TWENTY REASONS
KIRK IS BETTER THAN PICARD
Sigh...I suppose this list makes me flame bait—but I can’t help it.
Mind you I could come up with much more but then I’d have to stomach watching more TNG.
But then I don’t have to—because Jay B. has a website devoted to Kirk with a working, ever expanding list, that so far has over 900 entries. To see it go to: The Top Infinite Reasons Kirk is Better Than Picard (and don’t miss the “binary reason” from Joseph Scotti “The Final Battle” an absolutely hilarious short feature.)
1. Kirk’s crew are all overqualified for their positions: Chapel’s a biochemist and later a doctor. McCoy and Scotty are miracle workers and the top in their fields. Sulu’s an ace pilot, warrior, botanist and future Starship Captain in his own right, and boy can Uhura communicate with that voice—she even makes “open hailing frequencies” sound meaningful. Even Rand is efficient and loyal with enough smarts to rise from the ranks to become part of Sulu’s bridge crew. Kirk’s First Officer even doubles as the Science Officer. Picard’s crew not only aren’t ready for primetime—unlike Kirk’s crew they were never a major network program.
2. Kirk has heroes—that’s how he came to become one: Cochrane, Lincoln, Garth, Garrovick. Who does Picard admire?
3. Kirk is a heroic figure, commanding a military exploratory vessel in the tradition of Captain Cook and John Paul Jones. Picard is in charge of, acts like (and looks like) the captain of an interstellar Love Boat complete with civilians and children underfoot, disabled active duty officers (?!?), plush roomy quarters, bars, bartenders (!), and recreational facilities.
4. Picard “leads” from the bridge. Kirk says follow me.
5. Who do you think Janeway was quoting when she said the one thing you have to remember about being a starship captain is to never leave one of your crew behind? Kirk would rather have his entire body drained of blood rather than risk one of his crew (See, Obsession) . Picard would have quoted Spock that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few—only unlike Spock it wouldn’t have been himself he sacrificed.
6. Let’s say you find out Star Trek really is an alternate universe, and you can only pull out one of its commanders to save the Earth. Be honest. Who you gonna call? Even Picard knows the answer to this one.
7. Kirk’s command crew were willing to turn down promotions over a period decades long to keep serving with him. Worf couldn’t transfer out of there fast enough.
8. Kirk knows that saving a civilization is more important than the prime directive, that sometimes even war is better than slavery and genocide, and that even paradise and immortality isn’t worth stagnation. Picard would have let Tyree’s people be slaughtered, would have allowed the clean, pretty slaughter in A Taste of Armageddon to continue, (and so would have Janeway! She says so.) thinks the trite civilization in “Insurrection” is nirvana, and would let a star system supernova before violating regs.
9. If Kirk had a “counselor” on board, she would have been in the background lending an ear to the crews’ personal problems so he could concentrate on missions. She wouldn’t be making decisions for him, she wouldn’t be part of his command crew, she wouldn’t be at mission briefings, and she would never be seen on the bridge.
10. Kirk knew the difference between machines and people—and knew which to put first.
11. Kirk was a mentor, a teacher, and a role model to the younger officers on his crew who in return admired him, took him seriously, and tried to make him proud. Picard can’t manage Wesley even with the help of his mother.
12. Kirk managed to survive a holocaust (Tarsus IV) as a young boy and remain optimistic about humanity. Picard is a grumpy grudge who had nothing exciting happen to him until middle age.
13. Kirk’s love interests (Edith, Carol, Areel) have beauty, brains, important careers, and dignity. Carol’s not just a doctor but the lead scientist of a genetic Manhattan project (who not incidentally chose Kirk’s genes to link with hers). Edith is a visionary that almost changes history. Picard gets a choice between Troi’s mother and Wesley’s.
14. Kirk doesn’t have cutesy, cluttered little hobbies. He leaves recreation for shoreleave. When he’s on the ship, it owns him body and soul.
15. If Picard was Spock’s commanding officer, he would have betrayed Spock’s secret or let him die of plak tow before disobeying an Admiral.
16. If Kirk had to deal with a Ferengi, he would have taken him to the cleaners and left him without a credit, and he would have told Mark Twain to bug off about capitalism, socialism didn’t work. TNG is “above”making an honest credit.
17. Kirk has dealt with plenty of “Gods” and dangerous cults and would know enough to look behind the curtain. Picard would intone endlessly about the need to respect others spirituality and let his bank account be cleaned out by the Psychic Network.
18. Kirk would rather be a line officer than an admiral. Giving up active duty almost destroyed him. Picard has the soul and demeanor of a petty bureaucrat.
19. Spock has more charisma in his pinky than the entire crew of TNG. Yet, as Edith pointed out, his place is always at Kirk’s side and he doesn’t wish an independent command. That is the ultimate testament to Kirk’s leadership.
20. Kirk knows when to play chess, when to play poker, and when to play fizzbin. If he’s stuck he just changes the rules or the name of the game. He even knows when to cheat. Picard would fold before the other side even showed their hand.
OK—had to do that. Ah, yes good to get that out of my system...
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