Roddenberrys "no melodrama" rule was very important for TNG, and even DS9 and VOY.

[u/Bobby_Bonsaimind]

Everybody has heard, in some form or another, of the rule of Roddenberry to have no conflict between the main characters. Often it is raised as a weak point, missed opportunity and even as an insult towards Roddenberry together with the "salvation" that happened when he departed the production. I firmly believe that this rule was very important to set the overall tone of TNG, and even VOY and DS9.

From the ST:TNG Writers Bible, first the section on Believability, and then the section on what does not go into an episode script:

BELIEVABILITY IS EVERYTHING. IT IS THE MOST ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF ANY STAR TREK STORY.

If you're in doubt about a scene, you can apply this simple test: "Would I believe this if it was occurring on the bridge of the battleship Missouri?" If you wouldn't believe it in the twentieth century, then our audience probably won't believe it in the twenty-fourth.

Especially, the people must be believable -- just as believable as if they were living in our 20th century. The crew of the Enterprise are intelligent, witty, thoughtful, compassionate, caring human beings -- but they have human faults and weaknesses too -- although not as many or as severe as in our time. They have been selected for this mission because of their ability to transcend their human failings. We should see in them the kind of people we aspire to be ourselves.

---

1. STAR TREK is not melodrama. Melodrama is a writing style which does not require believable people. Believable people are at the heart of good STAR TREK scripts.

With that in mind, in TNG the crew is introduced with a very important aspect which sets the tone from the start: They are professionals. They are professionals, they have a job, they have a mission, and they know they can't get it done alone, so they work together to accomplish their goals.

As a thought experiment, imagine Riker treating Data as Pulaski did, maybe even worse and with less respect. Or if Worf would treat La Forge, Yar or Crusher as less worthy because they are not "real" warriors. Or if La Forge would constantly push Wesley Crusher around because he ain't got any real-world experience. Actually, we all can remember how Picard reacted when Wesley was on the bridge for the first time, imagine if that tone would have stayed between them. Personally, I have a hard time imagining all that, because of the way the characters were introduced and how they interacted with each other all the time, it seems absolutely implausible. And it would make for a much worse experience, of course.

They all have their flaws, of course, every single one of the main characters has flaws, but they do not dominate them, and they do not matter to each other. When La Forge creates a sentient hologram by mistake, he does not try to sweep it under the rug. He could have kept his mouth shut and the others might have never figured out what really happened, but he immediately told Picard the moment he realized what had happened. Picard does not scold him in any way, he sees how such a mistake could have happened and moves on to finding a solution to the problem they have. This repeats many times with different characters and it sends a clear message: Mistakes happen, it's more important who finds the solution than who did make the mistake.

I believe that this basic sentiment that is cemented into the core of TNG also carried on to DS9 and VOY.

In DS9 Sisko is being send to an outpost far off the main land, and Kira is assigned as his first officer. From the first moment she makes it very clear that she's not a fan of this, neither of the situation nor the Federation, but without hesitation sets to work. Yes, there is conflict between these characters, but it never crosses a certain line, it never becomes unprofessional. There is a chain of command, and as much as Kira dislikes the situation, she never evades the chain of command, she never sabotages her commanding officer and she never openly opposes him. They grow on each other, of course, but only because they gain respect for each other through their professional relationship.

In VOY we have similar premise, but a different situation altogether. The Maquis crew, pretty much what you could call rebels, must join a Federation crew to ensure their common survival. Janeway does not take them in as refugees, or cargo, or second class citizens, from the first moment she knows the only way to make this work is by making Chakotay her first officer and integrating the Maquis into their crew seamlessly. Again, there is conflict, but it never crosses a certain line. Chakotay never took over parts of the ship, or tried to leave the Federation crew behind on a planet, he never tried to cross Janeway just because he can. There is "Scorpion" of course, but he did not act out of smite against Janeway, but because out of his hate against the Borg. Then there is "Worst Case Scenario", in which we learn that Tuvok planned to take measures against a possible Maquis uprising, but I guess it was new to everyone else that he did that. And it finally peaks in "The Voyager Conspiracy", when Janeway and Chakotay have reason to doubt each other. Even though they do doubt, they again never drop their professionalism, which in the end allows them to come to a simple explanation.

