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Star Trek: The most important moments in Captain Kirk's life

Entertainment Geekly: A talk with David A. Goodman, author of 'The Autobiography of James T. Kirk'

It’s been almost half a century since the first appearance of James Tiberius Kirk, the first Star Trek captain and ( in my humble opinion ) still the finest onscreen expression of the franchise’s brash utopian idealism. Played memorably across the decades by William Shatner, Kirk aged onscreen from a bold risk-taking Captain to an older, faintly melancholic Admiral. Along the way, he had a series of intergalactic adventures that boggle the mind — even moreso today, when we’ve become adjusted to a more grounded form of science-fiction adventure.

“Kirk meets Lincoln and has a fistfight with Genghis Khan, in one episode! In another episode, he’s on a planet of the Nazis! On another episode, he meets the Greek God Apollo!” That’s David A. Goodman, a TV writer with a long Trek history as both fan and creator. The longtime Family Guy producer worked on Star Trek: Enterprise and, more importantly, wrote “Where No Fan Has Gone Before,” the Futurama episode that lavishly parodied the original Trek series with meticulous shirt-ripping detail.

Goodman’s encyclopedic knowledge of Trek led him to write the faux-historic Star Trek Federation: The First 150 Years . His new project shifts from macro to (relatively) micro. The Autobiography of James T. Kirk is a first-person perspective on Captain Kirk’s life, with the legendary starship commander narrating his own life story. (The foreword is “written” by Dr. McCoy.)

Of course, attempting to wrangle all the far-flung bits of Trek lore into a genuine chronological retelling of Kirk’s life wasn’t easy. (That’s not to mention the rebooted Trek series with Chris Pine as Kirk — an “alternate universe” that Autobiography sidesteps.) “I was in a box created by other writers,” Goodman laughs. “In at least two of the movies, you find out he got promoted to admiral, and the arc is him finding his way back to being a captain.” In narrative context, it doesn’t make much sense. But, as Goodman points out, “In the context of life, it’s like: ‘Boy, this guy keeps doing the same thing over again.’ We get in ruts. We do the same stupid things over and over again.”

When it came to writing the book, Goodman focused on a few key moments from Kirk’s onscreen life as entryways into Kirk’s psychology:

‘The City on the Edge of Forever’

“A very famous episode , where he goes back to the 1930s and falls in love with Edith Keeler. He has to let her die in order to let history be saved — a wonderful hero’s story. But you start thinking about that realistically, that would be really traumatic! That lasts a long time. That might be what keeps him from getting seriously involved with a woman ever again.”

‘The Ultimate Computer,’ ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before,’ and ‘Shore Leave’

“There’s a scene where a commodore refers to Kirk as ‘Captain Dunsail’ [pronounced ‘dunsel’ and explained as a Starfleet Academy insult]. It said something to me about how Roddenberry or the writers viewed the Academy life: They were kind of bullies. They were hazing lowerclassmen. That was something that, on examining, I had to face the truth of it. Kirk, too, as you examine him and his past, every description of him as a young man in the original series was that he was a nerd. Gary Mitchell, his best friend from the Academy, says he was ‘stack of books with legs.’ He had this bully, Finnegan, who gave him a hard time all the way through school. Kirk, as a character, is a nerd’s wish fulfillment: He used to be a nerd, and now he’s getting laid, kicking ass, flying the fastest spaceship. He’s a different person now than he was then.”

‘The Omega Glory’

“Kirk literally reads the preamble to the United States Constitution. It’s not a favorite episode among the fans, but that whole scene connects Kirk to our era. He had this reverence for America. Here’s this guy in the future, and the American government — which no longer exists in Kirk’s future! — is still this great important thing.”

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

“We found out that he had this son, David. If you do the math, as many other geeks besides myself have done, that kid was alive when Kirk was captain of the Enterprise during the original series. So that means Kirk is an absent father. In Star Trek 2 , it’s clear the mom didn’t want him around. And as fans, we like the fact that he’s married to the ship. But when you think about him as a human being, that’s kind of tragic: How does a guy choose his career over home life?”

———————————————

The Autobiography of James T. Kirk by David Goodman is available now. If you want to tell me why Kirk isn’t the best captain, you’re wrong, but you can email me at darren_franich@ew.com, and I’ll respond in next week’s edition of the Geekly Mailbag.

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Characters / Star Trek: The Original Series - James Tiberius Kirk

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Captain James T. Kirk

Played by: William Shatner

Dubbed in french by: yvon thiboutot (tos), sady rebbot (star trek i to vi), denis savignat (generations), dubbed in brazilian portuguese by: garcia junior (tos, redub), marco antônio costa (tos, 2:23, 2:24, 2:26 on, star trek 6), marcos miranda (star trek 1 to 3), waldyr sant'anna (star trek 4), appearances: star trek: the original series | star trek: the animated series | star trek: the motion picture | star trek ii: the wrath of khan | star trek iii: the search for spock | star trek iv: the voyage home | star trek v: the final frontier | star trek vi: the undiscovered country | star trek: generations | star trek: deep space nine note  archive footage | star trek beyond note  photograph.

"'All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer her by.' You could feel the wind at your back in those days, the sound of the sea beneath you. And even if you take away the wind and the water, it's still the same... The ship is yours, you can feel her. And the stars are still there, Bones." — Kirk , "The Ultimate Computer"

The Captain . James Tiberius Kirk leads his ship, the Enterprise , through the adventure of the week — hostile cultures, supercomputers, places which look suspiciously like Earth, time-travel shenanigans . A very talented and level-headed officer, Kirk always took his duty to Starfleet deeply seriously and his main concern in any crisis was always the safety of his ship and crew. He was notorious for his hollow seductions, and a few romances which ended tragically, but mostly those failed because he named the Enterprise herself as the woman in his life. Although he took the dangers to his crew very seriously, he also maintained a light-hearted attitude and bantered with the other two members of his Power Trio frequently.

