10 Dumbest Things In Star Trek: The Next Generation

The show’s first episode, “Encounter at Farpoint,” establishes that the Enterprise can separate in two so that the vessel’s civilian complement can evacuate via the saucer section. This allows them to stay out of harm’s way, while the stardrive is battle ready (its command center is even called the “battle bridge”).

Considering the ship’s civilian complement, this capability would seem prudent to engage anytime the vessel is headed into potential danger. And yet it is really only used on one other occasion for this purpose (also during the first season) in “Arsenal of Freedom,” when La Forge takes the stardrive into a risky situation and does not want to put the entire ship's complement at risk. At other times the saucer separation is only mentioned (“The High Ground,” “Hollow Pursuits,” and “Brothers”) and it happens during a sudden crisis rather than as a preemptive measure to protect the ship’s civilians. And in “The Best of Both Worlds, Part II” the saucer separation is deployed as a battle tactic—but it is one where both the saucer and the stardrive engage in combat. And, arguably, puts the civilian complement at even greater risk given the main powerplant is in the stardrive alone. 

Outside of these examples, when the Enterprise is headed towards the threat of looming danger, the prospect of separating the saucer isn’t even mentioned—much less engaged.

It’s a shame, because in addition to the practical value in-universe, saucer separation could have been a useful dramatic tool. It could have allowed the writers to separate the cast into unique groups for separate A- and B-stories, for example. Or, the civilian crew could have been evacuated to the saucer for their own safety only for the saucer to then be put into peril with limited armaments and maneuverability (it does not have warp engines).