History Main / MildlyMilitary

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Starfleet is both a military and an exploration and research organization, also acting as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendarmerie top-level]] [[SpacePolice law enforcement]] and the [[GunboatDiplomacy advance scouts and bodyguards]] of TheFederation's diplomatic corps and intelligence network. It is a conglomeration of the US Navy, the USMC, the FBI, the CIA, the Department of State, the United Nations, {{NASA}} and a few research universities; a captain may need to think like Colin Powell or like Jacques Cousteau--or all of these may apply at once. To an extent, this came about by the involvement of [[DependingOnTheWriter many hands]]. GeneRoddenberry seemed to be inspired by the civilian space program ([[YanksWithTanks partially operated by the military]]). Nicholas Meyer was proudly making military sci-fi. Other screenwriters were just writing cop shows InSPACE, or sci-fi morality tales in the mode of TheTwilightZone, or whatever other genre they felt like that day. Sometimes characters within the story will comment on Starfleet's ambiguous position.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Starfleet is both a military and an exploration and research organization, also acting as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendarmerie top-level]] [[SpacePolice law enforcement]] and the [[GunboatDiplomacy advance scouts and bodyguards]] of TheFederation's diplomatic corps and intelligence network. It is a conglomeration of the US Navy, the USMC, the FBI, the CIA, {{NASA}} and a few research universities; a captain may need to think like Colin Powell or like Jacques Cousteau--or all of these may apply at once. To an extent, this came about by the involvement of [[DependingOnTheWriter many hands]]. GeneRoddenberry seemed to be inspired by the civilian space program ([[YanksWithTanks partially operated by the military]]). Nicholas Meyer was proudly making military sci-fi. Other screenwriters were just writing cop shows InSPACE, or sci-fi morality tales in the mode of TheTwilightZone, or whatever other genre they felt like that day. Sometimes characters within the story will comment on Starfleet's ambiguous position.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noaa_corp NOAA Corps]] has its roots in the Corps of Discovery with Lewis and Clark. It was made into a uniformed service during WW1 due to the need for coastal surveyors. If captured, they would be classified as prisoners of war and couldn't be tried for espionage. However the service is not military and maybe the closest to Starfleet, including having only officers and no enlisted. Their purpose is currently to support NOAA's efforts. These are [[BadassCrew the guys who fly airplanes into hurricanes]] to take measurements for the National Weather Service.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noaa_corp NOAA Corps]] has its roots in the Corps of Discovery with Lewis and Clark. It was made into a uniformed service during WW1 due to the need for coastal surveyors. If captured, they would be classified as prisoners of war and couldn't be tried for espionage. However the service is not military and maybe the closest to Starfleet, including having only officers and no enlisted. Their purpose is currently to support NOAA's efforts. These are [[Badass the guys who fly airplanes into hurricanes]] to take measurements for the National Weather Service.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noaa_corp NOAA Corps]] has its roots in the Corps of Discovery with Lewis and Clark. It was made into a uniformed service during WW1 due to the need for coastal surveyors. If captured, they would be classified as prisoners of war and couldn't be tried for espionage. However the service is not military and maybe the closest to Starfleet, including having only officers and no enlisted. Their purpose is currently to support NOAA's efforts. These are [[BadassPilot the guys who fly airplanes into hurricanes]] to take measurements for the National Weather Service.

