Star Trek Captains... You Choose and Why...

Kirk: My first, but too emotional, too silly
Janeway: Too robotic, nary a hair out of place
Sisko: Too much baggage
Archer: Never saw him

therefore

Picard. I'd serve under him in a heartbeat as long as I could throw Wesley out of the airlock. And NOW the little pissant is harassing Sheldon Cooper, and for that he must die.die.die.*



* There was once a Usenet newsgroup entitled: Wesley.crusher.die.die.die

Captain Kathryn Janeway totally.

She's a strong woman and isn't afraid of anything.

I love Picard, Sisko, and Kirk, but I'm a bigger fan of strong female characters

semperfortis

For me it has to be Sisko

ALWAYS Sisko. Dude walks with the prophets.

Since we're on the subject, found this interesting little gem. Dungeons & Dragons alignment chart for DS9 characters

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


Man, I miss DS9. Especially Quark. Dude made me laugh like crazy. That alignment chart is spot on, too!



A lot of people are picking Picard! He's my second choice.

Quyll
reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha

 

Man, I miss DS9. Especially Quark. Dude made me laugh like crazy. That alignment chart is spot on, too!



A lot of people are picking Picard! He's my second choice.

So what? You going to give the Enterprise to Quark! Interesting choice, Federation could become very rich.

P

reply to post by schuyler

Schuyler, you crack me up sometimes. But I have to agree with you on Crusher.

BTW. The first rule of usenet is...We don't talk about usenet. lol.

Oh, Picard for sure.

He was meant to be a Captain, he was good at commanding authority over everyone. He was eloquent in all his dealings, and I just love listening to him talk.

I had such a hard time with this because I like them all in different ways - but my tired brain took the easy way out and I broke it down by gut feeling...

Kirk - Good for and adventure, party and/or a fight - he had his moments

Janeway - Really like her, but I have doubts - she'd be my second choice

Archer - Step up from Kirk, step down from Picard - I think I'd date him

Picard - 100% no doubt he's the Captain.

ETA: Since Kirk and Archer were living in much different time, a little more "wild west" then Picard and Janeway it perhaps isn't really fair to judge them against the other and I don't know Sisko so didn't include him.

It's gotta be Sisko. The mans multitasking abilities alone make him the best choice. Emissary to the Bajorans, Full time dad, Captain of not only a huge vitally important Space Station but also a Warship, a gourmet cook and still has time to be a good Boyfriend. His abilities are seemingly endless.

It's a shame it has to be previous Star Trek captains. I've always thought that the greatest spaceman of all time should be a 'Trek captain,the late great Neil Armstrong of course.

reply to post by semperfortis


Instinct leads me to believe that Picard would be the best choice to captain a new vessel. Although he does have his drawbacks, a slow trigger finger being one of them, Picard has several strings on his bow, that other captains have in lesser measure, or not at all.


1)The mission of the Enterprise, in all her different lifetimes, has been one of exploration and discovery, as the stated mission goal, over all other concerns. Yes, she has been to war, with every dangerous foe the Federation has ever come into contact with (aside from some of those from the quadrant with which Voyager concerned itself). But her primary goal is exploration, and Picard is attuned to that goal, having as he does, a long standing fascination with archeology, and related studies. It is actually something he does on his own time, and he was previously lambasted by professors with whom he had worked, when he took to captaining a star ship (very often because the scholars in question had issues with Starfleet and Federation prime directives against involvement with technologically undeveloped worlds and their inhabitants). So devoted to archeology and exploration was he, that he could not pass up the opportunity for digging up adventure, even on his shore leave to Risa!

This background gives him the ideal explorers outlook, a keen eye for detail, the ability to discern historical events from seemingly confusing archeology, geology, and so on, and the ability to easily understand the anthropological issues of any species, provided a certain level of background data to work from. These things make his decision making more surgically precise than that of other potential captains.

2) As a leader, no one can argue that despite his serious nature, and comparatively quiet command style, he is respected by his officers, and by his crew. The unity that develops under his sentinel gaze, the family bond that he creates as patriarch of the ship, is unique, and in my view stronger than all the bonds forged by officers aboard Voyager, DS9, and so on, despite the fact that he has issues with family (his own was fractured for many years, and he felt the loss of a young family member very dearly). He is not a flamboyant leader by any means, but he is staggeringly competent, and not prone to rashness or foolishness. His officers will follow him into any situation, with the knowledge that as hairy as things get, the captain will remain unflappable and calm in the face of seemingly impossible odds. There will not be unnecessary tension on the Bridge, there will not be ructions between the First Officer and his captain. His only vulnerabilities are strengths as much as they are anything else.