• 10-Minute Retirement : In “Generations”, he acknowledges in the Nexus that the universe keeps fucking him over and he deserves to be selfish for once. Of course he goes back to reality because he needs the danger, and it helps that he had multiple Nexus realities, letting him fix everything.
• In "Where No Man Has Gone Before", he addresses Yeoman Smith as "Jones", and she corrects him in a manner that implies it's not the first time he's done that. (In the original script, he does it again in the ending scene, but this was cut.)
• In "Space Seed", Kirk mispronounces the ship's historian's name before Spock dryly corrects him with " McGivers ". He continues to stutter over the name in front of McGivers herself, who also dryly corrects the pronunciation.
• In "The Immunity Syndrome", Kirk consistently pronounces Lt. Kyle's name as "Cowell", something no other character ever does. Kyle himself makes no attempt to correct him.
• Accidental Pornomancer : Bones lampshades that even when Kirk is not actively manipulating someone, he still seems to get every alien species wanting to rail him.
• The Ace : Quite possibly the greatest Captain ever produced by Starfleet and humanity in general, despite all his competition, and even long after his day his many accomplishments and reputation lives on as an inspiration to later Starfleet officers, many of whom look up to him as a legend, and he is even considered this to various alien species he encountered.
• Agent Peacock : In “Where No Man”, the writers talked about how they wanted Kirk to be a man comfortable with being both masculine and feminine, willing to fight dirty and being in command, but memorising poetry, stopping to admire flowers, happy to joke about himself being a mother, uses his sexuality like a Femme Fatale or Heroic Seductress depending on how greyly ambiguous the episode wants to be, and is treated like a Lust Object .
• And in the early 80s Shatner did commercials for an early home computer, the Commodore Vic 20.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg : Mostly refused, but if it’s Close to Home enough, like children ensuring their own destruction, Garth (a captain who he respected) forcing him or Trelane messing with his crew, he’ll beg, plead and kneel as a last resort.
• Captain Kirk's famous line to the alien impersonating the Greek god Apollo in "Who Mourns for Adonais?" is this: Kirk: Mankind has no need for gods. We find the one quite adequate.

