Originally posted by: Exterous
different captains for different times. Kirk was way better during the rough and tumble 'wild west' times of the original where as picard was a much better fit for the more 'civilized' TNG
Well said.
Originally posted by: BoomerD
Kirk would kick Picard's ass, but Picard would outsmart Kirk and get Warf to fight for him...thus ending J.T.Kirk's miserable existance and whoremongering...
Kirk has taken down much tougher dudes than Worf. I'll wager that very few of the people who think Picard is a better captain have ever been in a firefight.
Kirk versus Picard is like Elway versus Aikman. Picard is a good captain and a credit to his uniform, but his crew and ship make him look better than he is. There's a fine line between contemplative and indecisive, and the line is in different places for a ship captain and, say, a diplomat.
I love TOS, but Kirk's crew are mostly a bunch of drunks and misfits, and his ship is barely spaceworthy. When the tachyons hit the fan, Picard begs for help, while Kirk kicks the problem in the jimmy and steals its whiskey. Put another way, Picard is
able to ask for help, while Kirk always knows that the buck stops at him, because he doesn't have the resources that Picard does. Kirk's job is much tougher, but over and over again, Kirk saves his crew and ship, while Picard is saved by his.
But in the end, here's what it really comes down to- Spock is perhaps the best character in all of science fiction. He is superhumanly strong and intelligent, possessed of an amazing memory, capable, poised, courageous, inventive, and moral. What's more, with the clarity of Vulcan logic, he
knows all this. And yet, through his distaste for emotion and spontaneity, he trusts and respects Kirk, preferring to serve under him than command himself, deferring to his judgment without doubt or hesitation.
When it comes to commanding a starship, Picard is good, but Kirk is great.