Who is your favorite captain? And why?
- Thread starter ECHEMH
- Start date
We don't know that.
True, none of the other captains had families ON THE SHOWS, but that doesn't mean they didn't settle down later.
Indeed, if VOY's "In the Flesh" is any indication, Jonathan Archer will one day have a family...
It is difficult to choose between Kirk, Picard, and Sisko because they all offered something different and valuable, but if you twist my arm I will pick Kirk (particularly factoring in how his character developed in the films).
Thinking on it, overall I'm going to say Picard. That's my final answer.
I don't even have to start thinking which one, Picard wins.
Captain Carol Freeman of the Cerritos is also married and has a child.
James Kirk, because he was bold, passionate, and so smart he could beat Spock at chess and convince an enemy computer to self-destruct.
I do have to say, though, that I like Riker in command the few times we see him, but out of the main series lead captains that I've seen, it's still Picard for the win. (I haven't seen any of the post-Berman/Braga treks yet.)
Sisko will always be number one for me.
Then most other captains.
And way at the bottom is the kid from Prodigy whose name I do not remember. I like the show and most of the characters but not him.
Then most other captains.
And way at the bottom is the kid from Prodigy whose name I do not remember. I like the show and most of the characters but not him.
True enough; I was talking about what we see depicted in the TV shows. Kirk, of course, had a son we found out about later, though from whom he was estranged, and other one-off captains--like, say, Jellico--were indicated to have families. But I loved how Sisko was shown making his family a top priority.
The Jake/Sisko relationship was one of the best things about DS9.
Kirk, by a country mile.
Easily the most heroic, archetypical, iconic leader in sci-fi. He's got all of the charisma, confidence, strength and smarts that you want in a heroic franchise lead...and he has a nuanced and layered performance by Shatner to make it even better. I might have picked another character if it wasn't for the TOS movies and what they added to Kirk's overall arc...but he's the best and it's not even close for me.
Other notes:
Picard is a weird one for me. TV Picard is one of my LEAST favorites. He strikes me as a walking caricature of "Roddenberry's idealized Evolved Human" and I often equate him with everything about TNG that is dull, unrealistic, and unrelatable. I still like him, but he's down near the bottom of the deck. It's also one of the reasons I love FC and the new PIC series so much....both are much more interesting takes on the character, with characters and circumstances essentially calling him out for his bullshit and knocking him down to Earth. I actually love the character in the new series MUCH more than I did during TNG's television run.
Sisko is really good. He may be my second-favorite captain. He's the first captain to be given serious personal relationships with others that weren't just his trusted senior officers, and I think that works very well. Avery Brooks was perfectly cast. He is given a rich and interesting backstory right out of the gate in "Emissary."
Janeway used to be my least-favorite...but I must admit as I wind down watching VOY (largely for the first time, as I watched virtually none of the last 3 seasons in first run) that I find her to be interesting. She doesn't match Sisko's gravitas or Kirk's charisma...but there's something very unique and realistic about Mulgrew's portrayal that I find engaging and truthful.
I like Archer just fine, but he's not really memorable or a stand-out for me. I definitely don't dislike him (others seem to), but he's certainly below Kirk, Janeway and Sisko.
Pike I'll reserve judgement on. Loved him as the S2 "guest captain" in DSC...but I'd like to see a season or two of SNW before ranking him.
Freeman is a joke ....I could care less about her quite honestly. Entertaining and sometimes funny to watch....but not someone I take seriously even for a hot minute.
Burnham is ok, I guess. I think I liked the character far better when she was not the captain. She has moments as Discovery's captain of pure shining brilliance, and others that make me cringe a little...so there's a consistency element that needs to get ironed out a bit in my mind.
I don't count Dal as a "captain" per se., but I like the character thus far.
Easily the most heroic, archetypical, iconic leader in sci-fi. He's got all of the charisma, confidence, strength and smarts that you want in a heroic franchise lead...and he has a nuanced and layered performance by Shatner to make it even better. I might have picked another character if it wasn't for the TOS movies and what they added to Kirk's overall arc...but he's the best and it's not even close for me.
Other notes:
Picard is a weird one for me. TV Picard is one of my LEAST favorites. He strikes me as a walking caricature of "Roddenberry's idealized Evolved Human" and I often equate him with everything about TNG that is dull, unrealistic, and unrelatable. I still like him, but he's down near the bottom of the deck. It's also one of the reasons I love FC and the new PIC series so much....both are much more interesting takes on the character, with characters and circumstances essentially calling him out for his bullshit and knocking him down to Earth. I actually love the character in the new series MUCH more than I did during TNG's television run.
