Riker's attitude
- Thread starter Lt. Tyler
- Start date
Jellico had to eat a nice shit sandwich at the end and like its taste too. Riker won that clash of wills bigtime because Jellico needed him more than he wanted him relieved of duty.
Edward Jelico was a despicable team dynamic destroyer and while that might succeed, I'd suggest that that sort of leadership style is far more likely to lead to lackluster results at best, disastrous results at worst; he thought people could be shuffled around into plug and play slots like so many computer cards, never allowing for individual strengths and intangible gains in reaction time and on-the-ground decisions from personnel teams in position. And in a complex power balance game with the Cardassians, as opposed to a simple planetary survey (which, however, could be a disaster too), lackluster is a loser nearly as bad as disaster. Data or Geordi could have done the job--maybe. For surety he needed Riker and had to come begging.
Mind you, I thought Ronny Cox was fantastic. As acting Cox's Jellico was Trek gold and can join William Windom and Morgan Woodward in the pantheon of great Trek guest star captains.
Jellico falls under the term "Micro-manager" something I personally despise and is the downfall of most supervisors. Nothing hurts a teams performance when a so called leader thinks and acts that way. Riker is his 1st officer and his role is to stand up to a Commanding Officer who's out of line and is refusing to accept alternatives... alternatives which wont sacrifice a person's life.
IMO, I don't think DATA would be a good 1st officer, and DEFINITELY not Worf, Jellico should've promoted someone level headed and very human like LaForge. Who ever said a 1st officer can't be also Chief Engineer? The choice of Data presented what kind of person he was and it was good but when he asked for advice, he went to Georgi.
The good thing which came out of the episodes was to finally have Troi wearing a starfleet uniform again, altho I questioned her rank, but I would've preferred her wearing a dress. Believe it or not, guys, dresses look great on women, and it's professional. Trust me, I know.
IMO, I don't think DATA would be a good 1st officer, and DEFINITELY not Worf, Jellico should've promoted someone level headed and very human like LaForge. Who ever said a 1st officer can't be also Chief Engineer? The choice of Data presented what kind of person he was and it was good but when he asked for advice, he went to Georgi.
The good thing which came out of the episodes was to finally have Troi wearing a starfleet uniform again, altho I questioned her rank, but I would've preferred her wearing a dress. Believe it or not, guys, dresses look great on women, and it's professional. Trust me, I know.
It's a wonder Jellico didn't go with LaForge. The whole Riker is somehow uniquely qualified by some vague criteria that can only be articulated by innuendo and a wink came across as a contrived attempt to stage the scene with Jellico and his gritted teeth. Glad the scene itself was done of course.
But anyway, Jellico is too abrasive but the D crew are too complacent as well and given the unique urgency of the particular crisis, it was going to kick off on D at some point. I wonder if the kind of camaraderie seen on D.is unique. Would've Jellicoes approach born more fruit on a typical Starfleet ship? Jellico did get the job done on D at the end of the day.
Yes he was... Picard would have reamed him for doing the same things that he did under Jellico.
I disagree. Jellico put aside his feelings towards Riker to have the best chance of getting his mission accomplished and preventing a war. Jellico was proved right in the end about the Cardassians, who played Riker like a fiddle in regards to the circumstances of Picard's "mission."
I think the weight of the mission handed Jellico on short notice (apparently), given the price of failure, led him to be a bit more gruff with the crew than he might otherwise been. Still, he didn't come off as an ass to me, but rather merely as a benevolent taskmaster.
Riker spends much of these episodes in a kinda daze and then goes bananas in the observation room. He's much more composed in Times Arrow II where he relents in his desire to go after Picard and Data.
Riker also put aside any ill feelings for the sake of the mission. He could have let Jellico twist in the wind. So that's a wash. But it's Jellico who had to come begging and so lost the pissing contest, having to reinstate Riker to duty, and good grief look at the sour look on his face when Riker says "you're welcome." Oh yeah, that's Mr. Gracious.
Great point. I'm surprised the senior staff didn't have much backbone to stand up to Jellico trying to sacrifice Capt. Picard's life for his own means. But that's a plot issue, the main story was about the use and effects of Stockholm syndrome, Picard had to battle mind games with the Cardassian. This was another element about the race which indicates they were like the British Empire than the Nazi's. The Cardassians were a fascinating culture.
It would have helped if we could see what Jellico's captaincy on the Cairo was like. That crew probably appreciated him a lot more than those whiners on the Enterprise (who rejected Jellico for one reason alone: because he wasn't Picard) ever could.
I don't see how a contrast between the crew of the Enterprise and the Cairo would help the story or the plots in anyway.
There was no way Riker was going to refuse Jellico's "request". The mission was a big one and Riker would've been a lunatic to refuse it on the back of a personal grudge. The fact is, If the Cardassians had occupied those sectors, there'd be hell to pay for both of them. You gotta have the mission at the forefront of your mind, settling personal grudges with the captain at a crucial time doesn't put Riker in a good light, no matter how 'drill sergeanty' the Captain maybe.
Riker started off in a daze, Jellico compounded things by being an inflexible bull in a china shop. Neither men covered themselves in glory and it was damn lucky they were able to pull the iron from the fire in the end.
Riker started off in a daze, Jellico compounded things by being an inflexible bull in a china shop. Neither men covered themselves in glory and it was damn lucky they were able to pull the iron from the fire in the end.
It would help dispel the myth that Jellico is somehow inherently a bad captain. I'm sure that his regular crew on the Cairo, who had presumably served with him for many years and were used to his command style, would paint a very different picture of him than the Enterprise crew did.
The subtext with Jellico is that 1. he's flattered to be on a Galaxy class ship 2. he's impressed by the gravity of the mission.
Not that he's out-of-character on D precisely - but what we witness with him on D is probably an exaggerated version of what would otherwise be classic Jellico. In short, he over compensates.
Not that he's out-of-character on D precisely - but what we witness with him on D is probably an exaggerated version of what would otherwise be classic Jellico. In short, he over compensates.
Maybe because Jellico was trying to prefend a war?
And the whole crew except Data where behaving like childeren didn't make it any easier.
And the whole crew except Data where behaving like childeren didn't make it any easier.
True. Dispite their mutual dislike, in the end both behaved as professionals, as we would expect Starfleet officers to act.
I remember it now. In the first season he wanted most of all to "Captain A Starship" even at the cost of his relationship with Deanna. But towards the end of the third season he just won't leave. I guess his new ship would never be as comfort able as The Enterprise.
Part of the issue is that some episodes and generations made the hint that he stayed simply because of loyalty to picard and that he was just to afraid to take the center chair. And the suggestion was made in Nemesis that his choice to become captain was made by star fleet command without his input.
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