“I’m James T. Kirk, Captain of the Enterprise!’’ he announces in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Bold, smart and king of the fistfights, Kirk has all the qualities of a great leader.
William Shatner turned to his experience as a Shakespearean actor when he was originally developing his lead character of Kirk in the 60′s series. Basing his leadership qualities on Horatio Hornblower and Alexander the Great, Shatner also wanted Kirk to have a humorous side but when the situation called for he ‘’would snap to and become the warrior.’’
A lot of examples come to mind that illustrate Kirk’s ability to get out of a tight spot, be it ‘’the prefix code’’ in Wrath of Khan or lying to Balok about Corbomite in “The Corbomite Maneuver” In these situations he is always controlled and focused, there is no mistake, Kirk is in charge!
Below are ten examples that highlight Kirk doing what he does best and why he makes such an awesome captain.
SMART
Example: STAR TREK: SPACE SEED
Kirk discovers the true identity of the mystery man he was forced to awaken from the cryogenic sleep he found him in. Identified as Khan Noonian Singh, he is a genetically engineered dictator from the 20th Century. Kirk needs to find out what Khan’s plans are and goes to his quarters to interrogate him.
The fact that Khan has not been too forthcoming when previously questioned, Kirk needs to be a bit smarter and use Khan’s ego against him.
By only revealing to Khan that they now know his name and that he is genetically engineered, Kirk lets Khan’s ego take over and revile his true intentions with the line ‘‘yes, it appears we will do well in your century, Captain!’’
Kirk then abruptly ends the conversation which throws Khan to ask ‘’Have you any other questions?’’ to which Kirk replies ‘’Thank you, they’ve all been answered’’ because he now knows that Khan is
trouble.
In the process, Khan realises the game is up and the time is right to take over the Enterprise.
Kirk employs the same trick in Star Trek II when he has to make Khan follow him into the Mutara Nebula. Khan is reluctant because the nebula will interfere with his shields and sensors. So Kirk, over the intercom tells him that he ‘’laughing at his superior intellect’’ which knocks Khan’s ego, raises his temper to boiling point and he follows the Enterprise in.
NOT GULLIBLE
Example: STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER
From Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, a film berated by most but unfairly in my opinion (something which I will expand upon in a different article.)
In this scene, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Sybok finally get to meet the entity Sybok believes is ‘’God.’’ ‘’God’’ manifests himself in front of them and asks if their starship will carry him through the great barrier and allow him access to the galaxy beyond. Sybok tells him yes and that it will be his ‘’chariot’’
While everyone is standing mesmerised, Kirk is skeptical. After all, he’s faced more than his fair share of energy-based aliens who have wanted him to believe that they are all powerful, so why would this one be any different.
Kirk asks him ‘’what does god need with a starship?’’ which is a fair enough question. If he is god and he created everything, why can’t he pass through his own ‘’great barrier?’’ This provokes ‘’god’’ into showing that he is just another malevolent alien that wants control of the Enterprise.
Star Trek V gets labelled as the film where Star Trek does religion and the crew find god, but the opposite is true. They do go on a quest (be it against their will) to find the being that Sybok believes is God, but through rational thought Kirk exposes the ‘’God’’ creature as nothing more than a fraud. I love it when Kirk asks ‘’what does god need with a starship?’’ and ‘’don’t you know, aren’t you God?’ ’Kirk is questioning him rather than taking everything he’s being told at face value.
At the end of the film, Kirk tells Spock and McCoy that maybe god isn’t out there but in the human heart and that we are in control of our own destinies. We don’t need to be looking for an external god figure to provide us with answers; we have the power to do that ourselves.
LOYALTY
Example: STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
This is one of my favourites. Kirk is trying to convince the Admiral to allow him to take the Enterprise back to the planet Genesis so that he can recover Spock’s body and help Dr McCoy in the process (who has gone space crazy since Spock implanted his Katra/living spirit inside his head before he died).
The Admiral is unwilling to listen and instead tells Kirk to let it go and not let this issue ruin his career. But Kirk isn’t listening.
When Kirk is asking the Admiral for permission to go, he knows he has to go no matter what the Admiral decides. Kirk is really giving Starfleet a chance to do it by the book. His friends need him and destroying his career or the threat of a court martial isn’t an issue. He has to help them. Like Kirk said, he ‘’had to try’’ and but ultimately he’s going anyway.
