Whitestar vs Defiant

[Sabel]

For those of you who are also fans of Babylon 5, this should pose an interesting question.  In an all out firefight, without the ability to jump to warp, which ship wins:  The Defiant under the command of Sisko or The Whitestar under the command of Sheridan.

My answer:  The Whitestar under Sheridan.  To begin with Sheridan was a better Captain on the bridge.  Remember he is the only man to defeat a Minbari cruiser in battle; also remember how poor his ship was compared to The Blackstar that he destroyed.  The Defiant is an excellent ship, powerful, agile and able to take a puch.  However, the Vorlon technology and the weaponry of The Whitestar, coupled with Sheridan makes it easily a match for the Defiant.  Now, Picard in a Sovereign is possibly a different story.  Speak, vote, call me an idiot, that is what we are here for ;D

[AlexanderTheGreat]

Hey Aragorn. Unfortunately I haven't seen Babylon 5, but I've read a little about it on the Internet.

But as a DS9 fan I have to say that I thought the Defiant was a powerful little ship, that sure help up against the Dominion and the Cardassians. I thought Sisko was a great Commanding officer and good at coordinating all of the officers below him. He knew how to be commanding and in charge when he needed to be, but he also was willing to take risks when he needed to.

Like you said Aragorn The Defiant is an excellent ship. It is indeed powerful, agile and well eqipped with the appropriate weaponry. I know a lot of people prefer Picard, but I always thought Sisko was a slightly better Captain.

So i have to go with The Defiant under Sisko!!!! Hey, he lead the Defiant into the final battle against the Dominion.

[Sabel]

Wow, someone who thinks that Sisko is a better Captain than Picard.  Back over on Trek BBS, where I ran away from, unless you were in the DS9 forum there was a great deal of Sisko bashing.  Of course, they bash pretty much everything over there(even Avery Brooks as an actor).  

The debate between who was the better Captain I will leave for another thread.  Sisko and Picard were very different in their approaches to command.  Picard more straightlaced, by the book.  Sisko more of a rebel, do whatever to get the job done.  I think both types have their particular strengths and weaknesses.  I like both characters.

To let you know, Sheridan was more like Sisko.  Do whatever to get the job done.  A warrior, but also an excellent strategist and tactician(considered to be the best by most in the B5 universe).  

If you are a fan of DS9, then I hope you get the chance to watch B5 someday.  When they were both on TV at the same time I was in heaven.  B5 is very heavy into a continuos story arc.  Every episode adds a little to the picture.  More even than DS9 was.  However, B5 was written to be a 5 year series and the beginning to the end were mapped out by Straczinski before production even started.  Of coure he made alterations along the way as needed.

Either way, I respect your vote and give B5 a shot if you get the chance.

[PreatorX]

Loved both B5 and DS9. But I would have to say, even though the battle would be very close, that Sisko would win. I'm not sure how manoeuvreable a White Star is but I do know that a Defiant is very manoeuvreable. Also, Sisko seems to be pretty good at the strategic stuff.


Don't worry, I won't play the half-prophet card.  ;D

[AlexanderTheGreat]

Aragorn said:

Wow, someone who thinks that Sisko is a better Captain than Picard.  Back over on Trek BBS, where I ran away from, unless you were in the DS9 forum there was a great deal of Sisko bashing.  Of course, they bash pretty much everything over there(even Avery Brooks as an actor).  

The debate between who was the better Captain I will leave for another thread.  Sisko and Picard were very different in their approaches to command.  Picard more straightlaced, by the book.  Sisko more of a rebel, do whatever to get the job done.  I think both types have their particular strengths and weaknesses.  I like both characters.

To let you know, Sheridan was more like Sisko.  Do whatever to get the job done.  A warrior, but also an excellent strategist and tactician(considered to be the best by most in the B5 universe).  

If you are a fan of DS9, then I hope you get the chance to watch B5 someday.  When they were both on TV at the same time I was in heaven.  B5 is very heavy into a continuos story arc.  Every episode adds a little to the picture.  More even than DS9 was.  However, B5 was written to be a 5 year series and the beginning to the end were mapped out by Straczinski before production even started.  Of coure he made alterations along the way as needed.

Either way, I respect your vote and give B5 a shot if you get the chance.

Thanx for your advice and respect Aragorn.
That's exactly what I think is sooo great about the Spacedock. We respect each other's opinions and there is no need to senselessly "bash" others because of their differing views. That's why I prefer this place to the Trek BBS also. So far there is not one Troll or "basher" in this place. And I'm sure it will stay that way.

I prefer Sisko to Picard, but Picard was still okay and a great captain, and I won't go out of my way to bash him. All Trek captains were good in their own way. And your right they were two different captains, with different leadership styles. I respect their differences.

