Star Trek Plot Devices Explained

(13)  The isolated scientist(s). The ship stumbles upon or is summoned to a planet where the sole example of Federation civilization is a four-building compound of nonspecific functions and one to ten researchers who make the characters in “Ten Little Indians” look like a My Little Pony sleepover.

For the rest of the Federation, and most of the galaxy, the term ‘isolated scientist’ brings to mind someone with a private level on an orbital research facility, maybe an individual orbital platform or, if extremely well-funded, a facility on the nearest moon. These scientists have the advantage of communication with peers and government oversight, and the proximity of rescue workers and trauma care. It would never occur to them that researchers would be so isolated as to have to hope any and all crises occur coincident with the starship’s annual supply visit, or that an entire planet could be judged to be the appropriate domain of one researcher or a small group investigating a single issue.

As part of the pre-Academy prep school all non-humans attend to prepare them for life in a substantially human environment, the film “Forbidden Plane”t is watched many times over, and discussed in great detail.

Klingons held pretty much the same view as the majority of Federation members for most of their history. After isolated scientists literally BLEW UP the Klingon home world’s moon, however, they appropriated “Forbidden Planet” as the model in their research application process.
Humans, on the other hand, evidently never, ever, ever watch “Forbidden Planet”, or were drunk when they did. They just pull into orbit, hail the facility, and beam down, sometimes not even armed.

(14) The ‘ritual fight to the death.’ Member of the command staff manipulated into a trial by combat vs. the native champion.

Tellarate officer comes off the starting position without hesitation, kills. His willful participation impresses the natives, a treaty is signed.

Andorian officer comes off the starting position without hesitation, kills. His willful participation honors the native culture, a treaty is signed.

Vulcan officer refuses to participate in the barbaric ritual. His stoic death impresses the natives, a treaty is signed (though the poor showing in the ratings means something of a trade deficit, at least in the beginning).

Romulan officer comes off the starting position without hesitation, kills. His casual attempt to take a trophy horrifies the natives, they vow never to pull this shit on Romulans ever again. They put this in writing, a treaty.

Klingon officer comes off the starting position already swinging the detached spine of the arena liaison. Kills the champion, everyone in the champion’s corner, comes over the wall to kill the judges. ‘Signed in blood’ takes on a new meaning in the native law books as a map of the spread gore and bodily fluids spatter becomes the defacto treaty… 

Ferengi officer exploits a loophole, hires a Klingon stand-in…

Humans bemoan the barbarity of resolving diplomatic issues through violence, try very hard to educate the natives in a non-bloody alternative while carefully avoiding any actual interference in their customs. The ‘prime directive’ is mentioned exactly as often as the word ‘barbaric’ is used. In the end, having no remaining aces up their sleeves, the Human officer rolls up his sleeves, fights, stops just short of landing the fatal blow, and repeats the highlights of all previous discussion in a speech about the march of progress and mutual respect. Natives sign the damned treaty to get him off the air, they still have another twenty duels lined up for the holiday weekend.

"Log, supplemental. Engineer has nothing but excuses for not installing a TV Remote at the Captain's Chair. Instead, have to complete the redundant ritual every time. Helm or Scanner or Weapons says there's something interesting in scanner range. Then nothing happens until the senior officer actually directs them to 'Put it on screen.' Like it's a surprise that I want to take the view off of the screen saver and LOOK at the new thing to LOOK at. FMC."

 (16) The Lost Earth Colony discovery. Two cultures have had space faring technology during a period of chaos that prevented record keeping and a follow-up:

     1) Earth during and immediately after the Eugenic Wars.
     2) Vulcan when they invented the Romulans. 

So, explorers find either a schism empire, or penny ante settlements all over creation.
he starship trips over a human colony and-

Tellarate crew marks their location, avoids them.

Andorian crew marks their location, avoids them.

Vulcan crew launches a space buoy so everyone can avoid them.

Humans arrive, identify the colony, announce that they’re ready to ‘rescue’ the colonists, who left Earth with the express desire to rescue themselves at the cost of having community with the rest of the rest of the human race, because they think mainstream civilization is over/under intellectual, over/under violent, over/under whatever trigger issue drove them to deep space. Unless a doomsday meteor is directly overhead and visible in full daylight, the ‘lost’ colony will demand continued isolation, thank you very much. And the crew leaves a Vulcan space buoy in orbit...

Ferengi crew blackmail the Hoomans. Pay us, or we tell the rest of Hoomanity where you’re hiding…