Star Trek: Why Was Picard So Mean To Riker In The Next Generation Pilot?

gamerant.com:

Within the ever expanding universe of Star Trek, there is a plethora of beautifully crafted technologies (some even feasible today), multilayered characters, and a vast expanse of alien races and planets. With each new show comes a whole new roster of protagonists, and the relationships that tie them all together into one homogenous crew. Sometimes these relationships have friction, due to vastly different backgrounds or personalities, such as between Captain Kirk and Spock at the start of The Original Series, but sometimes these turbulent couplings between people seemingly comes out of nowhere, then disappears like it never happened.

One such example is between Captain Jean Luc Picard and his first officer William Riker. In the first episode of The Next Generation Picard is uncharacteristically rude towards the poor man, unprovoked and unjust — so why did this happen, and why was it smoothed over so quickly? There are two possible reasons, one stemming from modern day military parallels, and the other coming from a place of wounded pride.

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Tackling the military parallel first, it is fairly common for a new commanding officer to be iron-fisted their subordinates, at least at first. Many with experience with the military during the late 1980s (when the show was produced and released) report that this was fairly common. The first reaction to a new strict and foreboding commanding officer was often «Better not mess with them, they don't mess around.» It was about demanding respect straight away, and commanding authority right from the beginning. But after these first impressions faded away, things would relax somewhat, and the commander's true nature would shine through.

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