Post by QuadiblocPost by David JohnstonPeople work in the Federation.
They don't even necessarily work at the jobs they'd like to do. Vash
just wants to go off and hunt for ancient relics but she can't do that
without engaging in crime. Bashir's father wants to be a landscaper,
but his mental handicaps restrict him to being a shuttlecraft steward, a
job he doesn't like.
TNG is not consistent - it's a TV show that accepts scripts from different
authors, and then tries to film them under the time pressures of TV production.
So it's not surprising some episodes will assume aspects of our present society,
as a default, that other episodes claim the Federation has transcended.
Obviously, the Starship Enterprise didn't pop out of a giant industrial-size
replicator. People presumably must have built it.
But Ryker noted they don't have money in the Federation. Maybe, like the society
in _The Caves of Steel_, it is believed that "fiscalism" is corrupting, and so
people's jobs simply determine their "classification". As far as replicators are
concerned, making antimatter and then using it to construct a glass of water
atom-by-atom is the _hard_ (and more expensive) way of getting a glass of water,
so it would be reasonable to think of replicators being restricted to situations
like a starship, where a small number of people are isolated from centers of
commerce and manufacturing.
TV shows have story editors and "show runners" - executive
producer/head writer. If they want to keep the writers
on a leash - "the show bible says the Federation doesn't
use money" - they can edit or rewrite them
[quote]
Gene L. Coon assumed the role of showrunner from Gene Roddenberry
after the initial batch of episodes from the first season of Star
Trek: The Original Series, starting with "Miri", and he continued
in this role until halfway through season 2 ("Bread and Circuses"
was his last episode as Producer). He actively produced nearly half
of the show's 79 episodes, more than anyone else. He was replaced
for the rest of the second season by writer/director John Meredyth
Lucas, who left only because Gene Roddenberry was supposed to come
back the following season, though he ultimately did not. Notably,
both Coon - under the pseudonym "Lee Cronin" - and Lucas continued
to write (and in the latter's case, direct) for the show even after
having stepped down as showrunner. Journeyman producer Fred Freiberger
became showrunner for the third season (often referred to as the turd
season), and became the scapegoat for all its problems.
......
Maurice Hurley took over from Gene Roddenberry as showrunner
late in the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation,
officially starting with the episode "Coming of Age." He would
later take over as showrunner for the second series of Baywatch
Nights.
Michael Piller became the showrunner for the third season of Star
Trek: The Next Generation, and held the role for the rest of its run.
He also acted as showrunner for the first two seasons of Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine, and then joint showrunner (with Jeri Taylor) of the
first two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager.
[/quote]
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Showrunner
There are people to blame for inconsistencies like the
money/no money situation.
Kevin R