Are the TNG Crew Kinda Mean?

[Emperor Norton]

Let me say, I love TNG. I grew up on TNG. I have a childlike view of these people like they were my aunts and uncles. But on rewatches as I've grown older, it strikes me that the bridge officers seem kind of mean. Everything is fine and friendly in their clique. Nothing needs to be called into question there. But when there is someone introduced outside of that clique, interacting with it, it seems like they have a habit of hostility and rudeness to that party. It is something I've picked up more as a vibe, without notating anything specific, but I'm certain there's more than enough examples. The treatment of Barclay comes to mind. Geordi's initial treatment of Scotty. Their reaction to Berlinghoff Rasmussen before they even knew he was a phony. Granted, he was grating but not so bad initially. And basically Riker's reaction to anyone subordinate.

Arguably, it is a matter of rank structure and leadership. But it feels like it goes beyond even what is necessary there, and into the territory of "This is our clique. Who the heck are you?" like a high school group that won't let you sit at their lunch table. Thoughts?

 

[Amaris]

That sounds about right. I love TNG as well, but the core group of bridge officers and main characters did seem cliquish.

 

[Horta]

I agree. I remember feeling that way about the way they treated Barclay as well. Crusher seemed the exception.

 

[Emperor Norton]

I agree. I remember feeling that way about the way they treated Barclay as well. Crusher seemed the exception.

That, and Picard was always "father knows best" above that silliness.

 

[Paradise City]

You can add Lower Decks to the list. Lots of rudeness and cliqueness there.

Tapestry -- Lt Picard gets back his own medicine from his ex-clique!

AGT - again, they are very condescending to their old boss Ambassador Picard. Bloody ingrates!

Poor Data gets alot of threatening "they'll dismember you if you don't fess up" in Clues.

That poor young chronicler chap who wanders off the holodeck in Journeys End is left to rot in his own quarters!

I like TNG too but now that you've started this thread I now realise what a bunch of 'orrible people they really are!

 

[Emperor Norton]

You can add Lower Decks to the list. Lots of rudeness and cliqueness there.

Tapestry -- Lt Picard gets back his own medicine from his ex-clique!

AGT - again, they are very condescending to their old boss Ambassador Picard. Bloody ingrates!

[.........]

I like TNG too but now that you've started this thread I now realise what a bunch of 'orrible people they really are!

I imagine this was Picard's reaction.

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[Emperor Norton]

If I had to do a psychology on myself, I think this may be part of where my TOS love came for in my teens, when I first got into TOS. Kirk and company seemed, well, warmer and more open. A TOS Riker would treated Chekov as this grating, smug, inexperienced know-it-all who was wasting time and derelicting duty with completely off focus woman chasing and ridiculous Russian stories of inventing everything that were obviously false. TOS Riker would have treated Chekov like he treated Barclay, basically barked him down, stressed him out, barked him down some more after he fumbles because he's stressed out, and kept him out of the main group.

....It's kind of a hostile work environment.

 

[ALF]

Totes disagree.
To me, anyway, the TNG crew seem the least mean of any of the other Star Treks. Whenever someone is in a crisis, the other characters on the Enterprise D always seemed to help them and believe them. Perhaps it's the perception of hostility... joking about/bullying Barclay or becoming flustered by Scotty's old stories while on a deadline may trigger someone but another person wouldn't be bothered by it in the least.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think it only seemed cliquish because of how rarely we see other crew members who are not the cause of the story. Geordi has active friendships with the other engineers, Worf runs martial arts classes. Picard seemed to invite anyone he thought would be interested to fencing and holodeck fantasies, he seemed to be willing to fraternize with anyone who shared his hobby interests. Riker seemed to be the only one who was that unfriendly outside the senior staff.

I straighten my shirt at you sir!

 

[GNDN18]

They were a bunch of Heathers they were. The cool-kids dunk Worf: funny. Data dunks Bev: not funny. WTF?

If “All Good Things” had been “The Finale Part 2”, Q would have sent them all to jail.

 

[Kronos]

They were a bunch of preps, but back then nobody thought people would watch a show about the nerds.

 

[F. King Daniel]

They're not the kind of people I'd like to hang out with

 

[Herbert]

If I had to do a psychology on myself, I think this may be part of where my TOS love came for in my teens, when I first got into TOS. Kirk and company seemed, well, warmer and more open. A TOS Riker would treated Chekov as this grating, smug, inexperienced know-it-all who was wasting time and derelicting duty with completely off focus woman chasing and ridiculous Russian stories of inventing everything that were obviously false. TOS Riker would have treated Chekov like he treated Barclay, basically barked him down, stressed him out, barked him down some more after he fumbles because he's stressed out, and kept him out of the main group.

....It's kind of a hostile work environment.

