Jammer's Review

Star Trek: The Next Generation

"Chain of Command, Part I"

1/2

Air date: 12/14/1992
Teleplay by Ronald D. Moore
Story by Frank Abatemarco
Directed by Robert Scheerer

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

Ever-terse, no-BS Admiral Nechayev (Natalija Nogulich) comes to the Enterprise and relieves Picard of command, putting him, Worf, and Crusher on an urgent mission of the utmost secrecy. Nechayev gives even-more-terse and even-less-BS Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox) command of the Enterprise over Riker, on the basis that Jellico has long experience dealing with the Cardassians, who are figuring into a crisis that looks to be edging to the precipice of war. Jellico has his own ideas on how the Enterprise should be run, and wastes no time in seeing his changes implemented.

"Chain of Command, Part I" takes the TNG status quo and shakes it up in a way few TNG outings have attempted (among them "The Best of Both Worlds" and "Redemption," both of which also dealt with major military crises and personnel shifts). Jellico takes over and immediately has a laundry list of changes, like going from a three-shift duty rotation to four with less than a day's notice. Riker and Geordi are understandably frustrated, but Jellico will have none of it; he replaces the tenor and inclusiveness of Picard's "Make it so" with the rather simplistic and inflexible "Get it done." Jellico isn't incompetent or an idiot, which is a crucial point here (indeed, his battle-ready no-nonsense persona might be necessary if the Enterprise has to be on the front lines of a new war, and his "good cop, bad cop" maneuvers with the Cardassians offers a line into his thinking). But he's definitely not a people person, and he's especially skeptical of Riker as a first officer.

For me, the true fascination of this episode is just watching how Jellico operates and how the crew responds to it. After years of being accustomed to Picard's command style of consensus, Jellico represents a hostile takeover. My favorite scene might be the one where Troi tries to play psychologist and soft-pedal Jellico into taking a more morale-centric position with the crew. Jellico instead assigns her the job of taking charge of the "morale situation" herself, then deals the parting blow: "By the way, I prefer a certain formality on the bridge. I'd appreciate if you wore a standard uniform when on duty."

And I love how quickly Data becomes Jellico's go-to guy amid all this. Why? Because Data will give him, without hesitation or hedging, the facts of what is and is not possible, without pesky things like human fatigue and previously expected workday routines getting in the way.

Because the episode spans two parts, the story has the necessary room to breathe and explore the character dynamics before the meat of Picard's mission is unveiled. (I appreciated the scene where Riker considers taking his troubles with Jellico to Picard, but then decides against it when he sees how exhausted Picard is from the grueling training for the secret mission.) The mission involves Picard, Crusher, and Worf being sent to infiltrate what's believed to be a secret Cardassian facility manufacturing a terrible weapon of mass destruction. (A dialogue scene explains the stakes, and announces the Cardassians as major players in the Trek universe. On the other hand, I really could've done without the Ferengi middleman, who comes across as unfortunate — and implausible — padding.)

The would-be Cardassian WMD facility turns out to be a trap designed to lure Picard into capture, which is the subject of part two. But part one shows how energizing to the storytelling a command shakeup can be.

Previous episode: The Quality of Life
Next episode: Chain of Command, Part II

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12 comments on this review

Latex Zebra - Fri, Jun 22, 2012 - 2:43am (USA Central)

Troi looks lovely in Uniform.

Yep, thats reads as pervy as it sounded in my head.

Josh G. - Fri, Jun 22, 2012 - 9:51am (USA Central)

I've always found Jellico a refreshing change for the Enterprise, but the whining of Riker and (especially) Geordi about the changes always seemed unprofessional.

AeC - Fri, Jun 22, 2012 - 7:41pm (USA Central)

I have to concur with Latex Zebra (and I'm too old to care if I sound "pervy"); the Starfleet uniform was the most flattering thing Troi wore in the show's seven seasons. Marina Sirtis had a somewhat boxy figure that the uniform camouflaged well, and, well, c'mon, if you're seeing a therapist, how seriously are you going to take her or anything she has to say if she's in a skintight bunny suit? This move was long overdue.

Trek Fan - Mon, Jun 25, 2012 - 1:01pm (USA Central)

Agree with Latex Zebra and Aec. Definitely Captain Jellico's greatest contribution to the show.