QUICK THINKING
Example: STAR TREK: Mirror Mirror
Kirk, Bones, Mr Scott and Uhura have accidentally been transported into a parallel universe where the Federation is a dictatorial empire that rules with force. Kirk walks onto the bridge and is informed by Uhura that if the Halkans don’t hand over the dilithium crystals, he is under orders to destroy them. Kirk obviously doesn’t want to do this and is in a very difficult situation because he also doesn’t want to give himself away as not being the indigenous Kirk of this universe.
Kirk’s easy way out is if Mr Scott successfully sabotages the ships phasers. Unfortunately, Scotty is denied access by security to the ships phaser room and has to inform the captain that the phasers are fine. So Kirk has to think quickly the only real option he has is to buy himself more time.
Kirk orders that phasers be put onto stand-by and tells the Halkan Council that they have 12 hours to comply. Spock advises him that this is unusual and ‘’unprecedented.’’ Kirk gives him an extended look that implies that he knows Spock is his biggest threat and that he cant be easily fooled.
Spock tells Kirk that his conduct must be reported, to which Kirk replies ‘‘you’re at liberty to do so’’ knowing that he has managed to buy a little time. On show is Kirk’s ability to stay calm, think quickly and make the right decisions even when under intense pressure.
NOT AFRAID TO GET HIS HANDS DIRTY
Example: STAR TREK: BY ANY OTHER NAME
Not much needs to be said about this. Kirk is trying to make Rojan (Warren Stevens) jealous by kissing Kelinda (Barbara Bouchet) and it works.
Kirk gives Rojan the perfect slap to provoke him further. It does the trick and leads to an awesome fight between Kirk and Rojan.
Kirk has never had a problem looking after himself. Having a large number of moves in your arsenal to call upon helps and Kirk has many including the hip toss, drop kick and karate chop.
Rest assured, if diplomacy fails, Kirk is more than capable to negotiate with his fists.
TWO STEPS AHEAD
Example: STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
Imagine being trapped inside a ‘’giant rock in space’’ while you’re ship has been severely damaged by a surprise attack. That would be enough to ruin anyone’s day, but not if you’re James T Kirk.
Realising that Khan must be monitoring communications, Spock informs Kirk that the Enterprise has no power to beam them back and it will take at least 2 days to repair. So Kirk & Co. take the time to relax in the Genesis cave where Kirk tells Savik and David about how he beat the Kobayashi Maru test.
The Kobayashi Maru test is designed to assess the character of Starfleet cadets who are hoping to be captain by making them face an unwinnable scenario. Kirk reprogrammed the test before he took it and beat it for which he got a commendation for original thinking.
Kirk then flicks his communicator and shows everyone that he’s beat the no win scenario again because the Enterprise is ready to beam them aboard. When Spock said that it would take two days to conduct repairs, he really meant two hours. Kirk then takes a bite of an apple and tells everyone ‘’I don’t like to loose’’.
Shatner plays this scene with just the right amount of smugness and self-satisfaction which rather than being annoying, comes across smooth and controlled. You can imagine he showed a similar amount of ingenuity and wit when he beat the Kobayashi Maru test.
In Star Trek (2009) you see Pine-Kirk take the Kobayashi Maru test and rather than coming across as a potential future captain, Pine plays him as a cocky jock whose over the top gloating makes him totally unlikeable. Hes acting brash and not taking the test seriously at all. You can’t understand why Starfleet would think hes in anyway ready to take the test. Also, hes made it so obvious that hes done something to the test, Im astounded that Pine-Kirk looks so shocked when he’s caught and has to defend his actions.
Kirk taking the Kobayashi Maru test has been fabled as a defining moment in the Kirk character but thanks to JJ Abrams, it’s been reduced to nothing more than a throwaway scene that does nothing to enhance the Kirk character.
The writers did have Pine-Kirk eating an apple, which I thought was a nice homage to Kirk eating an apple in Wrath of Khan in an otherwise tacky scene. But JJ Abrams dismissed that idea on the DVD commentary.
TURNS DEATH INTO A FIGHTING CHANCE TO LIVE
Example: STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
We all know when it comes to the true loves in Kirk’s life; they can be categorized into three compartments – Women, his friends & The Enterprise.
So when the Enterprise is disabled and his son murdered by the Klingons in Star Trek III, Kirk realises his only option is to dupe the Klingons into boarding the ship and blowing it up. So McCoy and Sulu rush to the transporter room while Kirk, Mr Scott and Chekov enter the destruct sequence.
Credit to Shatner’s acting, he conveys sadness, grief, anger and loss perfectly throughout this scene. His son is dead and now he has to pull the plug on his terminally ill ship. Even as Mr Scott and Chekov are taken aback when they realise that hes about to blow up the ship, Kirk stares at the screen totally focused on what he has to do.
