Indeed, this approach works best when The Captain is considerably older and noticeably unsuitable to physical action for reasons such as age or infirmity. While it made sense, it just didn't work in regards to drama. Star Trek: The Next Generation tried a form of it in the early days, leaving Picard on the bridge and having Riker be the 'field guy'. It's a road less taken because it's dramatically tricky to carry off, at least in a visual medium. Sometimes, however, The Captain is instead a background Reasonable Authority Figure, while the narrative focuses on people under his command. Often his participation in minor issues serves as Character Development, so that when a grave decision has to be made, he will be able to say " I Did What I Had to Do" without alienating the audience in the process.
However, since there's no drama in conferences, meetings, and paperwork, most writers would rather have him behave unlike a real captain and hope no one notices. To this extent, portrayal of The Captain as a Reasonable Authority Figure, an Officer and a Gentleman (sometimes in contrast with officers from other military branches) is undoubtedly Truth in Television.Īssuming he is a part of the main cast, The Captain (often along with his senior officers) is often depicted doing things that really should be delegated out to lower-ranked, more expendable personnel in order to have some tangible things to do (unlike in real life where officers are often doing lots of important but boring "office work"). Thus the importance of selecting captains who are very capable of independent judgment, who bear sole responsibility for their decisions. note Before radio and other long-range communication methods were invented, it was basically impossible to give a captain orders while he was at sea. And not even the God-Emperor of the Universe can give orders past him in this case. Regardless of actual rank held, however, under most modern and historical laws the captain of a naval vessel is the Omnipotent Being on it when out in sea, since it is his personal responsibility to return to land with his crew complete and his ship in one piece. Horatio Hornblower actually becomes a captain for the first time while still a Midshipman as he is put in charge of a vessel that was captured in battle. From Major onward, officer ranks are more administrative.) This is sometimes confused by the naval convention that anyone in command of a given ship is referred to as "captain", no matter their rank (for most vessels smaller than a cruiser, the Captain is Commander, and smaller vessels like minesweepers can be commanded by a Lieutenant) - and all other "captains" receive a promotion for the duration of their stay. the officer ranks that participate in actual combat. (Also true in non-naval branches of the armed forces (Army, Marines, etc.), since Captain is the highest of the Company Grade ranks, i.e.
The Captain will almost always hold said actual rank, even if their performance would allow the Captain to move up the chain of command. And any Captain must have a Captain's Log. He is expected to stay with that ship no matter what. Any Cool Ship must have The Captain - no matter whether it's a Cool Boat, a Cool Starship, or a Cool Airship. Whether this character is the Mission Control or actually working in the field, he/she is clearly the one running things. The Commanding Officer of The Squad or the Command Roster. The Captain - from the Latin caput, meaning "head" - is in charge.
"O Captain! My Captain!" by Walt Whitman, on Abraham Lincoln
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