7 things nobody wants to admit about Star Trek

1. Everyone’s a walking encyclopedia

The sheer ease with which characters remember specific details of random alien species, starship layouts, or obscure scientific facts does serve a narrative purpose. Having Captain Picard consult a computer database for ten minutes to look up political shenanigans regarding the Romulan Senate or the specifics of an old peace treaty would absolutely slow the show down.

Instead of having us witness that, most of the characters in the franchise seem to have a photographic memory as they have a vast amount of random knowledge readily available. Sure, it allows for seamless storytelling and it’s an efficient way to familiarize the audience with all the countless backstories, technological jargon, and the stakes involved in the mission at hand.

While there is a narrative advantage to having characters who are basically walking encyclopaedias, the downside is that it can strain the audience’s suspension of disbelief. Not only do characters like Captain Picard, Spock, and others seem to know an improbable amount about everything from quantum mechanics to the family trees of Klingon warlords, but their perfect memory always seems conveniently tailored to the issue of the week.

It’s almost as if they are also psychic – always prepared for whatever knowledge will be needed in any given episode. It also unintentionally paints them as somewhat inhuman, raising the question of why they even need computer databases when they seem pretty darn capable of answering any question themselves.