Elliott - Mon, Jun 25, 2012 - 7:40pm (USA Central)

The fact that part II is such a masterpiece of television justifies part I, certainly, but it's no more than a 3 star affair on its own, I'm afraid. While, it's nice to have a change of pace, I agree, TNG's characters are renown for coping with the most strenuous and tedious of obstacles, I find it ridiculous that the crew would complain about things like shift rotation changes. There is the INSINUATION of a deeper and more interesting conflict between Jellico and the Enterprisers given his militaristic bent in command. The Enterprise is a ship of exploration and, under Picard, whatever the circumstances, this fact permeated the ranks and operations of the ship. It would seem to the audience that Nechayev's motivations for replacing him stem from the fact that she feels Starfleet needs its flagship in "war mode" to deal with the Cardassians--a change which all but rolls out the carpet for DS9. It seems like a cheat, then, to basically ignore this problem and then come to realise that her motivations are more about getting Picard (who is suddenly an expert in radiation or whatever) to do scooby-doo ops. I can almost, almost buy that they would need to send Picard on the mission and I suppose there's something to be said for saddling an ageing captain with the security officer whom he knows best, but Crusher...a special ops rolling around caves? Most ridiculous..until I saw her take on the Bond-bimbo rôle of cooing that Ferengi...laughable.

I was impressed with the tone and efficiency of the episode and agree with the change in Troi's uniform being for the best--why, oh why couldn't they have given us a reason, any reason for it's being removed from episode 2 until now?

2.5-3 stars from me.

grumpy_otter - Thu, Jun 28, 2012 - 6:29am (USA Central)

I'm with Josh--Jellico is an awesome captain. I always thought this episode showed how lax Picard was in requiring efficiency and how sloppy the crew had gotten.

And as much as I like Deanna, she should have been fired for revealing that Jellico wasn't really confident with the negotiations (though that's part II I think). So unprofessional to subvert a delicate situation by announcing your leader is nervous! Empath bitch!

And I'm with Elliott, too--Beverly on this mission is a stupid joke. There's no Tasha-like crew member who could go?

Nick M - Fri, Jul 6, 2012 - 9:00am (USA Central)

I am a huge Jellico fan from the moment I saw this episode. I also lost respect for Riker in this one. The writers made him a whiner (and the look on his face when he found out Jellico was going to be commander started the pity party) who was not pushing back because Jellico was wrong, but because Riker and the crew were not used to it.
Please.
I've been in the Army for 25 years, you know what happens when you get a new commander? You do it his way (unless it is unsafe or illegal, none of which Jellico was). But because you miss the old CO? No. Get your orders, salute and do your damn job.
I would serve with jellico any day.

Tom C - Tue, Jul 10, 2012 - 11:09am (USA Central)

In late July 1914, Admiral John Jellicoe was ordered by the British Admiralty to replace Admiral George Callaghan as commander of the Grand Fleet, several months ahead of schedule--and without informing Callaghan in advance. Jellicoe was expected to shake things up in the Grand Fleet in expectation of war, which came promptly.

Somebody at TNG seems to have taken a cue from naval history.

Shamik - Sun, Sep 2, 2012 - 9:39pm (USA Central)

@Tom C The teleplay was written by Ronald D Moore, an avid naval historian. Unsurprising he named the character Jellicoe in light of the history of the Grand Fleet.

xaaos - Fri, Feb 8, 2013 - 6:27am (USA Central)

So, no more cleavage by Ms. Troi? Pity...

mike - Sun, Apr 14, 2013 - 10:26am (USA Central)

anyone who has been in the military has met a man like Jellico. I found it refreshing and surprising the TNG writers could create such an authentic character. No, he's not likeable but Jellico is necessary. What would be even better if he told Riker (referring to Wesley) "oh, by the way, the Enterprise isn't running an internship. I want that boy off the bridge".

William B - Sun, Apr 14, 2013 - 10:54am (USA Central)

@mike, well, Wesley is no longer on the ship at this time, and it'd be hard to keep him around for two extra years just for that line. :) I guess he does have the "...and get that fish out of my ready room!" line, which is the closest equivalent.

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