Poll: Star Trek (Voyager mostly)

[carpathic]

NO!

I accidently voted for Kirk, Picard is the far superior captain.

You only think that. Deep down you know Kirk is the greatest and your subconscious guided your vote.

Kidding aside, we do seem to have a lot of Picard fans here. I never took to him until TNG was in reruns, though in hindsight that has less to do with Picard and more to do with Series 1 and much of Series 2 of TNG being really really bad - though S2 has some standout episodes like "Q Who" and "The Measure of a Man" (aka best Riker episode ever)

Picard has far more character than Kirk, Riker is basically Kirk with some character development and a bit more tact. Kirk is to Star Trek what Adam West is to Batman, a lot of fun, just hard to take as seriously as his successors.

Pocard also has a Shakespearean edge that's quite rare, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=632q94e2zm8 the way he spits those last words out. That cene is one of the very best in Star Trek, sadly I can't find the whole clip.

The best episode in TNG is after Picard gets tortured by the alien for days at a time, and at the very end when asked how many lights he saw (even though he saw four); Picard yells back "THERE ARE FOUR LIGHTS". Just refused to be broken, even when he was. That sir, is why I voted for Picard!

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Voyager has an entire episode that is anti-canon. So much so that all the writers don't consider it as part of the canon at all. It is never mentioned again for the rest of the series, even though it should technically have helped them. Breaking the warp 10 barrier. That's all I'm going to say.

When Tom and Janeway turn into lizards and make little baby lizards.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

To show the difference in writing, the people that were involved with DS9 went on to make Battlestar Galactica. The people that wrote Voyager went on to make Enterprise...

Enterprise wasn't so much ruined by poor writing as it was by a crappy choice of actors. Some plots had potential like the previous series, but seemingly hiring exclusively ten-a-penny American Hollywood action heroes with heavy American accents really broke the mood for me.

The same sort of happened with their choice of actor for Sisko in DS9. Brooks is just uncapable of playing anger or strong emotions realistically. Nice for a stage play, but not for a series. Which is made even worse if cameras, completely by the book, zoom in to give an even better view of how Brooks makes unlogical facial expressions and can't really get into the role.

Kind of a big deal as the 'captain' character is the leader and it's ussually when they make the captain get angry, something big's going on. You saw a good example of that in the First Contact movie when Picard gets worked up over the Borg and says that the line must be drawn here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3RNsZvdYZQ], and then the plot tips when they abandon ship. If such a moment comes across as fake acting, it just breaks the mood.

While I admit that Brooks could be uneven at times, I have to disagree that he couldn't convey anger. When he was pissed, or when he wanted to sound threatening, then holy shit, stay away from his rage.

 

[Kermi]

Voyager is my favourite Trek series but Picard is my favourite captain. Janeway would be my favourite if she wasn't such an uptight mother hen. I know she had her good moments but they were so shoehorned in that they felt out of character.

 

[Sixcess]

I always thought Janeway was a somewhat questionable captain who misinterpreted starfleet policy.

That is hilarious. Is it wrong that it took me a minute or two to realise that wasn't the regular Janeway? Being a malevolent bloodthirsty warmonger really suits her.

I... I really like Janeway. I had no idea she was so unpopular on the internet, most other Trekkies I know think she's one of the best captains. Ah well.

I think it's like Doctor Who fans with the question of 'favourite Doctor' - there is no right or wrong answer and they all have their fans. Besides, in the poll Janeway currently has more votes than Kirk... which I admit surprised me.

But then I grew up with the reruns of TOS, before TNG ever aired, so Kirk is the captain for me, just as the constitution class is the real Enterprise. But I don't take it as a slight when people disagree. That would be... illogical.

Kirk is to Star Trek what Adam West is to Batman, a lot of fun, just hard to take as seriously as his successors.

