Did Picard seem weak at times?

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I was watching some of my DVDs while Cable was out and something struck me. It wasn't really a sudden thing, it's always been there for me but I thought I'd get other's opinions on this.

 

THe episode I was watching last night was "In Theory". In it the Enterprise is in danger because of spatial anomalies and the Enterprise needs to have a shuttle pod fly out ahead of it to help detect them in tile for course corrections.

 

As Riker is telling Picard that he will head to the shuttle bay to prepare to pilot the shuttle pod Picard stops him to say that He will pilot the pod himself. Riker protests and Picard must defend the decision to pilot the shuttle himself. It was a small scene and it wasn't the first of it's kind on TNG.

 

To me the way Picard must "defend" his decision makes him look "weak". If it was Kirk, Sisko or Archer they would say something to the effect of "this is my decision and that's final" then head to the turbo lift and be on to the task at hand. They (the writers) made Picard "justify" himself more then they should have IMO.

 

Did anyone else notice this during the series?

[Goose 0]

Stardate:213734.9

 

 

 

I kinda thought the same thing.Of course Picard didnt really have the....gusto that Kirk,Sisko,or Archer has.Also in TNG Picard was in a situation were he had to be protected more i guess than those three.What i mean is that in Archers and Kirks time Captians were as ummmm babied as they are in the TNG era.True Sisko is also around that era but for half of the series they were at war and it also was a space station not a ship.So they had more oppurtunites to take risks without anybody careing.

 

Does that make sense??Im reading it over and im not sure if it does :blink:

[nik 0]

I used to think of Picard as sort of a wimp compared to Kirk, but now I think of

him as a bit more of a diplomat instead. After watching how he held up against the

Borg and the Cardassians, it's hard to say he's weak. I think he's just a bit more

mellow than someone like Kirk. However, it would have been nice to see him lose

his temper a bit more often like he did in FC. A few more double-fisted shots and some

flying kicks would have been cool, too......

[KayTroi 0]

I have noticed this from time to time. Picard is more of a diplomat compared to the other Captains in Star Trek. For one thing he is older and he isn't quick to jump to action without thinking the situation through first. I agree that some situations require that you act first and think about it later.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

This didn't make Picard weak in any way, shape, or form. Kirk, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer didn't have an over-protective 1st officer. Riker was allways trying to keep Picard out of harm's way, and I believe that is why Picard was trying to justify his decission, thinking Riker might try to stop him or something.

[Mr.Picard 12]

I don't think it makes him weak to tell Riker he will pilot the shuttle. It is a fact that the first officer is going on away missions and the captain has to stay on the bridge.

In ENT/TOS era the captain led the away teams and was free to go wherever he wanted to.

So if Jean-Luc wants to do an away mission by himself he has to tell this to his first officer. Of course, he is not forced to tell why, he is also not forced to explain his decision.

 

But I think it makes him stronger, not weaker. He defends his decision. I see it more as "Givin reasons why going to pilot the shuttle" not as "havin an unnecessary discussion about my decisions with the first officer". And that is why he is a good captain: He does not just say: "I'll do this and this is an order!" , he says "I will do this because..." (there is no doubt that he WILL do the mission or whatever, he just explains why so that no one can tell him he was doing something without reasoning)

 

So it makes him stronger and even more respectable for his crew, (and for me ) I think.

 

 

Mrs. Captain Picard

[captainfreeman 0]

I don't feel that necessarily made Picard weak.Remember,Riker is known for getting in the way of his commanding officers when they place themselves in a position of extreme risk(Captain DeSoto,USS Hood,for example).Also,being a bit more cerebral,Picard may have felt a need to explain his decision to his exec'.That's just the way he is.I have no doubt,if Riker would have pressed the issue,Picard would have shut him down in short order.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I don't feel that necessarily made Picard weak.Remember,Riker is known for getting in the way of his commanding officers when they place themselves in a position of extreme risk(Captain DeSoto,USS Hood,for example).Also,being a bit more cerebral,Picard may have felt a need to explain his decision to his exec'.That's just the way he is.I have no doubt,if Riker would have pressed the issue,Picard would have shut him down in short order.

I don't think he was weak, but I do think that if this was a real life situation the Captain of the ship would never try to justify himself in front of his crew. Maybe inside his ready room, but not in front of the crew. It could breed a sense of weakness I think.

 

I think this was a fault of the writers, it was something that happened on a number of occasions and I remember back when the show was in its first run one of the complaints of Trek fans was that Picard was "weak" where Kirk was "strong".

[Guest Viper]

Remember when Picard was telling Riker why he chose him as first officer without ever meeting him. He said he had read a report that stated Riker had stopped his Captian from going on an away mission that could have been dangerous, it was then that Picard know he had his number one and that he expected Riker to continue to do the same.