Are you kidding? Kirk would routinely shut down Checkov. He would do it to other bridge crew as well. Kirk could be quite a jerk.

 

[marlboro]

Funnily enough, I was watching "Peak Performance" last night and it occurred to me that the crew was almost as dickish towards the Zakdorn strategist as he was to them.


And, yes, Kirk was a tool on many occasions.

 

[marlboro]

If “All Good Things” had been “The Finale Part 2”, Q would have sent them all to jail.

They clearly didn't violate the Good Samaritan Snare law. Though that episode would have been a lot better if they had just sat back and cracked jokes about the Pakleds for 45 minutes.

 

[Herbert]

Funnily enough, I was watching "Peak Performance" last night and it occurred to me that the crew was almost as dickish towards the Zakdorn strategist as he was to them.

That was excusable. Kolrami was a douchebag

 

[GNDN18]

Now that I think of it, the valiant crew staged the most passive aggressive mutiny in the history of Star Fleet. What did that tyrant Ed Jellicoe do to earn their insubordination?

Had them stand watch in uniform. Brats.

 

[Qonundrum]

Based on various episodes,

Data isn't mean at all.
Geordi might get ticked off due to patience tolerance threshold (e.g. "Elementary, Dear Data" but usually is easygoing. And misunderstood.
Troi and Crusher seem easygoing, definitely caring.
Pulaski was harsh toward Data but softened up as time went by. She also wanted to learn more about and experience cultures (e.g. Klingons, taking an antidote to a toxin just so she could learn about Worf and that was cool.)
Riker is okay as long as he's getting jiggy, which explains why he's so wound up all the time - especially when annoyed at Data.
Picard - This is where the fun begins. In "The emissary" (DS9) he's completely unwilling to think of things from a different perspective (but the episode was meant to showcase Sisko, rightly so.) Then again, look at "Who Watches the Watchers" and Picard had a point, until he became so cocksure. Under inadvertent stress, sure, but how was he so sure the supernatural did not exist? The moment any TNG episode featured ghosts instantly proved Picard wrong. Was "Sub Rosa" the only episode to feature a supernatural or otherwise incorporeal being that took over bodies? Nope. "The Child", "Power Play", and others show the inexplicable as being actual, in the same universe that has Picard saying it's bunk. Nature alone cannot explain any instance of those and stranger things have happened in real life with no known explanation.

And, of course, Picard was happily machinegunning down people saying he was doing them a favor, all while his crew in the past risked the Federation and Earth and all by saving him instead under what was - arguably - a larger emergency. Being stuck in the past didn't help, Picard needed all thew 24th century brains he could get. So he wasn't doing anyone any favors.

Which doesn't stop me from saying Picard is one of my favorite characters; he and Data have a great double-act and he with Pulaski made a great double act as well. Guinan got him to learn a thing or two as well. Are her abilities to fathom beyond the confines of our space/time continuum part of what could be called "supernatural" or "superstition"? Picard still believed her no matter what his misgivings were.

 

[Nakita Akita]

Now that I think of it, the valiant crew staged the most passive aggressive mutiny in the history of Star Fleet. What did that tyrant Ed Jellicoe do to earn their insubordination?
View attachment 3847
Had them stand watch in uniform. Brats.

After Jellico, Riker should have been sent to be in charge of a relay station on the outer rim for about 4 years. Troi should have been busted one rank. Geordi was okay and Data was fine.

 

[Mojochi]

I admit being somewhat rose-colored-glasses about the whole clique vibe, until Chain of Command kind of woke me up a bit, & then Lower Decks lowered the boom, by offering an outside perspective. Then I went back & realized they'd being smelling of that odor quite a bit throughout

I can forgive Picard a bit. He kept himself isolated from everyone equally, quite a lot.... But Riker? That's one ironically judgmental dude. I actually thought Beverly could be snotty & overbearing even within their clique, without even getting into her stuffiness directed at anyone Picard had ever romanced (Geordi don't wanna be in your musical lady! Back off!) lol

When I went back to review all the cliquish stuff, do you know who I realized got the absolute worst of it? Poor ass TOM RIKER. Picard literally orders them all to try to help that guy out & make him feel welcome. So what do they do? They all ignore the fact that the guy has to stare at the life he could've had being Picard's #1, & his woman, right bloody there next to him. Then Will totally shits all over the guy (Because he hates himself) like the dude should be able to step back into duty after 10 minutes aboard ship.

And TROI? If ever there was person who came aboard that ship who needed therapy. THERE HE IS, & what does she do? Strings him along, thinks about nothing but herself, & makes that clear to him, & then just sends him packing. That dude's downward spiral all started right effing there, with how he got treated after being abandoned for over a decade of his life

How's that for being mean?