** The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noaa_corp NOAA Corps]] has its roots in the Corps of Discovery with Lewis and Clark. It was made into a uniformed service during WW1 due to the need for coastal surveyors. If captured, they would be classified as prisoners of war and couldn't be tried for espionage. However the service is not military and maybe the closest to Starfleet, including having only officers and no enlisted. Their purpose is currently to support NOAA's efforts.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Starfleet is both a military and an exploration and research organization, also acting as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendarmerie top-level]] [[SpacePolice law enforcement]] and the [[GunboatDiplomacy advance scouts and bodyguards]] of TheFederation's diplomatic corps and intelligence network. It is a conglomeration of the US Navy, the USMC, the FBI, the CIA, {{NASA}} and a few research universities; a captain may need to think like Colin Powell or like Jacques Cousteau--or all of these may apply at once. To an extent, this came about by the involvement of [[DependingOnTheWriter many hands]]. GeneRoddenberry seemed to be inspired by the civilian space program ([[YanksWithTanks partially operated by the military]]). Nicholas Meyer was proudly making military sci-fi. Other screenwriters were just writing cop shows InSPACE, or sci-fi morality tales in the mode of TheTwilightZone, or whatever other genre they felt like that day.
** Prior to ''Franchise/StarTrek'', Roddenberry had served on the Los Angeles Police Department (a real-life example of the not-quite-military, especially in the 1950's). No doubt this experience had an influence on Starfleet as Roddenberry imagined it.
** The result of this complex and conflicted process was a variety of offenses against seeming common sense, or at least expectation: [[CreatorsPet making a civilian teenager a bridge officer on the basis that he might be the next Mozart...but for warp engineering]]; blatant fraternization between ranks; allowing Starfleet officers to pursue random personal quests (including, in one case, allowing one to honor a Klingon 'blood oath' and participate in murder and espionage as a result); and much screentime spent on the crews' recreation, such as learning to [[ADayInTheLimelight tap dance]] while an espionage plot lay in the background, or two command crews taking time out from a ''war'' to play baseball against each other (and treating it like SeriousBusiness, too). Some viewers found this particularly uncomfortable in the later seasons of ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' when these same seemingly informally employed officers were subjected to the horrors of war (of course, by this point the writers were aware of public perception of Starfleet, and this was part of the ''point'').
*** Actually, treating baseball as SeriousBusiness is not new to military - in World War 2, US military viewed any form of rest as Serious Business, since it improved morale. Not only baseball, the U.S. Army–Navy [[AmericanFootball Football]] Game has been quite SeriousBusiness for over 100 years for those involved. The US Navy baseball team even [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505#Salvage_operations guarded Kriegsmarine prisoners]] during World War II. Naturally, they taught the prisoners to play baseball.
** This was nothing, though, against the discomfort with having the family of several crew members ''also in the very vessels where they serve''. In ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration TNG]]'', Roddenberry wanted to make the ''Enterprise'' more family friendly, emphasizing that [[CityInABottle these ships are huge]], and they were originally planned to be [[WagonTrainToTheStars away from civilization]] for years at a time. Not quite GenerationShips, but still more than a bit like Jamestown with rocket engines, autonomous on the frontier. In this original plan, before going into known danger, Picard would separate the saucer (which contained all the families, and civilian personnel like scientists and Ten Forward staff) from the ''Enterprise''.
*** In the end, that hardly ever happened, possibly because the stardrive section looked unimpressive on its own, possibly because with the special effects available at the time this was a time-consuming and expensive process. Neither did the ship ever really feel like an isolated outpost; to the viewer, [[SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale it never took more than 15 or 20 minutes]] to get from wherever you were to [[TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot where the plot wanted you next]], while it was a matter of only hours to weeks for the characters. The only real result, beside the presence of families and civilian staff, was that some crew members clearly considered the ship a permanent home.
** Later producers admitted that the ''Galaxy''-class starship, with its families of the crew on board, left a bad taste in their mouths when they considered things like Picard ordering his ship toward the Neutral Zone or other peril. They also admitted that it was an experiment that didn't pan out, and stated that the later examples of ''Galaxy''-class ships didn't have the crews' families aboard. Still, in an episode of ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' where Starfleet planned to raid the Dominion to rescue Sisko, the Admiral in command had to be reminded to leave the civilian passengers back on the station before going into a likely combat zone.
** The Star Trek universe was influenced heavily by the Age of Sail and the colonial empires of the European, the latter of which were within living memory at the time of the production of TOS. This means that it was very different than any military force of modern times. Yes, that includes provisional crew signed on with little regard to age or official credentials, officers' families on some ships, and duels ashore (although as far as I know no sailor in the days of WoodenShipsAndIronMen ever dueled a ''head of state''). To an extent, it stands to reason--Starfleet is in much the same position as a navy or indeed army in a widely-scattered empire, prior to the invention of airplanes. There is nothing faster than a ship, and they are often the only agents of their government, assuming any roles necessary while weakly supervised, results being far more important than the letter of regulation. It was not uncommon for European and earlier Roman and Persian empires to give a lot of authority to their armed forces who would act as needed. It was not uncommon for officers of the armed forces to act as tax collectors, a constabulary, civil engineers, magistrates etc, as and when needed. This continued till modern times, for example the US Army Corps of Engineers designed many of the dykes, levees and other dams etc. of the U.S. Mississippi River. It is our present day militaries, in an era of instant global communications, who are outside the norm. Even then, modern armed forces do assist civilian power from time to time, in law enforcement, in disaster relief and providing specialized services.