Accompanied by a stirring James Horner soundtrack, The Enterprise blowing up is one of the most memorable scenes in Star Trek, which ends with McCoy reassuring Kirk that he ‘’done what he always does, turn death into a fighting chance to live’’
NOT AFRAID TO BE UNPOPULAR
Example: STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE
A deadly cloud (as usual) is heading towards Earth and (as usual) the only ship that stands in its way is the Enterprise. But there is a problem, the Enterprise is still being refitted and Kirk, now an admiral, is no longer in the captain’s chair.
Kirk, as well as having a personal desire to be back captaining the Enterprise, knows that experience is key in combating the alien.
He meets with Captain Decker in Engineering and sacks him from the captain role and temporarily reduces his rank to commander. Decker, obviously upset, tries to guilt trip Kirk but Kirk orders Decker to report to the bridge while at the same time reminding him of his new rank.
It may come across as a shitty thing to do but the bigger problem is the threat from the approaching alien, and Decker’s feelings are of no consequence to the emerging situation.
Kirk knows that it’s his experience that’s needed to defeat the alien and he has to be in charge, even if he’s not up to scratch with the new Enterprise. The crew can operate the tool but he has to control it.
McCoy psychoanalyzes him later in the film and tells him that he is in the wrong and all this has all been about him being captain of the Enterprise again. But as the film unfolds, Kirk is proved right when his skill and experience brings a happy ending to the story.
DIPLOMATIC
Example: STAR TREK VI: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
The Klingons have run into trouble and can no longer afford to remain in a state of constant conflict with the federation. Starfleet has two options; either take this opportunity to crush the empire once and for all or to open up negotiations and bring an end to the mistrust.
When Leonard Nimoy, Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal wrote the story for Star Trek VI, they were mirroring the collapse of the Soviet Union, which in turn lead to the end of the Cold War. In the same way the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant triggered peace between the USSR and America, the explosion on the Klingon mining moon at the beginning of the film does the same between the Federation and Klingons.
Starfleet decide to send Kirk and the Enterprise to escort the Klingons to the peace conference. Kirk doesn’t want to go because he hates the Klingons since one of them killed his son in Star Trek III. But it’s pointed out to him that by Kirk going, it sends a message that the Federation is serious about peace. Even with Kirk’s history with the Klingons, he is now escorting them to peace talks on earth,
‘’Only Nixon could go to China’’
Later when the Enterprise meets up with the Klingon delegation, Kirk puts his feelings to one side and invites the Klingons to dinner onboard the Enterprise. When they beam aboard, he meats General Chang who tells Kirk that he’s always wanted to meet him. Kirk replies that he doesn’t ‘’know how to take that’’ to which one of the Klingon aids interjects that its with ‘’Sincere admiration.’’ Chang then states ‘‘from one warrior to another’’ implying that he would rather be kicking Kirk’s ass in battle than having dinner with him.
Kirk doesn’t rise to it. Instead Kirk says ‘’Right!’’ and gives Chang a look that tells him exactly what he thinks of him and what he would do to him if they met in different circumstances.
BLAST REGULATIONS
Example: STAR TREK: THE DOOMSDAY MACHINE
Kirk is stuck on the USS Constellation, which has been heavily damaged by a planet munching machine weapon. The Enterprise is now under the command of Commodore Decker who is grief stricken after loosing all his crew.
Decker decides the best course of action is to fight the machine but it’s a repeat of the same decision he took that led his crew to their deaths and his ship crippled.
When Kirk finally gets through to the Enterprise and finds out that its Decker who is responsible for taking the Enterprise into combat with the machine, he is quick to tell him what he thinks off him and orders Spock to take command. When Decker quotes regulations, Kirk responds with ‘’Blast regulations.’’ He isn’t going to blindly follow regulations if it means he might loose his ship.
Previously Spock and McCoy bickered about regulations when Decker took command. Spock told McCoy that Starfleet regulations allowed Decker to take control and there was nothing they could do about it. But Kirk, showed he knows what needs to be done and that no regulation is going to stop him by ordering Spock to take command and gave Decker a proverbial slap over the intercom at the same time.
Being a good Captain means your crew has to have complete confidence in you. You show them that they can trust you by making the right decisions even in difficult situations. Kirk does this and that is why Spock tells him that ‘’commanding a starship is [his] first best destiny, anything else is a waste of material.’’
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19 Comments
I disagree Captain Ben Sisko is the best!
- He squares up to Picard on his first day of Command, when Picard outranks him.
- He doesn’t just command, he also designs starships that make most other races tremble.
