Star Trek's Starfleet & Holodeck Plot Clichés
Dramatic Devices Reused Many Times in the Star Trek Franchise
Jul 18, 2009
Since the debut of the original television series in 1966, Star Trek has spawned four spin-off series and eleven feature films. The combined tally of episodes stands at over seven hundred, a sci-fi record surpassed only by Doctor Who.
It shouldn't be surprising that with so many adventures, the Star Trek franchise sometimes reuses plots and dramatic devices. Longtime viewers will recognize these Star Trek plot clichés that appear in many series and movies.
The Only Ship in Range Plot Cliché
The Star Trek shows never state how many vessels are in the Federation Starfleet, but whenever there's a mysterious distress call – or if Earth itself is menaced – somehow all the other starships seem to be out of range. Naturally, the Enterprise (or other Star Trek ship) is the only one that can come to the rescue, making the episode more dramatic. The ship is often short-handed or otherwise hampered, raising the stakes even further.
This plot device is particularly common in the Star Trek films. Variations have been used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, and Star Trek: Generations.
Even the latest movie, Star Trek (2009) uses this trick not only to have the U.S.S. Enterprise be the only ship that can save the galaxy, but also to explain why the ship is crewed by cadets – which also happened in Star Trek II.
The Holodeck Malfunction Plot Cliché
The holodeck, a virtual-reality room on Starfleet ships, was first introduced in "Encounter at Farpoint," the 1987 pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Intended as a place for the crew to live out their fantasies or recreate their home planets, it wasn't long before something would go wrong and the "safeties" would disengage.
"The Big Goodbye," "Elementary, Dear Data," "A Fistful of Datas," and "Emergence" are among the many Next Generation episodes where the holodeck goes awry. But the holodeck also turned deadly on later Star Trek spin-offs, such as the episode "Our Man Bashir" on Deep Space Nine, and "The Killing Game" on Voyager.
The original Star Trek predated the introduction of the holodeck. But even on the 1960s series, the idea of a "theme park" going haywire was explored. In "Shore Leave," written by Theodore Sturgeon, the crew encounters a planet built for living out fantasies which quickly puts them in jeopardy.
The Evil Starfleet Admiral Plot Cliché
Starfleet sets a high moral standard in the Star Trek series and movies. Of course, the captains and crew of the Enterprise, Defiant, or Voyager are above reproach, so if Star Trek's writers wanted to explore the idea of officers going bad, it would fall to the guest stars – usually playing Starfleet admirals – to be the antagonists.
In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Kirk finds out that Admiral Cartwright is part of a conspiracy to assassinate the Klingon Chancellor. Picard and his Next Generation crew expose the malfeasance of Admirals Satie ("The Drumhead"), Pressman ("The Pegasus"), and Dougherty (Star Trek: Insurrection). Benjamin Sisko foils a coup by his mentor, Admiral Leyton, in the DS9 episodes "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost." And even in the Delta Quadrant, Captain Janeway must deal with the corrupt captain and crew of the Equinox in the eponymous Voyager episode.
Other Star Trek Plot Clichés
Having a starship save the day alone, or having its crew escape a malfunctioning holodeck or foil a renegade Starfleet officer are thus quite common – but these aren't the only familiar devices used on the Star Trek shows over the years. Other Star Trek plot clichés have included alien crew members saving the ship, battles with demigods, and trips to twentieth-century Earth.
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