Why were the crew dismissive of Admiral Nechayev?

[indolover]

It seemed every time she came aboard, they also got rubbed the wrong way by her.

Surely the best of the best of all of Starfleet should realise that people are different, and that some people are more difficult than others. To be fair though, Picard did come around later in the series, and offered her canopies.

It seemed though that even in DS9, Nechayev rubbed off Sisko the wrong way too, and when dealing with the Cardassians. Was she somehow assigned by Starfleet Command to the Cardassian border?

 

[MikeH92467]

It seemed every time she came aboard, they also got rubbed the wrong way by her.

Surely the best of the best of all of Starfleet should realise that people are different, and that some people are more difficult than others. To be fair though, Picard did come around later in the series, and offered her canopies.

It seemed though that even in DS9, Nechayev rubbed off Sisko the wrong way too, and when dealing with the Cardassians. Was she somehow assigned by Starfleet Command to the Cardassian border?

It looks to me like Nechayev made her bones by taking the tough, dirty jobs that no one wanted and in the process got a reputation as a total bitch. Definite case of a 24th century show with a 20th century writing staff. It's hard for me to believe that the old sexist double standard of a male being "tough and demanding" while a woman with a similar personality being labeled a "bitch" would stand up in a society as near-Utopian as TNG and even DS9, but I think that's as close to an answer as possible. Nechayev did make it clear to Picard that she did not agree with (indeed fought tooth and nail) the relocation of the settlers but when the vote went against her she decided for herself that there was no better solution and there was no better than herself to oversee the operation.

Picard's approach to making peace with her I did think was quite well done. Acknowledging differences, but also showing proper respect for a dedicated and competent superior officer without resorting to abject brown nosing.

 

[Anwar]

Eh, the "Unliked Superior Officer" thing has always been there in Trek. TOS had them too.

It's not like she was actually corrupt or evil like the other MALE Admirals we saw.

 

[Myasishchev]

It's hard for me to believe that the old sexist double standard of a male being "tough and demanding" while a woman with a similar personality being labeled a "bitch" would stand up in a society as near-Utopian as TNG and even DS9, but I think that's as close to an answer as possible.

I dunno, maybe they just label the males the same way.

It's certainly how they treated Jellico.

But in Nechayev's case, it was probably because she was a genocidal maniac, as well as being personally unlikeable.

 

[Vanyel]

Weeeelllllllll
Nechayev's a bi...

You get it.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

How exactly were they dismissive of her? She came and gave orders, and those orders were followed. Hell, on one occasion, Picard made her her favorite dish for one of their meetings. That doesn't seem dismissive to me.

Her first appearance was 'Chain of Command,' if anyone on board the Enterprise expressed some dislike of her, it might have had something to do with her having foisted Jellico on them. Yeah, she was a strict character, but consider the area of space she was apparently in command of - right on the edge of first the Cardassian border and then the DMZ. Whatever goes wrong there would probably fall on her head, she'd want to make sure things run smoothly out there.

Frankly, the worst Nechayev treatment got was on DS9, when Sisko barged into her quarters and verbally tore her head off, and that was just a projection created by the Dominion doing wildly insane things, causing her to deserve her treatment.

 

[DonIago]

Nechayev started out as a character I hated during her first apperances, then came around to liking in later TNG, then hated in DS9 (granted it wasn't actually her), then liked/hated in the TNG novels.

In other words, I think probably exactly what the writers wanted me to think.

I don't think she's a bi-, though she certainly comes -off- as one at times...which is probably what she intends. I think a lot of people take issue with her because of her obvious friction with Picard and Sisko, but I tend to understand where she was coming from in those cases. At worst, I hate her argument that Picard should have returned Hugh to the Borg with the virus, but I can understand her position. And even if she didn't necessarily agree with the virus, she's talking to a man she has a difficult history with...she's not going to admit her doubts to him.

Kind of the Kai Winn of Starfleet I suppose, except (thankfully) much less driven by ambition.

 

[Hober Mallow]

Nechayev did make it clear to Picard that she did not agree with (indeed fought tooth and nail) the relocation of the settlers but when the vote went against her she decided for herself that there was no better solution and there was no better than herself to oversee the operation.

Are we talking about the series or "Insurrection?"

 

[Praxius]

As I see her, I don't see her in some sexist manner that she was a bitch.... but more often then not, she was a bitch, even when dealing with the copy-O'Brien.

Now when I refer to her as a bitch, I refer to her in an equal fashion as I saw most other Admirals in Star Trek, male or female.... in that it seemed in most of the ST episodes of TNG and DS9, most Admirals were way out of touch of a situation and those involved and made their orders and views from behind a desk. There were more male admirals then female admirals that fit into this criteria..... and I could personally count on one hand the amount of admirals in both TNG and DS9 that I actually liked.

As I saw it, Admirals should be listening and taking into account the experiences and views of the Captains & Commanders out in the front lines of a situation who know directly what's going on..... but the Admirals I consider as Bitches & ArsePuckers were those who seemed to never give a damn about the views and knowledge of those out in the front lines and their suggestions and those Admirals seem to have this superiority complex of very rarely changing their views even when proven wrong because they fear they may lose their position or something.... I have no idea what the reasons were for each.... but they always had this "This is how I see it, my view is right, do as I say." attitude, even when provided with new information and general concern from those under their command.

She fell into this category for me. She did do a few good things here and there and I'm sure she's a great person outside of the uniform, but as it goes for an Admiral, her, like others I seen, fit the above description I just provided.

In other words, the extra gold around her neck seemed to cloud her judgment sometimes, like most Admirals on TNG and DS9.

