4. Katheryn Janeway – Voyager
There’s just one manner: the Janeway. Like most issues on Voyager, Janeway’s cavalier and generally reckless perspective has gotten higher with age. Sure, your entire collection is premised on her unilateral resolution to destroy the array that would ship the crew residence from the Delta Quadrant, and sure, a variety of episodes have her abandoning the journey again residence in adherence of a Starfleet standing directive that didn’t hassle her two weeks in the past. However by some means, Kate Mulgrew managed to take that inconsistent writing and switch it into a personality trait, a steely dedication to doing what she thinks is greatest, it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks.
With the clipped cadence of one other nice Kate (Hepburn, after all), Mulgrew made us viewers imagine that Janeway may truly information a divided crew dealing with inconceivable odds. In every other case, we wouldn’t settle for that the Maquis and the Starfleets would bury the hatchet so rapidly and are available collectively. In every other case, we wouldn’t go together with a Borg simply exhibiting up and getting a privileged position on the ship. However Mulgrew bullies her manner by even tales that don’t assist her character’s decisions and crystalizes Janeway into an inspiring chief. And if she’s gotta kill a pair Tuvixes to make it occur, so be it.
3. Benjamin Sisko – Deep House 9
As everybody (particularly Q) rapidly got here to understand, Benjamin Sisko isn’t your standard Starfleet captain. It’s not simply that he didn’t begin the collection on the rank of Captain, or that he oversaw a recently-liberated house station as an alternative of a starship. It’s that Sisko had higher emotional intelligence and spirituality than his predecessors Kirk and Picard, stemming partly from dropping his spouse within the Battle of Wolf 359 and from his ascension to the position of Emissary of the Prophets. These qualities made Sisko one of many richest characters in sci-fi historical past. He may agonize over a morally-grey resolution made within the midst of the Dominion Struggle after which encourage his crew to play a recreation of baseball.
An extremely difficult character requires an actor deft sufficient to deliver him to life, and Deep House 9 will get all that and extra in Avery Brooks. An extremely playful performer, Brooks may ship oration like Stewart and a wink and a joke like Shatner. Brooks may make Sisko crafty and dignified when matching wits with Gul Dukat or dressing down Worf and nonetheless make him weak and candy when Benny Russell breaks down or each time he offers Jake a fatherly kiss.
2. James T. Kirk – The Unique Sequence
Captain Kirk is Star Trek. No, William Shatner didn’t instantly seize my keyboard. It’s simply the reality. Star Trek was a philosophical collection, which engaged with hot-button points equivalent to racism and mutually-assured destruction by debates with aliens. However nobody would signal as much as watch these debates in the event that they weren’t having enjoyable (Want proof? have a look at each different Gene Roddenberry present. Or, higher but, don’t.). Shatner salted the heavy stuff by giving Kirk an enthralling smirk and a twinkle in his eye.
Which isn’t to say that Kirk was the Zapp Brannigan-style dummy that many assume. Kirk may take heed to his crew, taking recommendation from Spock and McCoy when contemplating his subsequent transfer. He may outsmart Khan, not solely understanding {that a} gambit would work towards his enemy, but additionally realizing that it will solely work as soon as. And he may very well be moved to tears by the ethical braveness of Edith Keeler.
