captain styles star trek

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• USS Exeter (NCC-1712) personnel
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• 2289 deaths

Lawrence Styles

• View history
• 1.1.1 USS Farragut
• 1.1.2 USS Monitor and Talin IV
• 1.2.1 Great experiment
• 1.2.2 Mirror invasion
• 1.2.3 Regaining the Excelsior
• 1.3 USS Exeter
• 1.4 USS Excelsior revisited
• 2.1 Connections
• 2.2 Appearances
• 2.3 External link

Biography [ ]

Early career [ ], uss farragut [ ].

By the mid- 2250s decade , Styles was serving aboard the USS Farragut under the command of Captain Garrovick . Also serving aboard at the same time was Ensign James T. Kirk , and the two had a very keen dislike of each other. When the Farragut was attacked by the dikironium cloud creature in orbit of Tycho IV in 2257 , Styles was one of two hundred crewman who survived. ( TOS novel : Prime Directive )

USS Monitor and Talin IV [ ]

By 2269 , Lieutenant Styles was serving aboard the USS Monitor , when he was reassigned to take temporary command of the USS Enterprise to oversee the refit of her engines following the Talin IV disaster. He became an annoyance to Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott for his arrogant attitude, proclaiming himself to be a 'real' captain compared to Kirk, and attempted to wreck Kirk's chance at clearing his name. However, after Kirk discovered evidence that outside intelligences had been responsible for escalating the Talin IV disaster, Styles ruined his image when he vehemently protested to his superiors when they agreed to give Kirk the Enterprise - Kirk pointing out that the Enterprise was not currently warp-capable in the Talin system as her new nacelles needed to be tested outside of a gravity well to prevent the ship hitting a wormhole- despite Styles's belief that the ship was his. Although Styles promised that he would catch up to Kirk some day, Kirk simply amusedly noted that the important thing was that some day was not today . With Kirk having officially regained command, Styles was sent back to the Monitor . ( TOS novel : Prime Directive )

USS Excelsior [ ]

Great experiment [ ].

The USS Excelsior , shortly after her engines failed.

By 2285 , Styles had risen to the rank of captain . In this year, Styles was assigned command of the prototype transwarp vessel USS Excelsior . Although originally the Excelsior was assigned to Commander Hikaru Sulu , the fallout of the Project Genesis situation led Admiral Harry Morrow to replace him with Styles for the duration of the Excelsior 's shakedown cruise . ( TOS novelization : Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ; TOS - Who's Who in Star Trek comic : " Issue 1 ")

Styles took great pride in his command and was determined that he would break the speed records of the USS Enterprise and all other starships. He even managed to poach Captain Scott as his chief engineer as the Excelsior was getting prepared for trials. However the triumph was short lived, when Admiral Kirk and his command staff plotted to hijack the Enterprise from Spacedock in order to retrieve the body of Captain Spock . Knowing that the Excelsior would be the only threat to the Enterprise , Kirk had Scott sabotage the Excelsior 's transwarp engine so they could not pursue. ( TOS movie , novelization & comic adaptation : Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Styles was humiliated by the Excelsior 's engine failure, which was magnified by others in the fleet who had taken to calling the man "Styles Without Substance" as well as "Drydock Styles."

Mirror invasion [ ]

A few weeks after the Spacedock incident, the Excelsior was ordered to Regula I to collect Admiral Kirk and his command staff, to bring their stolen Klingon bird-of-prey and them back to Earth , to face trial for their actions. Styles relished marching Kirk through the corridors of the Excelsior clapped in irons and certainly exercised his active dislike of Kirk. However, en route back to Earth, the Excelsior was ambushed by the ISS Enterprise , which had crossed over from the Mirror Universe . The mirror James T. Kirk and his crew were able to take over the Excelsior and place her command crew in the brig . However, the primary Kirk was able to engineer an escape and began an attempt to recapture the ship. His first action was to place Styles in an escape pod in order that Starfleet Command would be warned of the incursion.

Following the warning, Styles was given command of an armada, with at least four refit Constitution -class and three Miranda -class vessels, ready to repel invades from the mirror universe, with the refit Constitution -class starship USS Christopher Pike as his flagship. While Starfleet were able to repel an invasion from the Mirror Universe, the assignment also cost Styles his command. In response to his efforts to once again save the Federation , Kirk was assigned command of the Excelsior . ( TOS comic : " The Mirror Universe Saga ")

Regaining the Excelsior [ ]

Later in 2285, on stardate 8907.5, Styles was summoned to meet with Fleet Admiral Stephen Turner at Starfleet Command . Turner had learned that Admiral Kirk had taken the Excelsior across the Romulan Neutral Zone in violation of the Neutral Zone Treaty , and ordered Styles to board the USS Saratoga and retrieve the Excelsior before the secrets of transwarp drive could fall into the hands of the Romulan Star Empire . ( TOS - The Doomsday Bug! comic : " Stand-Off! ")

By the time the Saratoga had arrived at the Neutral Zone, they discovered that the Excelsior had traveled back into Federation space . Styles led a boarding party to take back the Excelsior and arrest Kirk and his conspirators, but discovered that Kirk and his senior staff had departed the ship in a stolen cloaked B'rel -class bird-of-prey . Kirk left a pre-recorded message for Styles explaining his actions and leaving the Excelsior to him. ( TOS - The Doomsday Bug! comic : " The Apocalypse Scenario! ")

Following the Excelsior 's retrieval, Styles was once again placed in command and returned the prototype starship to Earth Spacedock where she was to undergo repairs and inspection. Three months later , the Excelsior was still docked at Earth Spacedock when a probe of unknown alien origin was approaching Earth, disabling all Federation starships that it had encountered en route . Starfleet Command ordered the launch of all starships, including the Excelsior , as the probe approached, but unfortunately all power shut down before the Excelsior was able to depart. ( TOS novelization : Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

USS Exeter [ ]

By 2287 , Styles was in command of the Constitution -class starship, USS Exeter . Admiral Karl Tomlinson ordered Styles and the crew of the Exeter to test the Lamver unit interdimensional gateway device, which had been delayed since the test system at Claneia was found to be home to the Worthy , who had been stranded there by Apollo . ( TOS comics : " Great Expectations! ", " Tomorrow Never Knows! ")

USS Excelsior revisited [ ]

At some point between 2287 and 2289, Captain Styles was once again given command of the USS Excelsior , relinquishing his command over the USS Exeter , and yet again retained his former Excelsior first officer, Lt. Commander Miguel Darby during those later years.

At first announcing a decision to retire (along with Lt. Commander Darby) in November 2289, Styles reversed this decision, remaining in command of the Excelsior alongside Commander Hikaru Sulu as his new executive officer. Three weeks later, Styles was killed during a peace conference at the Korvat Colony in an attack by the Albino . ( ST novel : Excelsior: Forged in Fire )

Appendices [ ]

Connections [ ], appearances [ ], external link [ ].

• Lawrence Styles article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)
• 3 The Chase

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published May 31, 2014

Hill Street Blues' Lt. Hunter Was... Star Trek III's Captain Styles

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is no one’s idea of a comedy. It’s a dark film suffused with death and loss. Fortunately, though, James B. Sikking oh-so-perfectly played the pompous, stuffy Captain Styles, who strutted around the mighty Excelsior with his swagger stick and got to utter – as he lay in bed filing his nails -- one of the funniest lines in the movie: “How can you have a yellow alert in spacedock?” Sikking made the most of his extended cameo, so much so that when people think of Sikking’s extensive acting career, his work as Styles is usually mentioned in the same breath as his long runs as the pipe-smoking, super-serious Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues (which is finally available on DVD) and Dr. David Howser, Doogie’s good-hearted and practical dad, on Doogie Howser, M.D. , and as the icy-cold father of Jim Carrey, Jayne Brook and William McNamara in the acclaimed TV movie Doing Time on Maple Drive .

Sikking is semi-retired these days, but was kind enough to jump on the phone earlier this week to talk about Star Trek III, which opened 30 years ago today. During the conversation, he corrected the widely accepted assumption that it was Leonard Nimoy who hired him to play Captain Styles. Here’s what he had to say:

Let’s start by clarifying something. Most reports about your involvement in Star Trek III state that you were friends with Leonard Nimoy and that he brought you on board for the film. Was that the case?

SIKKING: No, actually it wasn’t Leonard. It was Harve Bennett. Harve was producing Search for Spock. He and I had gone to UCLA together. I was doing Hill Street at the time and he said, “Do me a favor. Come over. I’ve got this perfect little vignette for you. It’ll just take a day.” And I said, “Sure.” He’d hired me when nobody knew who I was and I couldn’t get hired. He and a couple of other people I went to school with, who were (later) at Universal, said, “Come over, I think I’ve got a part for you.”

Had you even worked with Nimoy before?

SIKKING: No. All that stuff that you read is a joke. My grandson said, “Your father was something Harry…” and I said, “No, where did you come up with that?” He said, “Well, I googled you and…” I don’t know where some people get their information, but they just put anything out there they can.

Everyone in the world was at least aware of Star Trek , but were you at all familiar with it?

SIKKING: It was not my cup of tea. I was not into that kind of outer space business. I had an arrogant point of view in those days. I wanted to do real theater. I wanted to do serious shows, not something about somebody’s imagination of what outer space was going to be like. So I had a silly prejudice against it, which is bizarre because I’ve probably and happily signed more this, that or the other thing of Star Trek than I have anything of all the other work I’ve done. You see the kind of legs that Star Trek concept had. It’s absolutely amazing how addicted people are to it.