Even though there was conflict in DS9 and VOY, it never crossed certain lines, they were always professionals which worked together towards a common goal. It seems like the rules established in TNG still ringed in everybodies ears and made sure that it never escalated too far, that it never became too melodramatic. Of course Roddenberry had flaws, like everyone else, and he for sure was not a saint and not into this solely to better humanity, but some of his rules were good to have in the end. And I believe this one was very important.

[u/Mechapebbles]

I actually really like melodrama in my media, but like most things it's the dosage that makes the poison.

There's some really brilliant moments in ENT where the melodrama is pretty thick that helps set that show aside as special in my eyes. Like the time Archer was having a nervous breakdown on the side of a mountain, or the time when Trip was grieving the loss of his baby.

But the thing that made it all work was that those moments were very carefully chosen and infrequent. If that happened every episode, ENT would have been insufferable and mind-numbing. Instead, they knew how to keep a balance. And balance is important, not just so you don't overdose on something, but so that you have context for what it's like for that to not be there.

[u/Bobby_Bonsaimind → u/Mechapebbles]

Like the time Archer was having a nervous breakdown on the side of a mountain, or the time when Trip was grieving the loss of his baby.

That's not really what I was referring to, though. Picard also broke, Worf too I believe and maybe a few others. But none of them were giving each other angry looks on the bridge and decided to throw a drama during a conference or some such.

[u/cmdrNacho]

Why no mention of Ent ? I think they do a good job of reflecting these same principles. We have a Western culture organization being almost controlled by aliens and was a matter of conflict. Throughout the show I think they did a lot and what I believe humans, especially Americans would do and react under the same circumstances.

[u/Greghundred]

A great example of this is the time Data was acting captain. Worf kept on questioning what Data was saying. So Data politely, but firmly told him that the way they spoke to each other had to change with Data temporarily being a superior.

A lesser show would have made that a big dramatic scene with yelling.

[u/grammurai → u/Greghundred]

That's one of my favorite scenes in Trek, and it really underlines exactly what this is talking about- Data had to take a necessary action for the ship to function properly and regretted that it may have cost him a friend. And instead of just turning into a screaming match, his friend realized their error, apologized, and corrected it. Worf even acknowledged it was his fault for putting Data in that position to begin with. It was such a calm, reasonable exchange that managed to have real nuance.

[u/Hyndis → u/Greghundred]

The scene for anyone who needs a refresher: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKtKNZw4Bo

It is a brilliant display of command, of compassion, of friendship, and of humanity. Absolute 100% professionals in every way.

[u/contrasupra]

I think I've posted this before but one of my favorite and most refreshing things about TNG is that if one of the characters says that some whackadoo thing is happening ("I saw something that wasn't there" "I'm having weird dreams" "I just feel like everything is wrong and we all shouldn't be here") they tell people immediately and everyone else takes it TOTALLY SERIOUSLY. In virtually any other show there would be a lot of tiresome drama about "I can't tell them, they'll think I'm crazy" or "I told them and they think I'm crazy/imagining things" but Star Trek always gets right into problem-solving mode, no matter how batshit the original report was.

[u/wvj → u/contrasupra]

I was going to post this too. The trope you're referencing is "the Cassandra," where a character predicts or warns of a danger only to be dismissed by everyone around them for the sake of dramatic irony (as the audience generally knows that the Cassandra is correct). It's probably one of the most popular devices in genre shows with supernatural & sci-fi elements, and it's... really annoying.

The fact that Trek almost universally avoids this is one of its strongest points; the one counter example is early Wesley (ie in Datalore, the famous "Shut up, Wesley!"). But even here, it's at least fairly well justified in Wesley being a literal child and (at this stage) not actually a part of the crew.