 

[Volvic]

Nechayev was actually one of my favourite admirals. The actress that played her always did a great job in playing a superb foil, which essentially what the majority of the admirals seemed to be.

At the moment I can't seem to recall one that I liked.

 

[Praxius]

Nechayev was actually one of my favourite admirals. The actress that played her always did a great job in playing a superb foil, which essentially what the majority of the admirals seemed to be.

At the moment I can't seem to recall one that I liked.

There were a select few I liked... I also can't seem to recall many, nor can I find a full list of admirals.... but one I always liked was the Admiral that was always popping in on DS9 in the later seasons, helping Sisko and crew with the war.... in fact he was also the one who married Sisko to Yates.... also was involved in Section 31..... William Ross, that's the guy.

 

[DonIago]

Ross was another mixed one though, given his involvement with 31 and his initial response to the Derna situation at the beginning of the final season. He wasn't a male bee-atch or anything, but it did erode my respect for him.

 

[Picard Alpha]

At the moment I can't seem to recall one that I liked.

I always liked Admiral Kirk ...Oh and Admiral Paris, that dude who mistook Nick Locarno as his son! Either that or he had multiple sons with different mistresses, ah snap!

 

[Praxius]

Ross was another mixed one though, given his involvement with 31 and his initial response to the Derna situation at the beginning of the final season. He wasn't a male bee-atch or anything, but it did erode my respect for him.

Well I think for me, he was overall a pretty good guy.... sure he got sucked into the Section 31 stuff (I kinda liked the idea of 31 myself) and he may have had a conflict here or there.... all of the main characters in the show that we got to know very well through seven seasons all went through similar moral issues that we excuse away for the most part, because we seen more of the good things they have done.

Some examples would be Bashir's lying about his Genetics.... Sisko and Garak pulling the Romulans into the war.... Jadzia going off with the Klingons in their revenge.... Odo Ka'noodling with the Female Changling while the station was in occupation and his friends were in trouble..... O'Brian's prejudice against the Cardie-Spoon Heads......

If we never encountered these characters often in the show and then we're exposed to these examples of them, many might change their views of them.

But with Ross, compared to other Admirals through TNG/DS9, he stuck around, he was on the front lines, he'd sit and listen to what the crew had to say and would rarely pull rank to shut them up and do as he commands like other Admirals who rarely listen at all and think they're right all the time..... He married Sisko and Yates..... in a nut shell.... he was more involved.

Compared to Nechayev, he was more personal, one could relate to him and his position better and he was grounded.

Added:

Oh and in regards to the issue between the Bajorans and Romulans, Ross was put in a pretty tough spot where two allies were pulling him in two different directions. The Federation wanted Bajor in the Federation, but at the time, they needed the Romulans more because of the War and they couldn't lose them as an ally.... yet he also didn't want to screw over the relations buildup that Sisko worked on for the past 6-7 years.... as I saw it, he sorta did the Prime Directive thing and sat back to let the Romulans and Bajorans sort their crap out.... when in the end, he knew he had to pull the plug on this situation and forced the Romulans to turn back, thus he backed Kira and the Bajorans in the end.

If I was in that situation, it wouldn't be any easier for me I bet.

 

[Anwar]

There have been other good admirals. Admiral Quinn from TNG S1, Admiral Hanson, Admiral Chekote was alright considering how corrupt and evil most Trek Admirals tend to be.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

There have been other good admirals. Admiral Quinn from TNG S1, Admiral Hanson, Admiral Chekote was alright considering how corrupt and evil most Trek Admirals tend to be.

Admiral Hanson was foolish. He refused to even acknowledge the possibility that Picard's knowledge was going to be used by the Borg against the fleet and basically led the forty ships at Wolf 359 into a slaughter because of it. The Enterprise crew tried to warn him about this and he just waved them off with a non sequitor story about Picard running the marathon, saying that he was dead, not a Borg captive and source of knowledge. Frankly, I wouldn't put him in any category of decent admirals.

 

[Vanyel]

There have been other good admirals. Admiral Quinn from TNG S1, Admiral Hanson, Admiral Chekote was alright considering how corrupt and evil most Trek Admirals tend to be.

Admiral Hanson was foolish. He refused to even acknowledge the possibility that Picard's knowledge was going to be used by the Borg against the fleet and basically led the forty ships at Wolf 359 into a slaughter because of it. The Enterprise crew tried to warn him about this and he just waved them off with a non sequitor story about Picard running the marathon, saying that he was dead, not a Borg captive and source of knowledge. Frankly, I wouldn't put him in any category of decent admirals.

I took his words to mean that he was setting the official line that Picard would not be held responsible for the Borg attack. He already knew that standard Federation weapons were useless against the Borg and that even with 40 Starships and some Klingon ships they only had a small chance of stopping the Borg. Riker took the chance that getting Picard back would help them stop the Borg. Had Data started working on Picard 5 seconds later, Riker would have rammed the Enterprise into the Borg

 

[Anwar]

Hanson said that he couldn't believe Picard would voluntarily aid the Borg.

And he was right.

 

[Pauln6]

Nechayev rocked! She took on the role of the unreasonable superior and delivered it with ice cool authority. The fact that she didn't agree with some of the orders handed down from above and still carried out those orders with the same level of authority raised her above many Trek characters in my view.

 

[DarthPipes]

I don't remember a lot about Nechayev character except disliking the way she made her appearance in Chain of Command, Part I. She marched into Picard's ready room and told him he was no longer in command of the Enterprise? Wonderful tact there, Admiral? It would be one thing if he was being permanently replaced but this was only a temporary assignment. Thought the whole way of doing it was completely overkill and being snippy for no reason. Being in charge means you don't have to explain yourself to your subordinates but geez, that was an awful way of going about business.