Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard?

[lisa]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Yep, that was more or less my point.

Wah wah wahhhh.....

Why don't you add something new then?
I, on the other hand, am new to this site. How dare i enjoy this thread!

A little advice: the fine folks here (myself included) have a strange sense of humor. To quote Sulu: "If you're going to serve here, you're going to need to learn how to recognize a joke".

And a little advice to you: Maybe if your jokes were funnier, they'd be more readily recognized as jokes. To Quote Data: " I fail to understand why this is amusing".

 

[RandyS]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Wah wah wahhhh.....

Why don't you add something new then?
I, on the other hand, am new to this site. How dare i enjoy this thread!

A little advice: the fine folks here (myself included) have a strange sense of humor. To quote Sulu: "If you're going to serve here, you're going to need to learn how to recognize a joke".

And a little advice to you: Maybe if your jokes were funnier, they'd be more readily recognized as jokes. To Quote Data: " I fail to understand why this is amusing".

Now THAT'S funny!

 

[Dr. Crusher]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

My father, a big TOS fan, and I have been debating this question for many years. I am absolutely certain, therefore, that there is no simple answer to it.

Both of them were great captains, but I think they were also both products of the time periods in which they were created. I'm not sure the TOS series Kirk (arguably he was more "mellow" in the films) would fit in with the 1980s/1990s Trek world and vice versa.

 

[Anji]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Picard has this slight corporate mentality that makes me nervous.

Kirk always does the right thing no matter what trouble it gets him into.

I'm with Kirk.

 

[indolover]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Kirk was shallowly written. I also like Picard's character relative to Kirk's, I would get on better/respect Picard more than Kirk if they were real life people.

I don't even think "better captain" can be defined. I guess from a strict military context, it's who completes their missions best/often, and doesn't piss off Starfleet Command too much.

 

[BillJ]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Kirk was shallowly written.

Care to back your statement up?

 

[Anika Hanson]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Picard.

 

[Lord Garth FOI]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Picard is a better flute player and no one wears ultra-effeminate sleepwear like him

LOL no comparison, when it comes to Captains in an implausable ultra left wing nausously politically correct setting where every alien is wearing drap grey or tan linen robes, Picard is king!

In a universe based more on a contemporary climate , sorry Kirk all day long in every possible situation except maybe dealing with an Oregon (or Norcal) hippee commune made up of ex 60's flowerchildren in moomoos who chant and worship crystal energies. Picard is better suited for that situation I should think

 

[BillofIzar]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Picard! Two words - "Starship Mine."

 

[sonak]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Picard is a better flute player and no one wears ultra-effeminate sleepwear like him

LOL no comparison, when it comes to Captains in an implausable ultra left wing nausously politically correct setting where every alien is wearing drap grey or tan linen robes, Picard is king!

In a universe based more on a contemporary climate , sorry Kirk all day long in every possible situation except maybe dealing with an Oregon (or Norcal) hippee commune made up of ex 60's flowerchildren in moomoos who chant and worship crystal energies. Picard is better suited for that situation I should think

while put somewhat sarcastically, I agree with this point. Picard would have been a bad captain for the more "rough and tumble, less settled frontier" days of TOS.

 

[BillJ]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Picard is a better flute player and no one wears ultra-effeminate sleepwear like him

LOL no comparison, when it comes to Captains in an implausable ultra left wing nausously politically correct setting where every alien is wearing drap grey or tan linen robes, Picard is king!

In a universe based more on a contemporary climate , sorry Kirk all day long in every possible situation except maybe dealing with an Oregon (or Norcal) hippee commune made up of ex 60's flowerchildren in moomoos who chant and worship crystal energies. Picard is better suited for that situation I should think

while put somewhat sarcastically, I agree with this point. Picard would have been a bad captain for the more "rough and tumble, less settled frontier" days of TOS.

I think that true of the Picard we see in seasons 3-7, but I'm sure the Stargazer and seasons 1 and 2 version would be able to hold his own.

 

[MacLeod]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

It's pretty much a tossup in book. Kirk was a charismatic butt kicker who could play diplomat when required (Devil in the Dark) while Picard was a thoughtful diplomat who could kick butt when required (Yesterday's Enterprise). I think they were both ideal captains for their respective eras. Kirk, the interstellar cowboy during the transition between the "wild west" formative years of the Federation and it's more stable TNG period. Picard was the thoughtul intellectual for the more settled (until the Dominion War) period.

I'd hardly call the mid-late 24th century stable, lets examine it compared against the mid-late 23rd cenury.

Wars

Mid 23rd Century

Federation - Sheliak Conflict. Circa 2255
Federation - Klingon War. 2267

Mid 24th Century

Federation-Cardassian War. ended circa 2367
Federation Dominion War. 2373-2375
Federation-Klingon War. 2372-2373
Federation-Tzenkethi War. c2360's
Federation-Talarian conflicts c late 2350's

All in all I think I'll take the stability of Kirk's era.