What intrigued you about this professional but arrogant man, Styles?

SIKKING: I guess they saw something in me that they thought would work for that character.

Whose idea was the swagger stick that Styles wielded?

SIKKING: I think… I think… I don’t know. I’m not sure if it was mine, but it was certainly a good idea. When I was studying acting years and years and years and years ago, we’d have a class and they’d say, “Go to the bus depot or to the train station or the airport. Take a little bag with you. Wear dark glasses. And go sit somewhere and observe people.” It’s true; you sit there and watch people, and how they move their bodies is far more communicative than dialogue. So any kind of a prop that reveals a character is well worth having in your hand or next to you.

What do you remember of your day on the Star Trek III set?

SIKKING: It was fun. I liked being on a film because I’d been doing so much episodic television. You have some moments of leisure. You can have a conversation. You can take some time. Let me give you an illustration. They just released, for the first time, all 144 hours of Hill Street on DVD (visit www.ShoutFactory.com for details). It’s selling out there now. But what went through my mind was 144 hours. That’s 72 feature films, but they weren’t shot like feature films. We worked very, very fast on Hill Street , as you do on any television show.

We have a couple of more Trek questions, but since you brought up Hill Street Blues , how amazed are you by the show’s enduring popularity, and by the reverence with which the show is regarded by viewers and the people making television today?

SIKKING: We shot the pilot 34 years ago, in March of 1980. That’s a couple of centuries in show business. In 1980, there were only three networks and there was always a local station. That was all over the country. There really weren’t any recording devices. They existed, but nobody could afford them. It sounds like we’re talking about antediluvian times, especially now because there are 70,000 shows on every night and you can pick and choose and record. So, when you look at that 1980s period, the power of a series like Hill Street – or like Star Trek in the 1960s – it was absolutely amazing. People got together on Thursday nights to watch Hill Street . It was an event. It was event television and people got together to see it, which I’m sure people did with Star Trek , too. There were certain shows that were a part of people’s lives, a part of their histories. Now, everything just flies by. If you get bored with something, you just go to something else. It’s a totally different marketplace now.

Back to Trek for a moment. The character lived on in a couple of Trek novels and a comic book, too, and they pretty much filled in his backstory. The comic even nicknamed him "Styles without Substance." And you crossed paths with another popular Trek actor, Bibi Besch -- who'd played Carol Marcus in Star Trek II -- when you co-starred as her husband in Doing Time on Maple Drive ...

SIKKING: I didn't know any of that. That's very funny about Styles. And Star Trek never came up when I worked with Bibi. You and the fans surely know more about all these things than I do. I never followed any of it, but I think it's great.

Last question. You’re mostly retired these days. What are you up to, and would you act again if someone offered you a good role?

SIKKING: I probably would do something if it got me going. Acting is a license to do self-investigation. It’s a great ego trip to be an actor. You say, “I have a legitimate reason to be doing nothing but thinking about myself, instead of hiding it.” I must say that, in the past few years in which I haven’t worked, the obscurity has been quite attractive. The wonderful thing about obscurity is it gives you a chance to be who you are and not some character. It also keeps you from being so self-conscious. When people recognize you all the time, you end up being self-conscious, and that’s a stifling way to live. So, I still do my charity events, but I’m happy to be with my family. I have four wonderful grandchildren and later today, at 5:15 tonight, I have to go to one of my grandchildren’s little league baseball games. The condiment of my life is good fortune.

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Captain Styles (James B. Sikking)

Character analysis.

Captain Styles is the commanding officer of the USS Excelsior, a foil for Admiral Kirk…and a professional jerkface. We're going to focus on the foil aspect of his character here.

Kirk and Styles both love their respective ships but for different reasons. Kirk loves the Enterprise because of the people and memories he associates with the ship. For him, the Enterprise is home. He even refers to it as a "house with all the children gone" at the beginning of the film.

Styles loves the Excelsior because it's a great bit of tech. He's calls it an "incredible machine" and says he'll use it "to [break] some of the Enterprise 's speed records." For him, the Excelsior is an impersonal machine that will bring him status within Starfleet, not a home.

This extends beyond the ships to their crews. Whereas Kirk refers to his crew by their names and talks and laughs with them, Styles never refers to anyone by name and barks orders. Whereas Kirk knows his crew as individuals, Styles does not.

Oops: guess we're also focusing on the "professional jerkface" part of Styles' character.

In a film about friendship and loyalty, this is a bad example to set, and Styles gets his comeuppance, courtesy of one Mr. Scott. While working on the Excelsior , Scotty takes some rather important looking parts from the transwarp computer. When Styles gives chase to the Enterprise , his starship breaks down in front of Spacedock, the galactic equivalent of the driveway. The Excelsior 's maiden voyage is a complete bust.

Of course, we know the question you really came here to have answered: What exactly is that baton thing Styles carries around? It's called a swagger stick. Not only were swagger sticks an actual thing, but the idea behind them provide the perfect accessory for a character like Styles.

You know: a professional jerkfa—we mean foil.

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W hy's T his F unny?

Lawrence Styles

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• View history

Lawrence Styles was a human Starfleet officer in the 23rd century. In 2270, Styles was promoted to captain and placed in command of the Excelsior Transwarp Project , overseeing a combined team of civilian and Starfleet engineers and scientists in their development of a revolutionary new propulsion technology.

Styles' tenure as commander of the ETP was troubled, frequently clashing with the civilian head and initial proponent of the project, Dr. Carter Thorndyke . The project encountered repeated delays and setbacks, which Styles and Thorndyke frequently blamed on each other.

By 2285, the project had produced an actual starship prototype, USS Excelsior (NX-2000) . Styles was appointed as commanding officer for the duration of the ship's systems tests, with the expectation that he would become the ship's permanent commander when it entered operational service.

But later that year, Admiral James T. Kirk and other former crewmembers of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) commandeered their former starship from Earth Spacedock . Styles pursued with the Excelsior , intending to use the ship's new drive system in an operational capacity for the first time. But when the ship attempted to engage the transwarp drive, it suffered a complete systems failure, stranding it mere kilometers from Spacedock.

Following the Excelsior's total systems failure, Starfleet Command pulled all further support from the ETP and ordered the ship to be refitted with a conventional warp drive system. Styles was transferred to Starfleet Command , where he served as an adjutant before retiring a few years later.

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What happened to Captain Stiles of the Excelsior?

Discussion in ' Star Trek Movies I-X ' started by Slappy The Vulcan , Dec 29, 2007 .

Slappy The Vulcan Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

Sure he was pretty arrogant, (see the sceptor) but did he deserve to lose his command over Mr. Scott sabotaging his ships engines?  

Peach Wookiee Cuddly Mod of Doom Moderator

No, but he probably ticked off a few admirals...  

Maurice Snagglepussed Admiral

Maybe he was only Captaining the shakedown cruises and operational tests. Or he died from internal injuries causes by having a stick so far up his arse.  

Sir Rhosis Commodore Commodore

Agreed he was a preening martinet, but his ship was sabotaged. His career probably continued, albeit in a capacity more suited to his temperament -- administration, training, an academy teaching position or something of that nature, someplace where his personality would fit better. Sir Rhosis  

cardinal biggles A GODDAMN DELIGHT Moderator

Slappy The Vulcan said: Sure he was pretty arrogant, (see the sceptor) but did he deserve to lose his command over Mr. Scott sabotaging his ships engines? Click to expand...

Nebusj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

TGTheodore Writer Admiral

Actually, in my proposed fiction trilogy, I killed him off during a test run with the Excelsior . The starship rammed directly into a lifeless planet at transwarp speed. It was ... quite satisfying. (And yes, I DID actually write that chapter. It was the prologue for the first novel.) And it was written shortly after the release of TSFS. --Ted  

Crewman47 Commodore Newbie

/\ So going from the continuity in this novel of yours how do you explain Sulu's Excelsior? I know you wouldn't have known then what would happen but I'm just curious to see how it would happen.  

Crewman47 said: /\ So going from the continuity in this novel of yours how do you explain Sulu's Excelsior? I know you wouldn't have known then what would happen but I'm just curious to see how it would happen. Click to expand...

Kryton Admiral Admiral

Stiles was a "teaching" Captain, IMO...not an actual ship commander. Which is partly why he was so easily subverted in ST:III.  

McCoy Commodore Commodore

I don't think there'd be much shame in being outclassed by a legend like Montgomery Scott.  

Anubis Lieutenant Commander Red Shirt

From Memory Alpha: "Styles also made a brief appearance in the Pocket TOS novelization of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home by Vonda N. McIntyre. Here, still in command of Excelsior, he was ordered by Starfleet Command to intercept and destroy the whale probe before it reached Earth. However, he never even made it out of Spacedock before the probe's transmissions rendered his ship and the massive space station around it completely useless. In the original comic by Marvel, Styles was humiliated by Kirk and Scott's sabotage. Around the Fleet he was given the nickname, "Drydock Styles." As such he sought to embarrass Kirk at any opportunity." They also list Trek IV as being set a year later than III, so presumably, he was Captain of Excelsior for a while longer. If one likes apocrypha that is.  

Anubis said: In the original comic by Marvel, Styles was humiliated by Kirk and Scott's sabotage. Around the Fleet he was given the nickname, "Drydock Styles." As such he sought to embarrass Kirk at any opportunity." Click to expand...

^Sounds like a yutz...  

