OFF TOPIC Re: Star Trek background - Reply

> > Perhaps not, but the influence of StarFleet on Federation politics
> > (e.g., the Fed Council members in the 4th movie who wore StarFleet
> > uniforms) is more like that of the Soviet Union or China 
> 
> ...and seem sometimes to form a hereditary militocracy. It often
> struck me that just about everbody on the Enterprise-D bridge had a
> parent as a Starfleet officer. Riker certainly did, LaForge did, the
> irritating Wesley Crusher had *both* parents... didn't the Picards
> stretch back to Trafalger as naval officers?
> 
> More lazy writing.

Picard's father ran the family vinyard. Picard did have an ancestor 
at Trafalger, and another who was a conquistidor of some sort, butno 
known ancestors in Starfleet.

Riker's dad worked for the Federation, but I think he was a special 
advisor of some sort not a Starfleet man.

Troi's father was Starfleet.

Both Geordi's parents were Starfleet.

Both Wesley's parents were obviously Starfleet, but its a bit unfair 
to count him: he wouldn't have been in the series (ah great thought!) 
if they hadn't been.

Worf's adoptive father was a CPO in Starfleet.

But, no known family connection for Yar, Pulaski, Ro, Data, or 
O'Brien.

The 60s series was much better, only Kirk's father and Chekov's 
mother were Starflett. Though Sulu's daughter did follow in his 
footsteps.

Deep Space Nine is obviously better, apart from Jake non of them have 
any Starfleet connection.

In Voyager both Janeway and Paris had Admirals for fathers (!), but 
nothing other than that.

Babylon 5 is quite bad. Sinclair comes from a long line of fighter 
pilots all the way back to the Battle of Britain.
Ivanova joined up after her brother was killed in the war.
Franklin's father is a general.
Garabaldi's father served under Franklin's.



> > Interesting, because the _original_ Klingons (no ridges) were
> > designed as quasi-Russian-commies to compete with the "Free
> > Worlds" of the UFP in a kind of Cold War, kept from becoming truly
> > hot by those deuses ex machina, the Organians. 
> 
> Ah, back in the days of "Captain Kennedy's Space Patrol". I often
> think of B5 as TOS's true inheritor... I've seen more than one
> source refer to Sheriden as "Captain Clinton".

What?! Oh come on, at least Smiler's faithful to Delenn. If he was 
Clinton then surely Ivanova and Lyta would be doing him for sexual 
harrasment by now? Though the man who tries to sexually harrass 
either of those two obviously enjoys living dangerously! 

Then again both Hilary and Anna are wives from hell, so maybe there 
are some points in common...

Why on earth am I writing all this?

		Steve

--
"And all I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by."
"Though a cloaking device, pulsed phaser cannons
 and a full load of quantum torpedoes would be quite nice too." 

Stephen Richard Pugh	 http://ds.dial.pipex.com/town/estate/ax16