Could have been interesting, setting up a dual power dynamic, reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica (at least the old series, I still need to see the newer in full). Picard being the final word for all matters military and Starfleet, but the civilian population being able to vote on certain matters that sometimes might intersect with Starfleet matters to some extent.
What do you think were the "official" rules on romantic relationships during TNG?
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Could have been interesting, setting up a dual power dynamic, reminiscent of Battlestar Galactica (at least the old series, I still need to see the newer in full). Picard being the final word for all matters military and Starfleet, but the civilian population being able to vote on certain matters that sometimes might intersect with Starfleet matters to some extent.
In the end, if you're a civilian and Picard gives you an order, I imagine you're expected to follow it unless you have some grounds for claiming it's illegal or otherwise inappropriate (he's unlikely to order a civilian to take command of the saucer section, for instance).
Having seen no real evidence of self-government, I really doubt the civilians had such a thing. Sure, Picard probably didn't decide things like classes...that's what his subordinates and possibly a civilian liaison are for, much as how for most of the crew Picard didn't directly handle evaluations. He's captain of the ship, not a micromanager, but that doesn't change the fact that as the ultimate authority on board everyone is technically in his chain of command, at least in terms of there being a power dynamic between them.
Aside: I just finished watching NuBSG myself. Interesting series, and sometimes a gripping one. My understanding is that there's a fair amount of disappointment with how it ends, but I'm not sure what the nature of the complaints are, nor that I would share them. But even in BSG, where there was a civilian government, the commander of Galactica was ultimately responsible for military matters and with regards to at least the civilians on Galactica could be construed as having authority over them. Similarly, I imagine the captains of other ships in the fleet had authority over the civilians on their ships, while the commander of Galactica had ultimately authority over military matters...and yes, there was sometimes tension over what constituted a military matter.
Having seen no real evidence of self-government, I really doubt the civilians had such a thing. Sure, Picard probably didn't decide things like classes...that's what his subordinates and possibly a civilian liaison are for, much as how for most of the crew Picard didn't directly handle evaluations. He's captain of the ship, not a micromanager, but that doesn't change the fact that as the ultimate authority on board everyone is technically in his chain of command, at least in terms of there being a power dynamic between them.
Aside: I just finished watching NuBSG myself. Interesting series, and sometimes a gripping one. My understanding is that there's a fair amount of disappointment with how it ends, but I'm not sure what the nature of the complaints are, nor that I would share them. But even in BSG, where there was a civilian government, the commander of Galactica was ultimately responsible for military matters and with regards to at least the civilians on Galactica could be construed as having authority over them. Similarly, I imagine the captains of other ships in the fleet had authority over the civilians on their ships, while the commander of Galactica had ultimately authority over military matters...and yes, there was sometimes tension over what constituted a military matter.
I don't remember civilian-focused episodes in TNG. I understand that it was a concept that seemed interesting but that the writers didn't quite know what to do with it. In fact civilians aboard ships have practically only appeared in TNG, and when there were related films they hurried to get rid of them. Too bad because interesting stories could be born. For example, what is life like for a civilian on board? Suddenly the red alert goes off, the ship shakes and they don't even know what's going on. At the very least it should be stressful.
The population of the E-D was repeated quoted as 1,012 souls.
Obviously, definitions vary, but a "village" seems to vary between 500-3000 people. Even counting the StarFleet personnel, the Enterprise is towards the lower end of this range, so Enterprise is at best a village, rather than a town (which obviously doesn't preclude there being some form of "householders' association" or similar).
I'd imagine that the Enterprise has at most 250 children (under 18 years) on board, making the "school system" particularly difficult to manage; possibly having too few to be able to split by ages and abilities.
dJE
Well, the crew of the ship doesn't necessarily know what's going on either, at least until they report to their stations, and even then they probably are only told what they need to know to get their jobs done. In "Lower Decks" we know there's frustration because they don't know what they're doing or why.
I'm sure any civilian adult who wants to be on a Starfleet vessel receives some sort of basic education regarding Starfleet protocols and such.
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