Peach Wookiee said: ^Sounds like a yutz... Click to expand...

Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

Re: What happened to Captain Styles of the Excelsior? Kryton said: Stiles was a "teaching" Captain, IMO...not an actual ship commander. Click to expand...

Jack Bauer Fleet Admiral Admiral

Re: What happened to Captain Styles of the Excelsior? I always wanted to shove his riding crop up his tight ass since he's such an annoying twit.  

-Brett- Vice Admiral Admiral

Maybe Starfleet demoted him to kitchen duty when they noticed that he was more concerned with filing his nails than with running the ship.  

-Brett- said: Maybe Starfleet demoted him to kitchen duty when they noticed that he was more concerned with filing his nails than with running the ship. Click to expand...

CaptainStoner Knuckle-dragging TNZ Denizen Admiral

He got piles. They redesigned the Captain's chair, but all too late for Cptn. Stiles.  

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Which Star Trek Captain Has the Best Managerial Technique?

It’s impossible to be objective when selecting your favorite Star Trek captain. It requires making a call wrapped up in sentiment and timing. Which captain did you first encounter? Which one best reflected back to you the person you wanted to be? It’s easier to try to attempt a clear-eyed consideration of which one would be the best boss. Sure, there are captains sure to take you on wild adventures, but would you enjoy the ride if your life depended on their decision-making? On the flip side, there are captains that could get the job done without really inspiring that much enthusiasm, the Starfleet equivalent of a decent boss who clearly spends the back half of every shift with an eye on the clock.

It’s a worthwhile thought exercise, and one at the heart of Star Trek: Discovery , which focuses not on a captain but Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), a science officer struggling to work her way back from a snap judgment that ended with her in disgrace. Burnham has so far served under several captains, and the series has depicted the effect this has had on both her and the officers around her. (And, thus, has more entries below than any other version of Trek .) We considered the captains featured in various film and TV branches of the Star Trek universe, including Star Trek: Lower Decks ’ animated captain, and tried to rank them based on who would provide the best work experience — and who would be most likely to bring you back home in one piece.

12. Captain Philippa Georgiou, Mirror Universe (Michelle Yeoh)

Seen in: star trek: discovery.

Managerial style: Imperious and unforgiving, though that description is complicated by the fact that being imperious and unforgiving is baked into her main mirror universe job as emperor of the Terran Empire. (Or, more accurately, her job as Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominos of Qo’noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Goergiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius.) There, she fought for and won the top spot in a kill-or-be-killed system in which might makes right, and deception and backstabbing are the norm; to that end, she expects those working under her to understand the rules of the game. In other words, she’s awful. But, on the other hand, she really seems to enjoy being awful, not to mention the fringe benefits of having clawed her way to the top (fine food, sex slaves, etc.). Those who can get on her murderous wavelength might also have a good time — for as long as it lasts.

Key career moment: When the always adaptive Emperor Georgiou made her way from the mirror universe to the prime Star Trek universe she used the opportunity to save the day after getting thrown into a battle between the Federation and the Klingons. But this wasn’t a simple heel-face turn; as always, it was more a matter of calculation than altruism. The move won her freedom from those who knew her true origins and earned her a spot in the Federation’s super-secretive deep-state operation Section 31. What could possibly go wrong?

Would she be a good boss? Put simply, working for this Philippa Georgiou, at least in the mirror universe that made her, would mean constantly fearing for your life as part of a pitiless, fascist organization hell-bent on conquering the universe with little regard for its employees’ quality of life. (Actually, when it’s all spelled out like that, it sounds like a pretty easy transition from corporate America.)

11. Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs)

Managerial style: In a word, cryptic. After she’s accepted aboard the Discovery following her mutinous turn against her mentor Captain Georgiou (the prime universe one, not the evil dictator; more below), Michael Burnham spends much of Discovery ’s first season trying to figure out what’s up with her new captain, a man fond of fortune cookies and averse to bright lights and chairs. Pro: Lorca took a chance on her when no one else would. Con: He also seems kind of evil. That likelihood aside — and it’s eventually revealed that, spoiler ahead, he made his way to the prime universe from the mirror universe after somehow taking the original Lorca’s place — he commanded the Discovery with curiosity, a sure hand, and an apparent sense of fairness. Shame about all the murder and scheming.

Key career moment: The season one episode “Into the Forest I Go” captures every side of Captain Lorca as he bravely goes into battle against Klingons, questionably decides to risk the health of a crew member (and with him, the whole crew) to win the battle, then takes everyone into the mirror universe to further his scheme of galactic conquest. It’s quite a journey, and one that reveals his true self at the end.

Would he be a good boss? No, but serving under Lorca would never be boring.

10. Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter)

Seen in: star trek: the original series.

Managerial style: Glum as hell. Some behind-the-scenes info: Jeffrey Hunter’s Captain Pike was supposed to be the protagonist of the original Star Trek series. NBC passed, but gave Gene Roddenberry the unusual opportunity to make a second pilot, this one featuring the now-familiar classic series cast (with only Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock sticking around). But Roddenberry wasn’t done with Pike or the original pilot. It became central to the two-part episode “The Menagerie,” which recounts Pike and the Enterprise ’s adventures on Talos IV, home to the Talosians and their reality-bending psychic powers. Hunter’s a fine actor, but it’s not hard to see why NBC was reluctant to green-light a series focusing on Pike, who’s introduced complaining about the burden of command. “You bet I’m tired,” he tells the ship’s doctor. “Tired of being responsible for 203 lives. Tired of deciding which mission is too risky and which isn’t and who’s going on the landing party and who doesn’t. And who lives … and who dies.” He sounds ready to boldly curl up in a fetal position.

Key career moment: The signature moment for this incarnation of Pike comes at the end of the episode when, having been burned and disfigured beyond recognition, he’s allowed to return to Talos IV and live out his days in the unreal paradise he rejected years before, even though he already seemed pretty much over reality as we know it from the start.

Would he be a good boss? Spock and the others seem to respect him, so perhaps his doubts don’t interfere with his ability to command, even if working under him seems like it would make for a pretty weary trudge through the cosmos.

9. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)

Seen in: star trek: enterprise.

Managerial style: Archer’s chill, which is both his greatest strength as a leader and occasionally his greatest weakness. A former Boy Scout, lifelong water-polo enthusiast, and caring dog owner, Archer sometimes seems like he’s happy enough to be exploring the stars but might be even happier if he was just hanging out and shooting the breeze with some pals. This might be more impression than reality; Star Trek lore has him going on to become a decorated admiral and to be regarded as one of the greatest explorers in the early days of Starfleet and he certainly does a lot of exploring during the show’s four-season run. But Scott Bakula rarely plays him as a man who has greatness in his future. Archer usually seems a little annoyed that the Enterprise ’s adventures have cut into his downtime. He’s not as melancholy as Jeffrey Hunter’s Captain Pike, but he occasionally seems just as checked out. Nonetheless, he was always good in a crisis, and could be a surprisingly shrewd diplomatic. It just always seemed to take a major event to stir his interest.

Key career moment: In the second-season episode “A Night in Sickbay,” Archer hangs out with his ailing dog Porthos when he should be tending to his diplomatic duties. It borders on dereliction of duty, even if it is pretty endearing. It’s also a pretty good encapsulation of how Archer’s mind works.

Would he be a good boss? Sure. Probably. Why not? He’d be okay enough.

8. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine)

Seen in: star trek , star trek into darkness , star trek beyond.

Managerial style: If you like predictability, order, rules, regulations, and military precision, the last place you’d want to be is the Kelvin Universe Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk. Chris Pine’s just-getting-started Kirk is young, impetuous, and brilliant — but mostly young and impetuous. It’s smart work, playing like the Kirk we know from the original Star Trek run before any of the rough edges had gotten sanded off. Pine’s Kirk is a lot of fun to watch, but it also seems like serving under him would be terrifying most of the time.

Key career moment: Forced to choose between rescuing an alien race and violating the Prime Directive in the opening scenes of Star Trek Into Darkness , Kirk barely seems to consider it a choice at all. It’s just the first of many times he breaks the rules over the course of the film (plus its predecessor and successor). Sure, it all works out (even if Kirk does briefly wind up dead later in the movie), but it could have gone horribly wrong. This Kirk commands from the gut, occasionally while listening to Beastie Boys. He’s cool and fun, but…

Would he be a good boss? … Do you really want to work for a Starfleet captain best described as “cool” and “fun” while exploring the furthest reaches of a dangerous universe?

7. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis)

Seen in: star trek: lower decks.

Managerial style: Directness defines Captain Freeman’s command style. She knows exactly what she wants and she’s not afraid to ask for it, sometimes forcefully. She’s no-nonsense but not in a power trip–y way. She just wants things to run smoothly even if experience has taught her that it never does. (Or, at least it never does onboard the second-tier U.S.S. Cerritos , the California class starship she commands.)

Key career moment: Commanding a ship on which her gifted-but-rebellious daughter, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), is serving as an ensign has been a continual challenge for Captain Freeman, forcing her to balance her duties as captain against her concerns as a mother. She’s mostly opted to model good behavior for her daughter by following the rules of Starfleet. In Lower Decks ’ third-season premiere, Mariner and her pals take desperate, and illegal, measures to clear Captain Freeman of a crime she’s been wrongly accused of. Ultimately, the system works, making Mariner’s misadventures unnecessary. Mother/Starfleet knows best.