Sheridan and the B5 series as a whole sounds quite interesting. B5 sounda a lot more arc based than Trek and even Deep Space Nine. Sheridan sounds interesting. I'm going to look into checking out B5. But what i wanted to know was does the series start with a few movies, then the tv series. Also are there spin offs to B5???

[Sabel]

Alex said:

Thanx for your advice and respect Aragorn.
That's exactly what I think is sooo great about the Spacedock. We respect each other's opinions and there is no need to senselessly "bash" others because of their differing views. That's why I prefer this place to the Trek BBS also. So far there is not one Troll or "basher" in this place. And I'm sure it will stay that way.

I prefer Sisko to Picard, but Picard was still okay and a great captain, and I won't go out of my way to bash him. All Trek captains were good in their own way. And your right they were two different captains, with different leadership styles. I respect their differences.

Sheridan and the B5 series as a whole sounds quite interesting. B5 sounda a lot more arc based than Trek and even Deep Space Nine. Sheridan sounds interesting. I'm going to look into checking out B5. But what i wanted to know was does the series start with a few movies, then the tv series. Also are there spin offs to B5???

No problem.  " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you "

The series came first.  It aired in syndication originally.  Then TNT bought the series and started showing the repeats.  The movies then came along which were designed to address certain aspects of the show that might have gotten overlooked or that fans were interested in.  

They actually kicked off showing the re-runs with one of the movies.  After the movies had stopped, TNT aired a spinoff called "Crusade".  Though I was very hopeful about this show, it was a disaster.  J. Michael Strazinsky was allowed very little to do with it and TNT ran the show(into the ground).  Crusade was yanked off the air after about 10 episodes.  

Now, Strazinsky is back in the picture and The Sci-Fi network and Warner Bros. financed HIS new spinoff  " The Legend of the Rangers"  which airs on The Sci-Fi network in early January as a 2 hour movie and then a series.  Info is available at the Sci-Fi networks website.

I would recommend watching the series first, then the movies.  You could tune in January for the new show and I am sure you would enjoy it.  You might miss a little of the back story, but I think it is going to be great.

Hope that helped.

If anyone reads this post and sees any mistakes, please correct them.  It has been a while since B5 was on and my memory may be rusty ;D

[Elric3960]

To avoid "off-topicness," I'll correct one of your observations, Aragorn, in SciFi & Fantasy Forum under the title "Response to Aragorn's Post Regarding B5."

Stick with me, pal.  I'll make you famous!

[Sabel]

AleXmas or anyone wanting a more accurate synopsis of B5, please go check out Elric's post to me.  
I was a little fuzzy on the details, but my good buddy straightened them out.  
Between Elric on literature and B5 and FestiveThunder on The World Cup/Football, I am learning a great deal.  
I know this is off topic, but Thanks guys!


Please vote on this thread (Whitestar vs Defiant), so far my Whitestar is outgunned.  Thanx.

[Elric3960]

I could be completely neutral and say it depends which show the respective ships are on, but I would have to say Sheridan's White Star.  It's more manueverable, it's crewed by veteran Minbari Religious Caste and Rangers(Religious Caste trained to fight like Warrior Caste members) and I've never seen an episode where a White Star had a power failure so the Builder Caste knew what they were doing when they designed and constructed them.

I won't enter a spitting contest as to whether Sisko or Sheridan is the superior captain.  They each have admirable qualities and had their share of victories and defeats which truly make them men of character and courage.  In this case, I'd say it's the abilities of the ships and not their captains that would determine the outcome of this type of "dogfight."

Thanks again for the kind words, Aragorn, which by no means influenced my answer.

[Sabel]

Whitestar 2                    Defiant 2

Elric, I would never dream that I could possibly even sway the opinion of a man so honorable, intelligent and wise as yourself with a few compliments here and there.  You are above reproach, an unwavering beacon in the night who would never falter in their beliefs no matter what.

Thanks for the vote! ;D

[Technomage]

Here comes a biased reply!  ;D

I think a Whitestar would kick Defiant butt.  

The reason is simple - Whitestars incorporate Vorlon technology and weapons. Now, the Vorlons are one of the 'First Ones', which means they have been in space for thousands of years, therefore their technology is way more advanced than Federation technology, which is only hundreds of years old. Anything the Federation is currently using, the Vorlons would have consigned to a museum centuries ago.

[Andorian_Incident]

I would have to say the Defiant, to tie things up again.  But that's not why I'm going with the Defiant.  The Defiant is by far more manuverable than a Whitestar, and I consider the ordinance carried by the Defiant to be superior as well.  However, the shielding would be a different matter altogether. I think the Whitestar would have better shielding than the Defiant.  So it would be up to Sisko to make sure he didn't get hit as often as he hit the Whitestar.