Therapists on the bridge

There's always a tactical officer on the bridge, even when not in combat.

There's a pilot there even when the ship isn't moving.

There's a science officer there even when the aren't doing anything sciencey...

 

I find it odd to have a Therapist on the bridge rather than a regular Doctor, given that a helmsman (for example) is more likely to have a console explode in his face than to get suddenly depressed!

 

Then pull up a chair for Mot, too. Many of the bridge crew go to him for hair trims, so have a place for the barber even when he's not making Worf look fabulous.

 

I keep trying to decide what the image would have been. Spock's forced mind meld with Valeris? Did any of the weird aliens from "Violations" ever go to the Bridge?

It's not for depression, it's for anxiety.

Ensign: "Counselor, every time I sit down at this station, I get this intense feeling as if something horrible is about to ha --"

(Console explodes in a shower of sparks)

Troi: "Well, you weren't wrong."

 

Yup as a therapist I agree. My favorite was when the parents of the kids I was seeing would tell it to the kids... and think they were the first to come up with it.

 

Yes, Troi especially has a knack for stating the obvious.

For example, we see some alien visibly angry on the screen.

Picard: What do you sense?

Troi: He's angry.

Picard: But why?

Troi: How the hell should I know?

 

If Humanity is perfect, people are in tune with their emotions, and this crew on the Federation Flagship are the best of the best... then why does there need to be a therapist on the bridge? In theory, the crew shouldn't have the types of issues that a therapist would usually need to address.

 

Because her role on the bridge is not as a therapist. She gives advice to the captain, and probes alien's feelings.

 

She's how humanity maintains their "perfection"? It isn't wishful thinking or innate superiority; it's process.

 

Remember when she telepathically talked to Riker in the pilot? That's when she inserted a mental clone of herself into him to influence his decision making. Him losing his ambitions and being glued to the first officers seat on the Enterprise? That's Troi getting her revenge after he left her for his career. Her being on the bridge all the time is her enjoying watching him standing in Picard's shadow forever.

 

That might make sense, but...

I like this better.

 

And here I thought Lwaxana was the one to watch out for.

 

Yeah, Deanna is sometimes a telepath, sometimes an empath, sometimes both or neither. It depends mostly on what the plot demands.

 

Those TNG extras weren't the first crewmen to wear a version of a skant. TOS's Scotty did wear a kilt on occasion, usually formal ones. But, I get that the context of Scotty wearing a kilt was different to what TNG was going for in those scenes.

Those TNG outfits, that Troi and Tasha were wearing, do have a school girl uniform vibe. Compared to those TNG outfits, the female TOS uniforms looked rather professional. The TOS uniforms were sexier as well, I have to say. Interestingly, the way Troi was sitting in that photo, she looked like a demure well behaved school girl sitting at her desk.

Perhaps the writers should have given Picard a buddy, like Bones was to Kirk or the "old man" Dax was to Sisko, or how Trip was Archer's bud. But that might have meant dumbing down Picard to some extent.

Picard was basically the wisest man on the ship. No one on that ship was Picard's equal in terms of gravitas. Picard was really his own wise older counselor (and he looked the part).

Neither Riker nor Troi had the heft to consistently not mince words when speaking to Picard. Those two were rather weak underlings.

Dr. Crusher was at times the brutal candid friend, but there was an undertone that there might have been a romantic aspect to the relationship. And from what I can remember, she was usually, more or less, protecting her turf, and not really like being a buddy. And Guinan did fill those roles, that the poster mentioned, at other times. But the two seemed more like intellectual colleagues.

Picard could have had use for a buddy with whom he could let his hair down (so to speak) and lean on to give him brutally honest advice. And not hold back the words or advice, even when he is not seeking it.

But then again, Picard was such an intellectual heavyweight, that maybe it was for the best that he didn't have, or need, a buddy.

 

^ I dunno. Picard talked to all those people you mentioned whenever he needed to and they were there for him. I suppose someone in the room has to be the wisest one among that selection, but they're not so all the time, and Picard did turn to others when he needed to. They were all his subordinates so they couldn't order him around (for the most part / Crusher did on occasion), but he did turn to them outside the standard Observation Lounge sessions -- Guinan in "Measure of a Man" and BoBW, Troi at the end of "Chain of Command, Part II," etc. (Maybe his brother Robert in "Family.")

As their superior officer, they let him command, but they didn't need him for personal advice very often either.

Although, I suppose I do see the vibe you're talking about...where it's played as he's their commander but also usually their trusted leader, their Captain.

Picard didn't have a problem being the subordinate to the admiral of the week (when they weren't crazy), heeding his crew/friends, or being respectful of anyone. But he was usually in the role he chose to pursue -- being the one who's responsible for it all.

Stewart had the gravitas to play it. And the look, the age. They really lucked out with him as an actor. He infused the part with whatever was necessary to make it substantive regardless what was actually on the page.

 

Although neither Crusher nor Guinan was a "buddy," per se, I think they both fulfilled the role of the confidant whose helpfulness to the captain is based more on their personal relationship to him than on their job title. It's more subdued, but then, everything about TNG was more subdued.

The unresolved BONC tension aside, the Picard/Crusher and Picard/Guinan friendships feel most similar to Janeway/Tuvok.

 

That's what I always thought too. That Picard was wise enough to find who he'd need to bounce things off of for each particular instance. He was the team leader, but searched out opinions (from targeted individuals he thought best) to better inform his decisions.

 

Sometimes an empath, sometimes a telepath, and apparently sometimes [jokingly] a psychopath! Not even Q could break her spell over Riker.

 

In "Man Of The People" she is easily tricked, for example, she seems like she isn't empathic at all.