Different era, different style. The campiness and larger than life performances of TOS was something I really missed when TNG aired - Picard seemed so wishy washy after Kirk, and the show did take quite a while to find its own voice. I recall reading that a lot of the early TNG drew on repurposed material for the 'phase 2' revival they'd planned before the movies came along, so you had 80s/90s actors handling 70s scripts. God, Season 1 was bad.

It's as well they did move on though. I can't imagine Picard getting into punch ups with monsters and teaching alien space babes about "this... thing... we call... love."

 

[RagTagBand]

Picard is the best captain, but Voyager was the best show (IMO). Even if the end was just as badly done as ME3's was.

The idea, however, that Jeri Ryan would have suited the roll of Janeway is pretty much nonsense. Jeri Ryan doesn't really command authority physically; she's very sleek and slender, feminine and was unashamedly put in Voyager to be eye candy (though her character was very, very good). She's great as a variation on the femme fatale but not as The Captain. By casting her as the captain you would have made the captain character into some weak "woman trying her best but needing a man to help her" character, a novice damsel in distress.

Mulgrew, on the other hand, has a chin like a rock face and is quite "Tough" looking/sounding. I mean sure she looks like an idiot when she's fighting and don't even get me STARTED on the orgasm-noise she makes when she's in pain/shocked/struggling but she looks and sounds the part.

All in all, however, I'm sure we can all agree that The Doctor was one of the best characters in Star Trek period.

 

[Sneezeguard]

That is hilarious. Is it wrong that it took me a minute or two to realise that wasn't the regular Janeway? Being a malevolent bloodthirsty warmonger really suits her.

Evil Janeway is the best Janeway she's so entertaining to watch and you gotta love the campness and how over the top it is with the black leather gloves.

Shame it was all made up

 

[Bertylicious]

SISKO ISN'T A CAPTAIN HOW DARE YOU PROFANE THE CANON

ahem.

Anyway, it's kind of a tie between Sisko and Picard for me. It's honestly been too long since I've watched either to make any kind of strong choice either way.

Also, while I don't doubt the Jeri Ryan would have been great as Voyager's captain, I never really got the feeling that Janeway was a harridan or overly bureaucratic or any of the other things you said. Sure she can be stiff, but the Federation is a paramilitary organization after all, and due to Voyager's situation, military discipline might needs be more strict there than on, say, the Enterprise-D. Honestly, Janeway struck me as something of a "mama-bear"--tough on her own crew, but willing to die for them if need be (and as demonstrated more than a number of times.)

Besides, Seven would make a /terrible/ captain. She's an extra Data/Spock analogue, since apparently the doctor wasn't enough on his own. But unlike Data and Spock, she's not comfortable enough in any society aside from the Borg to be a qualified captain. Be'lonna would be a better choice, and in that crew, she'd probably be third after Chakotay and Tuvok.

Didn't Sisko get promoted to Captain?

Janeway was one a really great character and Muldew pulled it off really well, I thought. A good blend of feminity and grit.

I'm pretty sure he's just referring to Jeri Ryan as an actress and not implying that Seven should have been the captain.

 

[Atmos Duality]

Oh right...my poll choice.
Patrick Stewart holds a special place in my heart, and he represents the ethical soul of Starfleet (at least until the TNG movies where he goes way out of character).

And Kirk is the soul of exploration; he goes on adventures. He kicks ass. He takes action.

But my choice is...Sisko.
Yes. Sisko. He came across as a man of planning, diplomacy and action. But distant and troubled. Very rarely does Sisko's troubles come to the surface.

He's not so lofty/enlightened as Picard that I find him unbelievably preachy, but not so campy and shirt-ripping as Kirk as to find him fragmented.
(though Star Trek 2 Kirk blows every other Trek performance out of the water. This is how you ACT, Mr. Shatner. See what you're capable of when you don't let your ego run all over the set?)

Sisko's position of command is uniquely difficult, yet, more believable than the other Starfleet brass I've seen.
The worst part of his story arcs ironically, are his encounters with The Prophets. I know that supernatural encounters aren't exactly new to the series, but the whole overarching plot felt contrived, forced, and like it didn't belong in Star Trek.

