Picard's worst choice?

[RobertScorpio]

In TOS forum we are discussing Kirk's worst choices....but what about Picard (And I don't mean how things panned out with hugh)...what choices do you think Picard really mucked up after looking back on TNG years later?

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Arthur Frelling Dent]

Picking a relatively young, inexperienced Alaskan as his second-in-command.

 

[MrsPicard]

If you ask me, the choice to save the Crusher boy from the Edo was not right back then, is not right today and will never be right. Jean-Luc messed up an entire civilization just for one boy.
But then, that's just me. I think Jean-Luc would have another opinion. Unfortunately. *lol*

 

[Timo]

He would certainly have caused less damage to that civilization if he had sent down an armed party to blast Wesley out of the gaol.

Then again, the damage he did wasn't particularly relevant: it questioned an old sanctions system that had already done its job by eradicating all crime. While the system might have been needed back in the mists of Edo history, it was useless at the time of the E-D visit and its loss (if indeed the Edo God upheld its decision to end the practice) was not a big one.

It doesn't seem to me that Picard would really regret any of the choices he made on screen, during the seven years, except for one: not caving in to Q in "Q Who?". But he wouldn't have known of the consequences before making the choice (earlier on, defying this deity had carried no penalty), and he might also see benefits in what transpired.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JNG]

Maybe he regrets the insufferable moralizing about destroying the Crystalline Entity in "Silicon Avatar." The goddamned thing was wiping people out. Kirk didn't stop to wonder if the Doomsday Machine was a life form (in the canon, we may never know just what the heck the thing was) and if it deserved to be spared for this reason!

"The sperm whale on Earth devours millions of cuttlefish. It is not evil. It is feeding."
- Picard

Imagine Kirk defending the Doomsday Machine this way...

 

[MrsPicard]

Maybe he regrets the insufferable moralizing about destroying the Crystalline Entity in "Silicon Avatar." The goddamned thing was wiping people out. Kirk didn't stop to wonder if the Doomsday Machine was a life form (in the canon, we may never know just what the heck the thing was) and if it deserved to be spared for this reason!

"The sperm whale on Earth devours millions of cuttlefish. It is not evil. It is feeding."
- Picard

Imagine Kirk defending the Doomsday Machine this way...

The Doomsday Machine was not a life form. It was a machine/weapon, it was perhaps built by an ancient alien race (this was said in the episode by Spock I think, and I trust Spock's instincts). It was destroying entire planets and solar systems. Kirk had no other choice than to destroy it.

The Crystalline Entity, on the other hand, was clearly a life form. They knew that because Lore had been able to communicate with it. So it seemed only logical to attempt to do the same in order to try and see if there wasn't any other way of giving it what it wanted. That's exactly what TNG was about, to find other solutions than to simply blow up stuff. Which, unfortunately, didn't work out in this episode due to the female Captain Ahab they had aboard.

I see nothing wrong with either Jean-Luc's or Kirk's actions.

 

[Trekker4747]

Worst choice?

I felt he tucked tail and gave in to the Xenophobic aliens in "Clues" pretty quiickly.

 

[Whoa Nellie]

Hands down, it has to be in Nemesis when Picard allows Data to reassemble B-4 and then to make matters worse allows Data to down load his own memory into the other android. Data is second officer on the Federation's flagship. His memory certainly contains classified material! Worf should have said one word to stop his Captain, "Lore!"



This absolute travesty of writing makes Picard look like a fool who doesn't have any knowledge of mission security or of his own ship's logs!



Warmest Wishes,
Whoa Nellie

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

Worst choice?

I felt he tucked tail and gave in to the Xenophobic aliens in "Clues" pretty quiickly.

Tuck tail or be destroyed. Tough choice.

Yes, the Paxans isolation is something they're unable to keep up, particularly as the universe gets smaller (in the metaphorical sense) and more and more ships start passing in that direction. However, the Paxans certainly didn't seem open to discussing things - just destroy destroy destroy.

I'm with Whoa Nellie, the decision to reassemble B-4, particularly without even a token mention of what happened with Lore has to have been the stupidest choice Picard has ever made, giving me another reason to want to banish Nemesis from my memory.

 

[bintak]

All of the above plus the Klingon mediation, ticking off Q. etc.

Summed up. Just breathing for him was a mistake.

Worst Federation Captain ever.

 

[c0rnedfr0g]

1. Not staying in the Nexus. What a life!
2. Not kicking the Ba'ku out of that stupid planet for the greater good of the UFP.

 

[Gil T.Azell]

Making Wesley an 'Acting Ensign',
Jeez were they smoking or snorting????
It sure as hell didn't get him head from Dr. Chrusher

 

[Timo]

The Doomsday Machine was not a life form. It was a machine/weapon, it was perhaps built by an ancient alien race (this was said in the episode by Spock I think, and I trust Spock's instincts). It was destroying entire planets and solar systems. Kirk had no other choice than to destroy it.