• In another episode, Kirk and crew come upon a planet dominated by a Roman Empire but with 20th century technology, where a persecuted, pacifist new religion worships a sun god. At the end of the episode, Lieutenant Uhura discovers that this new religion does not worship the Sun but the Son, clearly referencing Jesus. Kirk even considers remaining at the planet for a number of years just so they can "watch it happen all over again."
• Ambiguous Situation : What Kirk considers to be the biggest regret of his life and the main source of his pain, refusing to allow Sybok to reveal it, as he did Spock's strained relationship with their father and McCoy 's regret over mercy killing his dying father from an illness that soon after was cured. Given all the tragedies he has suffered throughout his life, there are many possibilities.
• Anti-Hero : Sixties sex symbol or not, Kirk stumbled into Classical Anti-Hero in Star Trek: The Motion Picture The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan where his mid-life crisis wears heavy upon him and some poor choices cost the lives of many recruits, and later Knight in Sour Armor in The Undiscovered Country .
• Arch-Enemy : He has a special hatred of Klingons, called out for it in “Errand Of Mercy” and getting exploited in “Day Of The Dove”. And that’s before his son is killed by one of them.
• Badass Normal : Kirk is a good tactician who leagues of more powerful aliens respect, whose exploits include beating a bio-engineered superman with his bare fists. Did we mention he's a non-powered human?
• Because You Were Nice to Me : The suggested reason why he’s a Love Martyr and forgives so easily. He doesn’t ask for much (a few days on a real beach, knowing he made a difference), and any kindness shown seems to be good enough.
• Benevolent Boss : For the most part he’s a tough but fair captain to his crew and a genial father to his men (even if Spock lampshades that general orders don’t apply to his friends). If he starts to act like a brash asshole then something is usually very wrong.
• Beneath the Mask : Spock tells him early on that he has to look perfect as Captain to his crew, and it’s made clear that the swagger is partly affected, admitting to Bones he would like a long sea voyage where he can rest, and to Carol that he feels old and worn out. There’s more than a few episode endings where he’ll laugh along with Bones and Spock, and look regretful once they turn away. --wondering how in the hell he got a public reputation as an impulsive hothead. A lot of the time he felt more like Hamlet, agonizing over every decision. He just had the knack for not letting it show. Being a captain was sometimes more about looking decisive and convincing your crew that you knew what you were doing .
• Big Beautiful Man : Was always a cuddly-looking version of a Mr. Fanservice , even with many shirtless scenes (and Shatner apparently working out to unhealthy levels), and fills out when he hits middle age in the second movie, still being seen as attractive and charming even if his one not-resisting-a-seduction works against him in the sixth movie.
• Blood Knight : On several occasions (“Errand Of Mercy”, “Day Of The Dove”, “Spectre Of The Gun”, “Taste Of Armageddon”), he’s forced to admit that he wants to fight/is a barbarian, and that he’s been trained as a soldier. He settles for diplomat as he gets older, but traces remain, and the fact that he surrenders in the sixth movie proves a Spanner in the Works , everyone expecting him to be more than happy to knock up a few Klingon kills.
• Bold Explorer : Though it was just his job, Kirk's boldness makes him an iconic version of the trope.
• Boldly Coming : The Trope Codifier through Pop-Cultural Osmosis , although it's nowhere near as omnipresent as you might believe. Over 79 episodes, the number of alien women Kirk definitely sleeps with is... four. One of those was the result of being drugged by magic tears, and none of them were green (that was Pike, and she wasn't even really green. The green woman Kirk met was a mental patient who tried to seduce him , to his immense discomfort).
• Break the Cutie : Aside from his seduction as tactic, he gets victimised a lot as well, either Mind Rape , drugged or some other kind of coercion, and he’s never happy about it but he can mostly deal. Until “Requiem For Methuselah”, when he finds out he was used again by Flint (but still loves Reyna anyway), and sounds seconds away from sobbing. No wonder Spock makes him forget about the whole thing.
• Break the Haughty : The movies show what happens when all his flaws come back to bite him. Convinced he's the Captain who deserves command of the Enterprise ? Promote him and he'll become an Insane Admiral , not knowing how to deal with a remodelled ship. Be self-absorbed and convinced that you're on the right side of To Be Lawful or Good ? A Villain of the Week sets off a chain of events that end with Spock and Kirk's son being killed. Still think you can seduce to get your way? Get used instead, and nearly get murdered if your friends hadn't beamed you up. No wonder that for a while, he just wants to stay in the Nexus after being considered dead.
• Broken Ace : Pike started off the line of Starfleet captains who really could do with therapy, Kirk just continued it. He's a hero with many medals, saved the world more times than can be counted, and is a respected Captain, he's just hiding a lot of grief and trauma (around getting old, following orders, not following orders, feeling like he's worthless if not commanding a starship, Tarsus IV, the USS Farrugut, consent getting taken away, the people he's lost…), that he thinks he needs. James T Kirk, hero at large. You can save the galaxy from destruction, but you can’t get your own life in order.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer : The things Kirk got away with... The Autobiography of James T. Kirk calls it a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy , as he's not happy towards the end of the five year mission, thinks he wants to be Admiral, and does more reckless shit to get attention, when he wouldn't have done before.
• His trip to the Mirror Universe. While there, Kirk single-handedly talks Mirror Spock into instigating an uprising against the Terran Empire. We're meant to think they'll eventually find their way to a Federation-like alliance, but in Deep Space 9 we find that Kirk's machinations left mankind ripe for an asskicking by a combined Klingon / Cardassian / Bajoran alliance, after which humans are enslaved. The top dogs of the Mirror Universe are on constant look-out for anyone coming over from the other universe to interfere again, redesigning their tech to make damn sure it wouldn't, and Kirk's name is legendary among them. For Kirk, and Starfleet, the Mirror universe incident was just a weirder-than-average day at the office.
• His encounter with Khan. Kirk meets one of the most famous tyrants on the 21st century, nearly gets killed by him, beats him up, sentences him to Ceti Alpha 5, and then forgot all about him until Khan came back pissed . Khan spent every night thinking of Kirk, while Kirk didn't give him a second thought.
• The Captain : Kirk is the Trope Maker . Spock: "If I may be so bold, it was a mistake for you to accept promotion. Commanding a starship is your first, best destiny; anything else is a waste of material."
• Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough : He's far more genial and sociable with his crew than his aloof, coldly logical XO Spock.
• The Chains of Commanding : His Married to the Job deal was deconstructed as early as "The Naked Time", as his life is i Enterprise , and his own identity fades. He never gets over it, even as he calms down in his older age.
• He learns to chill and understand what’s really important as he gets older, from being an insufferable nervous Teacher's Pet at the academy, at least trying to be by the book in the series, to full on Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! in the movies.
• His conflicting loyalties about whether to be a soldier following orders or being a diplomat mostly end in Season 3. Of course the movies (and “The Cloud Minders”, as he trusts Vanna to listen to him and gets taken hostage, even if it ends up okay) show that confidence in your own rules don’t always work out, especially when it’s coupled with a mid life crisis.
