# Who would you like to have seen as a starship captain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 24, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000 "2011-05-24T12:15:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/81 "2011-05-26T20:00:11Z")
The Governor with the balls and paddles comes to mind. “Spocko, why don’t you pass out some of these to the crew in lieu of pay?” ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2011, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/82 "2011-05-26T21:12:24Z")
What I’d like to see as a starship captain is a few more aliens. To me, Starfleet appears to be a homo sapiens only club. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/83 "2011-05-27T02:23:31Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > …Fanwanking on [re: Uhura in Command gold]: I’m sure that the junior officers have to go from department to department during the course of their careers, just on general principles. Sulu was in botany for a while; it’s clear that Sisko came up through Engineering. In fact, I think anybody who aims to be a ship captain is going to be required to work in multiple ship’s department–possibly everything but Medicine. Quite possibly. Scotty was at least briefly in Sciences ([http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/\_\_cb20110408144615/memoryalpha/en/images/9/91/Montgomery\_Scott%2C\_2265.jpg](http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110408144615/memoryalpha/en/images/9/91/Montgomery_Scott%2C_2265.jpg)). LaForge is shown as a captain in a VGR near-future episode, and he spent time at the helm in TNG-era Command red, as well as a lot of time in Engineering gold. O’Brien started out in red and also ended up in gold, although they finally decided he was a noncom. > [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > What I’d like to see as a starship captain is a few more aliens. To me, Starfleet appears to be a homo sapiens only club. The captain of the USS _Saratoga_, Sisko’s ship at Wolf 359, and the USS _T’Kumbra_ in the DS9 holodeck-baseball episode, were both Vulcans. There was also Capt. Rixx, a Bolian, in the TNG episode “Conspiracy.” I can’t think of any other aliens who commanded Starfleet vessels, although there ought to have been some over all these years. An Andorian and a Tellarite would be a good start. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/84 "2011-05-27T02:58:26Z")
Carrie Fisher Harrison Ford Mark Hamill That sound you just heard was the absolute final end of the _Star Wars_-_Star Trek_ debate, that of a million million fanboys’ heads asploding. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/85 "2011-05-27T03:24:37Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > I can’t think of any other aliens who commanded Starfleet vessels An ship full of Vulcans was destroyed by the Giant Ice Cream Cone. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/86 "2011-05-27T03:28:58Z")
Ned Flanders. ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/87 "2011-05-27T04:55:20Z")
David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston. Hey, why not? ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/88 "2011-05-27T11:12:01Z")
Geneviève Bujold;) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8SIZcDWKyw0/hqdefault.jpg "First Captain Janeway Complete") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SIZcDWKyw0) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/89 "2011-05-27T12:39:57Z")
> [@BaneSidhe](#): > > David Tennant or Christopher Eccleston. > > Hey, why not? Oddly enough, the Enterprise is \*smaller \*on the inside. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/90 "2011-05-27T14:24:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > An ship full of Vulcans was destroyed by the Giant Ice Cream Cone. You’re correct if by “Giant Ice Cream Cone” you mean the very colorful space amoeba from “The Immunity Syndrome.” If however, you mean the planet killer from “The Doomsday Machine,” that was not the _Intrepid_, it was the _Constellation_, Matt Decker’s ship. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/91 "2011-05-27T15:00:48Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > If however, you mean the planet killer from “The Doomsday Machine,” that was not the _Intrepid_, it was the _Constellation_, Matt Decker’s ship. Indeed, I stand corrected. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/92 "2011-05-27T15:18:46Z")
Yes, that was the _Intrepid_’s crew the space amoeba killed. ISTR in the episode it’s stated that the ship had an all-Vulcan crew, but the Memory Alpha wiki said it was a mostly-Vulcan crew. The captain’s name was not provided. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/93 "2011-05-27T15:26:54Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Fanwanking on: I’m sure that the junior officers have to go from department to department during the course of their careers, just on general principles. Sulu was in botany for a while; it’s clear that Sisko came up through Engineering. In fact, I think anybody who aims to be a ship captain is going to be required to work in multiple ship’s department–possibly everything but Medicine. Is there an echo in here? > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > An ship full of Vulcans was destroyed by the Giant Ice Cream Cone. > [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > Yes, that was the _Intrepid_’s crew the space amoeba killed. ISTR in the episode it’s stated that the ship had an all-Vulcan crew, but the Memory Alpha wiki said it was a mostly-Vulcan crew. The captain’s name was not provided. Originally, that was a Vulcan Science Academy (_not_ Starfleet) ship. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/94 "2011-05-27T15:28:47Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Yes, that was the _Intrepid_’s crew the space amoeba killed. ISTR in the episode it’s stated that the ship had an all-Vulcan crew, but the Memory Alpha wiki said it was a mostly-Vulcan crew. The captain’s name was not provided. I believe the fan-wank\* as regards starship crew homogeneity has been that it’s easier to populate a starship with a crew that pretty much all needs the same environmental parameters. Vulcans like it warmer than humans, so having a ship that’s all- or mostly-Vulcan makes sense. I just wish they’d have explored it more regularly. For some reason, I would perversely love it if they would establish it that Romulans actually enjoy colder temperatures than humans, making a very subtle hint that long, long ago, the initial split between the races was over something as petty as who kept changing the thermostat. 🙂 \*at least, I don’t remember it ever having been stated on screen. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/95 "2011-05-27T16:38:15Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > An ship full of Vulcans was destroyed by the Giant Ice Cream Cone. You mean by the giant space amoeba. Edit: Sorry. I see this has been addressed. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/96 "2011-05-27T16:39:20Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > You mean by the giant space amoeba. Yes, and I’ve already owned up to it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/97 "2011-05-27T18:08:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Except that she doesn’t \*gradually \*become that way. She veers back & forth between Kirkian recklessness, Picardian probity, Siskoesque ruthlessness, and Izarian wackiness. I agree - I think that a graduation deterioration would have been better writing, but that isn’t what actually happened, other than in the brilliant “Year of Hell” two-parter. > [@mlees](#): > > Why should they? Aren’t they under the same pressures? Well, yes, but not everyone response to those pressures in precisely the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/98 "2011-05-27T18:24:46Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > …Originally, that was a Vulcan Science Academy (_not_ Starfleet) ship. Originally? You mean in the first draft of the script or something? I’ve never heard or read anything to suggest that the _Intrepid_ wasn’t a Starfleet vessel. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/99 "2011-05-27T18:30:04Z")
Gilbert Gottfried, with Fran Drescher as his “Spock” sidekick. Full disclosure: I’ve never actually seen Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000/100 "2011-05-27T18:38:48Z")
[QUOTE=Irishman] Originally, that was a Vulcan Science Academy (_not_ Starfleet) ship. [/QUOTE] Not according to Memory Alpha. > **[USS Intrepid (NCC-1631)](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/USS_Intrepid_(NCC-1631))** > > The USS Intrepid (NCC-1631) was a 23rd century Federation Constitution-class starship operated by Starfleet. In 2267, the Intrepid was undergoing repairs in maintenance section 18 at Starbase 11. The base commander, Commodore Stone, rescheduled the... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-would-you-like-to-have-seen-as-a-starship-captain/583000.md?page=6)