** With or without children on board, the general cultural attitude to risk is much more accepting than the current day's, or even that of the Sixties, again hearkening back to more adventurous times.
** Speaking of heads of state and duels, there is an apocryphal tale that Gustavus Adolphus, after insulting an officer in anger, offered him a chance at a duel; the officer was so touched by the humility that he refused the chance and returned to Adolphus' service.
** The specific level of discipline also seems to depend on the CO. Kirk was simply on the loose end of normal as long as things ran properly, but God help you if you crossed him; Picard trusted his senior officers implicitly to be honorable and know what they were doing, but if you disappointed him, you'd prefer the brig to meeting his eyes; Sisko was somewhere between the two (although he had a reputation as a hardass when the series began); and Janeway was a frank hardass in comparison to any of the above. Anyone more by-the-book was pretty much TheNeidermeyer.
*** Speaking of Janeway as hardass, an interesting aversion occurs in the ''[[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]]'' episode "Thirty Days", where Paris is actually stripped of his rank and thrown into the brig for a month for violating the Prime Directive. He gets his rank back later (which must have really pissed off eternal Ensign Harry Kim) but it's one of the few situations where disobeying a superior officer actually had real repercussions in the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' universe.
*** Unfortunately, its rarity means it mostly comes across as DisproportionateRetribution (especially since Janeway ''opened fire on the ship he was piloting with the intention of killing him''), considering every other character on the show, including Janeway herself, pulls similar stunts and gets punished with nothing more than a severe telling off or even severe hugging--though, admittedly, Paris was committing a violent act of bio-terrorism at the time.
*** It may be interesting to compare [[http://youtu.be/5rsZfcz3h1s Kirk]] as a disciplinarian to [[http://youtu.be/8W0ff2Xns5g Picard]], [[http://youtu.be/1HSJtJZLyls?t=50s Sisko]], and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTOh8uYIJd0 Janeway]].
** The broad role does cause confusion even in-story--some Starfleet officers frequently insist that their organization isn't a military at all, despite its use of military ranks and the fact that it fills every function of a military. In ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'', the Cardassian tailor/spy Garak specifically calls Doctor Bashir out on this.
*** Civilians, though, may have a clearer perspective. In ''Film/{{Star Trek II|The Wrath of Khan}}'', David Marcus disdainfully referred to Starfleet as "the military" when he thought they were trying to steal Genesis (it was actually Khan, of course). This might be due to it being one of Nicholas Meyer's films.
**** It also has to do with that specific point in Federation history. Exactly how military Starfleet is seems to depend a lot on what's going on in the galaxy at a given moment, i.e. things are quasi-military during TOS when the Federation is at peace but with active threats to its security flexing their muscles, it then becomes much more military during the first six movies as the cold war with the Klingons gets hotter, and then loses almost any resemblance to a regular military organization in TNG, during which time the Federation is at peace. With the emergence of the Borg and the Dominion, things start shifting back the other way.
**** There is even a TNG episode where a NegativeSpaceWedgie alters time such that the Federation is at war with the Klingons. When Guinan's alien intuition tells her something's gone wrong with the timeline, and she says to Picard that there should be families and children aboard the Enterprise, Picard replies with astonishment, "Children? Guinan, we are at war!"
**** You can almost just look at their uniforms to judge how things are going for TheFederation. If they're wearing bright colors then they are at peace, but the darker the uniforms get, the greater chances they are at war with someone.
**** While we're at it, the Klingon Defense Force shows a lack of discipline that makes it look more like a street gang then a military force. Somewhat unsurprising, given that the Klingons aren't so much soldiers as they are ''[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warriors]]'' - neither the officers nor the crew would pay attention to stiff discipline ''anyway'', so why bother? Even when the Klingon Empire was a [[SinisterSurveillance surveillance state]] under much tighter control, [[KlingonPromotion promotion by duel]] was too traditional to eradicate, as was [[{{Privateer}} taking prizes]]. It also doesn't help that the Defense Force is also staffed heavily with secondments from [[FeudalFuture the private forces of aristocratic Houses]].
***** To be fair to the Klingons, they have some semblance of discipline: whatever they're entrusted with must be in working condition or the commander will dish out discipline as harshly as he deems necessary, and KlingonPromotion is heavily regulated (only a direct subordinate may issue the challenge, and only when the superior officer commits a severe infraction (cowardice, extreme failure, dereliction of duty)).
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' managed to play it both ways, with a Starfleet that resembles a military service less than it does in any other incarnation of the franchise. The [=MACOs=] (Military Assault Command Operations), however, are essentially Star Trek's answer to the Marine Corps. While taking a few minor liberties, the [=MACO=]s observe military protocol, wear camouflage uniforms, and use real-world small unit combat tactics. In their debut episode, the [=MACO=] commander even points out why having TheMainCharactersDoEverything is a bad idea; insisting that his team handle a combat situation on a planet surface so that Starfleet security personnel are available if ''Enterprise'' gets boarded.

