Starfleet is clearly a family business as many Star Trek Captains have been followed into service by their sons and daughters. While Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was the exception in his immediate family, Captain James T Kirk (William Shatner) and his brother, Lt. George Samuel Kirk (Dan Jeannotte) are the sons of former Starfleet officer George Kirk. Not every child of a Starfleet officer follows their parents into space, however. For example, Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) abandoned a career in Starfleet to become a member of the time and space transcending Travelers.
The career trajectories or family backgrounds of each child often gave Star Trek some of its most compelling family dramas. The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Bloodlines" introduced Jean-Luc Picard's forgotten son, Jason Vigo (Ken Olandt), who was something of an intergalactic conman. Despite Jason being part of an elaborate scheme by one of Jean-Luc's enemies rather than his biological son, the two men formed a bond. Jason Vigo set up Picard's eventual role as father to Ensign Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), who is just one of many Starfleet officers who have perhaps benefited from the institution's reputation for nepotism.
