Star Trek: 10 Times Captains Lost Control
They're meant to be the steadfast leader of the crew. So, what happens when the captains lose it?
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00:00 There are times in a captain's career when the pressure of command can become too much.
00:04 When then should the line be drawn on what they should and should not do?
00:07 In the name of peace, how much war can they wage?
00:10 The captains in Star Trek have faced this question on many occasions.
00:14 Those wars may be external, involving several ships and a lot of firepower.
00:17 They may also be internal wars raging in the soul.
00:21 In the many years of Star Trek's history, the times that captains have really lost control
00:25 tended to be few.
00:26 The point of commanding a starship is to be the calm head on what could be a chaotic body.
00:30 Those in command need to be able to weather the most difficult of times and steer their
00:34 crews to safety.
00:36 However, sometimes that does mean wading into murky waters.
00:39 The things that they teach in captain school do not always apply to the events in space.
00:43 They may think that they are trained for every eventuality, but what is a captain to do when
00:46 the ship is dead in space and the mission must be completed, by any means necessary?
00:51 Some captains, with their position and power, choose to wage a private little war.
00:55 While it is up to history to condone or condemn, it happens with a surprising frequency in
00:59 Starfleet.
01:00 So, with that in mind, I'm Ellie with Trek Culture, and here are 10 times captains lost
01:05 control.
01:06 10.
01:07 Picard won't let them leave the Devron system
01:10 In the series finale, Picard is bounced backwards and forwards in time by Q, trying to figure
01:15 out the mystery of the anomaly in the Devron system as he does.
01:18 In each different time period, Jean-Luc is portrayed with all the control that he would
01:22 muster at that time in his life.
01:24 In the scenes set in the past, he is the newly appointed captain of the Enterprise, though
01:28 barely seven years younger than his present day self.
01:31 Both versions of Picard are controlled and keep a cool head.
01:34 The same cannot be said for the future version of Picard.
01:37 In what has become something of a prophecy, depicted by his portrayal in Star Trek Picard,
01:41 Jean-Luc is shown to have far less patience with the universe and other people around
01:46 him.
01:47 He pushes his way through situations, insisting on resolutions while others may hold back.
01:51 Never is this more evident than his determination to remain in place and continue the scans
01:55 in the Devron system, despite the threat of attack by the Klingons.
01:59 He overrides Beverly, insults Worf, and impatiently waits for the Pasteur to scan the area.
02:04 This is exacerbated once the Klingons finally launch their assault, resulting in the destruction
02:09 of the ship and the death of several crew members.
02:11 Though saved by the Enterprise, he implores Admiral Riker to the point of hysteria to
02:15 remain where they are, citing their departure as a danger to all of humanity.
02:20 Despite the later outcome, the crew watch in sadness as the once great captain goes
02:23 to pieces in front of them.
02:25 9.
02:26 Commodore Decker takes on the Planet Killer
02:29 The Doomsday Machine remains one of the best episodes of the original series, mixing drama
02:34 with action in a way that few of the other episodes ever really did.
02:37 The threat of the Planet Killer is akin to the threat of the shark from Jaws.
02:41 It is seemingly unstoppable, simply devouring what it can.
02:44 The USS Constellation engages the machine and is almost blasted to pieces by the far
02:49 superior entity.
02:50 Commodore Matt Decker, in a bid to save his crew, beams them down to a planet's surface,
02:55 intending to simply risk his own life by attacking with the damaged Constellation.
02:59 He then watches in horror as his crew are consumed while the machine destroys the world
03:03 he set them down on, snapping his grasp on reality.
03:07 He is lost aboard the wreck of his once pronounced ship, only to be later rescued by the USS
03:11 Enterprise.
03:12 In the Enterprise, he sees the one thing he wants more than anything else - revenge.
03:17 The Enterprise is fully powered and he feels that he can engage the machine in a matched
03:21 fight, though quickly discovers he has hopelessly underestimated it, narrowly avoiding destruction
03:26 yet again.
03:27 As a desperate final act, he stakes a shuttle and flies directly towards the gaping mouth
03:32 of the machine.
03:33 Kirk tries to convince him to return back, but it is useless.
03:36 With a final scream of terror, Decker is consumed by the Planet Killer as the shuttle explodes
03:40 within.
