The Captain Edward Jellico Appreciation Society Thread!
- Thread starter Philip Guyott
- Start date
I liked Jellico, and I also like, that despite being presented as kind of an antagonist to the crew, he was right in his actions and methods. The only thing I didn't like was that 1) Riker was acting like a child and 2) the scene that had Jellico swallowing some of his pride when asking Riker to pilot the ship. He should have ordered him to pilot it, and Riker should have been happy to do it if it meant helping Starfleet and possibly Picard.
NOT IN THIS FORUM!
I do agree Riker was being childish in that scene, given the fact that this was likely the only way to end this conflict & possibly save Picard. By angling for Alpha status here against Jellico, it only serves to illustrate how selfish & petty he was being, basically proving how right Jellico was about him. However, at this point, Riker has been relieved of duty. I'm not sure how that works in Starfleet, but I imagine it's not really practical to assume he can still order him about like an officer in active service. I assume he has to reinstate him somehow, but I could be wrong
The thing that gets me is how little recognition Jellico gets in this scene by critics of his methods. Everyone always gripes about how he doesn't think of anyone but himself, how he's more consumed by his egomaniacal bossiness than the welfare of the crew & mission, & how he has no regard for the crew's perspective whatsoever.
However, in this scene we see him deliberately go to Riker, hat in hand, knowing full well he may have to swallow pride, eat crow, & lose face, but doing it anyway, because it's the best hope for the success of the mission... And how did he come to the conclusion that Riker was his best chance? Geordi told him. That how. He took Geordi's recommendation, to use the guy he'd had nothing but conflict with the entire time. Sounds to me like he valued Geordi's opinion right then, above his own biases toward Riker
If I somehow find myself in Riker's place, having been fired by someone & they go out of their way to take a blow to their pride for the sake of the team & mission, by dropping ranks & letting me put all the cards on the table. I actually think that's worth mentioning
I'd say "It took a lot of guts to come back to me after our fallout. Many men wouldn't, & that tells me you might be a man of good character after all, despite our differences"
I'd want to do likewise & prove to that man that I'm not the man he thought I was either. He wouldn't have to ask. I'd not only be chomping at the bit to get into the game, I'd be looking show what I'm made of. I wouldn't need to shit all over the man & serve him up a healthy dose of humble pie, like Riker does. What is gained by that? The only other thing I'd say is "When do we go?"
Bro code. lol
no, he's not. he joked with Geordi, joked with Deanna about his children. It's that the Enterprise crew were pussies, and they couldn't handle it. Sorry, they are Starfleet officers. they need to handle the tough shit. they are there to defend the Federation.
Imagine a US Marine thinking "those evil Nazis firing machine guns at me on Utah beach, I didn't deserve this!" it's part of the territory. suck it up. Riker and co. had to suck it up.
A good Captain.
Shitty captains don't sign peace treaties with cardassians, nor are highly respected.
his command style was different doesn't make him "wrong".
haha..so you're a baby then. in a critical situation, there isn't always the chance to make friends. It's how militaries work.
I don't think he necessarily was a dick either. Based on the one situation we see him in, many people assume he was a dick, but you're taking one extreme situation as evidence of his entire nature. It seems unlikely that a person as unreasonable as people think Jellico is, would somehow be a successful, and respected career captain. I imagine the crew of the Cairo having an entirely different opinion of the man
If you took Picard's behavior in Lower Decks out of context, people might think him an incredibly dickish captain too. What would Picard do if he was assigned to a ship that... #1 considered themselves the best in Starfleet, #2 developed an unbreakable bond with their previous captain, #3, didn't agree with the decision to replace said captain, & #4 didn't completely understand the demands of the mission the way he did before coming aboard?
Add to that an almost nonexistent timetable, & even Picard would have to assume some resistance, assume that any major changes he might have to make would be unwelcome, assume the possibility of having to reassign personnel that couldn't adjust, and expect right from the get go that he'd be received unfavorably. In that scenario, taking what we know of Picard's personality, as a reclusive, staunch, stoic, conservative, somewhat uptight man, and even pompous at times, how do you think he might go about this mission? Isn't it possible that he might do the very thing Jellico did, considering he didn't have time to appeal to the new crew on a personal level?