Sisko is really good. He may be my second-favorite captain. He's the first captain to be given serious personal relationships with others that weren't just his trusted senior officers, and I think that works very well. Avery Brooks was perfectly cast. He is given a rich and interesting backstory right out of the gate in "Emissary."
Janeway used to be my least-favorite...but I must admit as I wind down watching VOY (largely for the first time, as I watched virtually none of the last 3 seasons in first run) that I find her to be interesting. She doesn't match Sisko's gravitas or Kirk's charisma...but there's something very unique and realistic about Mulgrew's portrayal that I find engaging and truthful.
I like Archer just fine, but he's not really memorable or a stand-out for me. I definitely don't dislike him (others seem to), but he's certainly below Kirk, Janeway and Sisko.
Pike I'll reserve judgement on. Loved him as the S2 "guest captain" in DSC...but I'd like to see a season or two of SNW before ranking him.
Freeman is a joke ....I could care less about her quite honestly. Entertaining and sometimes funny to watch....but not someone I take seriously even for a hot minute.
Burnham is ok, I guess. I think I liked the character far better when she was not the captain. She has moments as Discovery's captain of pure shining brilliance, and others that make me cringe a little...so there's a consistency element that needs to get ironed out a bit in my mind.
I don't count Dal as a "captain" per se., but I like the character thus far.
Sisko is my favorite for many reasons.
He was a great father, and his relationship with Jake was one of the cornerstones of the entire series. Many modern fathers could learn a LOT from him in this area.
He was a very layered character. He was, in essence, a builder. He built a life for himself and his son. He had an engineering background. He helped build the Defiant. He was helping rebuild DS9 and Bajor, without actually interfering. He was a cook, which is building from scratch. Hell, he built a solar ship from scratch.
He understood the need to put on a smile for his crew. One of the best lessons he ever gave about command was when he told Worf in "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT" that you need to learn when to smile and make your crew happy, because they are your crew... even if it's the last thing on your mind. We rarely saw the other captains actually do this, which is another thing that sets him apart.
And when he got promoted, he made sure his other senior staff got one, too. (We didn't actually see him do this, but it can't be a coincidence that just after he became captain, Dax and Bashir got promoted, too. O'Brien is unknown, as his rank has been all over the place... but I bet you dollars to donuts he got him the top rank non-com he could.)
Sisko has been my favorite since I watched DS9 in its first run, and that opinion has never changed, no matter how many rewatches of shows I've done.
He was a great father, and his relationship with Jake was one of the cornerstones of the entire series. Many modern fathers could learn a LOT from him in this area.
He was a very layered character. He was, in essence, a builder. He built a life for himself and his son. He had an engineering background. He helped build the Defiant. He was helping rebuild DS9 and Bajor, without actually interfering. He was a cook, which is building from scratch. Hell, he built a solar ship from scratch.
He understood the need to put on a smile for his crew. One of the best lessons he ever gave about command was when he told Worf in "RULES OF ENGAGEMENT" that you need to learn when to smile and make your crew happy, because they are your crew... even if it's the last thing on your mind. We rarely saw the other captains actually do this, which is another thing that sets him apart.
And when he got promoted, he made sure his other senior staff got one, too. (We didn't actually see him do this, but it can't be a coincidence that just after he became captain, Dax and Bashir got promoted, too. O'Brien is unknown, as his rank has been all over the place... but I bet you dollars to donuts he got him the top rank non-com he could.)
Sisko has been my favorite since I watched DS9 in its first run, and that opinion has never changed, no matter how many rewatches of shows I've done.
Captain Thadiun Okona! 
In all seriousness, Kirk (Prime Timeline) and Picard are tied for me. I associate the most with Admiral Kirk in the classic films, especially the first four, because some days I feel "old and worn out" and other days I feel "young...I feel YOUNG!" But Jean-luc Picard is a different story. That man is my hero, the man I wish I could be and try my best to emulate, no matter how many times I fail.
In all seriousness, Kirk (Prime Timeline) and Picard are tied for me. I associate the most with Admiral Kirk in the classic films, especially the first four, because some days I feel "old and worn out" and other days I feel "young...I feel YOUNG!" But Jean-luc Picard is a different story. That man is my hero, the man I wish I could be and try my best to emulate, no matter how many times I fail.
Don't get me wrong, I like Sisko, and in spite of him not being my favorite, your entire post was very well put. I may not think of him as the BEST captain in Star Trek, but I definitely agree he was a great man, and a great commanding officer.
Only Morgan BatesonDoes Captain Morgan count?
Could captain Merrill Stubing be my favourite captain?
