One of the oldest debates in the history of Star Trek is still raging. The franchise’s first two Captains, James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), are constantly held up as the gold standard of what a Starfleet vessel’s commanding officer should be. However, Trekkies have also long been forced to pick a side: Kirk or Picard.
While I have a lot of love for Shatner’s character, I’ve always felt that Stewart’s has the edge. There are several reasons he’s the superior option. Granted, there’s not a huge gulf in quality between the two Captains – but it is there. Plus, I think it’s important to say that I do like Kirk; I just prefer Picard – here’s why.
There Are More Picard Stories To Enjoy in the Official Star Trek Canon
Shatner debuted as Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966. After three seasons, his character’s story continued in a rather piecemeal way. The Animated Series kept his arc alive for two more seasons, and then appearances in seven feature-length Star Trek movies fleshed out his timeline even further. It was an impressive run.
Both Kirk and Picard have also appeared in countless non-canon Star Trek stories, such as those in novels, comics, and video games.
That said, Picard’s life is more consistently and prolifically documented. After seven uninterrupted seasons of The Next Generation, then four spin-off movies, Stewart reprised his role 17 years later as he began a three-season run in Star Trek: Picard. Watching all of this is a larger undertaking than if Kirk’s efforts were to be binged.
I’m not saying that quantity trumps quality, but Picard has his TOS counterpart definitely beaten in the former, and arguably in the latter. Plus, although Paul Wesley has done a great job of bringing a younger Kirk to life in Strange New Worlds, his work still doesn’t make the character he’s revived more prolific than Picard.
Picard Has More Character Development Than Kirk
Admittedly, part of the reason for this disparity is due to the respective formats of The Original Series and The Next Generation. Still, it’s an important thing to point out. From the second Kirk is introduced in TOS, right up until the show was canceled, he feels almost like the exact same person. He’s bold, headstrong, and self-assured. This made him an instantly recognizable hero figure to root for.
The show lacked any kind of real serialization. Most of the episodes were built to be watched in any order, without the need to rely on knowledge and lore gleaned from previous efforts. As such, the writers had to keep Kirk pretty much the same throughout, with any changes of heart resolved by the end of that week’s episode.
The Next Generation had the benefit of knowing that droves of Trekkies were tuning in each week and were particularly adept at holding onto key facts about the franchise’s world. As such, although TNG was still pretty episodic, there was a stronger sense of narrative bleed between the episodes. One of the biggest impacts of this was that its characters, including Picard, were allowed to develop in both more subtle and drastic ways.
By the end of TNG, what Picard had experienced over seven seasons had made him feel like a different Captain than the one we’d met in the 1987 pilot episode. His edges had softened, and his experiences of key incidents such as being assimilated by the Borg started to influence his decisions in all walks of life. He continued to develop in the movies and in Picard. Meanwhile, Kirk has always been less nuanced.
Picard Comes With a Better Starfleet Backstory Than Kirk
Kirk has already been Captain of the Enterprise for around a year by the time The Original Series begins. This helps with making even that first episode feel like something that can be watched at any time. There is an element of mystery there, and Strange New Worlds Season 4’s finale creatively touched on this “lost era,” but it’s not really the end of the world if we never get the answers to what Kirk was up to during this time.
Plus, the Enterprise is Kirk’s first command. This isn’t true of Captain Picard, who has just assumed command of the Enterprise-D in the TNG pilot. Stewart’s character also comes with the compelling enigma of what exactly happened aboard the USS Stargazer, the ship that he commanded first. Some details have been confirmed, but not many. So, while Kirk’s relatively short command history is easier to digest, Picard has an entire era of his life as a Starfleet Captain that is teased.
Jean-Luc Picard Survives His Death
Although Sir Patrick Stewart recently passed away, his Star Trek character is still alive and well in the Star Trek universe. The last time we saw him was at the end of Picard Season 3, which is set at the turn of the 25th century. If Star Trek: Legacy had gone ahead, which would have served as a spin-off sequel series, Stewart was expected to once more reprise his role.
All of this is because his death in Picard Season 1 didn’t take, as his memories and consciousness were transferred to a synthetic body. Kirk’s sacrifice in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations helped Picard take down the movie’s villain, and Kirk’s death proved to be permanent. This alone doesn’t make Picard objectively better than Kirk, but I love the idea that Picard’s story isn’t over yet, even though we’ll likely never see him again on-screen. Meanwhile, bringing back Kirk would inevitably feel cheap.
Picard Is a Much Better Diplomat Than Kirk
Kirk’s command style often championed an act-first, ask-questions-later kind of philosophy. This did land him in hot water at times, but he actually got lucky on more occasions than he didn’t. His great instincts and confident decision-making allowed him to become a Starfleet legend. However, his traditional diplomatic skills left a lot to be desired. Even in face-to-face negotiations, Kirk remained in a sort of fiery survival mode.
Picard, on the other hand, was one of the finest in the game when it came to reaching compromises and brokering peace. He wasn’t perfect at it, but no one really is. Unlike Kirk, who spent his years as an Admiral trying to recapture the glory of his time in the Captain’s chair, Picard’s eventual transition into a Federation flag officer allowed him to step away from his not unsubstantial scientific and archeological discoveries from the bridge of the Enterprise, and focus more solidly on his talent for putting people on the same page.
Picard Didn’t Always Need To Be the Hero
If ever there was a dangerous away mission in The Original Series, it was always a pretty safe bet that Kirk would assign himself to the away team. Given the show’s formula of framing Shatner’s character as the fearless hero, this made sense. However, in the context of how Starfleet regulations have since made themselves known, it shouldn’t have happened all that often.
Retroactively, Kirk seemed like he needed to be the one to save the day on the front lines at all times. Other members of his crew did have some heroic moments, but not nearly as many as those under Picard’s command. Patrick Stewart’s character always did a much better job of encouraging his crew to become the best versions of themselves, and to be brave or creative even when they thought they couldn’t be.
As a result, Picard would coordinate missions more frequently from the bridge rather than spearheading them himself. This didn’t just free him up to do his actual job, but it also spread responsibility and credit more evenly among his officers. In other words, he was more of a consummate leader and was still able to rally others in the same way during his later years in Star Trek: Picard.
- Cast
-
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula, Sonequa Martin-Green, Anson Mount, Jeri Ryan, Holly Hunter
- Latest Film
-
Star Trek Beyond
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