03:41 Though he made the ultimate sacrifice, it was enough to give the Enterprise the clues
03:44 it needed to destroy the machine.
03:47 8.
03:48 Captain Maxwell takes on the Cardassian Empire
03:50 While most of the Starfleet action in The Next Generation would be contained to the
03:54 Enterprise, on occasion the universe widened to include other officers and other starships.
04:00 One such event involved the hunt for O'Brien's former CEO, Captain Benjamin Maxwell, of the
04:05 USS Phoenix.
04:06 A survivor of the Cardassian Wars, Maxwell is convinced that the Cardassians are arming
04:10 him for another conflict.
04:11 While later years would prove his theory, at the time there is no evidence and so he
04:16 resolves to find some.
04:18 Maxwell comes across as a very reasonable, affable man.
04:21 He engages with Picard and O'Brien, seemingly oblivious to the seriousness of his infractions.
04:26 The very fact that the Enterprise has been sent to hunt him seems to simply slide off
04:30 in the beginning.
04:31 Picard brings him down to Earth with a bang.
04:33 Quickly assured that he does not have the support of the Federation, Maxwell returns
04:37 to his ship with the promise of coming along quietly.
04:40 With that, he takes the ship away, ending his career in a heartbeat.
04:43 He both attacks and destroys several Cardassian ships, straining relations with the Union
04:48 even further.
04:49 Picard sends O'Brien in to attempt to calm the situation, as the next option is to engage
04:53 and destroy the Phoenix.
04:55 Maxwell is not lost beyond hope.
04:57 O'Brien talks him down, sympathizing with the man's position, but ultimately reminding
05:01 him that the wars can't destroy their future as well as their past.
05:04 The Phoenix stands down and Maxwell is taken into custody.
05:08 7.
05:09 Archer Orders the Creation and then Execution of Trip's Clone
05:13 Archer's resolve to stop the Xindi War is seen in its most frightening aspect here.
05:17 With the grave injury of Trip during a test to make the engines more stable at higher
05:21 speeds, the ship is stuck.
05:23 Flock suggests a radical option, creating a short-lived clone of Trip as a neurological
05:28 donor.
05:29 It sounds like something from a H.P.
05:30 Lovecraft novel, science and horror combined in one.
05:33 What makes the idea more disturbing is that Archer accepts with relatively little deliberation.
05:38 His obsession to stop the disaster that is coming is driving him to greater lengths than
05:42 he has ever thought possible.
05:43 Sim, as he is dubbed, grows quickly, showing all of the signs of full sentience.
05:48 He doesn't want to die, though the procedure will be fatal.
05:51 He researches ways to extend his lifespan, though Flock reveals he was aware of them.
05:55 They are unresearched, and in the centre of the expanse is certainly not the place to
05:59 begin.
06:00 Archer speaks to Sim, telling him he would much rather Sim volunteer for the procedure,
06:04 but leaving it very clear that there is no choice either way.
06:07 Sim will be going through with it, even if that means Archer escort him with security
06:11 personnel to the medical bay.
06:13 Even with this, Sim tries to escape, though in the end it is for naught.
06:17 Archer rewards him with a funeral service, though there is a little shading the fact
06:21 that this man was born to die, and Archer not only allowed it, but sped his passing.
06:26 6.
06:27 Picard and Robert Fight
06:28 Captain Picard has, in his long history with Starfleet, maintained control over emotion
06:33 wherever possible.
06:34 His most recent years are marked by more and more incidents of this control slipping, though
06:38 for the first three seasons of The Next Generation, he rarely lost his cool.
06:42 Then the Borg came, and with them came the destruction of 39 Starfleet ships, with the
06:46 loss of 11,000 lives.
06:48 Through his abduction and assimilation by the Borg, Picard led the assault as Locutus,
06:53 fully aware of what was happening with no power to stop it.
06:56 Once the threat has been taken care of, the Enterprise is granted some much needed shore
07:00 leave, returning to Earth to do so.
07:03 Picard takes the opportunity to visit his brother Robert's family in France, enjoying
07:07 the time with his nephew and sister-in-law, though immediately butting heads with his
07:11 brother.
07:12 This continues, while the old-school Robert seems to scoff at the notions that Jean-Luc
07:15 has about technology and advancement.
