6. When New Neighbours Become New friends - Sci-fi To Soap Opera?
Set in exotic, foreign surroundings I would fear that where there are families, there are affairs and Star Trek could disintegrate into Coronation Fleet, Casualty Bay or The Jonathan Archers. In each synopsis, we could expect: 'Will Paris finally pop the question to Torres? Meanwhile Neelix has a startling encounter with Seven of Nine'. Beaming down to a new planet would no longer be a scientific and cultural endeavour. The children on board would be hijacking the Transporter to sneak out of school and spacing out while their parents are neglecting them.