Also, he utilises every advantage given him by the combination of the ship he commands, and the crew who run it by his command. He knows the capabilities of his officers better than even they do, more often than not. He knows exactly how long repairs to critical elements of the ship will take given all the variables at play, he knows how each of his officers will comport themselves in battle, in diplomacy, and in moral terms, and tasks them accordingly. He is a leader with all the bases covered.

3: His battle record is legend. He has fought the Klingon Empire, the Romulan Empire, the FREAKIN' BORG, not to mention countless sundry other engagements with lesser enemies than these, and he has done these things with all the bravado of a mute, calmly assessing the enemies strengths, and crippling them at their weak points, using every possible advantage, including, but in no way limited to, remnants of the voice of the collective, to aid him in pursuit of victory and survival. He fights like a surgeon, not a berserker, and that is how a captain of a ship of science and discovery ought to fight.

4: He also possesses an intimate knowledge of his ship, and is able to detect minute variances in course, speed, and powerflow, all through the floor of the bridge. He is as much a part of his ship, as are its warp core, its plasma condenser couplings, and its informational network infrastructure. This shows that he has a subtle, but decisive edge, when placed in a position where he might be required to undertake for himself, what his engineering crew might be unable to achieve logistically speaking, within a given time frame. He is an expert pilot, a crack shot with a main phaser bank, and capable of cheekily re-routing control of the ship to any place he happens to be, if circumstances require it. He is the swiss army captain.

5: Picard has outwitted beings which are older than his own species, showing that he has a vast, and sometimes untapped reserve of intellect and cunning. His interactions with Q, for example, have shown that he is capable of lateral thinking that would crumble the efforts of riddlers and posers of confounding questions through the ages of man, to dust beneath the staggering weight of his unsung genius. His ability to converse on a level with Sarek, and survive the sharing of minds that occurred between them in order to offset the onset of a degenerative brain disease in the diplomat, just before he was required to undertake one of the most important negotiations in his extensive lifetime, prove that Picard has such cerebral capacity, that no enemy, no opponent, no counter claimant, could outfox or out play him. His mind alone is a weapon of defense, and a tool of discovery, every bit as strong as the ship he commands, and sometimes just that little bit stronger too.

In summary, I believe Captain Picard is the ultimate captain of the Enterprise, because he exemplifies every single facet of the ideal officer, commander, and scientist, in one human being. His capabilities extend beyond those of many other captains, and this style of command is EXACTLY what is needed for any ship bearing the name Enterprise, assuming the stated goal of exploration and discovery, that has always been attached to it.

So who do you choose?

Well, if at war, Kirk...hand's down.
If it really is an exploration mission, then Picard.
If more political, Sisko.

Janeway and Archer? Not even in the running.

Without specifying a scenario, Kirk....he's just more inventive.

My feelings are very much the same as most people's.

PRO CON

Kirk -- Always finds his way out of a jam. Hot headed, horny and impulsive
Picard -- Cool under pressure. Great negotiator. Too slow to act when threatened.
Sisco -- Is a good judge of character, good in a fight. The whole prophet thing.
Janeway-- has an adventurous spirit Comes off like a wet noodle.
Archer -- never watched that one.

So, Archer is out, since I know NOTHING about him. I hate Janeway. Kirk is only good with Spock and McCoy.

It's between Picard and Sisco.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMM......

I can't decide, can't I have them both??

reply to post by JessicaS


Sure you can

One can Captain the saucer section, the other, the battle bridge

reply to post by semperfortis


You will end up with the ship torn apart!

I tell ya, You want Sulu! Sulu for Captain!

P

My vote goes to Captain Hikaru Sulu.

He is smart. He keeps his cool at all times. He is a skilled swordsman and gymnast. He commands respect and can be downright intimidating when necessary.
And voted least likely to contract an alien STD.

reply to post by allenidaho


Um, that would depend. Are we talking a boy alien or a girl alien?

P

reply to post by semperfortis


Works for me! Picard in the Saucer, Sisco in the Battle Bridge. Best of both worlds!

And voted least likely to contract an alien STD.

Oh my!