07:18 Their bickering intensifies until, in a very un-Picard manner, the two of them erupt into
07:22 a fistfight in the middle of their vineyard.
07:24 While they stop the fight within moments, even going so far as to laugh about the state
07:28 of their mud-covered bodies, Jean-Luc's laughter turns to tears as he finally breaks
07:32 down, spilling the trauma he feels about his inability to stop the Borg.
07:36 His brother, listening with empathy, manages to get the last word in.
07:39 The great Jean-Luc Picard is human, after all.
07:41 They help each other up, and their relationship is stronger for it.
07:45 5.
07:46 Sisko Sinks Further and Further into the Romulan Plot
07:49 In the Pale Moonlight stands as both one of the strongest episodes of Deep Space Nine
07:53 and one of the darkest moments in Star Trek up to that point.
07:56 The Starfleet captain knowingly commits crimes to con an empire into going to war.
08:01 Gordon Bree would most likely have had quite a few things to say about that.
08:05 When the story picks up, the action has already happened.
08:07 The audience watches Sisko attempt to come to terms with the fallout.
08:11 He details his initial plot, and it was his idea to bring the Romulans into the war.
08:16 There are many people that he could have chosen to work with, but he goes straight to Garak.
08:20 Garak is one of the most enigmatic characters in Star Trek.
08:23 What is known about him is shaded in layers of grey, never quite rising to the brighter
08:27 colours.
08:28 Sisko approaches him because this is what he needs.
08:30 The Starfleet, with the exception of Section 31, has not trained him for this level of
08:34 duplicity.
08:35 The resulting forgeries, murders, and declarations of war all serve to ensure that Sisko's
08:40 plan is a success.
08:41 The Romulans are going to help the Federation.
08:43 However, where Sisko devolved from his original intentions to becoming embroiled in Garak's
08:49 darkness is lost in the murky shades of grey that he must now live with.
08:52 Though, as he tells the audience, he can live with it.
08:56 Number 4.
08:57 Archer Steals a Warp Coil Enterprise Got Dark
09:00 In several reviews of the show, its relative light nature has been expounded upon.
09:05 However, as the show sank deeper and deeper into the Xindi arc, the crew began to face
09:09 challenges that few of the series had depicted before.
09:12 Left without a safety net, they were forced to fend very much for themselves.
09:16 In the episode "Damage", Archer struggles hard with the decision to do what is necessary
09:20 to save his crew.
09:21 There are echoes of Captain Ransom here, certainly allowing the audience to have a deeper understanding
09:26 of the other Captain.
09:27 Archer sends an armed away team to steal the warp coil of an alien vessel they encounter.
09:32 This is so far removed from everything that Starfleet stands for that it is something
09:36 that tests the man to his core.
09:38 He asks Phlox how he has dealt with crises of ethics and conscience before.
09:42 Phlox tells him to do what he thinks is right.
09:45 In this case, to be wrong is to be right.
09:47 There is no question of Enterprise abandoning her search for the Xindi, yet doing so will
09:50 condemn these kind aliens who offered everything but the warp coil as aid.
09:55 Archer informs Phlox that there may be more casualties coming his way.
09:58 Though Phlox at this point does not know why, he says that he will be ready.
10:02 The two men share a moment and Archer sinks further into this hell he finds himself in,
10:06 desperate to do anything to save humanity at the cost of his soul.
10:10 3.
10:11 Janeway Hunts Down the Equinox
10:13 One thing that was a constant for Captain Janeway in all of the years that Voyager spent
10:18 lost in the Delta Quadrant was her steadfast resolution to get her crew home.
10:22 She would show strength on countless occasions, overcoming the challenges of their situation.
10:27 She was a reliable and inspirational commander.
10:30 In some ways, Captain Ransom of the Equinox was a mirror version of Janeway.
10:34 He too was willing to go above and beyond to get his crew home, though he quickly fell
10:38 to abandoning the Prime Directive to do it.
10:40 This led not just to inciting the rage of the aliens he had been harvesting, but also
10:44 into attacking and stealing from Voyager herself.
10:47 Janeway, putting it mildly, was not pleased.
10:50 This was a betrayal on two fronts.
