Let's compare how DS9 handled emotional trauma. In one episode, Chief O'Brien was convicted of a crime he didn't commit on an alien world, and on that world punishment was given by implanting memory engrams of having served decades in a gulag rather than going through all the trouble of building and manning actual gulags. So by the time the Federation got involved, it was too late. The rest of the episode was Miles dwelling on what he was made to believe he went through. Miles tried to power through it, like the old war veteran he was. When that didn't work and he almost struck his daughter in a fit of rage, he ran off into an empty storage bay, stole a phaser from a security locker, and had a breakdown while sticking the phaser in his mouth. The kind of shit where you see a grown man cry and think "...damn", not roll your eyes and call him a faggot.
How will Academy handle emotional trauma? Have the character break down in tears at every little inconvenience, like the past two modern Trek shows? Red-Letter Media were right in calling old Trek 'competency porn', where the characters are meant to represent the best of the best humanity has to offer, so when they fail it's because they either didn't live up to that standard, or their circumstances were far beyond what a human should reasonably be able to endure. We don't get that with fat cadets who swallow their own com badges.
It's more than that. Shows used to write aspirational characters. They could still be relatable, but they were something you'd strive to be, not something you already were. And certainly not "he's literally me!" for some Reddit mod who stumbled into a studio writing gig.
But that seems to be a lost skill. The lack of characters like that in kids' shows is going to be especially disastrous in the long run.
Aspirational implies a higher standard, and having standards has long since been decried as problematic. Modern writing is all about validation, so the characters are all as debased as the writers and their intended audience.
I'm rewatching TNG and this rings very true but, additionally, it's about cohesion.
When Picard gives an order, it gets done. Sometimes he just has to look at the person because they're so in sync that they both know what needs to happen next without having to express it explicitely. There's no sassy quips, no back talk, not even questioning of orders unless stuff has gotten really crazy and those cases usually result in a private discussion once the crisis has passed. You get the impression that not only is everyone on the ship really good at their job, but that they're all on the same team strengthening each other, which makes the challenges they face feel that much more impactful.
Modern writing instantly takes me out of immersion because it's impossible to believe that these idiots could successfully pilot a ship out of dry dock, let alone handle any sort of unexpected event.
Especially on the Enterprise, Starfleet's flagship. It was meant to be the best of the best of the best, and supplemented by those who had the potential to rise to that standard and just needed to be mentored. Their job was to best represent what the Federation has to offer be it scientifically, diplomatically, or militarily. There was an earned respect, even among the rivals and enemies of the Federation. Who the hell respects anyone in new Trek?
even questioning of orders unless stuff has gotten really crazy
Like that one episode where Picard kept ordering the Enterprise to be flown closer and closer to a star. Riker effectively committed mutiny, but it was to save everyone's lives. And it was all just a test. They can't write stuff like this anymore.
Edit:
Sometimes he just has to look at the person because they're so in sync
There's no sassy quips, no back talk, not even questioning of orders unless stuff has gotten really crazy and those cases usually result in a private discussion once the crisis has passed.
Let's compare how DS9 handled emotional trauma. In one episode, Chief O'Brien was convicted of a crime he didn't commit on an alien world, and on that world punishment was given by implanting memory engrams of having served decades in a gulag rather than going through all the trouble of building and manning actual gulags. So by the time the Federation got involved, it was too late. The rest of the episode was Miles dwelling on what he was made to believe he went through. Miles tried to power through it, like the old war veteran he was. When that didn't work and he almost struck his daughter in a fit of rage, he ran off into an empty storage bay, stole a phaser from a security locker, and had a breakdown while sticking the phaser in his mouth. The kind of shit where you see a grown man cry and think "...damn", not roll your eyes and call him a faggot.
How will Academy handle emotional trauma? Have the character break down in tears at every little inconvenience, like the past two modern Trek shows? Red-Letter Media were right in calling old Trek 'competency porn', where the characters are meant to represent the best of the best humanity has to offer, so when they fail it's because they either didn't live up to that standard, or their circumstances were far beyond what a human should reasonably be able to endure. We don't get that with fat cadets who swallow their own com badges.
It's more than that. Shows used to write aspirational characters. They could still be relatable, but they were something you'd strive to be, not something you already were. And certainly not "he's literally me!" for some Reddit mod who stumbled into a studio writing gig.
But that seems to be a lost skill. The lack of characters like that in kids' shows is going to be especially disastrous in the long run.
Aspirational implies a higher standard, and having standards has long since been decried as problematic. Modern writing is all about validation, so the characters are all as debased as the writers and their intended audience.
I'm rewatching TNG and this rings very true but, additionally, it's about cohesion.
When Picard gives an order, it gets done. Sometimes he just has to look at the person because they're so in sync that they both know what needs to happen next without having to express it explicitely. There's no sassy quips, no back talk, not even questioning of orders unless stuff has gotten really crazy and those cases usually result in a private discussion once the crisis has passed. You get the impression that not only is everyone on the ship really good at their job, but that they're all on the same team strengthening each other, which makes the challenges they face feel that much more impactful.
Modern writing instantly takes me out of immersion because it's impossible to believe that these idiots could successfully pilot a ship out of dry dock, let alone handle any sort of unexpected event.
Especially on the Enterprise, Starfleet's flagship. It was meant to be the best of the best of the best, and supplemented by those who had the potential to rise to that standard and just needed to be mentored. Their job was to best represent what the Federation has to offer be it scientifically, diplomatically, or militarily. There was an earned respect, even among the rivals and enemies of the Federation. Who the hell respects anyone in new Trek?
Like that one episode where Picard kept ordering the Enterprise to be flown closer and closer to a star. Riker effectively committed mutiny, but it was to save everyone's lives. And it was all just a test. They can't write stuff like this anymore.
Edit:
The ending had an example of exactly this concept
Great scene about this, regarding Worf and Data: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdiQhMPt1Zo
Did you see Ro was on Picard?