• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

King or Queen of Mean

I actually like Lwaxana. She's only annoying because she likes to needle Picard, but I get the impression that Lwaxana is one of the nicest people in Trek. That's how I see her, anyway. Lwaxana is definitely not mean - not by a long shot.
 
"Mean" isn't the word I would use to describe Lwaxana. She's more selfish and pushy.

I don't know if it quite applies to Pulaski either. She's more in the category of people who get labeled that way for being vocal with unpopular opinions.
 
I wouldn't even call Lwaxana selfish. She is very friendly and outgoing - maybe a bit too much. But she is not arrogant or self-centered.

Lwaxana could be considered a busybody, but she just likes to insert herself into other people's lives (particularly Deanna's) - she doesn't make it all about her, as such. I know it may not seem that way, but that's the impression I get. Maybe she just sort of feels empty inside after Ian's death, but she compensates for that by being obsessed with helping others...her mantra is more like "I can fix you" rather than "I'm the center of the universe".

That being said, I've often wondered how she would have reacted if, for example, some random crewmember on the Enterprise developed a fixation on her. She's spent so much time trying to convince Picard that he has a crush on her - how would she react if she met someone who actually does? :)
 
Last edited:
Lwaxana was a hoot! She could be hilarious in one episode and break your heart in the next. Majel was a very underrated actress.

It's crazy to think Odo is Deanna Troi's stepfather and Will Riker's father in law.
 
Definitely Dr. Pulaski. What they were trying to do with her just didn't work. She came off as extremely rude much of the time, and not only in her interactions with Data but also with others (like Captain Picard). The character seemed to constantly have a stick up her ass. As for what Greg Cox said, I guess you could say... she just wasn't the real McCoy.
 
Definitely Dr. Pulaski. What they were trying to do with her just didn't work. She came off as extremely rude much of the time, and not only in her interactions with Data but also with others (like Captain Picard). The character seemed to constantly have a stick up her ass. I guess you could say... she just wasn't the real McCoy.


I disagree. Pulaski had her difficulties with Data. Crusher was bland, like her son was annoying. Pulaski stood up to Picard. She came across rude and disrespectful towards Picard. She had her reasons for doing so and was quite an asset for the crew. I enjoy her rare appearances in the Litverse.

Data, as an android, didn't take Pulaski's behavior personally. And she came to accept him, at least in later episodes.

Data doesn't need to be defended by the way. He was able to ignore mean behavior towards him.

Mean characters are Dukat and Winn for instance.
Even Weyoun when he tried to eliminate Earth' population.
Damar when callously killing Ziyal.

Calling someone mean is not as simple as it seams with those complex characters.
 
Regardless of whether Data needs defending, Dr. Pulaski displayed a certain kind of pompous arrogance that I can't stand in real life or in my entertainment, lol!

EDIT: I also forgot to add I never understood why people disliked Wesley so much. He just seemed like this overly excited kid who was extremely intelligent. Also those episodes with the Traveler are hilarious:
RnkiVFY.png
 
Last edited:
Wesley never felt like a real teenager like, say, Jake or Nog. He was this idealized boy-scout/prodigy/miniature adult who (insanely) served on the bridge, hung out with adults all the time, and didn't seem to have any friends his own age.

Again, compare him to Jake and Nog, who were much more believable: they hung out on the Promenade, joked around, talked about girls, and rarely if ever saved the station (at least until Nog grew up and joined Starfleet). They felt like real kids in a way Wesley didn't, at least not most of the time.
 
I loved Wesley! It's probably because I was a kid when TNG was on and I liked seeing aonther kid as part of the crew. Once he stopped saving the ship every week he became a really good character. Episodes like Final Mission, The First Duty and Journey's End humanised him to a great degree. If a new series ever came out I'd like to see him as the chief engineer.
 
Wesley never felt like a real teenager like, say, Jake or Nog. He was this idealized boy-scout/prodigy/miniature adult who (insanely) served on the bridge, hung out with adults all the time, and didn't seem to have any friends his own age.

Again, compare him to Jake and Nog, who were much more believable: they hung out on the Promenade, joked around, talked about girls, and rarely if ever saved the station (at least until Nog grew up and joined Starfleet). They felt like real kids in a way Wesley didn't, at least not most of the time.

Got it in one, Greg Cox! And I confess to preferring Starfleet Nog over Teenager Nog, whom I recall being downright icky to one of the girls he was dating. (I seem to remember that Jake called him out on it, too.)
 
Regardless of whether Data needs defending, Dr. Pulaski displayed a certain kind of pompous arrogance that I can't stand in real life or in my entertainment, lol!

Speaking of arrogance: then you must hate Q, too. :devil:
 
Regardless of whether Data needs defending, Dr. Pulaski displayed a certain kind of pompous arrogance that I can't stand in real life or in my entertainment, lol!

Speaking of arrogance: then you must hate Q, too. :devil:

I don't care much for Q myself; I had quite enough of annoying bullies in my school days.

Q got his face smashed in by Sisko. I must admit, I enjoyed this. He never showed up aboard DS9 after that. ;)
 
Odo may be gruff and reserved, yes. But he's not a jerk. He's not vindictive or petty. If he's mad, he has a reason to be.

And you gotta love anyone whose first words ever spoken to his own CO are "Who the hell are you?" :lol:
 
The Pulaski thing was an interesting miscalculation. They're were obviously trying to recreate the McCoy/Spock dynamic, but missed the fact that Data is not Spock.

Spock was McCoy's equal, who gave as good as he got and who seemed to enjoy the banter in his own dry Vulcan way. But Data is Pinocchio, an guileless innocent without a snarky circuit in his body, so Pulaski just came off as a bully, picking on a clueless puppy who just wanted to get along with everyone.

Now if Pulaski and Odo had regularly exchanged barbs, or if Pulaski had been pitted against Seven of Nine . . . then she probably would have come off a lot better.

Thanks for this, Greg. Really nice observations, there.
 
Odo may be gruff and reserved, yes. But he's not a jerk. He's not vindictive or petty. If he's mad, he has a reason to be.

And you gotta love anyone whose first words ever spoken to his own CO are "Who the hell are you?" :lol:

Exactly. The opposite of "warm and friendly" is not necessarily mean. Odo is the station's constable, trying to maintain law and order in a troubled political hot spot. And he's an alien blob of jelly. He's not supposed to be touchy-feelly and everyone's pal, just tough and fair and good at his job.

DS9 is not Mayberry. And Odo is not Sheriff Andy.

But that doesn't make him mean.
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top