- One of his crew is captured by the Cardassians, he walks into the courtroom and stares the judge down, and his crewman gets released, and centuries of Cardassian legal tradition changes.
- Picard tried to talk Q out of his antics, Janeway had to brush off his advances, Sisko just punches him to shut him up.
- Saved Kirk from a tribble bomb, then went and asked for his autograph.
- Kirk and Picard may be considered Gods, but Sisko actually BECAME one… or you could say he was always one.
- Picard’s mother was French, Sisko’s mother was really a Prophet.
- When Sisko goes back to Earth after traumatic events, he does something useful with his time and doesn’t end up fighting anyone in the mud.
- He has an old friend who is over 300 years old, and still looks fantastic AND is highly respected by the Klingons.
- When fighting with Klingons, he prefers hand to hand combat and headbutting.
- Never got captured and tortured by Cardassians.
- When he ends up on the other side of the galaxy in his first episode, he doesn’t destroy his way back, AND has a Cardassian Ship in tow when he returns.
- He likes his station and ships well armed… and even when they’re not, his First officer has the balls to bluff it when she’s outnumbered.
- Has a kid on his station that doesn’t get annoying.
- His security officer is captured by Jem Hadar and imprisoned, yet still fights them, sometimes with a handicap.
- Lets his Klingon crewman BE a Klingon, with all it entails.
- He even lets a crew member who ISN’T Klingon be a Klingon, when she wants to be.
- Doesn’t need a counselor until the final season.
- Kirk has to slingshot around the sun to time-travel. Janeway and Picard are sucked into temporal rifts. Sisko has an orb that is safe, clean and quick.
- Can still look fearsome while pulling off the bald look.
- and then they made him look Klingon once, and he looked even more fearsome.
- When he was only a commander he had the most powerful ship in the fleet.
- Knows the ins and outs of baseball, and doesn’t need to get drunk to watch it.
- He was prophesied.
- If you are lying he will tell you so.
- Sisko was scared once. He didn’t like it and has never been since.
- When someone betrays him he promises to hunt them to the ends of quadrant…
- …and comes through on that promise.
- When Admirals go crazy he holds them at phaser point. Picard just talks to them in a stern voice.
- Starfleet listens to him instead of the other way around.
- He never had to steal or illegally develop his cloaking device.
- His XO looks good in leather.
- His ship battles the Borg, was designed to do so and didn’t need to be enhanced with Borg Technology to do so.
- He is a major figure of Earth History.. twice
- Has crossed over into parallel universe. Not scared. Did it again.
- Kirk had a transporter accident and just got an evil clone. Sisko had one and became an evil genius who took over 1960s Earth and turned it into a big ocean, after kidnapping all the finest minds.
- Explained linear time to beings who had NO concept of cause and effect, using baseball.
- He can hold his liquor.
- Tells a large group of Klingons NOT to get between him and the Bloodwine.
- Goes through a Klingon stag party without wanting to kill the groom.
- When Klingon fleet attacks the station, he not only kicks their butts but gets them to surrender.
- Drinks Klingon Coffee (raktajino) instead Earl Grey or wimpy human coffee.
- Dated a criminal, and she came back even when he was the one who put her in prison.
- Doesn’t need no stinkin Death Glare… but has one anyways.
- Sisko went toe to toe with the Borg and DIDN’T get Assimilated at some point or other.
- He started a war with the Dominion, poisoned planets in order to get back at someone who betrayed him, provoked the Klingons into withdrawing from the Khitomer Acords and coerced the Romulans into the Dominion war, AND Still didn’t get busted down in rank :laugh:
- He also challeneged a Vulcan to a wrestling match, Kirk just ponced about playing Chess with them
- He was the first Captain to juggle his career with a wife and child.
- He didn’t need a fancy starship to travel at warp, just a rickety recreation of a sailing ship
- He knew how to handle the Ferengi and beat them at their own game occasionally.
- He fought prejudice in 1950s America… sort of.
- He has a Cardassian spy on his station.
- His Doctor can play baccarat and his science officer beats the Ferengi at Tongo.
- He can out-negotiate a Ferengi, and does on many occasions, even the Nagus himself.
- Q didn’t bother Sisko again after their one encounter, but kept on going back to Picard and Janeway over and over.
- Apparently changed Worf’s understanding of the command “A SPREAD of torpedoes” to mean more than one badly aimed shot.
- Chased the Maquis into the Badlands and didn’t get abducted.
- His Chief Engineer didn’t need a commission or a course at Starfleet Academy, but ended up TEACHING it.
- His bartender doesn’t need big hats.