Would she be a good boss? Probably. She’s terse but fair and clearly knows what she’s doing. But as the head of a ship prone to animated high jinks, it’s tough to judge Captain Freeman against other Star Trek captains. Her informed, steady-handed command doesn’t always work in her favor when dealing with some of the cartoonish absurdity the Cerritos keeps encountering. On the other hand, nothing truly terrible ever happens to those under her command, so serving on the Cerritos would likely be one of Starfleet’s safer assignments.

6. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner)

Seen in: star trek: the original series , star trek: the motion picture, star trek: generations.

Managerial style: You’re probably better off working for the slightly older Kirk played by William Shatner in Original Series and its accompanying film series. (Okay, he’s significantly older in the film series.) This Kirk hasn’t lost the spirit evident in the younger Kirk, only it’s now tempered — at least a bit — by experience. Working for this Kirk isn’t without dangers of its own, particularly if you’re wearing a red uniform. He’s perfectly willing to send an away team into danger. Just as often, however, he’s the one leading the team, and it’s hard to underestimate the esprit de corps created by a leader willing to put himself in harm’s way mission after mission. Prepare to work hard, and maybe die, but feel like you’re part of a mission that could change the universe for the better.

Key career moment: Prepare also to listen to speeches. Kirk is a man of action and a man of romance, but above all, he’s a man of ideals who’s willing to go to great lengths to protect those ideals. But first, he’ll try to persuade his opponents with words. In “The Omega Glory,” for instance, Shatner’s Kirk lectures the primitive residents of a planet whose development paralleled Earth until it took a wrong turn on the glories of the U.S. Constitution, and he does it one emphatic syllable at a time: “We. The People …” Etc.

Would he be a good boss? Chances are you’d love working for Kirk up to the moment he got you killed.

5. Captain Philippa Georgiou, Prime Universe (Michelle Yeoh)

Managerial style: Collegial but firm, the prime universe Georgiou might rank even higher on this list if we had a large sample of what she was like as a captain. In the early episodes of Discovery she appears to be competent, respected, quick on her feet and close to her crew, especially Michael Burnham.

Key career moment: But not apparently close enough to stop Burnham from committing a mutinous act that she deems necessary to prevent a war with the Klingons. Whether this is a failure on Georgiou’s part — a missed chance to take a key suggestion from a subordinate — or overzealousness on Burnham’s remains a question left open by Georgiou’s subsequent death.

Would she be a good boss? It seems like she would, especially since her death continues to haunt Burnham throughout the series. On the other hand, maybe listen to your trusted shipmate when she says she knows what she’s talking about?

4. Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks)

Seen in: star trek: deep space nine.

Managerial style: Firm, fair, and perpetually distracted. Burned out on Starfleet life after losing his wife in the Battle of Wolf 359, Sisko only reluctantly takes command of Deep Space Nine, a space station located close to a galactic hot spot near a wormhole and, until shortly before he assumed command, ruled by the Cardassians. But Sisko soon finds himself drawn into the leadership of the station and the politics of the region when the spiritual leader of nearby Bajor names him the Emissary of the Prophets. It’s all a lot to balance, even before new adversaries start to show up from the Gamma Quadrant — and on top of it all, Sisko has to serve as a single father to a teenage son. Maybe that’s why he sometimes seems so overworked. He’s a fine, inspiring leader, but he also has a lot on his plate, running a space station while also acting as the first line of defense against enemies known and unknown — and maybe serving as messiah to a whole race of people. Many Deep Space Nine stories require Sisko to be reactive rather than proactive, whether dealing with a tavern keeper running a black market under his nose or the outbreak of a full-scale war. Strong and competent, Sisko could handle anything, but the series made him handle an awful lot.

Key career moment: Deep Space Nine introduced shades of moral grayness to Star Trek only suggested by its predecessors, never more than in the course of the protracted Dominion War arc, a dangerous conflict in which Sisko sometimes had to cheat and bend the truth for the greater good. Brooks’s performance always suggested that Sisko did a lot of soul-searching before making any decision, but once made he never looked back, the mark of a strong leader if ever there was one.

Would he be a good boss? Chances are that, apart from the occasional curt acknowledgment, you might only talk to him once or twice as he moved from one crisis to another. Still, you’d end up respecting the hell out of Sisko.

3. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)

Seen in: star trek: the next generation, star trek: generations, star trek: nemesis, star trek: picard.

Managerial style: Picard manages like a benevolent but firm god. Speaking in an authoritative voice (the accent helps), his every directive sounds as if handed down from above. But there’s a difference between having the trappings of authority and having the record to back it up, and from his first outing on the Enterprise — in which the decision to separate the starship’s saucer section showed just how many lives were depending on him making the right choices — he makes it clear how seriously he took his job and how seriously he expects others to take theirs.

Key career moment: In some respects, the definitive Picard moment can be found in Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s final episode, “All Good Things …” in which Picard, for the first time, joined his senior staff for their regular poker game, with an expression of regret that he’d never gotten around to it before. Except in rare moments, Picard always holds himself at a distance as captain, even if Stewart’s performance always emphasizes the complex, passionate human beneath the commanding exterior. He stays remote by design and it worked, but that choice isn’t without consequences.

Would he be a good boss? Picard would be an awe-inspiring boss in every sense. You’d learn a lot working with him, even if you never felt like you truly knew him.

2. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount)

Seen in: star trek: discovery, star trek: strange new worlds.

Managerial style: In sharp contrast to Hunter’s Pike, Anson Mount plays Christopher Pike as a man who’s just happy to be out among the stars with shipmates he considers to be more like friends than co-workers. Where on Discovery, Pike was reminiscent of a cool camp counselor who just wants everyone to have a good time — as long as they follow the rules and listen to his orders — Strange New Worlds has layers of soulfulness and empathy only glimpsed before. (Maybe learning you’re headed to a horrific fate does that?) In moments of crisis, Pike comes off as unshaken but commanding, and willing to use force against his enemies when necessary. He’s easygoing until circumstances force him to be otherwise. Then he’s not. He carries himself around his crew with authority while still radiating concern. This is a self-assured, modern captain who cooks an amazing gumbo and doesn’t worry that his subordinates will lose respect if they see him wearing an apron.

Key career moment: In Strange New Worlds ’ first-season finale, Pike believes he’s found a workaround to avoid the accident in which he’ll sacrifice his well-being to save others. Then Pike is visited by an older version of himself who confirms that, yes, he can escape maiming before taking the captain on an It’s a Wonderful Life –like tour of the future created by his attempt to escape his fate. It’s not pretty and it means others will suffer in his place. So, of course, he resigns himself to his destiny without telling anyone. Always the greater good with this guy.

Would he be a good boss? Working for Pike seems like a dream, honestly. He seems like the kind of boss who’d teach you new skills and then suggest unwinding with a game of ping-pong that he wouldn’t try all that hard to win (though he totally could if he wanted to). Two seasons into Strange New Worlds, and the series keeps revealing new layers of competence and compassion. Call him No. 2 with a bullet (or a phaser blast, if that makes more sense).

1. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew)

Seen in: star trek: voyager.

Managerial style: Democratic, at least up to a point. Forced to navigate an unexplored quadrant of the galaxy while commanding a crew made up of enemies forced to work together in an attempt to find their way home, Janeway has the highest level of difficulty of any of the captains on this list. She rises to the occasion by hearing out all points of view, reconciling opposing stances when possible, working toward compromise, then ultimately making an informed decision after listening to her crew. Stuck in an impossible situation, she stays coolheaded and thoughtful no matter how trying the circumstances become.

Key career moment: The biggest challenge faced by Janeway and the Voyager crew comes not in the form of hostile races or dwindling supplies — though those don’t help — but from the many moments that invite them to abandon their principles. In the second season’s “Alliances,” Janeway seeks a way to sidestep conflict with the Kazon (sort of the Gamma Quadrant’s dollar-store version of the Klingons). She considers first an alliance with a Kazon faction, then teaming up with the Trabe, a seemingly much more civilized race. Then, despite the wishes of a faction of her officers, she ultimately rejects both choices when she learns the Kazon can’t be trusted and that the Trabe are just as bad in their own way. It might mean taking longer to get back home, or maybe never getting home at all, but she remains determined that her crew hang on to their best selves no matter what.

Would she be a good boss? Yes. Janeway would be the sort of boss you might have to complain about behind her back, but she’s also the sort of boss you’d end up naming your first child after.

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Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

James sikking: captain styles, photos .

Quotes 

Captain Styles : [38:58]  Ah, Mr. Scott. Calling it a night?

Scotty : Uh, yes sir.

Captain Styles : Turning in myself, looking forward to breaking some of the Enterprise's speed records tomorrow.

Scotty : Ah, yes sir.

[behind his back, frowning] 

Scotty : Good night.

Elevator voice : Level, please.

Scotty : Transporter room.

Elevator voice : Thank you.

Scotty : [under breath]  Up your shaft.

First Officer : [42:42]  Yellow Alert! Captain to the bridge! Yellow Alert!

Captain Styles : Bridge, this is the captain. How can you have a yellow alert in Spacedock?

First Officer : Sir, someone is stealing the Enterprise!

Captain Styles : I'm on my way.

Captain Styles : [on the comm speakers]  Kirk, you do this, you'll never sit in the Captain's chair again.

Kirk : Warp speed.

Captain Styles : [about Kirk]  If he thinks he can get away with warp drive... he's really in for a shock.

[to his crew] 

Captain Styles : Prepare for warp speed! Stand by transwarp drive!