As for the other Captains...
Archer is an asshole commanding a ship full of assholes. I'm not going into any more detail than that, lest I am forced to actually remember more of Enterprise.

Janeway..in addition to what I've already said about her. Well, how do I put it...
She was a neckless stiff who got turned into a lizard-thing, knocked up by a junior officer, and laid eggs at one point.

(I am dead serious)

 

[Jason Corner]

Whats with all the hate for Enterprise?! I think scott bakula is a great actor and the show had a pretty good plot (time travel ftw)

 

[Dudeman325]

(seriously, "That's an order" is virtually her catchphrase, even at the most inapropriate or ridiculous moments)

I always thought Janeway's catchphrase was "Do it," which seemed pretty weak compared to Picard's "Make it so."

That aside, I still think that Kirk (Shatner) is the best captain. Picard is great, don't get me wrong, but he seemed more suited to be an admiral than a captain.

 

[Da Orky Man]

SISKO ISN'T A CAPTAIN HOW DARE YOU PROFANE THE CANON

HOW DARE YOU PROFANE FALSE CANON!

At first, Sisko was merely a commander. He later got promoted to captain, as enshrined in episode 26, season 3, "The Adversary".

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Adversary_(episode)

Yeah, I'm just that nerdy.

 

[DevilWithaHalo]

Voyager has an entire episode that is anti-canon. So much so that all the writers don't consider it as part of the canon at all. It is never mentioned again for the rest of the series, even though it should technically have helped them. Breaking the warp 10 barrier. That's all I'm going to say.

When Tom and Janeway turn into lizards and make little baby lizards.

That happened, and we all let it happen.

That aside, I still think that Kirk (Shatner) is the best captain. Picard is great, don't get me wrong, but he seemed more suited to be an admiral than a captain.

I agree completely, shame he kept passing up the promotion. But who wouldn't want to stay on the flagship? That was Riker's whole bit too. In fact... why the hell did everyone refuse any opportunity to leave? Except for that one Marty Sue that took every opportunity...

 

[ThePerfectionist]

I love how half of this thread is people arguing over the poll and half is actually arguing over the content of the original post. Like some before me, I'll do both at once.

I've always loved Picard (and voted for him), but I like Janeway. Yes, she was somewhat robotic at times (though when you're stood next to Tuvok and Seven of Nine, it's kinda hard to notice), but more than any other captain I've seen (bearing in mind I never watched the newest series), she screws up. And she screws up badly. She lets her emotions get the better of her, makes terrible snap decisions, is either too trusting or not trusting enough, and generally does an EXCELLENT job of portraying exactly how fallible that much stress would put on a person.

Voyager was the first Trek to feel like it was a team effort; Janeway relied on the whole crew (or at least the whole bridge crew) in almost every situation, in a way that you would, again, have to do trapped that far from home. Picard was so fucking badass that during some episodes of TNG I couldn't help thinking he didn't really need a crew other than to fly the damn ship. It made him awesome, but it also elevates him. Janeway felt very humanly flawed. Was she the best leader? Hell, no. But she got them home, and in mostly one piece.

Edit: I didn't really mention any of the other captains above, so in brief. Kirk's a prick, Sisko is awesome but I just couldn't get into DS9 the way I did TNG and Voyager. Nothing on him, but the setting didn't win me over.

P.S. Captcha Complex Number
4+2i

 

[jkvoller]

Voyager was the series that was on when i was growing up and for me is the best series, just only edged out by TNG. I even prefer the design of the Intrepid class compared to the others.