He too might just have to count on the command code to get the job done. In the end, sometimes that's all you've got to go on. It's why the episode is called CHAIN of command. It's the very reason that term exists. It can be an ugly burden, and sometimes the only thing that holds you together. It exists specifically for this reason. The mission goes on, whether you have the luxury of knowing your fellow officers personally or not. You trust the code
If you took Picard's behavior in Lower Decks out of context, people might think him an incredibly dickish captain too. What would Picard do if he was assigned to a ship that... #1 considered themselves the best in Starfleet, #2 developed an unbreakable bond with their previous captain, #3, didn't agree with the decision to replace said captain, & #4 didn't completely understand the demands of the mission the way he did before coming aboard?
Add to that an almost nonexistent timetable, & even Picard would have to assume some resistance, assume that any major changes he might have to make would be unwelcome, assume the possibility of having to reassign personnel that couldn't adjust, and expect right from the get go that he'd be received unfavorably. In that scenario, taking what we know of Picard's personality, as a reclusive, staunch, stoic, conservative, somewhat uptight man, and even pompous at times, how do you think he might go about this mission? Isn't it possible that he might do the very thing Jellico did, considering he didn't have time to appeal to the new crew on a personal level?
He too might just have to count on the command code to get the job done. In the end, sometimes that's all you've got to go on. It's why the episode is called CHAIN of command. It's the very reason that term exists. It can be an ugly burden, and sometimes the only thing that holds you together. It exists specifically for this reason. The mission goes on, whether you have the luxury of knowing your fellow officers personally or not. You trust the code
This. I believe it's pretty dim to critique him. it was a crisis situation, and the best fo the best should understand that.
Ironically, my personal perspective on the episode is that Picard & Jellico could potentially be almost exactly the same as one another, on a personal level (Excepting Jellico is a family man) It's the scenario that creates the conflict, & even Picard might have to behave similarly in the same spot. Perhaps all good captains would
I agree. The crew were wrong here.
If he had better posture he would've come off as less of a douche.
are you talking about Riker or Jellico?
Jellico. The man slouched.are you talking about Riker or Jellico?
And Riker didn't?
To be fair, Riker never really slouched, he mostly lurched, but that it is equally douchy was the gist of my jab. lol
But no doubt Jellico had him some Nosferatu posture going on
I just watched the 2-part episode "Chain of Command" the other day, great episode. I was wondering what everyone thought of Jelico. The first time I watched the episode I remember thinking he was a jerk. But after watching it a few times I actually think he's not that bad. He certainly isn't the leader that Picard is and I can definitely see some people disliking him or not even wanting to serve with him (ie Riker). But despite being rough around the edges I don't think he's that bad of a Captain. In fact I think Riker may have crossed the line with what he did. Clearly Jelico knew how to deal with the Cardassians and had a plan, or at least good instincts about how that was going to play out. I'm not sure he ever really intended to let Picard die as Riker thought he was.
He is a good Captain, Riker was being a jerk cos Papa Picard wasn't home
I say this every time this question comes up. I will continue to say it until everyone agrees with me:
Jellico is THE MAN.
He took the ship to war, and ran it like a WARship, not a debating society.
He didn't waste any energy asking his subordinates "Is that okay with you?" when he ordered something done.
He made Troi change out of the damn cleavage bearing feety pajamas and into an actual uniform.
Jellico is THE MAN.
(Glad I'm in this thread now. I'm going to go back and like everybody who gave THE MAN his props.)
Jellico is THE MAN.
He took the ship to war, and ran it like a WARship, not a debating society.
He didn't waste any energy asking his subordinates "Is that okay with you?" when he ordered something done.
He made Troi change out of the damn cleavage bearing feety pajamas and into an actual uniform.
Jellico is THE MAN.
(Glad I'm in this thread now. I'm going to go back and like everybody who gave THE MAN his props.)
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I also am a fan of Jellico. He's a different kind of leader for a different kind of situation than Picard. It's important to be able to adapt to and work with different leadership styles. Jellico was a very realistic and effective commander. The Enterprise crew did not behave professionally when he was in command, especially given the situation they were in.
I agree...he was THE MAN.
I agree...he was THE MAN.
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