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Which Star Trek captain is your favorite?


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Who is your favorite captain?  

47 members have voted

  1. 1. Who is your favorite captain?

    • James Tiberius Kirk
      8
    • Jean-Luc Picard
      28
    • Benjamin Sisko
      6
    • Kathryn Janeway
      2
    • Jonathan Archer
      3


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Ooo...hard choice ahead...

 

I would say Picard by a very small margin - mainly due to the man playing the role. He is utterly convincing in the part, imo, and I think we get to see a much broader character of Picard than the others. We see him as an unwavering commander and a highly skilled diplomat, but also as an incredibly pensive individual. Not only that, but his lighter side comes through, when appropriate, in interactions with his senior staff. His nemeses were also some of the best in the franchise, as far as I'm concerned - the dreaded Borg and the inimitable Q entity. For me, the episodes of TNG featuring Q and Picard squaring off were some of the best!

 

Kirk is very close behind, almost neck and neck. His sheer awesomeness...no, not a good enough term...his Kirkness is a highlight of Star Trek. But I thought the character was better developed by the movies (to some extent) beyond the series, whereas Picard was well established by both, imo.

 

These two captains are the reason why Generations is one of my favourite of the ten movies so far - the exchanges and contrast, however brief between these characters.

 

Also, I must mention Sisko as a favourite, though outmatched by Kirk and Picard. Again, a complex and interesting, well developed and impeccably performed character.

 

Janeway...I'm not overly fond of her, yet I wouldn't say I despise her as a character. I just, for whatever reason, do not feel that Voyager was able to match TNG or DS9 in particular (TOS is always great, as the original).

 

I have no such problem with Archer. I didn't like the character at all. It just didn't seem to have as much depth as the others, particularly my top three.

 

SO in short, I vote Picard!

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Is Janeway so unloved? Archer I understand no one liking, but not Janeway? :confused:

 

all IMO, so read if you like, but let it be if it makes your nerd blood boil!

 

I only watched Enterprise very recently and can easily say that Archer is my favourite.

 

Picard, all shiny headed, erudite and polished is great for dramatic gravitas but I find I'm more connected to characters who seem more identifiable as people as opposed to heroes who can give good speeches.

 

Considering their status, Archer being a founding father of the Federation and Sisko a revered figure in Bajoran religion, Archer and Sisko always went about their business in an unassuming manner. Interesting to know that in 'what may or may not be canon', Archer was reported to eventually become the President of the Coalition of Planets(which later became the federation). Here's a relevant screengrab from my brain

JonathanArcher.jpg

 

Kirk and Picard were one of many Starfleet captains, though by their behaviour they often gave off the impression that they were the only one :p Janeway was a bit of an ice queen. I think her character's situation may have demanded it, but it didnt make her very endearing.

 

Another significant factor which I personally identify with are how they're both very linked to their family, or their family's legacy. This is the last thing that would have impressed me when I was a scruffy teenager but it really rings true with me now.

 

[/iMO]

 

mtfbwya

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Picard was the captain of the Flagship, Astro. Besides, he always seemed to work well with other captains, and the only reason he ever really took charge when other captains were involved is because he was in fact the captain of the flagship. He has command in a situation with more than one commanding officer. Technically speaking, those other captains should have been referring to him as "sir" rather than just "Picard" or "Jean-Luc".

 

Janeway started out as an "ice queen", sure, but that changed quickly. She was a mother figure to Kes, a role model for Seven and Harry, essentially a saviour to Tom and B'Elanna, and a close friend to Tuvok and Chakotay (who both kicked some serious tail, in my opinion). As I've said in another thread somewhere, there isn't a single character in Voyager that didn't grow exponentially, and Janeway is no exception. In the end, I have to chalk up Kathryn as my second favourite Trek captain, if not a close tie with Picard.

 

Kirk was reckless, arrogant, and ravaged by hormones. He has no excuse for his bravado, either - the Enterprise of Kirk's day wasn't the flagship, as far as I'm aware, and Kirk acted like he was in fact captain of the most important ship in the fleet simple because it was his ship. That's not to say I didn't love Kirk, but he's just nowhere near favourite for me.

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Only if you're too under-aged to remember him from older and better things.

*Cough* Dune *Cough* Excalibur *Cough*

 

Though I still favor ol' James Tiberius Kirk... Jean Luc is also good in his own way, I liked that too. I also have a soft spot for Sisko cause... well... he is also Hawk!

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As I recall, there was a mutiny on Voyager...

 

The only time I can think of when we saw something resembling a proper mutiny occurring on Voyager was actually a tactical training program written by Tuvok shortly after both crews were stranded in the Delta Quadrant. He foresaw the Maquis rebelling and taking command of the ship themselves, but as the crews began to co-operate he deleted the program - but not sufficiently enough for B'Elanna to dig it back up by mistake, though.

 

There was talk of a mutiny when B'Elanna clocked Joe Carey in the early first season, but Chakotay basically said "STFU". Then there was the one in the sixth season, when Tuvok was "hypnotised" (for lack of a better term) to mind-meld with the former Maquis crew and bring about a mutiny. But those two aren't really considered proper mutiny, really. Not in my mind, anyway.

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The only time I can think of when we saw something resembling a proper mutiny occurring on Voyager was actually a tactical training program written by Tuvok shortly after both crews were stranded in the Delta Quadrant. He foresaw the Maquis rebelling and taking command of the ship themselves, but as the crews began to co-operate he deleted the program - but not sufficiently enough for B'Elanna to dig it back up by mistake, though.

 

There was talk of a mutiny when B'Elanna clocked Joe Carey in the early first season, but Chakotay basically said "STFU". Then there was the one in the sixth season, when Tuvok was "hypnotised" (for lack of a better term) to mind-meld with the former Maquis crew and bring about a mutiny. But those two aren't really considered proper mutiny, really. Not in my mind, anyway.

 

Don't forget Seven of Nine's conspiracy theories that pitted Chakotay and the Captain against each other (can't remember the episode, and maybe that's classed more as civil war than mutiny).

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Don't forget Seven of Nine's conspiracy theories that pitted Chakotay and the Captain against each other (can't remember the episode, and maybe that's classed more as civil war than mutiny).

 

The episode was called The Voyager Conspiracy, as I recall, and was less of a mutiny than it was a rift between the crews. :p

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Picard, no question. I hesitated for a moment over Janeway, but Picard will always hold a special place in my heart. He was strong, confident, decisive, regal, and above all, had a presence about him that said to you, "Hey, you, with the face. I can break your neck in five different ways, but I don't even have to, because if you look into my eyes, you'll implode."

 

Anyone who chose Kirk needs to rethink their tastes in television. Because he was horrible. Don't get me wrong, I love Shatner. From a comedic point of view. But as an actor, especially in his youth, he was horrendously overdramatic and completely incompetent with dialogue. Not only that, but like Doc said, he was arrogant, quick to anger, and thought with his nether regions more than he used his brain. The captain had little to no skill with strategy, and took every opportunity that passed by him to be distracted by some alien chicks, instead of worrying about his ship and the fate of his crew. The character premise was 2-dimensional, and it was utilised by a sub-par actor.

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