavailable when she was needed so Argyle popped up instead. Worf and Geordi could have muddled by in their season 1 roles because they had special traits that could be worked into stories. Tasha was a character who was defined primarily by role and that wasn't enough. I alway felt they went overborard on feminising Tasha. I actually think a rough and ready portrayal by Marina might have brought more brass to the role but we have to take into account that it was the eighties - the women would be a lot tougher if they were cast today post DS9, Voyager, and BSG.

 

[MatthiasRussell]

True, DS9 and ENT both had Science officers but VOY didn't. I always felt Data was more or less the science officer though he didn't sit at a science station. he always seemed to be the go-to guy for that.

I've read claims that they actually invented the Operations Officer title so they could stick Data in the mustard uniform after a costume test with the originally planned blue one showed it didn't look too good with the gold skin.

This makes sense to me. Of course, I think the ops position is a great idea so I'm glad they came up with it. Of course, they could have just made Data the engineer. It would have put him 3rd in command and on the bridge regularly like scotty was.

 

[Michael]

There are early promo photos of TNG without Dorn/Worf

There are? Are some of them online? Do you have links?

 

[od0_ital]

There are early promo photos of TNG without Dorn/Worf

There are? Are some of them online? Do you have links?

http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=206

 

[SchwEnt]

I bet TrekCore would have some of those early TNG promo pix without Worf.

I don't have any handy, but I'm thinking of some of the stills that appeared in the first season TNG magazines and also some pix on the insert in the EaF soundtrack CD.
There were some shots of the crew gathered on the Planet Hell soundstage sans Worf.

 

[Michael]

There are early promo photos of TNG without Dorn/Worf

There are? Are some of them online? Do you have links?

http://tng.trekcore.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=206

I bet TrekCore would have some of those early TNG promo pix without Worf.

I don't have any handy, but I'm thinking of some of the stills that appeared in the first season TNG magazines and also some pix on the insert in the EaF soundtrack CD.
There were some shots of the crew gathered on the Planet Hell soundstage sans Worf.

Ah, thanks! Actually I never noticed Worf's absence on these. Fascinating.

 

[od0_ital]

^

There's three without Worf - the Planet Hell group shot, one of the bridge shots, and the one with Roddenberry, Berman & Justman (?).