The Admiral dilemma...

[TV's Frank]

Forgive me for covering a topic which I know has been discussed elsewhere, but is it just me or in Trek, when you get promoted to the rank of Admiral, your only two choices from that point forward is either to "Go spineless" or "Go insane"? I think part of the reason for this is that since our heroes and protaganists in Trek tend to be Captains, those in the higher ranks often need to be dramatic, antagonistic foils, a wall our hero ends up hitting and having to surmount. Obviously this rule in drama plays out in other genres in which hero stands against an authority figure, I just wonder what are the positive examples of higher rank officials in Trekdom? It certainly purports a theory that the higher the rank, the less likeable a character becomes!

 

[The Wormhole]

Admiral Ross was aactually a pretty decent guy, Section 31 thing aside.

 

[TV's Frank]

True, I can see that and I forgot about his character, who was really pretty decent during the latter half of DS9.

 

[Therin of Andor]

TV's Frank said:
It certainly purports a theory that the higher the rank, the less likeable a character becomes!

But how often is that true in real life? If it's a "them & us" mentality, the bosses are always going to be perceived as the bad guys by some/many of those who must obey the rules. So principals of schools, company chairmen, police commissioners, admirals, etc are going to be painted as insane or power hungry, whether there's any truth in the allegation or not.

Similarly, put all the principals in the same room and they'll find reasons to claim that the district inspector is the insane one. Put all the district inspectors in the same room and they'll find reasons to claim that the director-general is wacko. Human nature.

 

[Kegek]

You see, this is why Picard remained a Captain while Janeway got promoted.

 

[HRHTheKING]

Until Ross came along, Admirals were always mad.

There were a few exceptions, but for the most part, Admirals were nuts.

 

[Vanyel]

Admiral Nechayev, was stubborn and heavy handed; she was neither insane or spineless.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

I liked Nechayev. She sent Picard & company on that mission to destroy the Cardassian metagenic weapon, but she showed genuine concern for their well-being. She may have been a walking freezer unit, but once she was served obscure cookies, minor thawing set in.

 

[Vanyel]

Also Admiral J.P. Hanson, he too was neither insane or spineless. He was brave enough to lead a fleet against a Borg cube knowing that that "either we'll survive or they will" (or something like that).

 

[Jono]

Most of the Admirals we saw seemed okay, though we only got to see them for about 5 minutes while they get out orders. But if you had an Admiral on for more then 5 minutes then there was a very good chance they would be a douche.

 

[Harry Palmer]

The Wormhole said:
Admiral Ross was aactually a pretty decent guy, Section 31 thing aside.

Actually the 31 thing was a plus. Advancing the suborned head of the Tal Shiar to second in command of the Romulan Empire was a good thing.

 

[C.E. Evans]

TV's Frank said:
It certainly purports a theory that the higher the rank, the less likeable a character becomes!

It's us versus "The Man" syndrome, I tell ya!

But to me, there's also correleation between admirals who command "the troops" in the field and those that sit behind a desk and become mired in bureaucracy and frequently murky politics. The latter seem to only see the big picture and often lose sight of what's really important, IMO...

 

[Sci]

PrinceAlbert said:

The Wormhole said:
Admiral Ross was aactually a pretty decent guy, Section 31 thing aside.

Actually the 31 thing was a plus. Advancing the suborned head of the Tal Shiar to second in command of the Romulan Empire was a good thing.

Koval wasn't made second in command of the Empire, he was just made a member of the Continuing Committee. And I think it was bloody stupid to end the life of a Romulan who had been friendly to the Federation for the sake of an operative whose loyalties were by definition questionable.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Admiral Forrest (ENT) was cool.

Which is a foregone conclusion for any character played by The Man himself, Vaughn Armstrong.

And Nechayev...oh lordy, was she ever teh hotness...I bet she is absolutely white-hot in the sack.

 

[Vanyel]

Admiral Paris wasn't insane either nor did he seem spineless.

 

[Dane_Whitman]

Before Voyager's Alpha Quadrant episodes Admiral Paris was repeatedly hinted to be a tyrant who gave little Tom a really hard time! Guess that particular Admiral redeemed himself on the rebound.

 

[Kegek]

Basically, Admiral Paris was evil until he was recast.

 

[anti-matter]

Off hand I thought the vast majority of SF Admiral were competent ... Nechayev was one of my favs. Remember when she scolded Pickard for not pulling the plug on the Borg?

 

[TV's Frank]

I guess I stand corrected on my generalizations of Trek Admirals! I shoulda started picking on those snot-nosed ensigns instead...

 

[doubleohfive]

Who was the dickwad Admiral who used Ro to cover up his ethnic cleansing of the Bajorans?

And also, there was Admiral Pressman who was a major tool.

I liked Admiral Nakamura.

Babaganoosh said:
And Nechayev...oh lordy, was she ever teh hotness...I bet she is absolutely white-hot in the sack.

I guess you'll never know.