** Justified in that the Autobots aren't so much an army as an ''ethicity.'' They've had to militarize their entire culture out of necessity, but that militarization doesn't necessarily run very deep. As for the 'Cons, they've always operated more like an [[ChaoticEvil oversized street gang]] than a proper army.

** On the flip side of the Universal Century, Axis Neo-Zeon is barely functional as an organization, and are held together more by personal loyalty to Lady Haman than by military discipline; individuals tend to screw around freely, subordinates either try to manipulate their superiors or simply disobey orders, and their commanders range from [[TheStarscream treacherous]] to [[{{Cloudcuckoolander flat-out insane]]. [[spoiler: Not surprisingly, Neo-Zeon eventually [[EnemyCivilWar splits in half]] when Haman's most powerful subordinate decides to take the throne for himself in mid-war.]]

* In HarryTurtledove's ''[[{{Worlwar}} Colonization]]'' trilogy, the US military responds to two officers being overly curious about their new space station by simply telling them "It's classified"... Actually, no. The word "classified" is never even spoken (in fact, both officers muse that being told that by a superior officer would be taken in stride and obeyed). Instead, the officers are ''threatened'' and, when that doesn't work, attempts on the life of one of them are made. Only one person actually orders them to stop their investigation... but he's not even in their chain of command, so he's not authorized to give them orders. One of the officers, an astronaut, tricks his way aboard the space station... only for the station's commander to seriously contemplate [[ThrownOutTheAirlock spacing him]]. Oh, and the secret wasn't even that big to begin with and is revealed in short order anyway. Considering the whole series is supposed to be military science fiction, it's surprising that Turtledove would get this so spectacularly wrong.

** Most armies in fact in most wars, after a couple of years and and a couple of losses devolop at least pockets of this. No one can pass inspection, rank breaks down etc. While Vietnam is the famous case, the same thing happened in World War II, Civil War, etc going back down through history.
* Most police forces. They have military ranks and follow many military ways, but are supposed to be a civilian force (in Britain they are now called a "service" instead of a "force" but..). Unfortunately, in the U.S. because of the "[[DrugsAreBad War on Drugs]]" and "TheWarOnTerror" for the past 25 years or so they have become more and more militarized.

* Jo's boyfriend, Eddie, in ''Series/TheFactsofLife'' is in the Navy, but other than wearing a uniform and talking about how he has to get back to the base, Eddie's appearance (long hair) and personality provide no evidence of him being in the Navy.

