I'd love to see David Tennant as the captain, but being as that he was already Dr who, and just being as awesome as he is in general, I fear adding the captains chair to his resume would make it so that science fiction fans would LEGALLY have to worship him as our new messiah. Personally? I'd love to see Christian slater in the role. He seems perfect for it, and is a huge trekkie in real life. He would make a dashing captain Imo.
I'm only familiar with about half of these, but judging them very superficially (in addition to those that I have seen here and there), I would be perfectly fine with Olivia Colman, Christine Baranski, Lennie James, or Maggie Q. I would not be at all happy with Jon Hamm, Corey Stoll or Patrick Wilson. They always come across as creepy to me. And Angela Bassett, Allison Tolman and David Tennant just don't strike me as Starfleet material for some reason.
They'll probably at least try to get a fairly big name actor for the Captain. I know Trek itself is a big draw, but by bringing in a known actor they'll be able to get themselves even more publicity, and possibly draw in fans of that actor who wouldn't normally watch Trek. Slater actually had a bit part as an Excelsior crewman in Undiscovered Country, so maybe if the show is set after UC, then he could play the same character who's now made it to Captain. It could even give us an excuse for an appearance by George Takei as Sulu.
I'm actually not a big fan of any of their picks as Captain... They should either get a big Hollywood name (like Kevin Spacey or Sean Bean on their Netflix/HBO shows). Or someone completely fresh but talented. I wouldn't mind someone from a minority to be honest. It would fit with previous Trek history, and it's generally very hard for minority actors to get leading roles, so there are probably a lot of willing talents around. How about a Mexican? Or, god help us all, a middle-eastern guy? That would make some headlines. But really, Faran Tahir as Captain of the USS Kelvin is to this day still the best thing that came from the rebooted JJuniverse. So why not?
I think Tennet is good in a kind of solo role but I wouldn't make him captain. Angela Basset would be an interesting . Colman is a weird suggestion. I think Slater wouldn't be suitable. I'm OK with Stoll but he would be an unadventurous choice really. My choice...Benicio del Toro...or Denzel Washington...or Sam Neil... or Gina McKee..I could spit out these suggestions foreover.
She's too young to be captain, but I'd love to see Tatiana Maslany on the new show at some point, she's a very good actress and has a directness that I think would play well as a villain or a slightly rebellious crewmember in the Ensign Ro tradition.
Talking about diversity: I logged in just to mention I'd like to have someone from probably the MOST underrepresented group in the main cast. Someone FAT
I'd imagine you're correct about them picking somebody well known. It would be nice though to have some fresh faces! Maybe I just secretly hope they will pick me! ;-)
Not all Sikhs sport the beard - it's also followed as more of a private creed. The real life reason for Khan being an Indian Sikh, was that Gene Roddenbury had an Indian Sikhs friend in the war, or something.
It would probably need to be a civilian, since armies, navies, and space programs have certain physical fitness requirements, and Starfleet came out of such institutions. Kor
I wasn't allowed to begin my application until I dropped 90lbs and stopped powerlifting. When I dropped that I had a sergeant badgering me to lose another 20 to attain 'peak fitness'. The irony of my trainer having the same waistline as James Doohan in TUC was lost on him.
Now it's a matter of question if such a case is relevant in the future. I don't think it would be a problem to have a ship doctor or even an engineer little chubby - you'd have to be a sumo fighter to not fit in a Jeffries' tube.
^That was my first thought. Nutrition is pretty well controlled with replicators, so I have a feeling purely diet related obesity would probably not exist any more.
If synthahole can exist, why not synthasugar and synthafat. There is no reason all replicated meals can't be vitamins, the correct number of calories and synthetic ingredients to replicate the taste, mouthfeel, and texture of food without any of the side effects.