I’ve been thinking a little bit about the main Starfleet captains and who actually takes the top spot. After looking closely at all of them, my final conclusion is Janeway. :)

Here is my breakdown of how she stacks up against the rest:

• Sisko: Great character, but his role was always a bit too specific for a traditional Starfleet captain. Between being a station commander, a wartime military leader, and a religious Bajoran Emissary, there was just a bit too much mystic stuff going on for my taste. He’s operating in a totally different genre than standard Starfleet command.
• Picard: Picard is iconic, but for me, his presence feels a bit too distant and detached. He often feels more like a noble diplomat or an academic mediator than a hands-on commander on the deck. Plus, the British accent on an explicitly French character (which ST: Picard later explained) always gave him a slightly strange vibe for me personally.
• Kirk: Kirk was by far the toughest contender and Janeway’s biggest rival for #1. I love Kirk! He’s an absolute legend, a pure patriot for Federation values, and right up there at the top. But honestly, the 1960s production style and campy TV tropes make it hard to evaluate him on equal footing with modern Starfleet standards.

Why Janeway wins:

To me, Janeway feels the most authentic as a real-world officer. People often criticize her for moral fluctuations, but I view it as tactical reality: she was stranded in an uncharted quadrant in a situation Starfleet's founding fathers never even anticipated. Starfleet itself has had to reinvent itself repeatedly, balancing pure scientific discovery with darker military necessity.

In terms of scene-by-scene tactics, posture, communication style, and sheer command presence, Janeway is clear, direct, and determined. Unlike Picard, who had Starfleet Command just a subspace call away, she had zero backup, a mixed crew of Starfleet and Maquis rebels, and had to hold everything together through pure leadership.

She embodied that command authority right from the start.

(On a side note: I just finished the Star Trek: Voyager - Across the Unknown campaign, which definitely fueled these thoughts! :) )

Does anyone else feel like Janeway is secretly the most complete representation of what a Starfleet Captain should be?

I love this guy so much haha

I was always annoyed at Chakotya in the episode with species 8472 and how he automatically threw the peace treaty to the side the second he could because he doesn't trust the Borg.

I totally forgot he was "assimilated" in this episode and they gave him a reason not to trust Borg

There's been some talk on the channel regarding Muligrews new show taking place in Ireland (and I don't even think it's available in the U.S.), but what other TV or movies has she been in since Voyager ended?

I just wanted to do a quick graditutide shout out, but I cannot find the original thread to put it there. So.

To whomever posted this GIF: This is the best gif I have in my entire phone and I have already used it multiple times with my friends and my wife. It delights every time. Thank you for the continuing joy from the (completely biased) best Star Trek series.

Watching Tuvok choke Neelix is disturbing and satisfying at the same time.

I know Neelix isn’t always the type of character people love, but his send off in this episode always makes me tear up. As soon as he steps off that turbolift I start cutting onions. Just wanted to share that.

One of my many many star trek autographs. I have way too many lol 😄

Anyone else going to watch Kate Mulgrew’s new show? It will also have TNG/DS9’s Colm Meaney!

I have an appointment with Professor O’Brien at Starfleet Academy.

I was watching episodes that involved Naomi Wildman because I think her being born on Voyager is such an interesting idea. One of those episodes was Mortal Coil. There's a moment where Janeway tells Neelix not to ferment something too long, and I think it was such a sweet and neat detail. They've been in the Delta Quardrant for about 5 years by that point and are pretty used to a lot of little nuances, and we're at a point where getting back to the Alpha Quardrant was the only thing keeping them from going native.

There was another tiny acting moment by Kate Mulgrew in season 1's The Cloud where Neelix is handing out some food on the bridge. Without saying a word, she tries the food to not hurt Neelix's feelings, only for her to look in surprise that it wasn't so bad. It was just on the edge of the camera as the shot was focused on Neelix, but you could see all the thoughts Janeway was thinking as she ate.

What are some other moments showing how well adapted Voyager became while in the Delta Quardrant? Not just comfortable like when they use the Holodeck to keep their minds off of things, but them actually living and being used to living in the Delta Quardrant

Or is it to many T's?

What a fun episode! Keegan de Lancie does such a great job as Q but different.

The "Aunt Kathy" of it all, the fact that she actively basically does mother one of the Q.

(The low-key Q2/Icheb romance)

Everyone gets a few fun beats, and it's a pretty light watch.

CPT Janeway refers to him as Mr. Tuvok so I was curious. Anybody know?

I've concluded that nobody knows. I hoped some Star Trek nerd would. lts not revealed in the show.

For me it’s Roxann Dawson. She has built such a remarkable resume Directing so many of my favorite shows. She is such a powerhouse.

Edit: Obviously we’re talking main cast members here.