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Screen Rant

Every star trek captain warp catchphrase explained.

Almost every Star Trek Captain has some kind of catchphrase for when the ship jumps to Warp, but some are more iconic than others.

• "Go" - Captain Gabriel Lorca keeps it simple with a concise and authoritative command in Star Trek: Discovery season 1.
• "Execute" - Captain Saru's choice of catchphrase falls a bit flat, feeling clunky and lacking elegance in Star Trek: Discovery.
• "Carry On" - Captain Saru opts for a passive catchphrase that may not convey the necessary authority in Star Trek: Discovery, still workshopping his perfect phrase.

The starships of Star Trek have seen many Captains and almost all of them has uttered a catchphrase when preparing the ship for Warp speed. The moment a starship jumps into warp is a moment full of endless possibilities. It seems fitting that most Captains would choose to punctuate this moment with a memorable saying. The warp catchphrase has become such a staple that Star Trek: Discovery showed the crewmembers eagerly anticipating what a new Captain would say (and then poking fun at them if their chosen phrase didn't quite work).

Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was in charge of the USS Enterprise when it was a training vessel in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , but he never uttered a warp catchphrase before ceding the center seat to Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Perhaps this is because of his experience in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's premiere when Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) said, " I would like the ship to go... now " after Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) asks him what his catchphrase will be. While that particular phrase might be a bit too clunky to stick, here are 17 warp catchphrases that have been used by various starship Captains.

17 "Go"

Captain gabriel lorca - star trek: discovery.

Star Trek Captain catchphrases don't get much simpler than this. In Star Trek: Discovery season 1, Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) simply says " Go " just before the USS Discovery engages its spore displacement hub drive . Everyone on the ship is nervous to use the spore drive, but Lorca delivers his concise command in a way that communicates his authority and confidence. While it's not a particularly creative catchphrase, it serves to get his meaning across. Taking into account Lorca's no-nonsense demeanor, it's possible he simply couldn't be bothered to come up with a lengthier Warp catchphrase.

16 "Execute"

Captain saru - star trek: discovery.

Captain James T. Kirk made use of this catchphrase in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , but he's not the only Star Trek captain to have said it. Saru (Doug Jones) tries this one as Captain of the USS Discovery to signal the use of the spore drive. Saru struggled to find his perfect Captain's catchphrase , and " Execute " just doesn't quite stick. It's not an elegant word, and it feels clunky to shout when in the middle of a potentially tense situation.

15 "Carry On"

Captain Saru still has some workshopping to do when it comes to his catchphrase.

After having previously tried " Execute " out as his potential catchphrase, Saru then chooses to go with " Carry on ." While this one arguably works better than " Execute ," it feels almost too passive. " Carry on " is not an authoritative command so much as it is a suggestion to keep doing what you're doing. Perhaps, nothing will ever top the simplicity and punchiness of Captain Picard's (Patrick Stewart) " Engage ," but it seems Captain Saru still has some workshopping to do when it comes to his catchphrase.

14 "Let's Go"

Captain jonathan archer - star trek: enterprise.

Simple, and to the point, it seems fitting that the first Captain of the Enterprise would say this to send his ship, the NX-01, to Warp. Not so much a catchphrase as a thing Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) just says sometimes , this doesn't feel like the order that it should be. He says it as if he's excited to set off on this journey through space, but not necessarily as if he's commanding an entire ship full of people.

Star Trek: Every Captain of the Enterprise

13 "take us out", captain james t. kirk - star trek (2009).

In the 2009 Star Trek movie , Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk uses " Take us out ," but as will become apparent from this list, Kirk doesn't have one particular catchphrase. Kirk orders his crew to initiate Warp Drive in many different ways , often specific to the situation he and his crew are in. This catchphrase, for example, works best when the USS Enterprise is leaving a ship dock or otherwise heading out into the stars. " Take us out" might be more appropriate for impulse engines; it doesn't feel strong enough as a command to go to Warp.

12 "That-a-Way"

Admiral james t. kirk - star trek: the motion picture.

Admiral James T. Kirk responds with this one at the end of Star Trek: The Motion Picture when Mr. Sulu (George Takei) asks for a heading. As Kirk says this, he gestures vaguely at the stars, suggesting that there will be more adventures ahead for Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew. Though this one didn't exactly catch on, it wouldn't make sense in every context anyway. However, here, it's perfect. As the send-off for the first feature-length Star Trek film, Kirk's phrase encapsulates the wonders of exploring the stars.

11 "Let's See What She's Got"

Captain james t. kirk - star trek iv: the voyage home.

Kirk's line feels like a fitting end for Star Trek IV.

As the final words said in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , this catchphrase works so well. Kirk and his crew have just successfully traveled back in time and saved the Earth. This phrase not only hints that there are more adventures to come but also celebrates Kirk's new USS Enterprise-A and what she's capable of. It's also reminiscent of the popular Scotty phrase, " I'm giving her all she's got! " Kirk's line feels like a fitting end for Star Trek IV and a way to commemorate the many achievements of the ship called Enterprise.

10 "Do It"

Captain kathryn janeway - star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Captain Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) Warp catchphrase may be simple, but she says it with such a commanding air that it's impossible not to want to follow her orders. While it's more than just the word " Go ," this one is still a basic catchphrase that serves to get the point across without any flowery language. As the first female starship Captain to lead her own show, it makes sense that Janeway would have a catchphrase that commands authority. Something about the way she says it also makes it feel like it must be obeyed, which works well for her job on the USS Voyager.

Star Trek: Every Version Of The Starship Enterprise

9 "¡dale", captain cristobal rios - star trek: picard.

Spanish for " Go ahead ," this was Captain Cristobal Rios' (Santiago Cabrera) catchphrase of choice in Star Trek: Picard . While at one point, Rios also lovingly mocks Picard by saying " Make it so ," his " ¡Dale! " is direct and effective regardless of whether his crew speaks Spanish or not. The way Rios says it communicates his meaning clearly enough, and it's a word that has the same punchy quality as Picard's " Engage ."

8 "Punch It"

Captain christopher pike - star trek (2009).

"Punch it" denotes director J.J. Abrams' Star Wars fandom.

Used only by the version of Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) from 2009's Star Trek , this catchphrase acts as an homage to the Star Wars franchise. " Punch it " is Han Solo's preferred way to tell Chewie to send the Millennium Falcon into hyperspace. It's not a bad Warp catchphrase, and it's always fun to see connections between two of science fiction's biggest franchises, but this phrase will be forever associated with Solo and the Millennium Falcon. A good Star Trek Captain should come up with their own catchphrase, not just borrow from another franchise, but "Punch it" denotes director J.J. Abrams' Star Wars fandom.

7 "Let's Fly"

Captain michael burnham - star trek: discovery.

When Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) became the USS Discovery's Captain, she went with " Let's fly " as her catchphrase. "Let's fly" phrase captures Captain Burnham's idealism and desire to explore the stars . While it doesn't feel as commanding as something like " Hit it " or " Engage ," that's not really Burnham's style anyway. This phrase works well for her as a character and as a Captain. It conjures the wonder and pure fun of spending your time exploring space in a starship.

6 "Step On It"

Captain jean-luc picard - star trek: the next generation.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) only uses this one once, after just returning from a Holodeck program as Dixon Hill in Star Trek: The Next Generation . While it's fitting for the outfit he's wearing and the concept of driving a car, it doesn't really make sense as a Warp catchphrase. No one has to step on anything to make a starship go. Still, it works here because everyone on the bridge is in on the joke . It's a fitting end to an entertaining episode that allowed the normally serious Picard to have a little fun.

5 "Warp Me!" & "It's Warp Time!"

Captain carol freeman - star trek: lower decks.

Captain Freeman tried out both "Warp Me!" and "It's Warp Time!," and she seems to prefer the former to launch the Cerritos into action.

Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) experienced a lot of Captain envy on Star Trek: Lower Decks , and that includes trying to think up an iconic catchphrase of her own. As Captain of the California Class USS Cerritos, Freeman's Starfleet career is perpetually in the shadow of more prestigious ships like the USS Enterprise . Captain Freeman tried out both "Warp Me!" and "It's Warp Time!," and she seems to prefer the former to launch the Cerritos into action.

4 "Hit It"

Captain christopher pike - star trek: strange new worlds.

Captain Christopher Pike's (Anson Mount) " Hit it " has already hit it off with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fans. Somehow, this phrase feels punchier than many of the others, and it just fits this version of Pike so well. Of all the catchphrases on this list, this one might come the closest to achieving the iconic status held by both of Captain Picard's famous phrases. It's not especially different from many of the other chosen catchphrases, but for whatever reason, when Captain Pike says it, it just works.

3 "Make It So"

"Make it so" is perhaps Picard's most well-known catchphrase

One of the most iconic Star Trek phrases of all time, Captain Picard's " Make it so " was first used during Star Trek: The Next Generation series premiere. "Make it so" is perhaps Picard's most well-known catchphrase, and it feels fitting for the type of captain Jean-Luc is. He's professional, diplomatic, and to the point, and this catchphrase perfectly encapsulates that. Often used after an Enterprise crew member has suggested a course of action, this phrase also shows Captain Picard's regard for his crew. Fans have jumped on this phrase as well, going so far as to make a parody video for the holidays called " Make it snow ."

2 "Engage"

Captain & admiral jean-luc picard - star trek: the next generation & star trek: picard.

