MIND THE misspelling in the title my keyboard chose to drop letter! Ok so I was crusing along at impulsea few days ago and came across this in another board. And so I offerd my explanation on Worf's character and actions. Thus I replied: So, my question is Did I give a fair reason and explanation?
Picard is also responsible for the safety of all personel, civillans and to the ship itself... I'm not sure, I don't really get Worf either. I agree on the point that he is security and tactical officer, it seems they always have to be careful and want to act prematurely. But if Picard listened him, in some of those many times when Worf wanted to raise shields of fire prematurely, he would start the war... The whole quadrant would be in war even before Dominion, seriously. So I don't really see Worf as a captain, except maybe in war times. But in peace, no. He has a lot to learn before.
There were plenty of times, when there wasn't just cause, where Worf's first reaction was to raise shields/arm weapons/fire and Picard held it off and it ended up being the right decision. Sometimes taking a defensive posture can make you look offfensive to someone who isn't combat ready. Take "The Neutral Zone" for instance when they suspect a cloaked Romulan ship is about. Picard holds of raising his shields/firing on the de-cloaking warbird because he doesn't want to take too much of a stance of aggression and and provoke the Romulans. Worf was miffed they DIDN'T take a defense/offensive posture.
When it comes to Romulans or Cardassians Worf has a huge prejudice which gets in the way. I could see a Captain Worf, but yes he does need to learn that not everyone is hostile purhaps if he got a command of his own he would have a kind, sweet, peaceful first officer to keep him in check like... Ezri or Neeliex
Oh sheesh, I can't see Worf getting along with Neelix. (unless Neelix invented new recipes for prune juice... ) Seriously, I never cared for Worf. At some point both TNG and DS9 became The Klingon Politics Show, and it got to be too much. I did like the comedy bits, though, as when Worf and Kira first meet: "Nice hat."
Worf honestly doesn't do much for me but I find the Klingon race rather fascinating. They're very hostile and provocative, but not really because they are war mongers but more that they are so set on getting their honorable deaths they can never let their guard down and risk pussy dying. Because hey, they only get one shot. Regarding Worf being extra hostile; hasn't that increased mainly since Lt Yar died? He wasn't as jumpy when she was still around handling security.
I think of his response as a storytelling element to contrast Captain Picard, and the benefit of choosing a peaceful stance even in times of clear and present danger. It's a bit pacifist and so not as exciting as acting on instincts, but clearly, Picard made the right decisions. I think GR was trying to mitigate our own cultural glorifications of violence and lack of inquiry into changing response to that nature. When Worf commanded the Defiant, he ordered a salvo against a decloaking vessel without ascertaining it's configuration. He acted on those impulses and it landed him in hot water--even after determining the Cardie frame-up, Sisko still dressed Worf down for firing first and asking questions later. In a way, something like that was always bound to happen with Worf; and the Cardies knew it, and used it against him. Lucky it didn't plunge the Federation deeper into the war with a shaky moral foundation.
Just like Spock and McCoy showed the internal struggle that Kirk went through to make the right decision, I think Worf (or Yar) presented the more hawkish strategical end to counterbalance Troi's most dovish counselling recommendations to every situation. To reallu understand Worf, I would look at "Heart of Glory," "Way of the Warrior," and the DS9 one where Gowron's overthrown. Worf is a stranger in both worlds just like Spock was.
antoher quite interesting bit is that when you think aboutit if Deniese Crosby chose to stay and Yar lived.. Would we really have much use odf Worf. I feel as I have stated before in another topic that he would of been a very under used flat character.. but by Crosby leaving he shot off and the plots and arcs started to center around him.
I haven't really thought about that but now that I do, you're absolutely right. Thinking back on the episodes when Yar was still alive I can't really focus on Worf's position, he could just as well not have been there.
Worf was supposed to just be a background character. He wasn't supposed to even have much dialogue. He was just there to show that the Federation and the Klingons were allies now.
I think he's a great asset for their security. And him being so hostile is a good contrast to the others.
I agree with your response. I probably would have pointed out that Worf was very self conscious about his Klingon identity beause he was raised by humans, not in spite of it -but that's a minor concern. I always loved the character, but then I tend to like Star Trek's loner types; Spock, Odo and so on. As for Worf always suggesting the hostile alternative, it makes sense because 1. that's his job 2. that's his philosophy and 3. it provides a counterpoint to the more pacifist stance of, well, the rest of the entire TNG cast. So it suits the function, the character, and enhances the drama. Worf was as edgy a character as TNG had, given his willingness to, among other things, refusing to give a blood tranfusion that results in the death of a Romulan merely because he's a Romulan.
I find it ironic that Worf, raised by humans, seems to be the MOST Klingon-like Klingon there is! I'd say that it would appear that only Martok, Kurn, Kang, Kor and Koloth act in the honourable way that Klingons were supposed to. The others such as Gowron (sending Martok into suicidal missions just cos he disagrees with him!), Duras (selling out the Klingon Empire to the Romulans), and many others fall short of the ideal.
Perhaps distance lends enchantment, as they say, and Worf was more of an idealist. Not having been brought up in the Klingon culture, his interpretation of it manifested through rigid external rules of behavior. Worf lacked the ease with the culture of Martok, or any random crewman of say, the Rotarran, for whom Klingon culture wasn't "Klingon Culture", but just normal life. Worf overcompensated. So did Kira and Odo (not the actors, the characters).
First off, I do not understand why the Enterprise would ever enter an unknown area of space, or encounter an unknown, heavily armed ship with their shields down. I know that TNG is supposed to showcase the more diplomatic approach of Starfleet, but how many times have they risked being blown out of space by a torpedo simply for not having their shileds up? I agree that Worf was somewhat aggressive at times, trying to charge weapons and such, but I do think that it was always a wise precaution to have their shields up. I also think that for some reason, Worf is one of the characters they chose to develop the most in TNG (and DS9 afterwards). The episode with his parents (Family) was great, but I always questioned how he always wanted everything around his house to be Klingon, yet continued to be raised by human parents.
Actually, this is a valid point. What if the Romulans or whoever they were facing launched a full spread of torpedoes and disruptor-fire into the Enterprise with her shields down? Generations and The Jem'Hadar show what kind of a pounding Galaxy-class starships take without shields, and these were just general attacks. I'm pretty sure a good enemy commander would have concentrated all his fire on the bridge.