Some obvious examples
- the holodeck gets a fatal software error and people are stuck in a classic novel
- a shuttle breaks down and crashes into a habitable planet
- the federation loses a space battle, but thankfully there’s some space jungle (nebula, asteroid field, etc) to hide out in, thankfully within sub light distances
Someone dies, the people standing right next to them are calm, cool, and collected. Even if red shirt Ricky was their good friend.