The Ultimate WORST CAPTAIN poll!
- Thread starter Mach5
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Pine Kirk. He is, as has been said, too young to be a believable captain. And he is a bit of a jerk. Hopefully he'll be better developed later on.
I didn't mind Janeway. At least Mulgrew was a competent actress.
Archer was often played as a Shatner interpretation. Or to be less kind, a Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest knockoff. Which was a shame, as I know Bakula is capable of a lot more.
Archer was often played as a Shatner interpretation. Or to be less kind, a Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest knockoff. Which was a shame, as I know Bakula is capable of a lot more.
If I'm not mistaken, he was the only reason Earth wasn't destroyed along with Vulcan, as Spock was happy enough to leave for the Lorentian System? I think saving Earth, the capital of the Federation, along with its seven billion+ inhabitants would be enough to earn a fast track to captain.
^As far as I'm concerned, that was a consequence of poor writing in the movie; Kirk was the hero because everyone else in the film was really dumb. Its the same complaint that has been levelled against all the other starfleet captains from the previous films, they were made to look incompetent in order to make Shatner's Kirk seem smart, but in the case of Trek XI it was taken to a new level because their incompetence led to the destruction of an entire planet.
Pine's Kirk was by no means magnificent, he was just the best of a bad bunch.
Pine's Kirk was by no means magnificent, he was just the best of a bad bunch.
QFT. I think nuKirk proved his worth as a Captain. The complex maneuverings required to even get himself INTO the captain's chair were not insignificant (and Starfleet probably didn't know he'd had help from the future), and what he did with it once he got it was amazing. He inspired an entire crew of mostly cadets (plus a Vulcan who hated him) to go after an impossible goal, and they did it when everyone else had turned tail. Starfleet procedure or not, I think he proved he had the right stuff. It was the brains, guts and leadership ... not just that he saved Earth (though that surely helped).
I went with Janeway and Archer, and added NuKirk as a last thought.
Janeway through mostly inconsistant writing came across as too impulsive for her own devices. Her morals and decision making seemed to vary with her moods. Once more I fault bad writing of the character but I had anissue withher with the destruction of the array from the onset. (Timed torpedo explosion AFTER the Crews get back home, split second timing but can be done).
Archer just never gelled with me, too whiney and well once more a product of just rotten writing. I would not serve under him as he was written.
As for NuKirk. Yes he has proved an incredible amount of ability given how he handled the crisis in the NuTrek film. However just because he did well here and now doesnt mean the lack of experience will not catch up with the poor kid later on down the road. It just seems more like he will burn out with out the proper 'salting' of achieving his rank the old fashioned way. Not to say he isnt going to do it but come on now. Seriously there is a reason we dont hand over aircraft carriers to ensigns just out of the academy. Even NASA projects are not given to recent graduates and new hires.
Other than that It is too early for me to decide if I would serve with NuKirk I guess it will depend how he is handled in the next film. I mean we have only seen him this one time and alternate timeline or not...this is Jim Kirk
I say lets see what the kid can do next
Vons
Janeway through mostly inconsistant writing came across as too impulsive for her own devices. Her morals and decision making seemed to vary with her moods. Once more I fault bad writing of the character but I had anissue withher with the destruction of the array from the onset. (Timed torpedo explosion AFTER the Crews get back home, split second timing but can be done).
Archer just never gelled with me, too whiney and well once more a product of just rotten writing. I would not serve under him as he was written.
As for NuKirk. Yes he has proved an incredible amount of ability given how he handled the crisis in the NuTrek film. However just because he did well here and now doesnt mean the lack of experience will not catch up with the poor kid later on down the road. It just seems more like he will burn out with out the proper 'salting' of achieving his rank the old fashioned way. Not to say he isnt going to do it but come on now. Seriously there is a reason we dont hand over aircraft carriers to ensigns just out of the academy. Even NASA projects are not given to recent graduates and new hires.