10:51 First, the obvious betrayal that left Voyager in a dangerous position with the aliens, but
10:55 second was the betrayal of Starfleet's values by Ransom.
10:59 Her anger began to cloud her judgement.
11:01 She began a hunt for the Equinox, extensively with the goal of rescuing Seven of Nine, though
11:06 serving to allow Janeway her revenge on Ransom.
11:09 This was most evident in her continued attacking of the vessel, torpedoes and all, regardless
11:13 of the casualties.
11:14 In a way, Janeway is brought back from the brink by Ransom himself, sacrificing his life
11:19 to move the Equinox away from Voyager before the core explodes.
11:22 As Chakotay and Janeway reflect at the end of the episode, this is the closest Janeway
11:27 has ever come to going over the edge.
11:29 Number 2.
11:30 The Line Will Be Drawn Here
11:32 This was the moment when First Contact really hammered home the seriousness of Picard's
11:36 struggle with the Borg.
11:37 For years, the experiences inside the Collective had haunted him, but with some exceptions,
11:42 these had simmered well under control.
11:44 He battles the Borg aboard the Enterprise-E in what seems like a hopeless fight.
11:48 They lose deck after deck, continually having to retreat.
11:51 He advocates euthanizing any crew member who'd been assimilated.
11:55 He fires without regard, unwilling to pause to mourn.
11:58 The Borg are an evil entity, a plague and disease.
12:01 He becomes more and more resolute to stop them, no matter the cost.
12:05 So when he almost comes to blows with Worf on the bridge, it seems as though he can't
12:08 be saved.
12:09 He didn't reckon, of course, with Lily Sloane.
12:11 With no regard for his position or his reaction, she corners him in the observation lounge
12:16 and calls him out as only she can.
12:18 He begins calmly, trying to make her see that his viewpoint is the only viewpoint, while
12:22 she simply calls it revenge.
12:24 He disagrees.
12:25 She shouts at him to evacuate and destroy the ship.
12:27 In a scene that has become infamous, he roars that he won't and, just to channel his anger,
12:32 swings his rifle in an arc, shattering the glass of the display cabinet and breaking
12:36 apart several of the models.
12:38 He finally voices his deepest intention.
12:41 He will stop the Borg.
12:42 1.
12:43 Sisko Poisons a Planet
12:45 Sisko seems to have had the least control over his temper out of all of the Star Trek
12:49 captains.
12:50 While it's true that Kirk was quite expressive of his emotions, and Picard, Janeway, and
12:54 Archer slipped along the way, none of them poisoned an entire planet in pursuit of one
12:58 man.
12:59 Sisko's obsession with Michael Eddington could very well have led to his undoing in
13:03 the fifth season of Deep Space Nine.
13:05 Eddington's betrayal stung him bitterly, dominating his thoughts.
13:08 It grows to a point where Starfleet actually takes him off the hunt for the Marquis' leader,
13:13 owing to several failed attempts at capture.
13:16 However, he puts himself back on the case once Eddington makes the mistake of attacking
13:19 another Starfleet ship.
13:21 Things devolve quickly.
13:23 Sisko threatens to poison the atmosphere of a Marquis colony, mimicking the same action
13:27 that the Marquis themselves had pulled against a Cardassian colony.
13:30 Eddington naturally thinks he's bluffing, as do, for the most part, the crew of the
13:34 USS Defiant.
13:35 Even Worf has to ask for clarification once Sisko gives the order to fire.
13:39 The explosives ensure that the planet will not be able to sustain life for 50 years,
13:43 with much of the Marquis already at refugee status.
13:47 In his hunt for Eddington, Sisko has racked up a high price.
13:50 Added to this, this was not cleared by Starfleet in advance.
13:53 For the Uniform leaves the viewer with the question, "Do the ends justify the means?"
13:58 Considering what happens to the Marquis later in the season, that becomes an even more difficult
14:03 question to answer.
14:04 And that concludes our list.
14:06 If you can think of any other examples, then do let us know in the comments below.
14:09 And while you're there, don't forget to like and subscribe and tap that notification bell.
14:13 Also, head over to Twitter and follow us there, and I can be found across various social medias
14:17 just by searching Ellie Littlechild.
14:19 I've been Ellie with Trek Culture.
14:20 I hope you have a wonderful day and remember to boldly go where no one has gone before.