• Definitely not enjoyed, but the movies force him to actually confront loss and pain, and not just shove things down like a Broken Hero who wants to Just Ignore It .
• He goes from stealing back command of the Enterprise from Captain Will Decker in The Motion Picture , overriding him similarly to the way his father Commodore Matt Decker tried to do to him in The Doomsday Machine , to refusing to do so when the chance to steal command of the Enterprise-B from Captain John Harriman occurs in Generations , despite the temptation.
• Characterisation Click Moment : Started being his own person and less like an Ideal Hero -slash-copy of Pike in “The Enemy Within”, both for the good and bad; compassionate, dutiful, determined, gentle father to his men, but thinks of himself of an extension of the ship, capable of brutality and manipulation, marked self loathing and an anxious tendency to ignore problems he doesn’t want to deal with.
• When trying to seduce someone, he always grabs a woman’s upper arms before kissing her. When he starts to do it to Spock, he’s told not in front of the Klingons, who are all looking on curiously .
• Does the rubbing his forehead version of a facepalm a lot. Lampshaded in “The Trouble With Tribbles” where he actually admits for once that he’s got a headache.
• Rubbing and clenching his hands together when he’s anxious. Spock notices him doing it in “And The Children Shall Lead”, and Kirk reassures him he’s not feeling as bad as he did in the turbolift.
• Chick Magnet : Numerous women of various species tend to be drawn to him, he is aware of it but mostly only takes advantage of it when necessary to see through his duties and protect the lives of his crew and ship.
• Chivalrous Pervert : May very well be the anti- Bond . A lot of the time he'll use his charms for a greater purpose, but he's gentlemanly when he is actually is in love, dissuades Charlie from Entitled to Have You , and most of his (less than ten) exes consider his main flaw to be Married to the Job . He also gives female crewmembers appreciative glanceovers note  does it with a few men as well , but that seems to be as far as he goes, telling other romances to chill and keep to duties, and defending women as crewmen.
• Combat Sadomasochist : Not for nothing did 70s fandom call him a masochist — one of his fantasies in “Shore Leave” is to have a fight with old school bully Finnegan with himself all sweaty and bloody and shirt ripped.
• A Running Gag in the movies is Kirk's loving relationship with his chair. He glumly sits in the rickety captain's chair aboard the Enterprise -A, declaring that it's just not the same. Generations repeated this gag on-board the Enterprise -B, this time complete with Male Gaze .
• Condescending Compassion : His paternalistic tendency to... change civilisations so that they’re assimilated under the Federation was called out early in “Errand Of Mercy”, him acting like the Organians are overly peaceful idiots and swiftly proven wrong, being more akin to the Klingons he hates than the Knight in Shining Armor .
• Conditioned to Accept Horror : Deela teasingly suggests between forcing kisses on him in “Wink Of An Eye” that he’s used to being kissed when he’s not aware of it, and Odona wonders how he can even look at her when she manipulated him in “The Mark Of Gideon”. It all explodes in “Requiem For Methuselah” when he falls for a robot woman who’s actually nice, and loses his mind a little when he finds out he was still used by Flint.
• Court-martialed : " Court Martial ": Kirk gets put on trial for (seemingly) causing the death of a crew member through negligence.
• Cunning People Play Poker : The Corbomite Maneuver " when faced with Balok's incomprehensible mothership threatening to destroy the Enterprise, Spock contextualises their situation as a game of chess and concludes Balok has declared checkmate. Captain Kirk changes the game to poker, and then bluffs that Enterprise has a defense feature that will ensure that if it's destroyed, Balok's ship will also get blown up.
• At some point before he got to command, Kirk was witness to the massacre on Tarsus IV, where thousands were killed in an attempt to hold off starvation that came to naught when the supply ships arrived note  the episode regarding the massacre doesn't state as much, but a reference to his age a later episode, which was subsequently formalized as canon, makes him no older than fourteen at the time of the massacre . During his time on the Farragut , Kirk blamed himself for an attack by a vampiric cloud creature that killed Captain Garrovick and 200 other crewmen.
• His mirror verse version has one too, raised in poverty by his Good Parents until his home was burned down and he was captured by the empire for “re-education”, making him brutal and sadistic .
• Death Seeker : He’s always played fast and loose with his own life, calling the ship so much more important to the point where Sulu is actually concerned, and in “Shore Leave '', Finnegan taunts him on being able to sleep forever if he wants. Gets worse in the movies, doing stupid stunts while his friends are around because they’ll keep him from dying, as he’s convinced he’ll die alone. Kirk : (to the Organians) I’m used to the idea of dying, but I have no desire to die for the likes of you.
• The Defroster : Despite his previous positive relationship with Captain Pike, Spock remains quite stoic and aloof, ashamed about his human heritage and determined to hide it. His friendship with Kirk becomes a chink in his emotionless armor almost immediately (the very first episode has Uhura calling Kirk the closest thing to a friend Spock has). Gradually, under his influence, Spock unbends into psychologically healthier state.
• Desperately Craves Affection : Word of Shatner is that Kirk really does want someone to talk to, to tell them that something is wrong with him, but can’t because as Captain you have to keep some distance.
• Determinator : When Kirk makes up his mind to do something, especially if the lives of his crew are at stake, no force in the universe can keep him down. Kirk: I don't believe in the no-win scenario.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu? : A specialty of Kirk's.
• Disappeared Dad : Though not by his own choice. He and Carol had a child and he was so focused on his career that she eventually asked him to stay away.
• The name James Kirk is spoken with great annoyance by the Temporal Investigations department. Seventeen different violations will do that for you. Agent Lucsly: The man was a menace.
• Back in his academy days, a then-Lieutenant Kirk was the bane of the underclassmen. Gary Mitchell: "Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk! In his class, you either think or sink."
• Dropped a Bridge on Him : His death in Generations is the Trope Namer .
• Dude, Where's My Reward? : In Generations , Picard's initial attempt to get him to help by appealing to his duty is brushed off by a bitter Kirk pointing out he'd been saving the galaxy for years, and all it's got him was an empty house. Of course, he soon comes around anyway.
• Dying Alone : Zig-zagged. He reveals in Final Frontier that this is his greatest fear, and he believes that it is his fate to die alone, without his best friends, Spock and McCoy , being near. Sadly, this comes to pass in Generations , but he is not entirely alone, with Captain Picard at his side reassuring him that he has made a difference one last time.
• Embarrassing Middle Name : "Tiberius."
• Endearingly Dorky : In decent episodes, he's... endearingly hammy as a character trait, and how seriously he takes having fun (see times like "A Piece Of The Action") is treated with affection by his crew.
• Even the Guys Want Him : Male Klingons check out his ass , big monsters throw him around like a ragdoll , and he has several ex-friends who end up a little obsessive over him.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones : Kirk protects refugees and famously refuses to consider any casualty acceptable. He has even impressed multiple Sufficiently Advanced Alien species with his capacity for mercy and civility. However, he's much more of a Deadpan Snarker around Mudd and Baris, and the Klingons were an Arch-Enemy even before Kruge killed his son (not that previous Klingons hadn't nearly killed people he loved before).