Other than that It is too early for me to decide if I would serve with NuKirk I guess it will depend how he is handled in the next film. I mean we have only seen him this one time and alternate timeline or not...this is Jim Kirk
I say lets see what the kid can do next
Vons
I voted Janeway because I would hate to be stuck on a ship with her for 7 years. I wish I could take that back and vote for Picard. The first time he went on one of those arrogant "the prime directive says they must die" rants I would be tempted to beam him onto the planet and say "How do you like that prime directive now?" 
I cast my vote for our new XI Kirk; seeing him grunging around in a bar getting beat up like a common thug makes me wish that someone would have just set their phaser on kill and finished him right there. Granted, he is young and we are supposed to cut him slack; but seeing such flippant behavior angers me in real life, so that much more when it is exhibited by a soon-to-be Captain of the Enterprise. As someone else already has alluded, hopefully he will grow up between now and next time we see him.
Why does everyone hate Janeway??????
Agreed.
Or to quote Captain Benjamin Maxwell:
"Smells musty in here... like a bureaucrat's office."
Why is this multiple choice?
I almost picked Chris Pine's Kirk, but decided to cut him some slack as we've only seen him once as captain. I do echo the complaints that it was ridiculous for someone to go from newly minted officer to captain so quickly.
If I had written the script, I would've established that nine years had passed from the time Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru scenario, and that Kirk & Spock were bitter rivals as a result of that outcome. I also would've had Spock in those early academy scenes be a brilliant, up-and-coming cadet, rather than an officer, who later is passed over for promotion by Pike who favors Kirk as his first officer when he's in command of Enterprise. That would've been a better background for their rivalry, sparked by Kirk's defeat of then-cadet Spock's masterpiece, Kobayashi Maru.
I did vote for Janeway and Archer, partly because they were the main characters in the two weakest entries in the ST mythos, VOY and ENT.
Another common thread: Arrogance. Both captains were way too arrogant and sure of themselves, and their choices led to a lot of aggravation for themselves, their crews, and the Federation.
In about a century, when Federation ships begin exploring the Delta Quadrant, a lot of bad will toward Starfleet will have had a century to fester. Good luck being the next captain who enters that quadrant!
At least Archer repaired some of the damage he wrought by the end of ENT.
All the other captains I was fine with. My faves are still Shatner's Kirk, Picard, Hunter's Pike, and
Sisko.
My honorable mentions go to: Captain Clark Terrell of the Reliant in TWOK, and Captain Ron Tracey of the Exeter in The Omega Glory. Terrell seemed pretty ineffectual while Tracey was a raving lunatic.
Red Ranger
If I had written the script, I would've established that nine years had passed from the time Kirk beat the Kobayashi Maru scenario, and that Kirk & Spock were bitter rivals as a result of that outcome. I also would've had Spock in those early academy scenes be a brilliant, up-and-coming cadet, rather than an officer, who later is passed over for promotion by Pike who favors Kirk as his first officer when he's in command of Enterprise. That would've been a better background for their rivalry, sparked by Kirk's defeat of then-cadet Spock's masterpiece, Kobayashi Maru.
I did vote for Janeway and Archer, partly because they were the main characters in the two weakest entries in the ST mythos, VOY and ENT.
Another common thread: Arrogance. Both captains were way too arrogant and sure of themselves, and their choices led to a lot of aggravation for themselves, their crews, and the Federation.
In about a century, when Federation ships begin exploring the Delta Quadrant, a lot of bad will toward Starfleet will have had a century to fester. Good luck being the next captain who enters that quadrant!
At least Archer repaired some of the damage he wrought by the end of ENT.
All the other captains I was fine with. My faves are still Shatner's Kirk, Picard, Hunter's Pike, and
Sisko.
My honorable mentions go to: Captain Clark Terrell of the Reliant in TWOK, and Captain Ron Tracey of the Exeter in The Omega Glory. Terrell seemed pretty ineffectual while Tracey was a raving lunatic.
Red Ranger
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