# Star Trek Back Story/Guys who need their own ep.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-back-story-guys-who-need-their-own-ep/779202>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [February 7, 2017, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-back-story-guys-who-need-their-own-ep/779202 "2017-02-07T01:26:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-back-story-guys-who-need-their-own-ep/779202/41 "2017-02-11T08:57:04Z")

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Ensign Wildman.

A xenobiologist, apparently, but curiously one both so vital to the _Voyager_ science department that she can’t be reassigned to medical, even when the sole assistant to the Doctor for years at a time consisted of a helmsman who once took a semester of biochemistry; but at the same time was so unimportant that she rarely interacted with the senior staff, even on a ship with no chief science officer.

(I kid, of course, I kid…any real attempt to clumsily rationalize/retcon creative decisions like that would probably just tick me off.)

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**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\
**Post date:** [February 11, 2017, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-back-story-guys-who-need-their-own-ep/779202/42 "2017-02-11T10:57:09Z")

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> [@Shoeless](#):
>
> How about Norm… er, Morn? Fat ugly alien just sits at the bar all day, never says a word, doesn’t appear to have a job, must be independently wealthy somehow.

He’s a Federation citizen. He’s as rich as Croesus just by virtue of being a living sophont. He just chooses to spend his time at Quark’s bar, spending his credits watching the world go by in a very interesting locale.

See, most Trek shows and books and so on focus on the throw-backs, the type-A (for atavistic) personalities who can’t act like most Federation citizens and let the galaxy take care of itself. For every Kirk, for every Janeway, for every Sisko, there’s billions upon billions of people (_sensu latu_) who are more than content to spend their time fun-employed, playing at being bakers or creole chefs or sculptors. Morn is simply one of our few glimpses at the typical Federation citizen.

Anyway, I’d be interested in seeing more about the First Federation. There’s this big, ancient polity, with unimaginably massive ships which can go toe-to-toe with the _Enterprise_ and which can be run entirely by one person and a spooky doll. _That_ group probably has some interesting history. Plus, the idea of a starship captain who relies entirely on clever trickery to win without firing a shot would oh god I’ve just melded _Star Trek_ with _Doctor Who_ haven’t I? Still, a series focused on a character like that would be an interesting show, unearthly child and all.

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