TOS: more at stake?

[c0rnedfr0g]

i somewhat recently finished viewing TOS for the first time, and something I noticed was that populations (whether of planets, star systems, or those at risk in general) tended to be stated in the billions or hundreds of billions.

By contrast, later Trek (TNG+) seemed to typically state populations at risk in the (hundreds of) thousands or at most in the (hundreds of) millions.

I'm not really sure where I'm going with this... just wondered if anyone else noticed this or if I was delusional?

 

[shapeshifter]

The first thing your (very interesting) question makes me think of is how, in TOS, the threat of the week, be it Planet-killers, Space Amoebas, Flying Pancakes, whatever it was, was almost always heading, to quote Kirk: directly towards the most populated areas of the Galaxy/Fed space!

Conversely, in TNG, the threats almost always seemed focused on smaller, planet sized targets. I believe even the Borg only ever attacked something as big as a single planet at a time in NG.

 

[BillJ]

The first thing your (very interesting) question makes me think of is how, in TOS, the threat of the week, be it Planet-killers, Space Amoebas, Flying Pancakes, whatever it was, was almost always heading, to quote Kirk: directly towards the most populated areas of the Galaxy/Fed space!

Conversely, in TNG, the threats almost always seemed focused on smaller, planet sized targets. I believe even the Borg only ever attacked something as big as a single planet at a time in NG.

I guess if you're hunting deer you follow the tracks.

 

[Outpost4]

There was All Good Things in TNG, where the fate of all humanity was at stake. I'll have to think about this for a while. I'm not sure the OP's premise holds true.

In The Apple, Kirk had to save both his ship and a nascent civilization. Devil In The Dark was about the fate of some miners. Of all first season episodes, only The Alternative Factor, Operation: Annihilate!, The City On The Edge of Forever and possibly The Return of the Archons fill the OP's requirements.

Star Trek was good because it could deal as aptly with the fate of one person - Miri - as it could the fate of billions - The Mark of Gideon.