** Lee Adama makes this very clear in the S3 finale, where he lists many of the egregious lapses in discipline or regulation (as well as being usually lenient on things up to and including mutiny and military coups) as unavoidable. '[because]We're not a civilization anymore. We are a gang, and we're on the run and we have to fight to survive. We need to break rules, we have to bend laws, we ''have'' to improvise!'
*** This realization, long before it was voiced by Lee, as well as the influx of civilians onto the ship and into the military likely explain why Galactica gets more and more mild as time goes by. In S3 they even open a bar on the ship. Which, with the destrucion of ''Cloud Nine'', might be the only bar left in existence.
*** The appearance of ''Pegasus'' with its tough-as-nails discipline also contrasts with the milding conditions of ''Galactica''.

* The Military Channel's ''Special Forces: Untold Stories'' shows re-enactments of operations conducted by real special forces soldiers. These are supposed to be the best of the best, but whenever they're on screen, they look and act like they've never carried weapons and behave in ways that makes them look more like new recruits than special forces soldiers. For example. any time two or more of them are together, they clump together like Cheerios, creating an easy target. This is probably not only the actors' inexperience, but also because the director is trying to get them all into the camera's view.

** High-ranking Peacekeepers like Scorpius (whose rank wasn't given, but stated to outrank a captain) were given a lot of latitude as to how they conducted their duties. Commandant Grayza usually wore alluring outfits with lots of cleavage (though the actor playing Grayza stated that she interpreted this as being like a soldier whose fatigues are informally unbuttoned to show off their chest). The higher ranking a Peacekeeper was in the series, the more unorthodox their methods tended to be, they could even pursue their own pet projects, and were exempted from some of the totalitarian conditions that governed most troops' and officers' personal lives (like not being allowed to form emotional connections).

* ''Series/TheATeam!'' But then again, they're actually fugitives from the Army. But at least according to [[Film/TheATeam the movie,]] they were like that even before they sentenced for a crime they didn't commit.

*** At the very least, Telford is pretty fond of calling Young on his various mistakes/indiscretions, such as sleeping with a subordinate officer, to start. Young gets away with it because Telford was originally in command and the affair was never made public (more of an open secret since they broke it off). Now that he's on ''Destiny'', he can get away with it because they literally cannot replace him. This becomes more pronounced as the series went on and the people on Destiny realize that Earth can't really help them. After an ill-conceived plan almost destroys the Destiny, Colonel Young essentially walks out on General O'Neill, demonstrating that he is only going to be paying lip service to any orders from Earth.

* [[Series/StargateSG1 Stargate Command]] and the [[Series/StargateAtlantis Atlantis Expedition]] are relatively restrained versions of this trope. But make no mistake they are very MildlyMilitary. But since both shows are GenreSavvy, this is lampshaded and explained. A GeneralRipper comments on his discomfort with an alien and an archaeologist being on a front-line Special Forces team. But the logic is that since they get the job done they can get away with it. Atlantis is actually a bunch of civilians with a military contingent.