• Throughout the series, he’s right on the Federation’s side, and is more likely to blame himself for following orders (like in “The Apple”) than be angry at them for actually giving said orders. The only exceptions are “The Trouble With Tribbles”, a priority one distress call for wheat even before the tribbles arrive, “The Galileo Seven” where it’s finding Spock vs a jerkass ambassador on board, and the movies where he’s wearier and chilled out.
• He’s willing to take the blame at first with Janice Lester, and dismisses it when Odona asks why he’s not angrier with her for all the deception and coercion.
• Exhausted Eyebags : Occasionally they’ll slather on a lot of eyeliner below Shatner’s eyes when Kirk is in a particularly bad state.
• Face Death with Dignity : He does this numerous times in the series and movies in the face of death, and lives up to his words to Saavik about the importance of how one deals with death at the end of his life, aboard the Enterprise-B when he believes he is sacrificing himself to save the ship, and again for real on Veridian III when he stops Soran from destroying the star system at the cost of his life.
• Fan of the Past : He embraced the culture and history of his homeland, especially western lore and the life of his hero Abraham Lincoln . Recognizing the document mirrored on the planet Omega IV, he could recite the preamble of the US Constitution from memory. His extensive knowledge of his ancestral background served him well on numerous occasions. In travels to Earth's past, or on planets mirroring Earth's development, Kirk was able to function and pass himself off as a native of the time or culture with (more or less) ease.
• Farm Boy : Kirk was born and raised on a farm in Riverside, Iowa. This only gets said out loud in the fourth movie, but according to Roddenberry, he had it in mind since the beginning, and it’s why Kirk so easily gets distracted by flowers and other growing things. Gillian: You're from outer space. Kirk: No, I'm from Iowa. I only work in outer space.
• His Inferiority Superiority Complex . He has a lot of self loathing, so it makes him crave attention to overcompensate and the need to prove himself. Getting glory and press goes to his head, and in turn makes him miserable because he feels he doesn’t deserve it. The biography has “The Enterprise Incident” as just a shade more acted than how he was actually feeling.
• He also likes repressing his problems. As willing as he to talk about his emotions, Bones despairs about how much he touts Misery Builds Character , getting out of the problem fast without thinking things through has far reaching consequences for Khan and the Mirror Universe , and expanded material has Spock’s death be the catalyst for being forced to think about all his other losses, like Gary, Sam and Edith. Star Trek: Ex Machina also has a Long List of civilizations that he dropped a bombshell on and ran away from, comparing it to his (admittedly biased) view of abandoning Carol and David.
• A Father to His Men : He has a breakdown when three men are killed in “The Apple”, saying it’s his fault because he’s allowed to modify rules (he’s a By-the-Book Cop a lot of the time, just comes off worse later because Starfleet is still writing the rules, as Janeway points out) as he sees fit, and the mission wasn’t that important. He is genuinely upset and enraged by pretty much the death of every crewman, blaming it on himself. One of his Nexus fantasies is saving every Red Shirt .
• Feeling Their Age : At the tender age of… thirty four, he’s taunted by the fantasy Finnegan about being too old, and he comes away from “The Deadly Years” thinking the lesson is he has to be young to be good at his job. No wonder he has a Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis in the movies.
• Former Teen Rebel : Inverted . Unlike his alternate universe counterpart , Cadet Kirk was something of a humorless swot as an underclassman, only later developing into the Military Maverick we see in the movies.
• Four-Star Badass : In the movies. And everyone knows it. Though as a Rear Admiral, technically he was only a Two-Star Badass. Until he gets demoted at the end of Star Trek IV . However, this is also largely subverted. Kirk's moments of badassery as an admiral are actually while he's in direct command of a starship and he's shown to be apathetic and uninterested towards his admiralty duties, such as when he almost immediately cuts the inspection of the Enterprise short in The Wrath of Khan .
• Four-Temperament Ensemble : Kirk is the Choleric, although by no means unsympathetic; he's just the most decisive and determined member of the trio. McCoy 's Id.-->
• Genocide Survivor : In "The Conscience of the King", Kirk is stated to be a survivor of a genocide on the planet Tarsus IV, where the Governor ordered thousands of citizens killed to ensure the rest could survive, using eugenics to decide who lived and died. It's only All There in the Manual that the actual circumstances are discussed; his mother moved to the planet for work, leaving her children and husband behind in Iowa. When Jim visits on a trip, things go very wrong, and between an Enterprise being the supply ship, the trauma itself, and his mom using him as a therapist, it hardens him and he ties himself to Starfleet.
• Gold-Colored Superiority : As The Captain , he wears a gold shirt.
• Good Is Not Soft : As Nice Guy Love Martyr as he is, Kirk — especially Gene Coon’s version, which carried on throughout the movies — often has to remind himself that while he was trained to be a soldier, and humans can be savage, mercy and peace is always the best option, and Vengeance Feels Empty .
• Go Out with a Smile : Despite his somewhat pathetic death, he’s happy knowing he made a difference after so much worry that he wouldn’t, and that he got closure in the Nexus for everything he feels went wrong in his life .
• Gunboat Diplomacy : One of his favorite diplomatic techniques seems to be threatening to blow up a planet that doesn't do what he wants. Somehow he gets away with this. He's Kirk. He even gives orbital bombardment a go as a persuading tool (with phasers on stun... sometimes ). Partially justified by the fact he was trained as a soldier, not a diplomat.
• Has a Type : Of the five women Kirk had long-term relationships with before the series, four out of five were blondes and/or scientists. (The exceptions being Janice Lester, a brunette scientist, and Areel Shaw from "Court Martial", a blonde Starfleet JAG officer.)
• Hates Being Alone : It’s the stated reason why he falls so hard for the first nice woman he sees and can spend some free time with in “Requiem For Methuselah”. Kirk : I had a whole universe to myself after the Defiant was thrown out. There was absolutely no one else in it. I must say I prefer a crowded universe much better.
• Heartbroken Badass : Let's see...with the losses of Edith Keeler, his brother Sam and his sister-in-law, his wife Miramanee and their unborn child, Rayna Kapec, his first BFF Gary Mitchell, his true BFF Spock, his son David, and the Enterprise herself, it's amazing that there's still anything approaching an intact heart by the time he retires. The book versions of the movies are well aware of all he’s lost, and while the angst is there in the films, they bring it to full-scale depression, going right to Death Seeker both when Spock dies and when he retires, as McCoy and Spock go back to their families and he has nothing.
• He Knows Too Much : Kirk is one of nine surviving eyewitnesses who can identify Kodos the Executioner, the man who ordered the deaths of four thousand people on colony planet Tarsus IV. Kodos's daughter Lenore tries to kill him by hiding an overloading phaser in his quarters. By the end of the episode, Kirk is one of only two surviving witnesses, since she succeeded in killing the other seven.
• The Hero : He is clearly the protagonist of the show (and the cause of some off-screen drama).
• The Hero Dies : Eventually meets his end performing a Heroic Sacrifice to save a star system during the events of Generations .