Though the warp catchphrase, " Engage ," may be most associated with Captain Picard, many starship Captains have used this one. Captain Pike used it all the way back in Star Trek: The Original Series unaired pilot,, "The Cage." Captain Kirk used it over the course of TOS , Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) used it on the USS Defiant , Janeway and Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) both used it on the USS Voyager, and of course, Picard used it often on Star Trek: The Next Generation . It's no surprise " Engage " is as popular as it is. For one thing, it's a more realistic command, as the starship engines are, in fact, engaging as they start up. It's also satisfying to say and has the ring of a true order, so it's no surprise it has become such an iconic Star Trek phrase.

1 "???"

Captain seven of nine - star trek: picard season 3.

We don't know what Captain Seven's warp command is.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 ended with the newly-minted Captain of the USS Enterprise-G, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), about to command her starship to warp for the first time. Only we don't know what Captain Seven's warp command is. Picard season 3's in-joke sets up a spinoff series, Star Trek: Legacy , about Captain Seven and the Enterprise-G's voyages. But, unfortunately, no Picard spinoff is in development at Paramount+. This means Captain Seven's warp catchphrase will remain a Star Trek mystery.

6 effective leadership styles we can learn from 'Star Trek'

In order to boldly go where no one has gone before, you've got to be a pretty awesome leader.

Over the years, the "Star Trek" franchise has given us many characters who've acted as inspirational, pioneering leaders.

Throughout the franchise, these captains and commanders have had very different approaches at times. In his book " Primal Leadership ," Daniel Goleman (along with coauthors Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee) revealed that people tend to fall into one of six key leadership categories.

Here are these six emotional leadership styles, as exemplified by different "Star Trek" commanders. If you can effectively master one of these styles, you'll be setting yourself up to live long and prosper:

The visionary leader

Captain Jean-Luc Picard always promotes a clear vision of what Starfleet is all about. He motivates his crew members to be the best they can be can empowers them with the knowledge they need to get out there and  make it so .

Picard is leading at a time when Federation ideologies and practices have matured. In dealing with threats like the Borg and complex relationships with traditional enemies like the Klingons and Romulans, he provides excellent insight. Visionary leaders are great for times when a new direction is needed.

The coaching leader

Captain Jonathan Archer is definitely a coaching leader. He's got to be, as the captain in command of the first Starfleet starship. Archer helps his crew members recognize their strengths and weaknesses. He also forms close connections with his team, even coming to an understanding with his Vulcan first officer T'Pol, whom he initially had a contentious relationship with.

Like some coaching leaders, his style can come across as micromanagement sometimes — chronologically, Archer is the first captain to start accompanying landing crews on potentially dangerous missions. Still, all in all, his methods help lay the groundwork for Starfleet's long-term capabilities.

The affiliative leader

Captain Kathryn Janeway is a classic affiliative leader. She's all about creating harmony within her organization and healing rifts between different groups.

She demonstrates this by bringing together her crew and the rebel Maquis faction at the start of the series. Janeway even leads her Voyager team to band together with adversaries such as the Borg and Species 8472.

The democratic leader

Captain Benjamin Sisko starts out the series as a Lieutenant Commander, the Starfleet officer in charge of the Bajoran-controlled Deep Space Nine.

His no-nonsense approach to things most closely reflects the democratic style of leadership. Sisko values input from his colleagues and is always able to hear the good news and the bad news.

This style works well in the many uncertain situations he faces, as he has to deal with everyone from the Provision Government, to the Maquis, to the Dominion.

The pace-setting leader

Captain James Tiberius Kirk is definitely a commander that leads by example.

In almost every episode, he's running around exploring alien planets with his team, red-shirts and all (squad goals). He's out there fighting the Gorn, getting split in two by the transporter, falling in love with pacifistic social workers, and getting into all sorts of highly illogical trouble.

He's still a highly effective leader. Kirk challenges his crew — especially Scotty, whose protestations about diverting power to the ship's shields and other functions are typically ignored.

Kirk's all about hands-on leadership. And he always expects his crew to do their best and know how to find that "third option" when dealing with problems.

The commanding leader

Klingon starships tend to be what you might call hostile work environments.

When your Klingon leader issues an order, you either obey, get killed, or murder the commander and seize control for yourself.

This powerful (albeit bloody) approach definitely calls the commanding leadership style to mind.

One Klingon proverb in Benjamin Bonetti's " Quotes to Remember " sums up their view of a good commander: "A leader is judged not by the length of his reign but by the decisions he makes."

Maybe that's because the life expectancy of Klingon leaders probably tend to really vary.

While forcefulness and demanding full team compliance may be valuable during times of crisis, I, for one, definitely couldn't handle working on a Klingon vessel.

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Ranking Star Trek Captain Catchphrases

Star Trek: Discovery just added another captain's catchphrase to the mix. We've ranked the catchphrases throughout franchise history, including the latest...

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This Star Trek article contains spoilers for the ending of Discovery Season 3 .

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 may have taken place in a whole new future for our characters and for us, but it wasn’t afraid to call back to franchise history. One of the most delightful ways we saw this happen in Season 3 was in the discussion of the all important Star Trek captain catchphrase. In “Sanctuary,” Captain Saru and Tilly surreptitiously discuss “the other matter” of figuring out what he should say whenever it’s time to seem like a cool and in control Starfleet captain. This results in Saru hilariously trying to re-appropriate Captain Pike’s “Hit it,” followed by a fairly lukewarm reception of “Execute!” 

The subject comes up again in the Discovery Season 3 finale when Michael Burnham takes the captain chair. Captain Burnham doesn’t seem to have the same level of existential crisis as Saru did figuring out what his captain catchphrase may be (either that or we just don’t get to see the workshop session she has with Tilly), landing on an all-new catchphrase for the episode’s final moments. Now that Burnham has just busted-out her own excellent tag line, it’s time to look best and worst Starfleet catchphrases. It’s warp time!

12. “Execute”

Saru tries this one out in “Sanctuary,” but Captain Kirk actually used “Execute” fairly well! In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Kirk says “execute” twice . The more famous version is when he says “Prepare to execute emergency landing plan…b,” which is just Kirk making shit up on the fly. But, in the same movie, he also, very slickly says “Mister Sulu…execute.” Which is some badass Captain Kirk action, even in a fairly underloved Trek movie.

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11. “Get It Done”

Oh goody. Remember your favorite Captain of the USS Enterprise-D ; Edward Jellico? Played by RoboCop baddie Ronny Cox, Jellico liked to tell Riker and Troi to “Get It Done,” like that was something cool to say. In fairness, Jellico wasn’t a terrible Captain, and was partially responsible for Troi getting to wear a regular uniform for the rest of the series, so if he got one thing done , it was (arguably) getting Troi a little more respect. 

10. “Take Us Out”

Can you think of one Starfleet order that elicited a standing ovation for no reason? Yep, it was in Star Trek Generations , when, surrounded by reporters, Kirk said “Take us out.” Everyone went wild and Chekov and Scotty made fun of Kirk when he sat down. The weird thing was, as a 12-year-old- in 1994, I actually kind of thought this might have been a legit catchphrase of Kirk’s, and was confused when I couldn’t find him saying it all the time in old TOS episodes. I mean, in “City on the Edge of Forever,” he does say “Let’s get the hell out of here,” but that hardly counts as a catchphrase. Sure, Kirk said variations of “Take us out of orbit,” or whatever in TOS , but come on.

9. “Just Do IT!”

No, this wasn’t a Star Trek/Nike crossover. Picard said this one time when he was really depressed. Weirdly, this one comes from Generations , too. Does that make Generations like a low-key workshop for new Star Trek catchphrases? Maybe. 

8. “Go!”

This was Captain Lorca’s catchphrase in Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, and it mostly indicated the ship was about to use the Spore Drive. Interestingly, Saru did use “Go” in the Season 1 episode “Choose Your Pain,” the first time he was left in command of the Discovery . Is this really worse than “execute?” 

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7. “punch it”.

Remember when Star Trek ripped-off Han and Lando? In the first Star Trek reboot in 2009, that version of Captain Pike said “Punch it” twice . This was a clear Star Wars nod and, you know what? It worked.

6. “Warp me!” and “It’s Warp Time!”

In Star Trek: Lower Decks , Captain Freeman tries out the phrase “It’s warp time!” in the episode “Envoys.” Later, in a holographic simulation in “Crisis Point,” she says “Warp me!” This one isn’t bad, but considering Saru isn’t really using warp drive anymore, it’s suddenly…outdated!

5. “Hit It”

It’s weird that Anson Mount’s Captain Pike has only been around since 2019, and yet, “Hit It” has already become a huge part of the Trek fandom. Because Pike, Spock and Number One will all be in Strange New Worlds sometime in either 2021 or 2022, expect to be hearing “Hit It” a lot more in the coming years.

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4. “Do It”

While Captain Sisko was never really given a catchphrase, his fellow late-’90s Star Trek star, Captain Janeway, did get one, kind of under the radar. Janeway says “Do it” in a very specific, almost angry way. When Janeway says “do it,” you kind of want to comply right away, but also, kind of figure out what you did wrong. Maybe she needs coffee?

3. “Let’s Fly!”

At the end of “That Hope Is You, Part 2,” Burnham busts-out her personal Starfleet captain catchphrase. Some fans have pointed out that in a sense, Burnham could be riffing on Captain Lorca in Discovery Season 1, when he said “We’re creating a new way to fly,” in reference to the Spore Drive. But, the stranger and extra-fictional deep-cut might have to do those killer Discovery Season 2 trailers that were set to the Lenny Kravitz rock classic, “Fly Away.” Yeah, remember that? I’m not saying “Fly Away” is an official anthem of Discovery , but I’m also not not saying that. 

