You’ve heard of the “Bechdel-Wallace test” and its potential value to some people in measuring various media in a given context.

I propose a measure we’ll call the “Captain and Crew Test”…

I was enduring – yes, that’s the word I’ll choose – an episode of a certain Trek show and found myself thinking that I seem to enjoy Star Trek shows where the captain isn’t the center of attention for the continued story, rather the crew as a whole (including the captain as professionally and relatively required) works together on the story of the day or is portrayed in multiple dimensions without the commanding officer present.

So, here’s my attempt at codifying this “Captain and Crew Test”:

  • The episode/show has to have at least two crew members (i.e. not the captain) essential to the story,
  • who interact with each other without the captain,
  • about the story without specific direction from the captain

I think these “rules” could use some adjustment and addition, but I think you get what I’m proposing/suggesting/inciting.

UPDATE 2024-07-04 04:35:34 UTC: Check out the quick and amazing work by @[email protected] to compile a subset of the percentage of lines for each character in a few Star Trek shows.

  • lenz@lemmy.mlEnglish
    5·
    5 months ago

    There are so many episodes in all the series but here’s a few from Voyager: VOY: “The Chute”, “Dreadnought”, “Learning Curve”, “Meld”, “One”, "Once Upon a Time”, “Timeless”… the list goes on. Many other episodes focus on a single member of the crew, many times with the Captain not being an important part of the story at all.

    • Indy@startrek.websiteOPEnglish
      2·
      5 months ago

      Definitely and many that fail. I wonder if it works as a measure based on percentage of the show as a whole. Then again, it really doesn’t matter at all; I only noticed that I get annoyed with certain shows which overuse a single savior for the show’s overall story.

  • jalanhenning@startrek.websiteEnglish
    4·
    5 months ago

    I love this! Now you need to do an analysis like this one on Star Trek and the Bechdel-Wallace test!

    I realize you’re not trying to predict quality, just personal enjoyability, but I do wonder how it relates to quality.

    I actually think it might be slightly more predictive of the quality of a show overall than of individual episodes. But both ST:TOS and ST:TNG have many great captain-centric episodes that I’m not sure if it is predictive of episode quality particularly.

    • Indy@startrek.websiteOPEnglish
      4·
      5 months ago

      I love this! Now you need to do an analysis like this one on Star Trek and the Bechdel-Wallace test!

      TOS is already a rough rewatch with some of its acting and portrayals of the future. I can’t imagine how tough it would be to rewatch it through that lens. Haha!

      I realize you’re not trying to predict quality, just personal enjoyability, but I do wonder how it relates to quality.

      I don’t mean for this to measure quality. To each their own, as they say. After all, it is just entertainment and I’m free to watch anything else or skip this or that episode. This is all just a fun observation for me, much like a discussion on the finer points of warp theory or Federation economics.

      Still, I’m glad it’s something that clicked for you too. I figured there would be a number of people whose appreciation of Trek relates to this “test”.

  • Kushan@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    5 months ago

    TNG’s the inner light is one of its best episodes and it spectacularly fails this test.

  • Indy@startrek.websiteOPEnglish
    31·
    5 months ago

    Here’s an addendum with a few great episode examples which might pass my “test”.

    • TOS: “Amok Time”, (arguably) “The Galileo Seven”
    • TNG: “Brothers”, “Lower Decks”, “The Measure of a Man”
    • DS9: “It’s Only A Paper Moon”, “Improbable Cause”+“The Die Is Cast”, “The Magnificent Ferengi”

    Other shows also have great episodes that pass, but I want to stop here for my examples so as to avoid showing my hand (too much) and stating which show(s) I think fail.

    • MisterMoo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      5 months ago

      You need to test bad episodes like Code of Honor, Up the Long Ladder, and Sub Rosa to see if they pass too, though.

    • Indy@startrek.websiteOPEnglish
      1·
      5 months ago

      No arguments for or against these yet? I’ll nudge this part of the conversation by pointing out that TOS – THE original Star Trek show – seems to have a high percentage of episodes which would “fail” this silly “test”.