• Heroic Sacrifice : The end of his life involved two of these, one attempted and believed to be such by history, and the other one for real. The attempted one being his saving the crew of the Enterprise-B, ending up in the Nexus instead. The one that stuck happened after later choosing to leave the peace and happiness of the Nexus to stop Soran and save the millions of lives in the Veridian system, including the entire crew of the Enterprise-D, none of whom he had even ever met or knew anything about.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation : More pronounced in the movies, but even in the show, he'll find a reason to hate himself, whether it's feeling useless without command, Survivor's Guilt , losing men, having to kill Edith, being impulsive, and in one comic, worried if being a Heroic Seductress meant that he was nasty to women.
• Heroic Willpower : In "Dagger of the Mind," one of the bad guys notes that he hasn't given in when subjected to a force that reduced one of their scientists to screaming. Note that Kirk is still having a bad time, struggling and crying, but he still alerts his ship. In "Elaan of Troyius", he is even able to resist the intoxicating, hypnotic tears of Elaan and force himself to carry on.
• Hero with Bad Publicity : A common theme in Christopher L Bennett’s books is some strong Leaning on the Fourth Wall , with public perception of Kirk being an Ideal Hero who can do no wrong or a reckless bad boy who will sleep with anyone, with neither close to how he actually is.
• Honey Pot : A lot of the time his "getting some" labelled by pop culture is using his charm and good looks to try and save someone else. Still gets him a reputation as Really Gets Around even in-universe during the movies.
• Honor Before Reason : In "Arena" and "Spectre of the Gun", though in both cases "honor" was the right choice.
• I Can Still Fight! : Kirk doesn't like being shut up in medbay at all, much to McCoy's consternation.
• In the Season 2 episode "The Deadly Years", Kirk is stated to be 34-years-old. He had been Captain of the Enterprise for two years at that point, making him 32 at the time he got the promotion — or to put it another way, just a decade out of the Academy, an average of one promotion every two years. note  Commissioned as an Ensign, and then promoted through Lieutenant Junior Grade, Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, and Commander to the rank of Captain. Had he continued at that pace, he would have made full Admiral by age 40.
• Although Kirk's rise to the Captaincy was exceptionally rapid, it's clear that he's obviously an extreme outlier with regard to the average quality of Starfleet officers (even in TOS, most other Starship Captains we meet wind up dead or go insane). Contrast his reboot counterpart, who is field-promoted to Captain from Cadet before graduating from the Academy, which might generously be described as a bit farfetched.
• Curiously, his Mirror Universe counterpart, who is considerably less competent than the Prime Kirk, only reached the rank of Captain through plundered alien technology allowing him to remotely eliminate all of his superiors without putting himself in danger of retaliation.
• Improbable Weapon User : In hand-to-hand combat, he will sometimes grab whatever object is nearby, regardless of what it is. Twice, he has used pillows .
• Inferiority Superiority Complex : Throughout the show and the movies; arrogant, paternalistic, swaggering with a Knight in Shining Armor self image, but also massive Survivor's Guilt note  the novelization of the fourth movie has him yelling at Bones not to bring up the “old days” of the Enterprise , as he still remembers having to watch Edith die, as well as his brother, his sister-in-law, and Gary , is exhausted from The Chains of Command yet feels like he’s worth nothing if he’s not Captain, and worries there’s stains on his shining armor. The official show bible makes note that he has a god complex, and hates himself when he inevitably can’t measure up.
• Insane Admiral : Drifts perilously close to this early in Star Trek: The Motion Picture , especially when butting heads with the Enterprise 's new Captain. He gets over it to some extent, but his later actions lead to a "demotion" that puts him back in the captain's chair, which is exactly where he wants to be and resolves the problem.
• In Touch with His Feminine Side : Owns foundation beyond the out of universe putting all the male actors in eyeshadow and mascara, gets distracted by flowers easily, and is happy to joke about himself as a mother.
• It's All About Me : A Jerkass Has a Point moment in “The Ultimate Computer” calls out that it always has to be him who explores a planet or fights the enemy, and as much Heroic Self-Deprecation as he has, fame and glory have a tendency of going to his head.
• It's All My Fault : Of the “everything that happens under my command is my fault” variety (less so for further consequences, which the movies and DS9 will call him out hard on). McCoy and Spock have the “there’s no point in self recrimination” speech down perfectly.
• If he’s hurting about something (his age being a prime example, in both “The Deadly Years” and the movies) then he goes right into denial and Bones has to yell at him. He admits it himself at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , saying he’s always managed to push the pain from death down until now.
• Less sympathetic is “The Enemy Within” where even the “good” version of himself is far more interested in pretending it never happened than listening to what Janice is saying.
• Kicked Upstairs : While the actual events differ, most books will have him accept being Admiral the first time, ask for a Captain rank between the first and second movie, quit for a while after, and eventually be kicked into Admiral again because Starfleet is sick of him not actually knowing what he wants and they’d rather keep him on a leash anyway.
• The Kirk : He's the Trope Namer , obviously. Whenever presented with a hard dilemma, he almost always tries to find the Third Option that allows for a morally acceptable solution without sacrificing any more crew or victims.
• And then revived in a Star Trek novel series written by...William Shatner!
• Knight in Sour Armor : Played with in the show, as he doesn't want to admit it, would rather be the Knight in Shining Armor , and it's thanks to the trauma of being one of the few surviving members of the Tarsus IV massacre that he does some terrible things in "The Conscience Of The King" (Lenore, a mentally ill 19-year-old girl who is killing other survivors for the sake of her father, calls him out on using her, and asks if there's stains on his armor). By the movies, he can admit that he feels exhausted, needs his pain, and that his impulsive It's All About Me has cost lives, but will still do the best he can. Kirk : We can admit that we're killers, but we're not going to kill today. That's all it takes. Knowing that we won't kill today.
• Lame Comeback : His being Endearingly Dorky continues as he gets older, having a Fun T-Shirt with the insult (“insult” in big air quotes) “go climb a rock” imprinted on it.
• He's played by William Shatner , after all. Star Trek: The Motion Picture suggests this is a character trait, as he's practically Dull Surprise until Spock comes back.
• “The Enemy Within” plays with it as well, having the good part of Kirk be sedate and softly anxious, while the evil version is just brimming with barely restrained pork, except for when he’s playing weak and charming.
• The Leader : Famously of the Levelheaded type. Come crisis or moral questions, Kirk's main approach was to let his officers have their say on the matter at hand and then try to find a way to successfully combine the various strengths of their advice into an effective solution. He also treated his responsibility to his crew with unwavering seriousness, often sticking his own neck out so they wouldn't have to.
• Legendary in the Sequel : Kirk is depicted as the Captain, against which all of his 24th-century successors are judged (well, eventually. Early TNG episodes treated Kirk's era like it was shrouded in myth, if they acknowledged it at all — even though Dr. McCoy shows up in the pilot episode). Of course, with The Next Generation being the first Star Trek TV series since the original, using an entirely new crew, this was intentional by the producers, who wanted the series to stand on its own. This even extends to the reboot continuity, where a bunch of Romulan space miners living over a century after his heyday immediately recognize James T. Kirk by name as having been Starfleet's greatest Captain.