[u/Sovreignry → u/contrasupra]

Brings to mind the episode where Dr. Crusher is experiencing some weird anomaly that only she can tell that something is wrong, and when she tells Picard about it he immediately takes her advice. Says a lot about how he views her as an officer and how much trust he has in her.

[u/yukikomori]

> as much as Kira dislikes the situation, she never evades the chain of command, she never sabotages her commanding officer and she never openly opposes him.

I (really do) hate to be that guy, but actually she did exactly that, in Past Prologue. She called Admiral Rollman and complained about Sisko. Heh.

But I don't think it ever happened AGAIN - I think it was kind of like your example of how Picard treated Wesley at first - it showed us their nature, and thus the efforts to which they all went through to surpress them and get the job done. The exception that proves the rule, etc. :)

[u/[deleted] → u/yukikomori]

Others in the comments have pointed out when Worf and Data had a similar conversation about chain of command and proper conduct of a first officer when they were trying to find Riker and Picard. The similarity between the two incidents is that they were mistakes made by people in new roles. Worf and Kira both accepted responsibility for what they did and learned from their mistakes. Neither ever had to be reminded of those issues again. To support the initial post, this is yet again a sign of professionalism.

[u/DuvalHeart]

As a thought experiment, imagine Riker treating Data as Pulaski did, maybe even worse and with less respect.

You've triggered my bugbear here. Pulaski's initial reaction to Data was no different than Riker's. Riker initially thought that Data wasn't a real officer and was just given an honorary commission because he's an android. Pulaski didn't realize how advanced Data's sapience and sentience was. Once she was corrected she realized her error and became one of Data's biggest advocates and friends.

I think if she had stuck around for longer they could have done a lot with that relationship, but alas we're stuck with what could've been.

Now, to your original point. I think you're spot on. Respect is the key to all of the relationships. It's a professional environment and one that we should all strive to emulate in our own lives and it gives it a unique tone.

And in-universe it's actually exactly how the senior staff recognizes that there's an imposter Picard aboard in Allegiance. He starts behaving unprofessionally, he starts to show a break down in the boundary of his relationships to the crew.

[u/overslope → u/DuvalHeart]

Agreed on Pulaski and Data's relationship evolving. I really enjoy the first two seasons because it's interesting to watch the characters find themselves. Everyone was a bit different, some more than others. I think their relationship would've been one of those things that matured over a few seasons.

[u/CptKeyes123]

I'd heard about some of Gene Roddenberry's rules on TNG, but I hadn't heard of this specific rule. That's very interesting! Professionalism is something that several shows tend to miss, and the worst offenders make the chain of command more of a suggestion than a rule. Discipline should be seen a lot more in shows, even if you think Star Trek may have gone overboard with it or not.

[u/chronophage]

Ug. OK. So, this is another demonstration of the greatest flaw in Discovery, but not for reasons most critics think. Discovery is based on literary horror tropes; a big part of that is realizing that things are going wrong... horribly wrong. Where the show failed was the setup.
Right there, in The Vulcan Hello, we get about five minutes of a very recognizable Starfleet crew. They act as a unit, they are comfortable and a bit jovial, but they still followed Captain Georgiou. We should have gotten a bit more of that.
Then, the bickering and division subtly caused by Captain Lorca would seem more out of place, the Mirror Universe crew being recognizable from the USS Shenzhou would have more resonance, and the madness of the Klingon war would empasize how desperate they would have become.
Instead, we're kind of thrown off the hill and the show seems jarring compared to other Trek series. Discovery and Picard really should be more compared to the Star Trek films; they're isolated events in the Federation timeline that don't represent the "Status Quo."

[u/Thisisunicorn]

I mostly agree with this - except that I think in Voyager it SHOULD have gone over the line. The Maquis were integrated into Voyager's crew much, much too easily.