- Worf never threatened to kill Sisko where he stood.
- but then Sisko was never stupid enough to say Worf was a Coward.. although if he had said it, he could have defended himself.
- Lost his first true love to the Borg, then designed something to beat them if they ever returned.
- Still managed to win over his first wife after kicking sand at her, AND kept the drinks he was carrying on the tray.
- Fought the Jem’Hadar in hand to hand and not only won but gained their respect, ditto for the Klingons.
- At least two of his command crew wield a mean bat’leth.
- Managed to travel at Warp, without Warp Drive or Inertial Dampers or interference from a powerful entity.
- Kid isn’t a snot-nosed little smug git, but chose to be a writer and NOT join Starfleet.
- Is well versed in his own cultural roots, but also keen to explore those of Bajor.
- Aims to kill, but usually makes it so he doesn’t even have to shoot.
- First to ever escape the Jem Hadar.
- Doesn’t chase everything and anything that moves, trying to mate with it…
- He already has his Doctor doing that.
- His Doctor was the base for the Longterm Medical Hologram.
- Got a new ship of the same class very quickly after the original Defiant was destroyed…
- AND he was given special dispensation to rename it in honour of the old ship.
- Bad hair days never a problem for him.
- His Station security chief can be whatever he wants to be.
- He and Dax once trashed a Casino because they didn’t like the games.
- He doesn’t have a chin under his Goatee, just another fist.
- Survived Wolf 359 without being on the Enterprise.
- had numerous Runabouts destroyed and they were replaced quickly just like his starship.
- Dates regularly, as do most of his command staff.
- His crew went on a looting run on an abandoned station of the same class for spare parts.
- Makes his Engineering Chief delay major/vital repairs so he can get a decent cup of coffee.
- Willing to destroy the Wormhole just to get one over on the Dominion.
- Not afraid to get his hands dirty when there’s clearing up work after the Cardassians decided have a little fun they day they left.
- When theres a possibility of Changelings being on Earth, Sisko gets called back as an advisor.
- had to order his Engineering Chief to take leave, but didn’t have to be ordered himself.
- Allows crew to use runabouts for personal reasons, usually no questions asked.
- Never got stuck in a turbolift while giving a tour of the ship to a bunch of kids.
- Never got in a transported accident that turned him into a kid.
- Would have thrown Wesley Crusher out the nearest airlock.
- His son turned an illiterate Ferengi into a model Starfleet cadet.
- Could cook like Gordon Ramsey, only… yunno, good.
- His Doctor was genetically enhanced.
- Never fooled or outsmarted by a holographic character.
- Used underhanded methods but they managed to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War.
- No one ever stole his first officer’s brain.
- Survived a battle where a galaxy-class starship was blown to pieces in nothing but a partially disabled runabout.
- Can lay out a guilt trip like no other.
- Has various members of his crew that have grudges against Cardassians.
- Not afraid to make threats, and follow up on them if need be.
- Doctor was recruited to Section 31.
- His station security chief has credentials in the Cardassian courts.
- Got an emotional response from a Vulcan that wasn’t ill in any way.
- Indirectly responsible for the death of a Romulan Senator, but the Romulans held the Dominion responsible.
- When Ben Sisko watches the tape from The Ring, the little girl in the well dies 7 days later.
- Had no problem with Romulans and Changelings being aboard his starship.
- Tackled a Jem’Hadar to the ground on his first encounter with them.
- Is a ‘paragon of virtue’.
- describes the station as ‘not an ideal place to raise a son’ but still does it anyways.
- Even when seriously injured he managed to knock out Gul Dukat.
- In a correction to an item above, he doesn’t make threats, only promises.
- His mirror counterpart had both Intendant Kira and Dax as his lovers.
- He fooled nearly everyone in the mirror universe into thinking he was his counterpart.
- Before he met him, a Romulan thought he’d be taller.
- Started dating Jennifer, even though he knew he’d be assigned to a starship soon after they met.
- Knows how to dance in Lederhosen.
- Once considered trying to rescue someone from Tal Shiar headquarters… it took Curzon Dax to stop him from going through with it.
- A major figure in Bajoran Religion AND discovered their fabled Celestial Temple.
- Acted as defense in the extradition trial of Dax to the Klaestron government, and proved her innocent.
- Really really doesn’t like to lose, but still doesn’t need to cheat.
- Almost single-handedly transformed Bajor from a planet recovering from occupation into one worthy of Federation Membership, despite losing one of their Kais soon after arriving.
- Took an untested warship into Dominion Space just to try and ‘talk’ to the Founders.