• Living Legend : Even though the original series depicts his first command, it's clear that he's already becoming one of these. The movies take this trope and run with it.
• Logic Bomb : Known for pulling this move off successfully in just about any episode featuring A.I. Is a Crapshoot ... and then some.
• Lonely at the Top : According to “Where No Man”, Shatner apparently talked to the skippers of atomic submarines so he could get a sense of how lonely and desperate for affection Kirk would be in command.
• The Lost Lenore : The expanded canon books have Edith as someone he loved the most and lost, while also inspiring him to help even more people. Spock, “the noblest half of myself”, at least comes back.
• Love Martyr : The amount of times that someone has hurt him, drugged him, or mind-raped him, and he shoves the anger down. Nobody in-universe can figure out why either, compulsively getting into bad relationships was mentioned in the show bible, Bones and Mulhall treating his trust in Sargon in "Return To Tomorrow" as Stockholm Syndrome , and Odona in "The Mark Of Gideon" asking how he can look at her after what she did to him. He finally breaks in "Requiem For Methuselah", just as upset at getting used as losing someone he fell for.
• Lust Object : Mostly women, but other guys seemed to see it as well. Kirk is one of the few men in popular culture who will regularly use this status to save someone else, provide a distraction, or get information.
• Married to the Job : No matter what, his main commitment is always first and foremost to the safety of the Enterprise and her crew. This sense of duty in him is so overpowering he doesn't even need an antidote to a love potion . This is treated as ultimately unhealthy, as he feels completely lost without command, and the films have him muscle his way back in after getting Kicked Upstairs , not wanting to move on.
• Memetic Badass : In-Universe example. Kirk serves as one for all of Starfleet. When given with the chance of meeting him, Picard and Sisko both positively Squee . Considering that both Picard and Sisko are also examples of this within the Trekverse, that says something.
• The Men First : Being A Father to His Men , Kirk is always insistent on keeping them safe if possible. On a number of occasions note  "The Squire of Gothos", "The Immunity Syndrome", "The Empath" , he has wanted to pull a Heroic Sacrifice (or even tried to do so) to ensure the well-being of his crew, and torturing them is generally a better strategy than torturing him .
• Misery Builds Character : He of the “ I need my pain ” and “ pain can drive a man harder than pleasure ” mindset. Spock and Bones don’t quite agree, both taking turns with “there’s no point in self loathing” speech.
• Missing Mom : All There in the Manual has Kirk’s parents have an Awful Wedded Life , and she leaves to work on Tarsus IV, leaving baby Jim to feel abandoned. She does try later on when he lives with her (he got his rock climbing habit from her), but after the massacre, she uses him as a therapist and he has a complicated relationship with her. Not helped that he repeats her patterns with his own son.
• Mr. Fanservice : That uniform shirt of his will tear open at the touch of a twig. This was not actually intentional; it's just that the tailoring budget for the original show was less than impressive. More intentionally, the green wrap around shirt that’s mostly seen in Season 2, is affectionately called the “fatshirt”, as it’s very form-fitting and shows off everything, along with the much tighter pants Kirk wears than the rest of the crew. Not for nothing that one of Shatner’s nicknames on set was apparently “bubble butt”.
• Must Have Caffeine : Nothing from a super-powerful alien threatening to blow up his ship to a crew member vanishing into thin air on an inexplicably abandoned planet can come between Kirk and his cup of coffee. (When an infestation of tribbles do , then It's Personal !) Kirk: (regarding a cup of tribbles) This was my chicken sandwich and coffee! I want these things off the ship, I don't care if it takes every man we've got!
• Murderous Thighs : Rare Male Example in that one of the few times it’s Shatner in the “Space Seed” fight is when Kirk is trying to choke Khan out with his thighs.
• My God, What Have I Done? : His reaction to sacrificing the Enterprise in The Search for Spock . Understandable, given that for Kirk, it's the equivalent of sacrificing a lover all over again. Good thing Bones was there to remind him: McCoy : What you had to do. What you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live.
• My Greatest Failure : Kirk came to see his banishment of Khan as this, as not only did it leave him and his crew off-guard for Khan's Roaring Rampage of Revenge after the unexpected destruction of his world and the death of his wife, but it ended up initially coming at the expense of his best friend's life, something he continued to feel guilty of by The Search for Spock .
• Narcissist : The fragile narcissist, as he’s a good person with compassion, but is self-obsessed in a self-loathing way and overcompensates by swaggering. Lampshaded in the sixth movie, where Marta mocks him that kissing himself must have been his life-long ambition.
• Necessarily Evil : When Shanah in “Gamesters Of Triskelion” is a Woman Scorned because of how he coldly seduced her (and she’s definitely not the only one in the series to feel that way), he’s regretful but calls it necessary and what he had to do, the implication being that he knows he does this all the time.
• Nice Guy : He's more balanced and friendly compared to brash McCoy and aloof Spock.
• No Sense of Personal Space : He’s touchy-feely with everyone, especially Spock, even when he’s not trying to seduce anyone.
• "Not So Different" Remark : From the Romulan Commander in " Balance of Terror ." Also to Kor in “Errand Of Mercy”, as much as he denies it and is ashamed when the Organians finally point it out to him. It doesn’t exactly help his loathing of Klingons.
• For all his Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! , actively placing his command in danger is rare for him, the main two times being "The Conscience Of The King" and saving Spock in the movies.
• Overlapping with Shatner's in real life ham, in-universe his crew knows something is wrong when Kirk is being quiet . He walks out without a word when called "Captain Dunsel" in "The Ultimate Computer" and they're all worried, and according to the movie novels, has to be snapped back to reality multiple times when silently despairing over Spock's death.
• It doesn’t last long, as he needs some fear and danger, but Kirk gives up in the Nexus, eventually explaining that making his whole identity about the Enterprise has ruined his life, and wants to make up for the mistakes he’s made. ( All There in the Manual having him save every Red Shirt , save Edith, relive his youth etc).
• Officer and a Gentleman : In addition to judo-throwing aliens and romancing to get his way, he finds time to be well-versed in classical literature and offer aid to space-borne refugees.
• Kirk is positively notorious in Starfleet for his violations of the Prime Directive. However lost in the shuffle is that in most cases, Kirk arrives on the scene only after someone has already interfered, and he's now in a position where he must fix or mitigate the damage, or prevent others from interfering.
• In more of a personal example, he accidentally flirted with Helen Noel at a Christmas party, thinking she was a visitor instead of a crewmember (according to the script), and neither Bones or Spock let him live it down. He’s embarrassed and uncomfortable around her until she gives him Fake Memories .
• On the Rebound : In the books, he tries to get back with Carol after Spock dies (“because they’re both alone”) and she rejects him, as her lover was one of the casualties of Khan. He also wants to get with Gillian as a distraction for David’s death , but she’s too busy.
• Out-of-Character Moment : Most of the time, Kirk is a by-the-book guy but prone to impulsiveness and biases, and mostly had to fix messes (and make some more of his own) by violating the Prime Directive, essentially a mix of To Be Lawful or Good and I Did What I Had to Do . In “The Omega Glory”, he says without a shred of irony that a captain would give his life rather than violating the thing.
