I was just reading Still The Eighties, which suggests that no one thinks Sisko is the best Trek Captain. I heartily disagree! But what do the other tropers think?

• Kirk?
• Picard?
• Sisko?
• Janeway?
• Archer?
• NuKirk?

Who's the best?

Only ever really got into TOS and TNG. Everything else seemed like a bit more of a blatant cash-grab than I was comfortable with. Anyway, of those two at least, I have to say that even though TOS was the better show, Picard is more believable as an officer to me. After hanging around my dad's army buddies, I just couldn't take Kirk seriously as a leader; he looks like he should be making wry comments in the corner of a sergeant's mess somewhere. Not sayin' I dislike the guy, he's a pretty well-written character for a sixties show. I just wouldn't follow him anywhere.

edited 15th Jun '09 6:39:19 PM by FurikoMaru

I can only recommend that you give Deep Space Nine another go. The first season is a little formulaic, but once Berman gets Distracted By The Shiny Voyager and lets Ira Steven Behr run the shop it gets one hell of a lot better.

The quality of Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica is often at least partially credited to working under Behr on DS 9.

edited 15th Jun '09 7:39:01 AM by BringTheNoise

I did give it another shot. Three months ago, in fact. Couldn't stand the acting. Say what you will about the Shatner Shuffle, at least the guy has presence.

Insert lyric from Weird Al's White And Nerdy here.

2009!Kirk was pretty awesome, but I honestly don't remember enough about the others to make the call; it's been years since I saw more than the odd glimpse of Star Trek. I've only seen a couple episodes of TOS, anyway, and I think only one of Enterprise.

About all I can tell you is that it isn't Janeway: she had a schoolmarmish aura that annoyed me pretty much constantly. Of course, that was the least of that show's problems.

edited 15th Jun '09 11:01:49 AM by Nornagest

The best Captain was Jellico!

What? Come on, Avery Brooks is made of presence. Especially later in the series, when Sisko gets more intense. Bald, goatee-sporting Sisko is one of the reasons I like facial hair so much.

So, yeah, I'm going to go with Sisko for best captain on this. But I'll have to admit that I like DS 9 more than other Star Trek series by a wide margin, so I might be biased.

edited 19th Jun '09 10:34:15 PM by Miss Hap

I like the new Star Trek movie and Enterprise more than TNG, but Picard is just a way better character.

Picard.

Although in all fairness, I've not watched any Deep Space Nine.

Chris Pine.

edited 5th Jul '09 9:59:17 PM by Oscredwin

I've not seen that either. :(

DS 9 had the best characters and plot of all the Star Treks, but Sisko didn't really seem captainish enough. For that I'll leave it to Picard.

Aw. You know, I really do miss Star Trek. It seems that all through much of my childhood and teenagerhood there was a Star Trek on, from The Next Generation to DS 9, to Voyager, and even Enterprise (sucky as it was). I miss tuning in each week for more crazy space adventures. Say what you will, Star Trek has a comforting feel. The nostalgia of hearing at the beginning of each episode, a voice going "Captain's Log, Stardate—"

It's something that I hope will return if the 2009 film is used as a starting point for a new Star Trek series.

I gotta go with Picard. Consummate diplomat, A Father To His Men, classier than class itself, doesn't afraid of non-fisticuffs, non-sex-related solutions, and so on.

Picard or Flame War!

Picard is the best by a astronomical margin.

DS 9 and VOY are both crap.

I am quite frankly amazed that no one here is willing to back Kirk as the best captain, since traditionally this was a fight between Kirk and Picard supporters. I will say that, while between the two Picard was the better captain, Kirk was often more fun to watch.

The only question that/I ever thought was hard/was do I like Kirk/or do I like Picard?

Ah crud I just realized that English Ivy beat me by a long shot.

edited 13th Jul '09 12:47:09 PM by Zudak

I like Archer. I am in the minority amongst Trek fans on this one. Compared to the episodic crap presented in half the TNG and TOS, the story arcs of Enterprise are tolerable. DS 9 is the best, but I can't stand the HAM of Sisco. Well, I can stand it, but I'm not going to elect him best captain. I DID like Chris Pine's Kirk a whole lot, however. I shall have to mull this over in the caverns of my dorkish brain.

No opinion on Voyager, as I've not seen any of it.

edited 16th Jul '09 12:14:49 AM by Ba Thyr Neftu

Most people seem to hate on Enterprise, but I really liked it. The early prejudices are in full effect, the miscommunications and botched missions. For that reason, I like Archer a lot...he's so human. He screws up, gets angry, and arguably Crosses The Line Twice.

OTOH, Kirk is badass enough to have 2 equally amazing incarnations, as Shatner AND Pine. He is cockier, bolder, gets ALL the ladies and is consistently a Loveable Rogue. So yeah, Kirk is my Captain.

Dr. Sam Beckett keeps all his mad props, though.

I've never been able to work out exactly why I don't like Enterprise. It wasn't the retcons or the look of the show, it was just that somehow, I could never get into it the way I could with other Trek (even Voyager). Something just never clicked. Anyway, I stand by Sisko for best captain.

Picard is definitely my favorite.

Like [AOD] Star Trek viewing was a constant in my young life, sitting with my dad, either curled up in his lap or later on sitting next to him, Father/Daughter bonding time. So it gives me warm fuzzies and a sense of calm when I hear "Captain's Log, Stardate-"

I only know TNG, TOS, and the 2009 movie. I like watching TOS better and so I have a soft spot for Kirk. I do think Picard is the better captain, he's smarter, more diplomatic, and has an awesome voice, not to mention Stewart's a far better actor. Kirk's reaaaally cheesy in the original and instead of being smooth he's just goofy (especially around women, ugh it's painful). I've seen Enterprise a few times and I don't even remember the captain's name, just that he sucked. Someone on bash said he was a like an IRC noob, "Hey what's up, what's your name, wanna be my friend?"

The only argument against Picard and for Kirk is that Kirk woulda kicked Wesley's ass the first time he would've showed up and definitely would not have put up with UST with Beverly Crusher.

edited 31st Jul '09 8:41:50 PM by igloomccoy

I'm going to be the weird one and say Janeway is my favorite. Yeah, some of the stuff she did didn't make much sense, but she got her people home. And kept them mostly alive.

That said, I can understand why Picard seems more captainly than the rest of them. He's got years of experience on all the other three, and he can usually keep himself together. New Kirk is pretty awesome, though.

Sadly, that movie was the first of Star Trek that I've really watched since Voyager. Enterprise wasn't very good at keeping my interest for a whole episode, so I don't really have much of an opinion on Archer. Here's to hoping that the movie injects new life into the series.

Hmm... Do I have to choose? it's kinda a four-way tie between the Kirks, Picard, and Sisko for me.

edited 9th Aug '09 4:27:04 PM by GameGuruGG