The esteemed Mr. Eastlund will, no doubt, attempt to spin his argument into one weighing the merits of Star Trek: The Next Generation against those of “classic” Star Trek. This is not an argument about the firepower of NCC-1701 versus that of NCC-1701-D or whether a Shakespearean actor who gave a great portrayal of Charles Xavier is a better actor than the toupee-wearing star of Kingdom of the Spiders. No, the issue at hand is simply whether the character of Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the 24th Century was a better Starfleet captain than the character of Captain James Tiberius Kirk...