I always assumed that everyone on the Enterprise was the best of the best of the best because of the nature of their mission and the desirability of the ship.
It seemed that everyone on the ship because it was the most desired position in all of Starfleet, hence why people like Riker would rather stay as Lt Commander on the Enterprise instead of take their own command on another ship. It was a ship full of geniuses that seemed like relatively normal people since there were like a thousand of them all together.
That’s exactly my take. At that point in the universe’s history, the Enterprise was essentially the flagship of the entire Federation. You don’t assign the crew randomly for that, you pick the best possible candidates, and they’re all eager for the posting.
Like you said, Riker was willing to stall his career to serve on her.
Even the red shirts were the best possible red shirts in Starfleet.
It’s also relevant that Starfleet as a whole had become more established, and working in Starfleet more prestigious than in TOS era. So you had the very best of the Federation wanting to be there, and then having to prove themselves via the Academy in a way that previous eras didn’t (though, the extended universe kinda bounces around about that).
I always assumed that everyone on the Enterprise was the best of the best of the best because of the nature of their mission and the desirability of the ship.
It seemed that everyone on the ship because it was the most desired position in all of Starfleet, hence why people like Riker would rather stay as Lt Commander on the Enterprise instead of take their own command on another ship. It was a ship full of geniuses that seemed like relatively normal people since there were like a thousand of them all together.
That’s exactly my take. At that point in the universe’s history, the Enterprise was essentially the flagship of the entire Federation. You don’t assign the crew randomly for that, you pick the best possible candidates, and they’re all eager for the posting.
Like you said, Riker was willing to stall his career to serve on her.
Even the red shirts were the best possible red shirts in Starfleet.
It’s also relevant that Starfleet as a whole had become more established, and working in Starfleet more prestigious than in TOS era. So you had the very best of the Federation wanting to be there, and then having to prove themselves via the Academy in a way that previous eras didn’t (though, the extended universe kinda bounces around about that).