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Are the TNG Crew Kinda Mean?

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?
Hell, I'd have stolen the Defiant, too.
 
The real reason Riker stayed on the ship so many years, he was a terrible XO.
What makes a good XO?

Aren't they supposed to be unlikable? The captain gives the orders, and the XO carries out the day to day duties to make sure the ship runs smoothly. They're the guys that have to give the crew both the good news and the bad news. I don't imagine they are supposed to be approachable. In fairness, Riker did stick up for the crew when he felt it necessary. During Kurn's extreme Klingon discipline regime (Sins of the Father) and the double and triple shifts ordered by Jellico in Chain of Command.
 
What makes a good XO?

Aren't they supposed to be unlikable? The captain gives the orders, and the XO carries out the day to day duties to make sure the ship runs smoothly. They're the guys that have to give the crew both the good news and the bad news. I don't imagine they are supposed to be approachable. In fairness, Riker did stick up for the crew when he felt it necessary. During Kurn's extreme Klingon discipline regime (Sins of the Father) and the double and triple shifts ordered by Jellico in Chain of Command.

A TV XO is a little different than a real life XO. Next Gen was presented as a family, not as a rigid real life chain of command.
 
I remind you Jellico fan boys and girls what Deanna said.

RIKER: Well, I'll say this for him. He's sure of himself.
TROI: No, he's not.

The guy's a poser, plain and simple. All bluster and bluff with barely the self confidence to pull it off. Jellico sucks ass
 
Everyone was a target of Jellico. That was part of the problem. Even when a fellow captain (Picard) tried to intervene, he showed what he was, an ass.
 
:shrug: I thought that's what we did here, argue minutiae till the (space) cows come home. Have I misconstrued the purpose of the trekbbs? Damn, now I'll have to rethink my whole approach.
 
Riker and Troi both acted like entitled high school brats and not professionals. No way was Picard, as great a captain as he was, confident in every decision he made. Yet you didn't see Troi talking smack about it behind his back or trying to invalidate Picard's decisions.
I will agree that Troi admitting to Riker that Jellico lacked confidence was an error in judgement. However, I don't think that qualifies as "talking smack"
 
Jellico was an ass, no doubt. When the show first aired I was completely against him and squarely behind Fletcher Riker and the mutineers.

Since then, though, I’ve come to believe that the prima donnas of the Flagship of the Federation were less than disciplined and I’m aghast at defending Captain “Get Er Done.”

Or, in short, I’ve become a “Herbert” in my dotage.
 
Well it was a tough situation for the ENT crew. Picard was both supplanted from his role as captain of the ship and put on an away team, whose purpose was to infiltrate a Cardassian facility looking for bio weapons. A high ranking middle age man, put in a dangerous situation because... reasons.

The gravity of the situation was intense, and Jellico was a real hard ass. Ordering double and triple shifts and then conferring to Riker and Troi that it was a bluffing game with the Cardassians. Talk tough, act tough and hope your enemy blinks first. Troi's empathic abilities revealed that Jellico was insecure about all this. Even without Troi's testimony, not much security in Jellico's and the Federation's plan to avert war. Picard being taken prisoner and tortured, only made things worse for the crew. Loyalty to their CO conflicting with their mission and duty as officers.

Makes good drama.

I don't know if we can only fault the TNG crew though. Jellico was trying to spin a lot of plates and was combative with anyone who objected to his plans.
 
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