"You're wearing a communicator, too, just so you know."

[Hikaru_Ichijo]

I always found scenes like these hilarious. From Yesterday's Enterprise:

Tasha: "Commander, advise Lieutenant La Forge that shields are below minimum."
Riker: "You're wearing a communicator, too, just so you know."

Oh, wait. Riker didn't say that. He responds with, "Acknowledged."

Also, from Tuvix:

Janeway: "Commander Chakotay, advise the Doctor we're on our way to Sick Bay."
Chakotay: "You're wearing a communicator, too, just so you know."

Oh wait, Chakotay didn't say that.

So why use the first officer as your middle-man to get your requests through, when you and everyone on the ship has been issued a communicator?

I'm also wondering from a writers' standpoint if they felt the first officers didn't have enough dialog to make them feel useful and so we're given these forced interactions from the rest of the cast.

 

[dantini]

Commander, tell Hikaru_Ichijo that I agree with their post!

 

[fireproof78]

I'm also wondering from a writers' standpoint if they felt the first officers didn't have enough dialog to make them feel useful and so we're given these forced interactions from the rest of the cast.

I think it is largely the way the chain of command is run inside a ship, that the executive officer is there to make sure things are done so the captain doesn't have to worry about it. So, they delegate to their XO to deal with it.

But, yeah, it always has struck me as odd, but I've seen it as a trope with other military and such type shows.

 

[Hikaru_Ichijo]

I think it is largely the way the chain of command is run inside a ship, that the executive officer is there to make sure things are done so the captain doesn't have to worry about it. So, they delegate to their XO to deal with it.

But, yeah, it always has struck me as odd, but I've seen it as a trope with other military and such type shows.

You bring up an excellent point that a friend and I were discussing an hour ago. Also, I forgot that in Yesterday's Enterprise, Geordi now outranks Tasha at that point in that alternate timeline, so it makes sense to have Riker delegate that task.

 

[fireproof78]

You bring up an excellent point that a friend and I were discussing an hour ago. Also, I forgot that in Yesterday's Enterprise, Geordi now outranks Tasha at that point in that alternate timeline, so it makes sense to have Riker delegate that task.

Also, it would make sense that Riker would need that information regarding the shields.

Ultimately it is a bit of a dramatic conceit but also there for the executive officer to ensure the day to day operations while the captain addresses larger concerns.

 

[Vger23]

On navy ships, they literally relay orders from the senior officer to the crew through an intermediary when they are in the same cramped room.

I think it’s more naval decorum/tradition than anything.

 

[Greg Cox]

On navy ships, they literally relay orders from the senior officer to the crew through an intermediary when they are in the same cramped room.

I think it’s more naval decorum/tradition than anything.

I remember having to fudge this a bit when I wrote a submarine novel years ago, just to avoid having to repeat the same lines of dialogue over and over as they made their way down the chain of command. I relayed a few commands just to capture the flavor of the setting, but refrained from echoing every command to avoid filling up the page with lots of repetition.

 

[The Wormhole]

On navy ships, they literally relay orders from the senior officer to the crew through an intermediary when they are in the same cramped room.

I think it’s more naval decorum/tradition than anything.

Are we comparing Starfleet to navy ships now?

 

[kkt]

In some organizations, it's a good idea to CC an email to certain people to their boss as well...