Who's your favourite Trek Captain?

Some good news to kick-start your Tuesday: I'm giving away 2 x double passes to see The Captains, a film about the various Star Trek captains and directed by William Shatner, as part of the Documentary Edge Festival 2012 in Auckland this Saturday night - all you have to do is answer one simple question: which Star Trek captain is your favourite?

The two most convincing comments - the two comments that make the best, most entertaining case for their favourite captain - will win a double-pass each; the movie is on Saturday at 9pm, at Event Cinemas, Newmarket, Auckland.

The Captains looks like a really interesting film: original Trek captain Shatner interviews five other Star Trek captains - Sir Patrick Stewart (The Next Generation), Avery Brooks (Deep Space Nine), Kate Mulgrew (Voyager), Scott Bakula (Enterprise) and Chris Pine (JJ Abrams' Star Trek film) - about their careers leading up to their role, while also exploring Shatner's own career and dealing with the shame he felt about the role of Captain Kirk later in his career.

I've never been a big Star Trek fan. Sure, I've seen episodes from every iteration, starting with repeats of the original and on up to the brilliant JJ Abrams film in 2009 (my favourite Trek, admittedly), but I've never become fully engrossed in any individual series. But I've always enjoyed the franchise.

The first series I was really aware of was The Next Generation, the Stewart-led series which aired in the US between 1987 and 1994 and revitalised the franchise. If the original series belonged to my parents' generation, then you could say TNG belonged to my generation; when people mention Star Trek, TNG is the version I think of first.

And as iconic as Shatner's performance as Kirk might be, I think Stewart might be my favourite captain overall.

Of course, the franchise is remembered now for the loyalty of its fans, documented in Trekkies, a great film about the phenomenon of fandom in the Star Trek universe. But whether you're a casual viewer or a diehard fan, I'd imagine it always comes back down to who your first, and favourite, Star Trek captain is ... which kinda brings us back to the reason for today's post:

Make a case for your favourite Star Trek captain - the two best, most entertaining comments (as judged by me) will win a double-pass each. So, go on - get commenting!

Besides, if you don't win, you can head along anyway: Documentary Edge Festival 2012 is being held in Auckland from April 26 to May 13, then Wellington from May 17 to June 3, and features great films including The Captains, Revenge of the Electric Car, We Are Poets, and NZ's View from Olympus. For more info, check here. 

Make sure you like On the Box on Facebook and add Chris on Twitter.
Or, feel free to email Chris at otbmail@chrisphilpott.co.nz. 
This is a spoiler-free blog - please comment responsibly.