Where are the older people in the crew?
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IIRC, TNG also had a guy shuffling about in the background throughout the show's run that looked like he was 90 years old - totally white hair, somewhat balding, and a little bit hunched-over. He would occasionally appear as background crew, wearing a red command uniform, when two of the main characters were walking along one of the corridors having a conversation. He always seemed to be moving in the opposite direction.
If you fail the test, you're sent to a "health farm" locate on a colony world far far away.
Part of the issue is crews that we have traditionally followed.
NX-01: Prototype starship, just off the assembly line working for Earth's version of NASA. That's ship's mission was essentially for young expendable people.
1701: This ship regularly patrolled the frontier thus it would be reasonable that older folks might be a little more settled at that point. Yest this ship gave us some of our oldest officers from Boyce and Piper to eventually the ENTIRE COMMAND STAFF.
1701-A: Everyone above the rank of ensign was old on this ship. Of course it mostly just puttered around Earth and did diplomatic missions.
1701-D: This ship should have had more older folks aboard given that families were allowed and it did less actual frontier exploration.
DS9: A station located on the fringes of Federation space in a very dangerous location. Unless you're Bajoran or an academic interested in Bajor...this is not a place for older Starfleet officers. This was a location where folks had to cut and run more than once.
Voyager: We actually have no idea what the crew of Voyager was supposed to look like nor what its normal mission was supposed to be. All we do know was that its first mission out of the gate was apprehending terrorists in an area of space called "The Bad Lands"....again, not a place where you send your most senior officers. That said, I'm willing to bet that Lt. Cmdr Cavitt and Dr. Fitzgerald were both at least in the 40s when the ship left DS9.
NX-01: Prototype starship, just off the assembly line working for Earth's version of NASA. That's ship's mission was essentially for young expendable people.
1701: This ship regularly patrolled the frontier thus it would be reasonable that older folks might be a little more settled at that point. Yest this ship gave us some of our oldest officers from Boyce and Piper to eventually the ENTIRE COMMAND STAFF.
1701-A: Everyone above the rank of ensign was old on this ship. Of course it mostly just puttered around Earth and did diplomatic missions.
1701-D: This ship should have had more older folks aboard given that families were allowed and it did less actual frontier exploration.
DS9: A station located on the fringes of Federation space in a very dangerous location. Unless you're Bajoran or an academic interested in Bajor...this is not a place for older Starfleet officers. This was a location where folks had to cut and run more than once.
Voyager: We actually have no idea what the crew of Voyager was supposed to look like nor what its normal mission was supposed to be. All we do know was that its first mission out of the gate was apprehending terrorists in an area of space called "The Bad Lands"....again, not a place where you send your most senior officers. That said, I'm willing to bet that Lt. Cmdr Cavitt and Dr. Fitzgerald were both at least in the 40s when the ship left DS9.
This doesn't make sense to me. If we're going on our first deep space mission, we're not sending "expendable" people. We're sending the best and the brightest there is to offer in their respective fields.
Your post reminded me of one Londo Mollari, on Babylon Five he was one of the alien ambassadors, he got this "prestigious" position because no one else wanted it.
This might have been how the inept Archer got the position of captain of the NX-01, no one else wanted it. The position didn't go to the man the influential Vulcans were lobbying for, perhaps he really didn't want it.
Inside of Starfleet, the NX-01 might have been regarded by the senior officers as little more than a publicity stunt.
The only one among the crew who stood out as a possible "best and the brightest" would have been Hoshi. Archer had little or no command experience, Tucker didn't even have a college degree. Phlox and T'pol weren't originally going to be on-board.
I dunno if 50 year olds would look like 30 year olds. They might be equally healthy as 30 year olds, they might have less hair loss and better skin, but I don't think that'd stop the process of noses and ears getting bigger.
>>SNORT!!!<<
On the holodeck, practicing their tee shots.
However spry you were, someone younger than you in STARFLEET has that edge of youth over you. So, with regard to STARFLEET's youthful image, it makes perfect sense to me that we're not seeing more old(er) people. Even in Search for Spock - my favourite STAR TREK movie - the crew looked like they were ready to retire, honestly. But there was all of that popcorn at stake ...
It's kind of like when you see these old boxers wanting to relive glory days and returning to the ring in their forties, or fifties. Even Rocky Balboa tries to imitate this to my shock and horror, with the approach it took, instead of seeing Rocky as a coach, for example, passing on the torch to somebody. Here he is, in his 60's, greased down, his toupée saturated ... whipping on some young studd and audiences are meant to find that ... inspiring?
If STARFLEET personnel are able to keep themselves active and fit for longer into their Golden Years, then at what point would they kind of wise up and say, "you know what? I don't really need STARFLEET to get out into space. I can have an interesting life without being barked at all day and sent on suicide missions." STARFLEET Admirals and all of that being old and deskbound is even expected, but to have old people onboard just to have old people onboard is mere pandering.
It's kind of like when you see these old boxers wanting to relive glory days and returning to the ring in their forties, or fifties. Even Rocky Balboa tries to imitate this to my shock and horror, with the approach it took, instead of seeing Rocky as a coach, for example, passing on the torch to somebody. Here he is, in his 60's, greased down, his toupée saturated ... whipping on some young studd and audiences are meant to find that ... inspiring?
If STARFLEET personnel are able to keep themselves active and fit for longer into their Golden Years, then at what point would they kind of wise up and say, "you know what? I don't really need STARFLEET to get out into space. I can have an interesting life without being barked at all day and sent on suicide missions." STARFLEET Admirals and all of that being old and deskbound is even expected, but to have old people onboard just to have old people onboard is mere pandering.
People live a lot longer in Trek's future (age 100 is considered the prime of life) so we really have no idea how old some of these people might be. They might actually be older than they look. Medical science has probably advanced so fast that almost any part of aging can be taken care of.
The only one among the crew who stood out as a possible "best and the brightest" would have been Hoshi. Archer had little or no command experience, Tucker didn't even have a college degree. Phlox and T'pol weren't originally going to be on-board.
I didn't say the Enterprise was the best and brightest. It was a response to the idea that we would send expendable people on the very first starship the human race has ever created, for an extended deep space mission in to the unknown, for the purposes of exploration, discovery, and meeting new intelligent life. That sort of mission would never be given to expendable people. We would want to have the best there is on that mission.
^ Maybe they wouldn't send expendable people, but perhaps they would send Expendables. 
(And don't tell me you wouldn't love to see THOSE guys in Trek...)
(And don't tell me you wouldn't love to see THOSE guys in Trek...)
And they're all old!!!!^ Maybe they wouldn't send expendable people, but perhaps they would send Expendables.
(And don't tell me you wouldn't love to see THOSE guys in Trek...)
I supposed most of officers and crewmen retire before being "old". Most of people in the army don't stay there for thirty years. It's more about "service" than career.
It seems more obvious with TOS. Firstly, there's the idea of the five year mission, so there's the idea of service with a specific duration. Secondly, people don't have their family onboard and communication technology is more limited. Thirdly, a lot of one-shot characters are professionals/specialist from science or medical departments (no matter the color of their uniform and including sociologists, historians and archaelogists). Starfleet are for them more a career opportunity than a career itself.
It seems more obvious with TOS. Firstly, there's the idea of the five year mission, so there's the idea of service with a specific duration. Secondly, people don't have their family onboard and communication technology is more limited. Thirdly, a lot of one-shot characters are professionals/specialist from science or medical departments (no matter the color of their uniform and including sociologists, historians and archaelogists). Starfleet are for them more a career opportunity than a career itself.
