Discuss The Orville
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Never understood why they brought families on their mission
posted by Drew007STAFFMOD on December 2, 2017 at 3:52 AM
I never understood why they would bring their families on the Orville, in fact they did the same thing on ST:TNG and Voyager. It would be different if they were doing mundane missions, however both the Orville and the Enterprise always end up in some weird situation or worse engage in combat with other races which endangers not only the crew but their families as well. I never understood why that was a policy in the future, you think some procedures from the Navy would carry over.
Reply by Innovator
on December 2, 2017 at 4:51 AM
It's because they're not warships, they're exploratory vessels. The families are allowed because their tours tend to be much longer than those aboard combat vessels. Yeah they get in weird situations, but things like that are supposed to be few an far between as by nature they're not seeking hostilities. Take for example Voyager, which was a warship/patrol ship (or at least didn't have an exploration mission) so didn't carry any families at all. Ships like that are supposed to travel back to starbases after each mission with the crew taking shorter tours. In the case of Voyager, it was supposed to have a single mission with Janeway (as the ship was meant for Riker according to Q) to deal with Maquis rebels hiding in the Badlands, but that mission got her and her crew stuck at the Delta Quadrant for an extended tour (7 years).
Reply by wonder2wonder
on May 22, 2019 at 5:29 PM
With all the "dangers" they encounter during their so-called exploratory missions, the families should have been left at home.
Even if they didn't expect anything, it's unknown territory, and they'll always be taking (calculated) risks.
Side note: Are they insured? Can they sue when anyone is harmed or in case of casualties?
Reply by Knixon
on May 22, 2019 at 5:54 PM
Star Trek: The Next Generation had the same problem, of course.