Talk:Disaster (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

This page was proposed for deletion by ‎Chris troutman (talk · contribs) on 5 December 2016 with the comment: This episode has no claim to notability. I found very little in the way of independent discussion of this episode. It's an unsatisfactory article, as is.

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Is the part in parantheses (communication systems) redundant? Is there a need for a 'quotes' section? Are quote sections banned or what? I hope I'm not being rude, I am just curious.

Lots42 23:08, 28 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

It's common for communications to stay online in Star Trek even when everything else seems to fail, so I believe it isn't redundant as such. Quotes belong to WikiQuotes, not here, but it seems the offending section has already been removed. --M.A. (talk) 21:40, 6 September 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Unfortunately, Macslacker added an excellent and informative section, which this poster feels adds to the summary. However, it is undeniably original research, and so cannot be added to the article. However, I strongly feel that it has value, and should be kept in some format. His post:

Inconsistencies: It would seem highly unlikely that Counselor Troi would have been required, expected, or even authorized to serve in a command capacity (her more senior rank of Lieutenant Commander notwithstanding). While Counselor Troi's rank would technically be greater than that of Ensign Ro, the Ensign was the most senior officer that was currently present and command-qualified—Ensign Ro's command authority would still have had precedence in the situation presented by this episode.

The rationale for this can be somewhat complex to understand.

It begins with how the Star Trek storyline itself borrows heavily from naval and nautical traditions, in regards to the treatment of space as the "final frontier" of exploration. Examples include the show's usage of naval ranks such as Lieutenants, Captains, Admirals, Chiefs, Crewmen, and so on; to usage of such terms as "having the conn"; relieving fellow officers from their respective watches; and many others.

Further: While in the past it was true that navies of most nations tended to treated their officers equally (within their given ranks), this is usually no longer the case.

In classical navies, individual officers would inherently serve in all roles—including those that required command responsibilities. Sailing warships of their times had a fairly small crew complement, often with no more than one or two officers, as the ships themselves were limited in size and capabilities because of their wooden-hulled construction. Even the largest, multiple-masted sailing ships of the 18th and 19th centuries were able to support crews of no more than 600-800 personnel, virtually all of whom would have been enlisted sailors under the command of a fairly small number of officers; and regardless, most vessels were not nearly as large or capable as these.

In the modern, technological era (certainly since World War II), with many ships supporting hundreds (even thousands) of sailors—particularly so with the United States Navy, and to a lesser extent with many other major powers' various naval forces—naval officers today will typically specialize in specific roles, duties, and responsibilities. The U.S. Navy takes this concept particularly far: Today, their officers are commissioned as Unrestricted Line, Restricted Line, Staff, Limited Duty, and Warrant officers. Unrestricted line officers are trained in command roles and responsibilities, and in all shipboard operations; while the other officer communities fulfill mission, operational, and support needs such as intelligence, information warfare, engineering, logistics, supply, personnel, medicine, religion, public affairs, and other roles that do not directly relate to the course, safety, and mission of the ship itself. Line officers have rank insignia and uniform accoutrements that differ from their counterparts, and in virtually all circumstances, only line officers are eligible to command (Unrestricted Line officers can hold command both at sea, and ashore; Restricted Line officers (and in some very specific cases, Limited Duty officers) can only hold command ashore, in commands that relate directly to their designators and responsibilities). There are circumstances in which a non-line officer can become qualified in basic ship's operations, but in a combat or crisis situation, only an officer trained to command would be authorized to do so.

Star Trek extends this similarity to the modern U.S. Naval service even further, with its terminology and usage of color-coded uniforms and insignia that are specifically intended to show that its officers specialize in such roles as command, engineering, medicine/science, and so on. Ships on the show are also named "USS" ("United Space Ship"), which is again in keeping with United States naval tradition of naming its ships "USS" ("United States Ship")—as opposed to other services such as the British Navy, which styles its warships as "HMS" ("His Majesty's Ship" or "Her Majesty's Ship").

Finally, Counselor Troi's eligibility to command is contradicted by the series itself. In a later episode, "Thine Own Self", Troi refers back to the events of "Disaster", as a motivator for her to complete a "Bridge Officer's Test" (which she eventually passes, and at which time she is promoted to full Commander). This test would seem to be the culmination of much training, similar to the current U.S. Navy's (significant) training in all shipboard functions that is required to eventually qualify as an Officer of the Deck. The very purpose of such qualifications is to ensure and require that the ship's safety and security, will never be jeopardized by an officer that is not qualified to make decisions on such matters.

While she has a chair on the bridge in her role as the Ship's Counselor, Troi's role up to this point in the series is in a support capacity. As with the ship's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Crusher, Counselor Troi would have authority to relieve personnel of duty (including command personnel) if their judgement or capacity was diminished, and Lieutenant Commander Troi's greater rank would entitle her to greater privileges than Ensign Ro (such as better accommodations aboard the ship). But until such time as she was qualified to do so, Counselor Troi would not have had authority to make command decisions that would override Ensign Ro's—any more so, than Ensign Ro would have authority to override Counselor Troi's medical decisions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Terrafire123 (talk • contribs) 14:47, 12 May 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Doubt there ever was a time on any ship where the ship's doctor or anyone in the medical area (including ship's counselor who appears to be like a psychologist, at least what her degree is in) was qualified to make command decisions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:801:4280:A710:9984:6DE1:1649:6454 (talk) 20:37, 2 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]

All very true perhaps, but if they'd followed this logic, the episode would only been around 30 min long, ending with the drive section of the enterprise blowing up... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.51.66.32 (talk) 04:06, 6 November 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have added a section referencing the infamous Stephen Ratliff MSTings featuring Melissa Flores/Picard. Unfortunately a troll keeps deleting these, but hopefully, he'll let it stay, since it's well-referenced with all of the original files. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.225.231.10 (talk) 01:53, 13 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Alas, no. He deleted it again for no obvious reason. It had references to all of the original files. I think it should be in the article, but I can't be bothered playing games with him. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.225.231.10 (talk) 00:35, 14 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

It wasn't a troll - what you're referring to is user generated content without a third party citation to accertain notability. So it was removed. Miyagawa (talk) 12:49, 30 September 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Agree, but for posterity's sake, if anyone cares to know what it is without digging through the history:

The character Marissa Flores (one of the children trapped with Picard) became the main Mary Sue subject of an infamous series of fan fictions by Stephen Ratliff. These, in turn, formed the basis for a very popular series of MSTings.<ref>"TV Tropes - Marissa Picard". {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help) ("Stephen Ratliff MSTing Archive". Archived from the original on 2016-02-05.)

Jimw338 (talk) 22:22, 1 April 2017 (UTC)[reply]