- His psychological evaluation became required knowledge for Vorta.
- Caused the Klingons to withdraw from the Khitomer Accords… then gets them to surrender.
- His mirror counterpart was a pirate that was cooler than Jack Sparrow.
- Captured a Jem Hadar ship and returned it for Starfleet to study.
- Knows how to celebrate, even when he loses… and he rarely loses.
- Would have thrown Seven of Nine out of the nearest airlock for insubordination, constant defiance of orders, taking matters into her own hands, and all the other stuff that Janeway and the crew of Voyager inexplicably put up with.
- His cowardly FERENGI bartender was the head of a Klingon house.
- Originally planned to be promoted to Admiral (temporarily) in season 6.
- had time for his son in spite of his career and the war effort.
- Recognises that true exploration doesn’t just extend outward.
- Has a Christopher Pike Medal Of Valor to his name.
- The story of Moses was inspiration for his life and character arc.
- Even his son dared to confront the Dominion, in his own way through his writing.
- Discovered the previously unknown 10th Bajoran Orb, the Orb Of The Emissary and used it to restore the wormhole and it’s inhabitants, evicting the evil pah-wraiths, and all by having a few visions.
- Jake was willing to sacrifice his life in the future to return Benjamin to the time he should be in.
- Takes betrayal hard, but acts upon it instead of just stewing about it.
- Champions eat the breakfast of Ben Sisko.
- Everybody was Kung Fu fighting but Sisko still took them all on.
- Is referred to by the Prophets as THE Sisko.
- He forages for wolves at night.
- He only knows two facts about ducks, and both of them are wrong.
- His changeling was the first EVER to harm another of his kind, got turned solid, used an infant changeling that was sold to him to become a changeling again, then found he was the cause of the Changeling virus, as well as being the solution.
- He has never watched Moonraker on Boxing Day.
- Many have looked forward to killing him in battle, none ever got the pleasure, not even the Dukat-Wraith.
- His middle name is Lafayette, making even his middle name officially cool.
- If he wanted to, he could fire Donald Trump.
- Once took the Defiant on a mission to save someone he was talking to over subspace, from 3 years before.
- His changeling was given false info that Gowron was a changeling, but Sisko managed kill the actual Changeling, Martok.
- He took Winston Zeddemore’s advice; when someone asks him if he is a God, he says YES!
- His Strategic Operations Officer appreciates Klingon Opera.
- He would not like to be a pepper too, quit asking.
- Didn’t need to put any of his female crew members in silver catsuits for them to look fantastic while in uniform.
- Would have returned from The Nexus before Soran even blew up his first sun, and wouldn’t have needed Kirk’s help to deal with him.
- He ain’t afraid of no ghosts.
- His resident barfly was a big talker, but never on screen, and could hold latinum in his second stomach.
- He can sing a duet – on his own.
- No-one ever said ‘Yuk’ when he tried to kiss them with a newly grown beard.
- His Doctor managed to sneak into what should have been secure areas of the USS Enterprise completely undetected until he was halfway through what he was doing, and even then he managed to talk himself out of a trip to the Brig.
- He can wear a kilt and manage to outdo Elmo McElroy on the “Bada$$ Mo’Fo’ in a kilt” scale.
- His engineer briefly turned the whole space station into a starship just so the Federation could stake a claim on the Bajoran Wormhole before the Cardassians.
- His sailing ship wasn’t a holodeck recreation, and he really could get away from it all in it.
- He taught Micheal Jackson how to Moonwalk, but still can’t do the funky chicken, the Electric Slide or the Macarena.
- Probably would have had Neelix in the Brig more than Quark, just for being annoying.
- Has combined features from the Captain and First Officer of the Enterprise, a bald head and a beard, and made it work.
- He got a one way ticket to hell AND BACK, and managed to get a refund because the buffet car wasn’t open that day.
- If he had stranded Khan Noonien Singh on a planet, he would make absolutely [filtered out] sure that there would be no way they could ever return.
- Never even tried to make friends with any Borg because he knew even he would also fail where others have.
- He never found his Second Officer’s head underground in San Francisco.
- The item in the briefcase at the end of Pulp Fiction was a signed copy of Benny Russell’s ‘Far Beyond the Stars’
- Forget Starfleet Command, he dictates terms to the Dominion.
- There’s a very good reason the last two letters of his name are KO.
- He willingly put himself into a metal box that was out in the sun, and risked death from dehydration and malnurishment – just to prove a point.
- Sisko once got into a bar fight, the bar lost.
- He wore a red shirt and consistently survived.