**** It also has to do with that specific point in Federation history. Exactly how military Star Fleet is seems to depend a lot on what's going on in the galaxy at a given moment, i.e. things are quasi-military during TOS when the Federation is at peace but with active threats to its security flexing their muscles, it then becomes much more military during the first six movies as the cold war with the Klingons gets hotter, and then loses almost any resemblance to a regular military organization in TNG, during which time the Federation is at peace. With the emergence of the Borg and the Dominion, things start shifting back the other way.
**** There is even a TNG episode where a NegativeSpaceWedgie alters time such that the Federation is at war with the klingons. When Guinan's alien intuition tells her something's gone wrong with the timeline, and she says to Picard that there should be families and children aboard the Enterprise, Picard replies with astonishment, "Children? Guinan, we are at war!"
**** You can almost view their uniforms to judge how things are going for TheFederation, if they're wearing bright colors then they are at peace but the darker the uniforms get the greater chances they are at war with someone.
**** While we're at it the Klingon Defense Force shows an indiscipline that makes it look more like a street gang then a military force. Somewhat unsurprising given that the Klingons aren't so much soldiers as they are ''[[ProudWarriorRaceGuy warriors]]'' - neither the officers nor the crew would pay attention to stiff discipline ''anyway'', so why bother? Even when the Klingon Empire was a [[SinisterSurveillance surveillance state]] under much tighter control, [[KlingonPromotion promotion by duel]] was too traditional to eradicate, as was [[{{Privateer}} taking prizes]]. It also doesn't help that the Defense Force is also staffed heavily with secondments from [[FeudalFuture the private forces of aristocratic Houses]].
***** To be fair to the Klingon, they have some semblance of discipline: whatever they're entrusted with must be in working condition or the commander will dish out discipline as harshly as he deems necessary, and KlingonPromotion is heavily regulated (only a direct subordinate may issue the challenge, and only when the superior officer commits a severe infraction (cowardice, extreme failure, dereliction of duty)).
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' managed to play it both ways, with a Starfleet that resembles a military service less than it does in any other incarnation of the franchise. The Military Assault Command Operations--or [=MACOs=]--however, are essentially Star Trek's answer to the Marine Corps. While taking a few minor liberties, the [=MACO=]s observe military protocol, wear camouflage uniforms, and use real-world small unit combat tactics. In their debut episode, the [=MACO=] commander even points out why having TheMainCharactersDoEverything is a bad idea; insisting that his team handle a combat situation on a planet surface so that Starfleet security personnel are available if ''Enterprise'' gets boarded.
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': In "Gropos" several visiting infantrymen harass Delenn and are let off with nothing more than DrillSergeantNasty treatment. Delenn is a ''foreign ambassador'' and such a thing would almost certainly be worth a court martial in RealLife.

** Speaking of heads of state and duels there is an apocryphal tale that Gustavus Adolphus after insulting an officer in anger, offered him a chance at a duel and the officer was so touched by the humility that he refused the chance and returned to Adolphus' service.

** The Star Trek universe was influenced heavily by the Age of Sail and the colonial empires of the European, the latter of which were within living memory at the time of the production of TOS. This means that it was very different than any military force of modern times. Yes, that includes provisional crew signed on with little regard to age or official credentials, officers' families on some ships, and duels ashore (although as far as I know no sailor in the days of WoodenShipsAndIronMen ever dueled a ''head of state''). To an extent, it stands to reason--Starfleet is in much the same position as a navy or indeed army in a widely-scattered empire, prior to the invention of airplanes. There is nothing faster than a ship, and they are often the only agents of their government, assuming any roles necessary while weakly supervised, results being far more important than the letter of regulation. It was not uncommon for European and earlier Roman and Persian empires to give a lot of authority to their armed forces who would act as needed. It was not uncommon for officers of the armed forces tom act as tax collectors, a constabulary, civil engineers, magistrates etc, as and when needed. This continued till modern times, the US Army Corps of Engineer for example designed many of the dykes, levees and other dams etc. of the U.S. Mississippi river. It is our present day militaries, in an era of instant global communications who are outside the norm. Even then, modern armed forces do assist civilian power from time to time, in law enforcement, in disaster relief and providing of specialized services.

*** Actually, treating baseball as SeriousBusiness is not new to military - in World War 2, US military viewed any form of rest as Serious Business, since it improved morale. Not only baseball, the U.S. Army–Navy [AmericanFootball] Game has been quite SeriousBusiness for over 100 years for those involved. The US Navy baseball team even [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_submarine_U-505#Salvage_operations guarded Kriegsmarine prisoners]] during World War II. Naturally, they taught the prisoners to play baseball.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'': Starfleet is both a military and an exploration and research organization, also acting as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gendarmerie top-level]] [[SpacePolice law enforcement]] and the [[GunboatDiplomacy advance scouts and bodyguards]] of TheFederation's diplomatic corps and intelligence network. It is a conglomeration of the US Navy, the USMC, the FBI, the CIA, {{NASA}} and a few research universities; a captain may need to think like Colin Powell or like Jacques Cousteau--or all of these may apply at once. To an extent, this came about by the involvement of [[DependingOnTheWriter many hands]]. GeneRoddenberry seemed to be inspired by the civilian space program ([[YanksWithTanks partially operated by the military]]). Nicholas Meyer was proudly making military sci-fi. Other screenwriters were just writing cop shows InSPACE, or sci-fi morality tales in the TheTwilightZone mode, or whatever other genre they felt like that day.