So, which of these Starfleet captains do you like the least? Which one do you consider the least competent, least likable, least everything? In short, which captain is the one you wouldn't want to serve under? Please explain your choices. EDIT: either some of you didn't notice that this is multiple choice, or Janeway truly is one of a kind...
You first -- you chose Janeway, right? Janeway and Archer are both the worst, in my eyes; they both have no commanding presence whatsoever. The original Kirk had a distracting swagger and a very irritating way of speaking that the new Kirk doesn't have (he was the least interesting of the three main characters to me). The old Pike didn't have much charisma; it was simply an old, sexist (if I remember correctly) man. Not someone I would want to work under. I guess if I were to choose one and only one, it would be Archer. Doesn't look like he can command his own two feet, much less a starship.
Jame T Kirk from Star Trek XI. The guys an unlikeable douche bag. Followed by Janeway, mostly because I don't want to spend 7 years in the Delta Quadrant. Star Trek XI Spock would be bad as well. I'd be worried that if I made a little mistake the guy would fire me out in an escape pod at a planet with a lone Starfleet outpost and not telling the outpost to go get me. How hard is it to beam a person off? Plus if you fire off escape pods when you need to abandon the ship you might have a Titanic on your hands.
Janeway for letting her very high ideals frequently get in the way of common sense. Starship captains face tough moral choices very often, but there is such a thing as setting the bar too high and doing onself more harm than good, IMO... I would also like to give honorable mention to J.T. Esteban of the Starship Grissom for being overly cautious one moment over proper procedures and then getting caught with his pants down when a Klingon ship appeared.
The original Pike was sexist but he was a product of the era, but he seemed smart and capable and strong-willed. Ultimately, I liked him. NuPike is likeable enough and seems reasonably competent, he's on the same level as the original Pike. Shatner's Kirk made many questionable command decisions and would probably have been dishonourably discharged if Starfleet was a real organisation, yet I can't help but like the guy anyway. He's charming and was clearly a competent commander in battles. Pine's Kirk is an idiot and an asshole and he has no charm, I see nothing redeemable about the character at all. Maybe he will be better developed in future movies, but he is a major factor in why I did not enjoy Trek XI. Picard is the captain I grew up with, he has his flaws but I still love the guy. Sisko is The Sisko. Janeway is a frustrating character for me because she contains the elements which make Kirk and Picard great and their flaws as well. When she is good she is great, but when she is bad she is awful. Archer was naive and incompetent at the start of Enterprise but he grew over the course of the show to the point where I like him.
I liken this to how in Batman Begins, Batman wasn't the great martial artist that we would eventually see in the next movie. Even common henchmen were able to get good punches in. I mention that because while Pine-Kirk was cocky and indeed a jerk, you start to see flashes of the Kirk we know shine through, culminating in his offer to help save Nero & Co. at the end. So yeah, hopefully he'll be better developed later on. Also, kudos for mentioning NuPike and The Sisko
Archer was just a freakin liability who put his crew in unnecessary danger several times so he wouldn't have his pride damaged. He was just awful.
*sigh* as much as i am trying, DS9 is still my least favorite and by association is Sisko. I positively hate him. (*ducking for cover)
I had to go Janeway here. She's the most inconsistent Captain there is. Tough to have confidence in your Captain when she contradicts herself over and over.
Archer. The man was written as the perfect captain for the Bush-era-- a single-minded arrogant twit that never listened to the advice of others and only got his job because his daddy was famous. Bush, at least, never whined so damned much.
I did enjoy the film quite a bit, but I agree with you about Kirk as Pine portrayed him. What an immature little spoiled weasel he was. Like a frat boy in a Starfleet uniform. Nothing like what James T. Kirk should be. He's definitely my choice for worst captain out of all of these.
Damn, I really was not under the impression that Pine's Kirk was so unpopular. I seriously liked him and the only major flaw I found in him was his age. 25 is simply too young for command, not to mention the fact that he went straight from cadet to captain.
Captain Archer- In the begining he seemed to take the whole mission as some big joke and let his personal feelings towards Vulcan's influence his thinking and actions a lot. Secondly, he annoyed me with that dog. Personally if I was on that ship I would of thrown Porthos out of the airlock. As the series went on he got better. Even without all those issues he was never gonna out do any of the previous captains for me. Although Janeway got on my nerves sometimes, I still love that women!
That's part of it too. He didn't progress through the ranks like a normal Starfleet officer would. He was just handed the captaincy on a silver platter. He didn't earn it.