- Ever noticed how there are no revolving doors in the 24th Century? It’s because Ben Sisko slammed them all.
- The Promenade on DS9 was filled with mourners when he was believed dead. It turned out he wasn’t.
- Looks [filtered out] good in a tux.
- Niagara Falls because Ben Sisko pushed it.
- His crew set a trend in darker Starfleet uniforms… twice.
- He was once run over by a cab, fine right after.
- Often appears surrounded by white or faded yellow light, which only adds to his aura of awesomeness.
- He doesn’t need a sound of how awesome he is, but he has one anyway, and it can only be heard by Targs, or by detuning an old television set.
- Sisko is not capable of hitting a target on the broad side of a barn. Every time he tries, the whole barn falls down.
- In the words of the Prophets themselves; He exists, here.
- He left his baseball on his desk when Starfleet abandoned the station to the Dominion, as a message that he would be back.
- It was him who let the Dogs out, and the Prophets.
- Even those who betray him usually have some honourable traits.
- Was friends with 3 consecutive hosts of the same Trill symbiont.
- Ben Sisko can smell what the Rock is cooking… because the Rock once worked for his dad in San Francisco.
- Ben Sisko never has heart attacks. His heart is too afraid to attack him.
- The Ferengi he deals with regularly didn’t want to steal his old ship, or try to extort him by presenting him with a fake son.
- His Doctor is also a spy… on 1960s Earth.
- You are probably alive mainly because The Sisko allows it.
- Quite happy to take his son camping on an unexplored planet on the other side of the galaxy.
- Ben Sisko has a deep and abiding respect for all life… unless it gets in his way.
- Didn’t need to make a guest appearance on another incarnation of Trek that was set at the same time period.
- He was turned down for I’m a Celebrity because people had heard of him.
- His resident Ferengi bar owner managed to convince the Prophets to undo what they had done to the Grand Nagus.
- Ben Sisko CAN believe it’s not butter, but may not be able to prove it.
- When the Obsidian Order and the Tal Shiar put together a fleet with Cloaking Device to take on the Dominion, Sisko’s Security Chief and the station’s tailor were the only ones to survive, and they were in a ship without a cloak.
- Apparently able to pilot a Jem Hadar ship with seemingly little training.
- When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Ben Sisko.
- His Doctor managed to cure a plague, even though the EM Fields created by his tricorder and other equipment accelerated the symptoms.
- No-one has ever really compared Ben Sisko directly to James T Kirk at any length – they don’t want to make Kirk look THAT bad.
- His family tree is surprisingly complex.
- The Ferengi of Deep Space Nine were a part of early 20th Century Earth history.
- His Doctor and Engineer apparently have Annihilation fantasies involving historical events.
- If he’d been the one living next door to Alice, he’d find out why she’s leaving and where she’s gonna go.
- Once warned that Bajor would be destroyed if it actually joined the Federation.
- He has created a recipe for his own culinary delight, which contains chicken.
- He had the foresight (although possibly inspired by the Cardassian Counter-insurgency program) to set up a computer program that would sabotage the station’s computers and other major systems, in case he ever had to give the evacuation order.
- Has never had to make use of a montage while he learns how to do something, it doesn’t take him long enough to warrant one.
- Two of his crew survived a Dominion Internment Camp.
- Was briefly in charge of Security for the entire planet Earth.
- His engineer managed to serve 21 years of prison time in a few hours without Q involved.
Are you a Sisko fan by any chance?
Did you author this post yourself? This was really amazing and worth saving : >
Most of the reasons given here for Sisko’s superiority are actually arguments for him and his show being vastly inferior. Any references to the Dominion including any mention of the Jem Hadar and the war itself can struck out as those are examples of how Star Trek lost its way. Also, the show took place on a space station. Kirk, Picard, and for all their flaws Janeway and Archer were out there exploring strange new worlds. Sisko, a mere Commander for a good chunk of the show, stayed at home and only occasionally got to take out a Runabout or the Defiant for a spin – a bit like popping down to the corner store in your Smart Car for milk and bread.
Strike out also any of the stupid jokey ones like references to I’m a Celebrity or about who let the dogs out (besides – dated).
An argument can be made for Picard, but not Sisko or the others. For one thing, he was too much of a by-the-book kind of guy – not as much as Picard or, certainly, Janeway but still.
And, you know, in the end – Kirk was Sisko’s hero. Without the greatness and awesomeness of Kirk there’d be no Sisko.
‘Nuff said!
Yeah I like Kirk and Picard too though. However, Janeway is evil and Archer is just plain nutty.
This was wonderful Amarpal! I thoroughly enjoyed this.
