Attention Trekkies: Who's your favorite captain?

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David B:
I know some original series fans will be dissapointed, but I have to go with Patrick Stewart’s Capt. Picard. IMHO he made the show what it was.
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Archer - he has fewer fancy gadgets to help him, so what he (and T’Pol, Tucker, Phlox, et. al.) accomplish is correspondingly greater.​

 
Here’s how I see them:

TOS era Kirk was modelled after WWII Naval officers. He was a true leader who rose through the ranks based on his ability and leadership in a time where getting the job done was more important than polish.

The movie-era Kirk is another creature altogether. No more is he the merry youth persuing his dreams and ambitions. He has fulfilled them all, and found that they didn’t bring him the happiness that their pursuit did. He becomes the elder man in search of the glory of his youth, but never quite finding it.

Picard was modelled, in many ways, after the elder Horatio Hornblower. A pompous and arrogant Captain whose rank is his authority because he has no personal presense to compell loyalty. He is much more of a manager than a leader. He perfectly reflects the modern peacetime Naval Captain.

Sisco was kind of a loose sheet in the early season. Eventually he became a nice blend of both leader and manager, but it took three seasons and a shaved head to get there.

Janeway was ill equipped for her role as captain. She has to rely on Chakotay to be the real leader while she hides from the burden of command in the holodeck, her ready-room, or her quarters. (I can not tell you how annoying it was to see Admiral Janeway given orders to Captain Picard in Nemesis).

Archer was a complete failure. By this point the Trek writers have forgotten that Trek has always been a morality play, about doing the right thing. Archer lays the foundations for the Federation by repeatedly doing the wrong thing. He commits piracy on innocent ships. He interrogates prisoners with threats of violence. Rather than pointing to a set of lofty goals, his moral compass is a flashback to the Roman empire “the ends justify the means”.
 
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MarilynIN:
Got to be Picard. When comparing the two captains, Kirk & Picard, William Shatner is so hammy compared with the style of Patrick Stewart. Though, I never understood why Stewart was so very English when he was supposed to be a Frenchman. I like them all, but I do think Picard was a bit more natural in the role.
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Patrick Stewart does have the advantage of being a Shakespearean actor - which does not mean he is 400 years old​

 
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HitF12:
Picard was the best. His authority and presence captured your attention. Besides, TNG was the best-written of the series.

However, I was quite pleased the Barclay found a role in Voyager as well.
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TNG was ruined by some appalling casting (Whoopi Goldberg as a shrink !!!???!!!) and some appalling costumiery (see: Whoopi Goldberg’s impossible purple hat)​

And by some feeble plot-elements ##
 
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HitF12:
Picard was the best. His authority and presence captured your attention.
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Picard and his crew were so inept that a 14 year old boy could see his mistakes and save the day.

On a regular basis.
 
I gotta go with Captain Kirk. The Original Series was awesome! TNG was okay sometimes, but I never really got into it. I barely gave the other ones a look except for Enterprise. I watched that for a while, but it got boring.

Captain Kirk’s crew also included Spock, who is the coolest Vulcan to ever grace the screen.
 
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Stu:
http://www.vh1.com/shared/media/images/amg_covers/200/drg500/g568/g56847d6i1l.jpg

CAPT Kirk has his own musical album. No one can pass on the musical stylings of William Shatner.
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Hi Stu. Somewhere in my basement I have an album of “Mr. Spock Sings.” He took songs from the 60’s and changed the words a little. Instead of “Stardust,” it was “Earthdust.” And “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” became… yeah. 😃
I also have the original books based on the Original Series by James Blish. (The series put in book form).

Funny, I used to have the cereal bowl from the series when I was a kid but as time went by, the bowl cracked and we threw it out. They have another one of those very same bowls at the Smithsonian now. 😛
 
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SusanL:
Hi Stu. Somewhere in my basement I have an album of “Mr. Spock Sings.” He took songs from the 60’s and changed the words a little. Instead of “Stardust,” it was “Earthdust.” And “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” became… yeah. 😃
I also have the original books based on the Original Series by James Blish. (The series put in book form).

Funny, I used to have the cereal bowl from the series when I was a kid but as time went by, the bowl cracked and we threw it out. They have another one of those very same bowls at the Smithsonian now. 😛
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Check this out.

http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/1931/sides1th.gif
 
I like Picard, but why have they not found a cure for baldness by then? :confused:

As for Janeway, she was tough, fair, etc… I just assume that people would also have quit smoking by then (3-400 years in the future). :eek:
 
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HyvenMayven:
I like Picard, but why have they not found a cure for baldness by then? :confused:
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I used to wonder the same thing! After all, they had developed technology to allow Geordie LaForge to see, even though he was born blind.

Maybe having hair on one’s head just won’t be that important in the 24th century. 😃

Crazy Internet Junkies Society
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag
 
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CarolAnnSFO:
Maybe having hair on one’s head just won’t be that important in the 24th century.
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Of course not. That’s why Sisco becomes bald once he makes Captain.
 
BUT FORGET Marina!! She’s a dumb bimbo!! A stupid woman, and truly no Catholic @ all.

Isn’t she of Greek descent and a member of the Greek Orthodox Church?
 
Kirk of course

People sometimes mistakenly think ST was about boldly going - but of course we all know what it was really about - it was really about Spock constantly driving Bones to distraction - and with the ever suffering Kirk in the middle

bless…

It’s life Jim - but not as we know it
 
Is it just me or was Captain Kathryn Janeway a clone of her namesake Hepburn?
 
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pilchard:
Is it just me or was Captain Kathryn Janeway a clone of her namesake Hepburn?
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Actually, Kate Mulgrew played a one woman show of Katharine Hepburn’s life on Broadway, so you’re perception is pretty good.
 
“Number One, make it so!” And who could not like Data, and Q, and the Borg, and…

I never thought we’d have a topic that would pull my daughter into CA, but this should do it! :clapping:
 
Gottle of Geer said:
## TNG was ruined by some appalling casting (Whoopi Goldberg as a shrink !!!???!!!) and some appalling costumiery (see: Whoopi Goldberg’s impossible purple hat)

And by some feeble plot-elements ##
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I concur. The term is “jumping the shark” and alludes to a Happy Days’ episode where Fonzie well, jumped over a shark on water skis. After that, Happy Days was a complete waste of time (not that it was that great to begin, like any StarTrek). Whoppi was a definite shark jumping move.
 
Gottle of Geer said:
## Archer - he has fewer fancy gadgets to help him, so what he (and T’Pol, Tucker, Phlox, et. al.) accomplish is correspondingly greater.
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I dunno. It seems to me that the computers in Archer’s era look far more sophisticated than the technology found in Captain Kirk’s time, which is supposed to take place several years later… 😃
 
I always liked Sisco, but that might be colored by the fact that I found the plot lines on DS9 the most intelligent. I also enjoyed the original show immensely though and found it to be far ahead of its time. I probably would have voted for Kirk if it wasn’t for all of those Priceline commercials Jim Shatner has done. :bigyikes:

John
 
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