On top of all that, the best character has to be Riker. You just can't argue with the beard of awesome. Rikers beard is so awesome that all my Star Trek Online characters have that beard, even the female characters

 

[Verzin]

Janeway was a decent captain. HOWEVER. in my opinion, the writing was really going downhill all throughout Star Trek: Voyager (it got better with the addition of seven of nine, but eventually even she started having massive plot holes between what she was capable of and what she chose to do.) not to say it was Shakespeare before that, but the actions of the captain and the crew in voyager had some truly appalling moments where all you could do was yell at the screen: ARE YOU FCKING SERIOUS??! WHY?? WHY?! (other star trek series also had that, but imo Next Generation was as good as it got.)


Star Trek Enterprise was...an abomination. It would have been fine as a stand alone science fiction series, but The writers misinterpreted and fucked up the most simple to understand species of star trek: The Vulcans. (aside from that it was pretty decent, but fucking up the ENTIRE VULCAN SPECIES is unforgivable)
What they did was this: look at vulcans. Look at Romulans. Get them confused. Go "OOOOH!! I understand!! VULCANS ARE SLIGHTLY LESS VIOLENT ROMULANS! HURR DERRR. They aren't logical: They have little to no logic in their actions, 'poorly' mask emotion with every sentence, and They're emotional and bigoted but CALL it logic and act all uppity and superior with no basis for it. All bases covered here" *Snort more cocaine*.
When 'I' am more rational and logical than a vulcan commander, something is seriously fucking wrong.


Deep space 9 was O.K. I disliked it through the first season, but it got much much better. I didn't like the religious overtones though, and in my opinion it was overall less interesting than the star trek series that focused on a ship rather than a space station.

Kirk was awesome, but his best work was the star trek movies. I loved Wrath of Kahn in particular. The TV show was sort of...cheesy. in a lot of ways.

Picard forever as the best captain.

EDIT: just so you know, I love all the series with the exception of Enterprise. All are good. all are worth watching.

 

[F'Angus]

Kirk is Awesome. More action that talk, and an excellent commander.

 

[Deathlyphil]

snip

Enterprise wasn't so much ruined by poor writing as it was by a crappy choice of actors. Some plots had potential like the previous series, but seemingly hiring exclusively ten-a-penny American Hollywood action heroes with heavy American accents really broke the mood for me.

The same sort of happened with their choice of actor for Sisko in DS9. Brooks is just uncapable of playing anger or strong emotions realistically. Nice for a stage play, but not for a series. Which is made even worse if cameras, completely by the book, zoom in to give an even better view of how Brooks makes unlogical facial expressions and can't really get into the role.

Kind of a big deal as the 'captain' character is the leader and it's ussually when they make the captain get angry, something big's going on. You saw a good example of that in the First Contact movie when Picard gets worked up over the Borg and says that the line must be drawn here [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3RNsZvdYZQ], and then the plot tips when they abandon ship. If such a moment comes across as fake acting, it just breaks the mood.

While I admit that Brooks could be uneven at times, I have to disagree that he couldn't convey anger. When he was pissed, or when he wanted to sound threatening, then holy shit, stay away from his rage.

My personal favourite episode is from series 6 of DS9, In The Pale Moonlight. Sisko's speech at the end where he admits to lying, deception, murder, and cover-ups, and then says he'd do the whole damn thing all over again if he had the choice. Sisko is the only captain I can see leading a fleet in times of war. (Kirk would solve it himself with a fist-fight, Picard would talk everyone down, Janeway would faff for 40 minutes, then use completely unheard of tech to save the day, never watched enough Enterprise to know what Archer would do)

 

[Deathlyphil]

Short verso of Sisko's speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-YyL7X4CWw

Longer version where Garrack's involvement is documented: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f78UN5T61_o

TD;dw - Sisko puts the greater good above morals and ethics.

 

[Vuliev]

SISKO ISN'T A CAPTAIN HOW DARE YOU PROFANE THE CANON

HOW DARE YOU PROFANE FALSE CANON!

At first, Sisko was merely a commander. He later got promoted to captain, as enshrined in episode 26, season 3, "The Adversary".

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Adversary_(episode)

Yeah, I'm just that nerdy.

Bah, I was like seven when DS9 finished, too many other things to remember between now and then. XP