...Except, of course, for talking with it. Neither the DDM nor the CE were organic lifeforms, that much was obvious. But both could well have met the criteria of inorganic lifeforms. Both destroyed things dear to humans, but both might have been dissuaded from doing that if proper contact were established.

Of course, it would have been difficult for Kirk to establish conventional contact, since the DDM was jamming the usual subspace comm channels. But something like the mind meld from "One of Our Planets is Missing" might have worked.

The Crystalline Entity, on the other hand, was clearly a life form. They knew that because Lore had been able to communicate with it.

Umm, they didn't, not really.

We the audience had seen that Lore had spoken to the CE, explaining his plan in detail. Our heroes would only know, by reviewing logs that Lore might have failed to erase, that Lore had sent some sort of a signal that lured in the CE.

And in the end, we have no reason to believe that the CE understood a word Lore was saying. Its behavior could have been purely instinctual, or then purely the result of an advanced intelligence that still had no idea that these exotic lifeforms were trying to communicate with it. Essentially, Lore only told the CE to do things it would probably have done naturally anyway; it's not much of a feat if you manage to command a sleeping dog to "stay"!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MrsPicard]

We the audience had seen that Lore had spoken to the CE, explaining his plan in detail. Our heroes would only know, by reviewing logs that Lore might have failed to erase, that Lore had sent some sort of a signal that lured in the CE.

Data saw Lore communicating with the Crystalline Entity in the cargo bay at the end of the episode. And Wesley saw it, too. So I guess they did know that it can at least be reasoned with in some way when they came across it again.

Lore made it wait with its attack on the Enterprise, and he told it about his plan in advance, he told it that he would identify himself as Data and all. I would say that understanding such a plan requires quite a bit of intelligence... maybe Lore had found a way to modify his messages so that they were translated into the CE's language (how he did that is unknown to the crew, otherwise they would've tried it themselves, I guess). It still looks like a life form to me. And one that is able to communicate. Therefore I don't think it was wrong of Jean-Luc to try to talk to it...

 

[Timo]

Lore made it wait with its attack on the Enterprise, and he told it about his plan in advance, he told it that he would identify himself as Data and all. I would say that understanding such a plan requires quite a bit of intelligence...

But there's no clear sign that the CE understood the plan. It could be sheer coincidence that its fruitless attacks ceased roughly at the time when Lore hailed it. Or then hearing a familiar voice caused the primitive mind of this stupid beast to start some sort of an unfathomable process that had nothing to do with the "plan".

At the end of the episode, Lore is transported to space. This implies that shields were down - presumably Wesley dropped them in order to perform the transport. The plan was for the CE to attack at that time. Instead, it retreated. Clearly, there was at least a major misunderstanding there, if not a complete lack of understanding!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[MrsPicard]

At the end of the episode, Lore is transported to space. This implies that shields were down - presumably Wesley dropped them in order to perform the transport. The plan was for the CE to attack at that time. Instead, it retreated. Clearly, there was at least a major misunderstanding there, if not a complete lack of understanding!

Or the writers forgot about the "no beaming while shields are up" - fact... again. Wouldn't be the first time!

No, seriously, I've indeed always wondered why the CE retreated instead of attacking. Maybe it had already eaten or something and wasn't that hungry. Or yes, maybe it hadn't understoond completely what Lore was trying to tell it. Or maybe it was confused because Lore was suddenly gone (I'm not sure if it noticed him there in space)... but yes, I admit that it is possible that there was some misunderstanding. *nod*

 

[jgdst]

Hands down, it has to be in Nemesis when Picard allows Data to reassemble B-4 and then to make matters worse allows Data to down load his own memory into the other android. Data is second officer on the Federation's flagship. His memory certainly contains classified material! Worf should have said one word to stop his Captain, "Lore!"



This absolute travesty of writing makes Picard look like a fool who doesn't have any knowledge of mission security or of his own ship's logs!

This is AFTER he's already completely ignored and broken the Prime Directive to search for the conveniently and rather unlikely placed android. And BEFORE he tries to kill half the crew of the E-E by ramming the Scimitar, then beaming himself over on some ill conceived suicide mission...

Kirk saved the entire Federation using time travelling whales and got a demotion for his troubles... somehow, the universe doesn't seem fair, does it?

[Did no-one proof-read the Nemesis script before shooting? DIDN'T THEY?! Oh the whole world has run mad! Maybe the next TNG film will have a delusional Picard rocking and drooling in the Captain's chair ordering the crew to feed energy to every space station they see, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL LIFE FORMS DAMMIT!]

 

[Good Will Riker]

Picking a relatively young, inexperienced Alaskan as his second-in-command.

 

[Arthur Frelling Dent]

Picking a relatively young, inexperienced Alaskan as his second-in-command.

At least one person got it.

 

[Red Ranger]

Even though I defended his actions in a thread months ago, I have to say that not planting the pernicious program in Hugh's system in I, Borg, in order to disrupt the Borg's collective function. Picard took a gamble that Hugh's newfound individuality would change the Borg. As we saw, several Borg became more violent, and perhaps, more prone to manipulation by Lore, in Descent, Pts. I & II. -- RR