I just don't agree. Why are PCs necessarily "scrawny"? Why can't they be the stars of the galactic stage too? I guess I'm just in some ways not a typical RPGer. I sometimes want to play a newbie and sometimes want to play the legendary hero.
Okay, please understand that I had my tongue firmly planted in my cheek when I wrote "scrawny." IOW, I was being facetious.
The entire point was that most PCs -- even the ship's captain, who could be a complete superstar in his/her own right -- won't start with anywhere near the advancements of the TV series' stars.
Case in point: As a test, I wrote up my "superstar" starship CO from an online RPG, and was able to make a very nice representation of the character with just 21 advancements for a 13 year career. (He had two three-year combat tours in a row {6 advancements each}, 6 advancements in the preceding 5 years, and 3 advancements in the following 2 years. Yes, I loosely followed the PG's advancement suggestions based on time in service.)
He has a broad skill base with some good modifiers (including +10 Tactics, meaning an 83% success rate with the Cochrane deceleration maneuver, or a 1 in 6 chance of successfully pulling off the Picard Maneuver...but I'd use a courage point or two on that anyway... ).
At any rate, I think that it's a great campaign starting point for a 36-year old CO who, perhaps, earned the chair before he was completely ready and is just now coming into his own. And it didn't take 45 advancements to do it.
Davy Jones
"Frightened? My dear, you are looking at a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe! I was petrified."
-- The Wizard of Oz