 

[USS Kongo]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

There are qualities about both Captains that I admire. Kirk was more of a soldier who also knew enough to tread carefully whenever he needed to. His military bearing served him well on a frontier when Kirk and his ship were often out on their own, in a time when relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire were tense.

Picard was more of a diplomat in a more peaceful (at least with the Klingons) era. Thanks to more advanced tech, Picard often found himself being micro-managed by admirals back home. Yet when the Romulans returned, and the Borg threatened the Federation, Picard easily became a soldier when needed.

As mentioned before here, both men are the product of their times. But they do have one good quality in a commander: they can adapt to the situation at hand.

Sean

 

[DataLoreSpock]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

There are qualities about both Captains that I admire. Kirk was more of a soldier who also knew enough to tread carefully whenever he needed to. His military bearing served him well on a frontier when Kirk and his ship were often out on their own, in a time when relations between the Federation and the Klingon Empire were tense.

Picard was more of a diplomat in a more peaceful (at least with the Klingons) era. Thanks to more advanced tech, Picard often found himself being micro-managed by admirals back home. Yet when the Romulans returned, and the Borg threatened the Federation, Picard easily became a soldier when needed.

As mentioned before here, both men are the product of their times. But they do have one good quality in a commander: they can adapt to the situation at hand.

Sean

That is how my dad words the answer to this question.
He also says that the answer is mostly clouded by personal interest.
You have to look at it logically.
You do have to understand that both Captain Kirk and Captain Picard have been under different circumstances.
Kirk had to outwit Kahn Noonien Singh
Picard had the Borg.
Long story short, we must put aside our personal interests and look at all the evidence logically.

 

[Kira Nerys]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Sisko,he was not a by the book captain.

 

[DataLoreSpock]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Query:Who is more likely to die.
A Captain who is by the book or a Captain who is not?
(Not a follow-up affiliated with Fleet Captain Kira Nerys)

 

[DataLoreSpock]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Query:Who is more likely to die.
A Captain who is by the book or a Captain who is not?
(Not a follow-up affiliated with Fleet Captain Kira Nerys)

 

[BillJ]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Query:Who is more likely to die.
A Captain who is by the book or a Captain who is not?
(Not a follow-up affiliated with Fleet Captain Kira Nerys)

I don't know. Kirk commanded a starship for nearly thirty years before retiring and Picard has been commanding starships for nearly forty but is much older. So the question doesn't have much merit either way.

An idiot following the rule book can get killed in one shot, see J.T. Estaban.

 

[sonak]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

Query:Who is more likely to die.
A Captain who is by the book or a Captain who is not?
(Not a follow-up affiliated with Fleet Captain Kira Nerys)

I don't know. Kirk commanded a starship for nearly thirty years before retiring and Picard has been commanding starships for nearly forty but is much older. So the question doesn't have much merit either way.

An idiot following the rule book can get killed in one shot, see J.T. Estaban.

Not exactly Esteban's fault. He was captain of a science vessel, not a well-armed starship like Picard or Kirk, he wasn't expecting to go into battle, and the bird-of-prey was cloaked.

And by body counts, there seemed to be a lot more redshirt deaths under Kirk, for what that's worth, but Kirk also seemed to get more dangerous missions.

 

[Noname Given]

Re: Question Who In Your Opinion Is The Better Captain: Kirk or Picard

It's pretty much a tossup in book. Kirk was a charismatic butt kicker who could play diplomat when required (Devil in the Dark) while Picard was a thoughtful diplomat who could kick butt when required (Yesterday's Enterprise). I think they were both ideal captains for their respective eras. Kirk, the interstellar cowboy during the transition between the "wild west" formative years of the Federation and it's more stable TNG period. Picard was the thoughtul intellectual for the more settled (until the Dominion War) period.

I'd hardly call the mid-late 24th century stable, lets examine it compared against the mid-late 23rd cenury.

Wars

Mid 23rd Century

Federation - Sheliak Conflict. Circa 2255
Federation - Klingon War. 2267

Mid 24th Century

Federation-Cardassian War. ended circa 2367
Federation Dominion War. 2373-2375
Federation-Klingon War. 2372-2373
Federation-Tzenkethi War. c2360's
Federation-Talarian conflicts c late 2350's

All in all I think I'll take the stability of Kirk's era.

Um, you left out:

23rd Century:
Romulan incursion (2266)
Gorn Incursion (2266)
Federation Espionage Incident at Romulan Border (2268)
Tholian Incident (2268)
And there was a mention of another Fed/Klingon War circa. the 2290ies (Referenced in the second season TNG Episode "The Emmissary")

Just saying...