Hey Shirley,BLAH BLAH this is the wrong place for your post. You’ve got to be kidding me about Sisko!! Kirk is the BEST by far!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Dayna, glad you liked it.
Awesome read! I totally agree with you; Kirk is the best Starfleet captain ever!
No hes not!
Although I agree with Shirley in almost everything she says about Sisko, using the duplicitous Garak to pull Romulans out of their neutrality to join the Alpha Quadrant Alliance against the Dominion might be considered cheating, especially altering his personal logs to conceal the conspiracy. But his “godlike” Prophet status might confer him some immunity, even more dishonest!
How could a hundred women be wrong? Didn’t Kirk bang that many between the series & the movies?
lol, I am sorry if I offended any of you guys, Kirk has his good points. Sisko was someone I felt I could connect with on a level I just could not with Kirk. Kirk will always be that captain that began it all, Picard will always the finniest fleet of the galaxy, Janeway well she ruined the Borg for us all, and Archer…Archer was just plain nutty, but Sisko to me was the most flawed Captain in a good way. He was human. He came into the show a broken man, hurt and lost from the death of his wife and he left the series whole and complete with no regrets, taking his place with the Prophets.
@T.M. no I actually took the initial post I made for another website, I wish I knew who originally made the list so I could credit them.
‘I don’t like to loose’
Really?
Kirk knew how to spell ‘lose’, even if he didn’t like to.
James T Kirk – He can’t hear you over the sound of how awesome he is.
Surely Picard outstrips Kirk in each of these categories…
Smart: Clearly ‘Darmok’. Works out the Tellarian language all on his own when it takes Data and Troi (a team-up that is slightly less useful than Data just talking to himself) hours and access to the Enterprise’s computerised library to do
Not Gullible: ‘Tapesty’. Refused to believe Q is God. Though I was tempted to be ironic and go for ‘Chain of Command’ (“There…are…FOUR…lights”)
Loyalty: ‘The Offspring’. Refuses to let the admiral separate Data and Lal, putting his own career on the line for his friend and his friend’s child
Quick Thinking: ‘The Battle’. The Picard Manoeuvre FTW! Also killing himself in ‘Time Squared’ or when he’s working undercover in ‘The Gambit, Parts 1 and 2′
Handy: Was tempted to go for him kicking the hell out of the three Nausicaans in ‘Tapestry’, but the irrefutable proof has got to be ‘Starship Mine’ (aka Star Trek: Die Hard or TNG with a Vengeance)
Two Steps Ahead: ‘The Defector’. Sets up a trap for the Romulans at the end.
Turns Death etc.: ‘Best of Both Worlds Part 2′. It’s his idea to put the Borg to sleep that ultimately saves Earth (and thereby the Federation, the Alpha Quadrant etc.)
Not Afraid to be Unpopular: ‘Hide and Q’. Picard holds Riker to his promise not to use the powers Q has granted him, even though it leads to the death of a child (because he knows that the powers will corrupt Riker if he does use them)
Diplomatic: Are you kidding?! Every time the guy meets another alien species. But the best example? Probably negotiating with the Christmas tree light in ‘Home Soil’ or sorting things out at the end of ‘Symbiosis’ (awesome episode btw)
Blast Regulations: ‘Star Trek: Insurrection’. Nuff said.
And I couldn’t even find a place for my favourite episode (‘Measure of a Man’)! Or ‘First Duty’, where he basically defines what it means to have integrity (and gives Wesley a bollocking in the process). Or ‘Perfect Mate’, where he a) manages not to have sex with Jean Grey and b) teaches her the meaning of duty by basically being too awesome.
“Loose?” “Loosing?” Why? Just… why?
Regarding “Two Steps Ahead”, you said you didn’t like young Kirk’s attitude when “winning” the Kobayashi Maru test, but you must consider that “that” wasn’t “THE” young Kirk that becomes the Captain we know and adore! “That” young Kirk came from a situation of “dead father”. Situation caused by a Romulan! “That” was a rebel disturbed young Kirk! “A” Kirk that started all wrong, almost like a “mirror” showing the faults with high lences.
@Calzer, I agree completely. Picard is by far my favorite captain. He’s the sexiest, the most intelligent, the most articulate, the most well-read… I could go on.
I disagree with the 09 Kobyashi Maru part. In the Prime Universe Kirk had his father as a role model (just look at what George did in the AU who also gave him the drive and motivation to be in Starfleet. In the 09 Alternate Universe his father died, therfore leading him to be more cocky and arrogant as well as not originally wanting to join Starfleet.