Regardless of the inspiration, Burnham’s “let’s fly” feels perfect for her captaincy, and it fits well with the mood of Discovery. Too soon to put it this high on the list? Maybe. But it feels right. 

2. “Make It So”

It’s tempting to rank Picard’s “Make it so” ahead of “Engage,” but for some reason, the formality of it makes it closer to a “Manifest” or “Execute.” That said, it’s iconic for a reason. Just never forget that one time, Picard said “Step on it,” when he was still acting like Dixon HIll.

1. “Engage!”

While Picard certainly made “Engage” his own on S tar Trek: The Next Generation , the first Star Trek captain who said “Engage,” was Captain Pike! In the TOS pilot “The Cage,” Jeffrey Hunter’s Pike said “Engage,” which sort of means Anson Mount can bring it back at any time. (Can you imagine Hunter saying “Hit It” in 1964?) Captain Kirk also said “Engage” in the episode “The Corbomite Maneuver.”

Does this mean Saru can use “Engage?” Does he even know about Picard yet? Considering how much time has passed since the era of Picard, Saru could get away with “Enage” in the context of the 32nd Century, but certainly not in the context of fans in 2020. Maybe because the USS Discovery spins around before jumping, there’s an easy answer close at hand. How about Saru just says: “Spin me!” 

Yeah, that one needs a workshop, too.

Star Trek: Discovery — It’s DISCO TIME! — is available to watch on CBS All-Access.

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

Swagger stick

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Captain Styles' swagger stick

A swagger stick was a short stick, similar to a cane or baton, often carried by high ranking military officers .

In 2285 , Captain Lawrence H. Styles was known for commanding his ship, the USS Excelsior , while carrying a swagger stick. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

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• Swagger stick at Wikipedia

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Preview ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ Episode 506 With New Images. Trailer And Clip From “Whistlespeak”

| April 29, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 19 comments so far

The second half of the fifth and final season of Star Trek: Discovery arrives on Thursday with the sixth episode, and we have details, new photos, a trailer, and a clip WITH SPOILERS .

Episode 6: “Whistlespeak”

The fifth episode of the season, “Whistlespeak,” was written by Kenneth Lin & Brandon Schultz and directed by Chris Byrne. It debuts on Paramount+ on Thursday, May 2.

While undercover in a pre-warp society, Captain Burnham is forced to consider breaking the Prime Directive when a local tradition threatens Tilly’s life. Meanwhile, Culber tries to connect with Stamets, and Adira steps up when Rayner assigns them a position on the bridge.

Co-showrunner Michelle Paradise previously teased this episode saying, “Oh, classic TOS-style adventure!”

NEW photos:

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Alfredo Narciso as Ohvahz and Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

June Laporte as Ravah (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Mary Wiseman as Tilly (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham and Mary Wiseman as Tilly (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham and Alfredo Narciso as Ohvahz (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Sonequa Martin-Green as Burnham, Mary Wiseman as Tilly and June Laporte as Ravah (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Alfredo Narciso as Ohvahz and June Laporte as Ravah (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Previously released photo:

Anthony Rapp as Stamets (Michael Gibson/Paramount+)

Episode trailer

You can see a clip from “Whistlespeak” from the latest episode of The Ready Room below …

Season trailers

Here is the trailer released in February.

And the season preview released with the first episode…

The fifth and final season of  Discovery debuted with two episodes on Thursday, April 4 exclusively on Paramount+  in the U.S., the UK, Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria.  Discovery also premiered on April 4 on Paramount+ in Canada and will be broadcast on Bell Media’s CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. The rest of the 10-episode final season will be available to stream weekly on Thursdays. Season 5 debuted on SkyShowtime in select European countries on April 5.

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Looks pretty Trekkie!

I think they misspelled “Whisperspeak.”

This kind of drive by stuff is trolling.

“Captain Burnham is forced to consider breaking the Prime Directive when a local tradition threatens Tilly’s life.” Sounds like the TNG episode “Justice” from season 1…

Sure, but at least it looks less stupid than Justice.

While undercover in a pre-warp society, Captain Burnham is forced to consider breaking the Prime Directive when a local tradition threatens Tilly’s life. 

Tilly probably hits a ball into the one tiny forbidden area on the planet and breaks the glass, thus getting the death penalty. It happens more often than you would think.

Yah, that’s what I thought too.

I’ll settle for a recycled idea exectuted well… but to be honest, my preliminary interest into this one is low.

Holy Wesley Crusher batman. Now I know they’ve gone full canon connections.

Rayner is a great character. It’s a shame we only get one season with him. Callum Keith Rennie does a good job. I’ve liked him in his other roles. Well, we are in the final half of the season. I’m hoping they finish off strong. I have mixed feelings about DSC ending. I feel bad for all the fans who claim this is THEIR Star Trek.

It’s a shame we only get one season with him.

It’s always possible that he moves over to the Academy show.

Agreed on all counts, despite Prodigy being my #1 current Star Trek show.

He instantly makes any role he’s doing better by default. One of my favorites was Californication. He was great in that.

“Best show ever.” -Access Hollywood

Hopefully this is another good filler episode, like ep 5×4. When DIS isn’t all phasers blazing or overly melodramatic, it is much better. Plus, more Rayner please.

discovery is always overly melodramatic, always!

On a scale of overly melodramaticnes from 0 to 10 Discovery has its own scale that is in its entirety contained in the 10 of the normal scale.

There’s no such thing as filler episodes in Discovery. They’re all ‘high impact.’

Bohemian clothes and slightly different foreheads… ironically, very TOS :-)

Star Trek: Discovery's Commander Rayner Is The New Riker

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors "

• Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery shows reluctance to lead, akin to Riker in The Next Generation, emphasizing the importance of strong leadership dynamics.
• Similar to Riker on the USS Enterprise-D, Rayner's style proves valuable in solving critical issues in "Mirrors" episode.
• Burnham's mission and leadership choices parallel Picard and Riker dynamics, showcasing a balance of risk-taking and bold decision-making in Star Trek lore.

Star Trek: Discovery 's new Number One, Commander Rayner (Callum Keith Rennie) has a lot in common with Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) from Star Trek: The Next Generation . In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, "Mirrors", written by Johanna Lee & Carlos Cisco and directed by Jen McGowan , Rayner has to reluctantly take the center seat while Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) is on an away mission. Rayner's reluctance to take the conn, and his insistence that he lead the away mission in Burnham's stead, draws similarities between him and Will Riker.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5 , "Mirrors" reveals that Rayner, formerly the captain of the USS Antares, is unsure that his style will gel with his new crew. However, by bringing the Discovery's bridge crew together, Rayner is able to solve the problem of how to drag the ISS Enterprise out of interdimensional space . With Burnham back on board, Rayner is back to being the USS Discovery's Number One, but satisfied that he can lead from the center seat, much like Riker at the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 1, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

Jonathan Frakes Is In Star Trek: Discovery Even If You Dont See Riker

Star trek: discovery's commander rayner is reluctant to be captain - like riker in tng.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation , Riker turned down several opportunities to become captain, preferring to stay aboard the USS Enterprise-D as second-in-command to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). However, Riker was often placed in charge of the starship Enterprise , most notably when Picard was assimilated by the Borg Collective. After rescuing Captain Picard from the Borg, and saving the Federation from the Collective, he was happy to step down from Captain to Commander Riker, satisfied that he'd proved his worth as a captain. For Riker, serving as Number One on the Federation flagship was just as huge an achievement as his own command .

Riker finally accepted a promotion to captain of the USS Titan in Star Trek: Nemesis .

Rayner in Star Trek: Discovery was demoted from Captain to Commander in season 5, episode 2, "Under the Twin Moons". The USS Discovery is Rayner's last chance, which is presumably why, like Riker in TNG , he's keen not to chase promotion. His reasoning is different to Riker's because Rayner had already been a captain for years before becoming Burnham's Number One . Rayner is reluctant to take charge in "Mirrors" because it's not his crew, and his command style is very different to Burnham's.

Commander Rayner Is The Riker To Burnham's Picard In Star Trek: Discovery

One of the reasons that Rayner gives for not wanting to take the conn is that Burnham's away mission is " too risky " for the captain of the USS Discovery . Riker leading the away missions in Star Trek: The Next Generation became such a trope that Picard jokes about it in his Star Trek: Nemesis wedding toast . Burnham explains why she and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) are the best crew members to take on the mission, forcing Rayner to concede that she's right. Picard would do the same in later seasons of TNG as he took a more active role in away missions.

Discussing Riker's replacement aboard the Enterprise, Commander Data (Brent Spiner), Picard jokes: " I will be training my new first officer. You all know him. He's a tyrannical martinet who'll never, ever allow me to go on away missions! "

When Burnham offered Rayner the role of second-in-command in Star Trek: Discovery she made it clear that she didn't want a " yes man ". Picard didn't want Riker to be one either, which is why he was so impressed by his fierce opposition to Captain Robert DeSoto (Michael Cavanaugh) leading an away mission on Altair III. Riker risked court martial to convince DeSoto that his away mission was " too risky " for the captain of the USS Hood, something that ultimately led to him becoming the second-in-command of the USS Enterprise-D in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on Paramount+

All episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation are streaming now on Paramount+

Star Trek: Discovery

Star Trek: Discovery is an entry in the legendary Sci-Fi franchise, set ten years before the original Star Trek series events. The show centers around Commander Michael Burnham, assigned to the USS Discovery, where the crew attempts to prevent a Klingon war while traveling through the vast reaches of space.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5's Captain Rayner Ran His Ship Like a Pirate

Callum Keith Rennie also discusses coming into 'Discovery's final season, getting into prosthetics, and how much he has in common with Rayner.

