this post was submitted on 07 Mar 2026
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Television
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The thing about true competency isn't that fuck-ups never happen, it's how you deal with fuck-ups when they do.
In TNG the crew are generally capable, professional, and most importantly pull in the same direction. When a problem happens they put their heads together and solve it without ego.
Compare to other (also good) space shows like Battlestar Galactica, where almost the entire plot is driven by secret identities, hidden agendas, backstabbing, and personal drama.
TNG is competency porn because while Individuals are flawed, the crew as a whole are together brilliantly capable.
TNG is a show about a utopian human society, where the individuals and society are moral and upstanding. It's a reflection of the best parts of our idealized selves. The characters are friendly, forgiving, and well trained. There is no substance abuse, and resources are unlimited.
BSG is about how our hubris led to the downfall of civilization and how we're wasting away, hopelessly trying to avoid extinction in the face of resource starvation, and constantly being on the brink of annihilation. The characters are the best of what's left, whatever that means, and it's only through cleverness and luck that they can persevere.
I honestly think BSG characters show competence better than TNG, because in BSG the deck is stacked AGAINST the characters, but they still pull through due to incredible talent. In TNG it's deus ex machina almost every episode as they "recalibrate the diteron maximizers and send more foonbahs to the replicar inverters"
I love both, but IMO BSG is a much better reflection of actual competence and realistic human personalities, complete with skeletons in closet, bad attitudes, drunkenness, arrogance, etc.