The dashing, devil-may-care captain of the original Starship Enterprise, James T Kirk, has been named the best ever Star Trek captain by readers of Total Sci-Fi’s recent poll.

The saucy Sixties spaceman played by William Shatner beat off competition from serious Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the 1980s, and Kate Mulgrew, who played the show's first female captain in the 1990s. Fans cited Kirk's sense of adventure and his way with the ladies when voting him their number one.

Shatner played the role of Captain Kirk from 1966 to 1969, in 80 TV episodes and seven feature films. He also directed the fifth Star Trek movie, The Final Frontier, in 1989. His last appearance in 1994’s Star Trek: Generations ended with the death of Kirk, after saving the galaxy one last time.

The actor has stated in interviews that he wanted to appear in J.J. Abrams’ new Star Trek film, but Abrams was not able to find a way to work the older Kirk into the story. The film instead sees Chris Pine play a fresh-faced Kirk straight out of Starfleet Academy.

Total Sci-Fi editor Matt McAllister comments: "Kirk’s charisma and spirit of adventure, not to mention his success with the opposite sex, has ensured that he has become one of television’s greatest heroes. Though every captain has his or her supporters, Captain Kirk still commands the most loyalty, 43 years since he first appeared on our TV screens.”

The full results of the poll were as follows:

1) James T Kirk (Star Trek)
2) Jean-Luc Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
3) Kathryn Janeway (Star Trek: Voyager)
4) Benjamin Sisko (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
5) Jonathan Archer (Star Trek: Enterprise)

Star Trek is released in cinemas nationwide on 8 May 2009.