ty as well as he is the captain of the ship. For the time, when thinking of fathers we still were in the father must provide for his family phase. Women were working and coming into keys roles in the work force and Star Trek, however there was still this importance about the father. Picard doesn't have to go out and work hard so he can put food on the table. This is not the job he is doing to provide for his family. Picard provides direction for the crew and the ship. He tells them what they are going to do to solve a problem and how they are going to do it. He will make decisions for what is best for the family. After that, you have two mothers on Next Generation. This is not to say that the series is saying that polygamy is all right, it just happens that there are two women in the series that fall into a mother role. There is Beverly Crusher, who is the doctor. She is not a nurse but the head doctor, which is a big step. Since she is the doctor she has to heal patients and this is very nurturing. The other mother is Deanna Troi, the counselor. She is just meant to be there. She is someone who will listen and ask the questions to help you figure things out. Troi will also give advice to help you. This is also a nurturing and consoling role. Both of them are healers. Crusher is for the physical needs and Troi is for the emotional needs. Lastly, you have the children or the crew. The second command Riker, or Number One to Picard, is the eldest son. Picard is much older and Riker is much younger, so he is the eldest son. As the eldest son Riker looks up to Picard and wants to follow in his footsteps. He has a lot of power but also is sitting back taking notes of how Picard runs things for Riker will be eventually promoted. Riker has to know what to do when he takes over the family business. Another big part of gender roles, in any situation not just Star Trek, is sexuality. Although sexuality in gender roles is not a big part of Next Gen...