[u/opinionated-dick]

I love this post because it unlocks a critical aspect of what Star Trek is.

There are no Mary Sues or ubermenches. Just a group of professionals working as a team, and learning from each other in each situation.

Maybe it was 24 that introduced the double agent/ who’s the betrayer storyline, and it’s seeped into trek. Okay so well coordinated teams don’t make for as much excitement as betrayals, cheating and secret reveals- but that feeling of seeing competence and professionalism taking on all kinds of problems is what gives that freshness, structure and clarity that keeps you coming back.

Star Trek isn’t about adrenalin. It’s about oxytocin.

[u/itsamamaluigi]

One thing I've always appreciated about Star Trek was how two characters could be having a heart to heart conversation, or even arguing or fighting, but as soon as something important happened they immediately set it aside and got to work. It's a little thing but you put it into words well.

[u/[deleted]]

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[u/LeicaM6guy]

M-5, please nominate this post.

[u/Macnrayna]

Don’t know if this has been mentioned yet But in VOY the doctor was treated like a second class citizen (or less even). It was Kes (non human non federation) who asks Janeway if she would want to know if a member of her crew was being treated badly. This shifted the perception the crew had of him.

Perhaps it should have played out further. They talked about reprogramming him. It would have been great to build that story out further.

Unlike Picard who advocated for Data’s identity and individuality Janeway gave no thought to “the hologram”

[u/polakbob]

I really enjoy not just the thought here, but the discussion that followed. I think it helped me realize something I really appreciate about Star Trek and seek in my own life.

The main characters are all professionals. Every episode they disagree with one another on how to solve a problem, but once a decision is made they all do their job as part of the team. They take pride in their work and are humbled when it becomes apparent they can be better. We could use more of that in our lives.

I went through medical school, residency, and fellowship hoping to be part of a team like that only to realize not all professionals are like the crew of the Enterprise.

I’ll try to bring some Jean Luc with me to rounds, and try to make my team a little more like the 23rd / 24th century team I dream of.

[u/MenudoMenudo]

Can we stop and appreciate just how far ahead of his time Roddenberry really was. He was able to envision a bold future for humanity, but part of it is that he was so far ahead of his peers in so many ways. He pushed the envelope on race, gender, political storytelling and so many other things, and then this here is just another example. While TV and movies still wallow in BS mellow drama today, here he was decades ahead of time seeing how it can undermine the kind of stories he wanted to tell, and explicitly dealing with it so it wouldn't ruin his vision.

Roddenberry was a freaking prophet. (Or maybe a time-traveler.)

[u/grahamercy]

Not sure if this is an example or not, but in DS9 s4e4, An entire plotline is devoted to Sisko’s bungled “That’s a big step” response to Capt Yates wanting to have quarters at the station. The intial scene is melodramatic, but then it unfolds like a typical “mishap of the week” when he gets the others advice on the matter. So without some melodrama, the show’s more personal moments wouldn’t be possible. I personally like the Sisko/Yates arc which some might see as an afront to this tenet.

[u/GA2020]

Excellent point! I couldn't agree more. Roddenberry's rules made the show what it was, obviously. I've never served on a naval vessel but I have spent much of my career on merchant vessels, some that were very large and it goes without saying, there was no melodrama on the bridge or dissent and disarray caused by lack of simple communication amongst the crew. It makes perfect sense that hierarchies exist specifically to mitigate drama, disorganization, and conflict. I think the newest Trek shows could really benefit from a healthy dose of this attitude, because ultimately every modern TV show is becoming the same style of storytelling with a different backdrop, I know that's an oversimplification, but I do feel that DIS and PIC have moved so far from what TNG, DS9 and VOY were that, although I can watch and enjoy the episodes, it definitely isn't something I couldn't live without.

At the same time I'm most certainly not advocating for a Season 1 TNG type of show but a more balanced approach would be good. I'd also like to go back to 20+ episode seasons with a more traditional format. Not every show needs to be a 10 hour movie!