The Big Picture

• Callum Keith Rennie's Captain Rayner brings conflict and depth to Star Trek: Discovery 's final season.
• Rennie discusses his experience on Star Trek: Discovery , praising the supportive cast and crew, despite the initial challenges of joining an established series for its last season.
• In Season 5, Episode 4 "Face the Strange," Burnham and Rayner must work together within a time bubble to save the universe.

As Captain Michael Burnham ( Sonequa Martin-Green ) embarks on one last adventure with her crew, Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 is bringing a few new characters along for the ride. Chief among those newcomers is the blunt, war-worn Captain Rayner. Played by Battlestar Galactica alum Callum Keith Rennie , Rayner is Burnham's new second in command on the Discovery , taking over after Saru ( Doug Jones ) took a different position at Starfleet.

Having lived through The Burn, Rayner doesn't have time for niceties and butts heads with Burnham almost immediately — so naturally, she takes it upon herself to give him a second chance when Starfleet is ready to cut him loose. Last week's episode saw him, rightfully, put in his place a bit as Tilly ( Mary Wiseman ) attempted to help him connect with the crew, much to his chagrin. In Season 5 Episode 4, "Face the Strange," Rayner and Burnham are thrown into a time bubble, forcing them to work together if they ever want to get back to the correct timeline and prevent the universe from being destroyed.

Ahead of the episode, I sat down with Rennie to dig into Rayner's backstory, what we can expect from him in the rest of the season, and what it will take for Rayner to truly connect with the crew of Discovery . During our conversation, we also discussed Rennie's history with sci-fi, what it was like joining Discovery for the show's final season, and what he's taking away from the whole experience.

Star Trek: Discovery

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Taking place almost a decade before Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the USS Discovery charts a course to uncover new worlds and life forms.

Rennie is no stranger to science fiction, having had roles in such series as The Umbrella Academy , Jessica Jones, and Battlestar Galactica. As Battlestar Galactica was the series that turned me into a sci-fi fan, and perhaps Rennie's most recognizable role, I had to ask him about being a part of such massive and beloved franchises within the genre. "It's amazing," he said. For Rennie, even though Battlestar was also a reboot of a classic series , the show's success was a lot less predictable than the mainstay that is Star Trek . He explained, "Like, say Battlestar , when I started on that I had no idea where that one was gonna go. Discovery was already very established , but I actually didn't let any of that into my [head], because I went, “That's not gonna help.” So, I didn’t. Now, I'm feeling the world of it. Now, I'm sensing what the world of Discovery is and how many people love it, and how it fits. "

Discovery also isn't his first experience with Star Trek , "I watched the original. That was my thing, and that was it," Rennie told me. While he may have missed some of the series' in between, saying, "There's big chunks of time where I just didn't watch a lot of TV, so I missed all of the other stuff," he'll always make time for The Original Series when he comes across it, "even if the old Star Trek comes on, I'll still watch it because that was my Star Trek . Jim Kirk, and all of that. "

While we've gotten a pretty good sense of who Rayner is in these first four episodes, most of his backstory remains a mystery. Rennie revealed that "some backstory comes up in a few episodes." Part of his gruff exterior will be explained as we'll "get a sense of why he's maybe got a chip on his shoulder and has some unprocessed resentments about a bunch of things that maybe have played out in his work in a negative way."

Rennie Calls 'Star Trek: Discovery's Latest Episode "Amazing"

"Face the Strange," is such a classic Star Trek episode, employing the ever-entertaining sci-fi trope of sticking our main characters in a time loop, both to put an obstacle in their path as well as to bring them face to face with some of their own demons. For Rennie, the episode really put the science in science fiction. "It was like, 'Whoa! What's happening? I don't get it.' There's just so much science stuff and talk, so much jumping about to places and history and stuff." But he had high praise for his fellow castmates as well as the crew behind the camera." Lee [Rose] being the director, you're in great hands. Being in scenes with Sonequa, you know that you're gonna be in it , and it was great. I watched it again last night, and there’s just an amazing amount of stuff in there. It was just an amazing episode. "

In this episode, Burnham and Rayner are tossed back in time to the first season of Discovery , bringing them both face to face with the version of Burnham who's fresh off her own demotion in Starfleet . Throughout the episode, it becomes quite clear that Burnham and Rayner have a lot more in common than either of them might have realized. When asked if this experience might put them more on equal footing, Rennie confirmed that "he's learned an understanding of the crew." He went on to point out that we haven't seen the relationship that Rayner had with his own crew.

He explained: "We're not on the Antares talking about his crew, which I think is an important part that we missed, where you go, 'How did I see my people on my particular ship? And how well did I know them?' No one's asking me how well I knew everybody because I did, but if I've only been there a brief time, you're only gonna have facts." He admits that it is important for Rayner to connect past the surface level. "Through that particular episode, you learn and go, 'Yes, it is good to know what people are up to and where they're from,' because in that particular instance, it saved us. So, I learned a thing, and I give a, 'Yes. Got it. Thank you.'"

Rayner Will Have to Shorten the Distance Between Himself and the Discovery Crew

While it doesn't sound like we'll be getting any flashbacks to Rayner's time on the Antares Rennie believes that he'd spent a similar amount of time with that crew as Michael has with hers. "We didn't get to inhabit that, I get to make it up in my own mind," he said. "But for me, it was more like a pirate ship that I had. " While Rayner comes off as the more stubborn, stick-to-the-mission Captain between him and Burnham, Rennie doesn't think he was quite so strict on his own ship. He said:

"That's the way I perceived it. It wasn't some rigid, completely stoic, boss fest, but a little bit of a wild card ship. We're gonna go into things that nobody else wants to go into, or knows how to deal with, but we would. "

While the walls around Rayner are still pretty high, Rennie explained that we will see him "shorten the distance" he's put between himself and the crew of the Discovery. "There's a great bit, there's an episode where Burnham leaves me again to take control of the ship. There's an interaction with everybody in a certain way because they don't like me yet. [Laughs] And I need some help a little bit, but I've created a distance, and I have to shorten that distance between everybody." He went on to say there are plenty of "fun dynamics" to look forward to and Rayner's insistence on keeping everyone at arm's length will likely come back to bite him.

Star Trek has quite a long list of original alien species created for the franchise, and Rayner just happens to be a Kellerun, a race that hasn't been seen since Deep Space Nine . In classic Trek fashion, Kelleruns appear mostly human with the most visible difference being the shape of the ears. As he follows in the footsteps of the likes of Leonard Nimoy and any actor who has ever played a Vulcan or a Romulan, I asked Rennie about getting into prosthetics for the role. "Those guys are great. Rocky [Faulkner] was great, Nicola [Bendrey] was great." While it was certainly an extra step the process was brief enough that it didn't bother him to come to set a bit earlier than usual. "That was probably an hour, and I really didn't think about that enough to go, 'Oh, that's right. I have to get up earlier.' But I think we got it down to an hour and a bit for just the ears because there’s a lot of stuff on them."

Despite the agonizing wait of sitting in front of a mirror for an hour, Rennie noted that Faulkner and Bendrey made the make-up experience as fun as it could possibly have been. He said: "I don't love just sitting there looking at myself for an hour, but there's music and great company and coffee, and it became a really sweet part of the day, and then another sweet part of the day where I download. " It wasn't his first time getting into prosthetics, but his previous experience had been brief. After playing Rayner across an entire season, Rennie admitted by the end, removing the glue actually started to feel like you'd expect pulling costume glue off your ears to feel. "There was a point near the end where the glue-on, glue-off became quite painful for a while."

The Support of the Cast and the Fans Are Highlights of Rennie's 'Star Trek' Experience

While this is Rennie's first season on the show, it's the final bow for Star Trek: Discovery . When asked what he'd be taking away from this experience, he had nothing but high praise for the cast and crew. As a newcomer on a well-established show, jumping into the fifth season had a bit of a learning curve. "I found that coming into the show was difficult for me because it was unlike a show that I'd been on before. It was already very well established." He went on to say:

"I pat myself on the back because I made it through, and there was this wonderful group energy that helped me do that. The good naturedness of the show was something that I maybe haven't worked on. There was a wholehearted goodness about it, which was quite nice, which overlapped into how people treated each other and mutual respect. Also, I kind of blocked out all Star Treks in my mind, so I'm there not thinking of Star Trek history. I'm just doing scene-to-scene and working on this stuff, and then it finishes, and then I forget that there's an incredible vast following of the show that somehow you are now part of it like that. All of that, this is all relatively new to me."

As a new addition to an already established group, I pointed out that it seemed as though Rennie's experience mirrored that of his characters, and he agreed. "I'm excited for people to see the season. And then, coming into it playing, “I don't want to be liked. It doesn't matter if I'm liked. I'm there to do my job, like Rayner, and I'm doing it. And then there's the after-effect of an incredible fan base that seems to be very supportive ."

You can watch our full conversation in the player above, and catch the latest episode of Star Trek: Discovery now on Paramount+.

'Star Trek: Discovery' Season 5 Review: One Hell of a Final Ride

Watch on Paramount+