So im watching a tos episode and the away team can’t contact the ship and the ship is drawn away from the planet. Now I recall this as sorta a common plot device in star trek. communication is not always blocked but basically the ship has to leave the away team on a plane to deal with something. Here is the thing. Why don’t they ever launch a shuttle to stay at the planet. I mean maybe more than one. This is especially true come tng where the shuttles I think tend to have transporters. I mean feels like a no brainer to me.
Why is the captain always beaming down first and no one is in spacesuits? It’s no wonder half the time they beam someone back an alien life form comes along for the ride.
I can understand the budget constraints for TOS but just saying something like “we’re leaving a comms buoy in orbit” would solve this question, build a little model satellite and keep it on the shelf.