Captain James T Kirk
The dashing, devil-may-care captain of the original Starship Enterprise, James T Kirk, has been named the best ever Star Trek captain in a new poll of fans.
The saucy Sixties spaceman played by William Shatner beat off competition from serious Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the 1980s, and Kate Mulgrew, who played the show's first female captain in the 1990s. Fans cited Kirk's sense of adventure and his way with the ladies when voting him their number one.
The poll was conducted by leading sci-fi website Totalscifionline.com to mark the release of the new Star Trek film, which sees Captain Kirk recast with a younger actor in the role for the first time, much to Shatner's disappointment.
Shatner played the role of Captain Kirk from 1966 to 1994, in 80 TV episodes and seven feature films. His last appearance ended with the death of Kirk, after saving the galaxy one last time.
He has said in interviews that he wanted to appear in the new film, but director J.J. Abrams was not able to find a way to work the older Kirk into the story. The film instead sees Chris Pine play a fresh-faced Kirk straight out of Starfleet Academy.
Matt McAllister, editor of Totalscifionline.com, who conducted the poll, said: "Kirk's charisma and spirit of adventure, not to mention his success with the opposite sex, has ensured that he has become one of television's greatest heroes.
"Though every captain has his or her supporters, Captain Kirk still commands the most loyalty, 43 years since he first appeared on our TV screens.
The full results of the poll were as follows:
1) James T Kirk (Star Trek)
2) Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
3) Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager)
4) Benjamin Sisko (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
5) Jonathan Archer (Star Trek: Enterprise)
Star Trek is released in cinemas on Friday 8 May 2009.
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