• Papa Wolf : Kirk is A Father to His Men who makes a habit of punching out any entity, super-powered or not, that messes with anyone in front of him. Hurting his people (or actual children) causes him much Angst and more anger. Do the math on whether messing with anyone under him is a good idea.
• Please, I Will Do Anything! : Word of actor is that he would willingly (if angrily) let himself be a Sex Slave if it meant protecting Spock.
• Guns of steel aside, Shatner at the time had a soft face with long lashes, a tendency to pout, and the camera objectified him as much as humanly possible. Lampshaded in “Wink Of An Eye”, when Deela wants to keep Kirk for a long time because he’s pretty.
• “Spock’s Brain” has one of the males be confused by Kirk specifically, calling him “small, like the others”. “Others” being women, “who give pain and delight”.
• Proud Beauty : Was a Clueless Chick-Magnet when he was younger, with Gary having to push girlfriends on him, but in series knows full well he’s hot, and uses his looks to get out of trouble (and in one officially published fic, free drinks). Lampshaded by Colbert in an interview with Shatner, asking him if he knew he was beautiful in the show, and of course he did.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes : Moreso as he gets older, especially when Spock is Not Himself and Jim wants their old friendship back.
• Rank Up : He gets promoted to rear admiral sometime prior to Star Trek: The Motion Picture . However, at the end of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , Starfleet busts him back down to captain for stealing the Enterprise in defiance of orders in The Search for Spock .
• Refusing Paradise : A recurring belief of his, in conjunction with Misery Builds Character , first shown in Who Mourns For Adonais? , turning his back on paradise under Apollo in favor of the real world, believing people must 'march to the sound of drums', as well as ending the 'paradise' in The Apple for the villagers so they could make their own way in reality and become something more. He does this again at the end of his life in Generations , recognizing the Nexus for what it was and finally refusing its eternal happiness and peace to go back to the real world and perform a Heroic Sacrifice , saving the Veridian System and crew of the Enterprise-D from an Omnicidal Maniac .
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick : Inverted , Captain Kirk is a charming Officer and a Gentleman . By contrast, his first officer, Spock, is more tactless and ruthlessly pragmatic. The fact that he's also The Stoic when he does these things probably doesn't do his image any favors.
• Samaritan Syndrome : “Let me help.” He takes every red shirt death as a personal failing, to the point that in Season 3 all he can do is tiredly and bitterly phase a grave for one of them.
• Sanity Slippage : It’s there in the movie and onwards, but more pronounced in the books that Kirk is losing it after Spock dies, not wanting to be alone, losing track of reality, and almost certain his reputation in Starfleet will be remembered as a poor, sad nutcase. He’s still not completely all there after Spock comes back either, sleeping around to distract from grief, having breakdowns about Edith, Sam, Gary and his sister in law, and verging on Death Seeker .
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! : Kirk does this quite a bit. Spock reminds him of "our prime directive of non-interference" and he rationalizes a way around it. Hell, if he were anyone else other than James T. Kirk , he'd have been toast long ago, but he is supposed to have unusually broad powers to make decisions affecting his crew, alien societies, and new worlds. Many times he doesn't violate it and instead he or the bridge crew find a clever way to solve the problem without doing so. In fact more often than not, Kirk is in the position of having to undo damage caused by others. Bones : Jim, ethics are one thing, but you’re crucifying yourself on yours.
• Sex for Solace : Attempted at least. The writer’s bible says that the stress from being Captain leads him to acting out compulsively off-duty, and getting himself into unhealthy romances that he can’t get out of. The novel for Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is more explicit about it, wanting to distract himself from grief over his son.
• Sex Slave : Several Season 3 episodes have him trying to get out of becoming breeding stock for one reason or another, or at least trying to get out of being drugged.
• Shirtless Scene : It's not quite to the level of Walking Shirtless Scene , but Kirk appears shirtless a lot in the original TV show. Most famously, it's caused by Clothing Damage during action sequences, but he also tends to just lounge around his quarters without a shirt and such.
• Smart People Play Chess : He's Spock's opponent of choice in chess games and is quite cunning, as a lot of foes have found out, to their regret.
• Sore Loser : Sympathetically, but in a Hard Truth Aesop kind of way. He doesn’t deal well with losing crewmembers, sinking into unhelpful levels of guilt each time, and he programmed the Kobayashi Maru test the third time because he can’t deal with failure. He goes right into self loathing when Spock dies, thinking he’s lost the better half of himself.
• Sudden Name Change : In the second pilot episode, Gary Mitchell, possessed of near-omnipotent alien powers, fights Kirk and creates an open grave with a tombstone reading "James R. Kirk." This would normally be a minor matter, but given how many times Kirk later introduces himself as "James T. Kirk," it's actually quite jarring. Michael Jan Friedman's books turned into a inside joke between Kirk and Mitchell from their Academy days. note  Lieutenant Kirk boasted that "Racquetball is my middle name" when challenegd to a game by Cadet Mitchell, then Gary would joke that the R stood for different things like "Rhinocerous" or "Resourceful" when Kirk got into a tight scrape.
• Survivor Guilt : A deleted scene in "The Conscience of the King" would have revealed that Kirk one of the people whom Kodos deemed worthy of saving in his eugenics program, which would further explain Kirk's hatred of him. Really, though, it would probably apply either way, since no matter whether he was chosen to live or whether he escaped execution, he survived when thousands of others didn't.
• Talking the Monster to Death : Far more often than he gets credit for these days. Kirk is good at talking monsters to death (AKA fast talking his way out of a jam). Since he routinely runs into Sufficiently Advanced Aliens who cannot be defeated with firepower, it's an important skill.
• Teacher's Pet : Was a humorless walking stack of books on legs when he was younger, and actually programmed the unwinnable Kobayashi Maru test on his third go because he saw failing as something he couldn’t live with.
• Thousand-Yard Stare : The worst ones come after Edith dies, after Spock dies and after admitting to Picard that being dutiful got him an empty house, but he’s prone to lesser ones generally.
• To Be Lawful or Good : One of the most frequent moral dilemmas faced by Kirk in quite a few stories. To his credit, he usually manages to come up with a way to actually be both lawful and good, but when his back is truly against the metaphorical wall, he will slightly lean towards the good option and be willing to bend the rules, though he never takes such a decision lightly.
• Took a Level in Cynic : There was always a bit of a stain on his shining armor in the series, but he’s much more weary by the time of the movies. The losses of Spock, his son, and the original Enterprise only make it worse, and he’s a hair’s close to just completely giving up in the Nexus.
• Trademark Favorite Food : Has a definite fondness for Saurian Brandy, with his evil half chugging it straight from the bottle in “The Enemy Within”.
• A Tragedy of Impulsiveness : Kirk isn’t reckless, but he is impulsive and can let his emotions and biases get the better of him (that’s why having Bones and Spock around helps him out). He admits this himself in the sixth movie, mourning that he was so clouded by the loss of his son (and never liking Klingons much anyway) that he was an easy scapegoat for the assassination plot.
• Tragic Hero : Originally a Broken Hero , the movies (and even more so for the book version of the movies) have him make a lot of mistakes that cost dear collateral damage, and he dies not in a blaze of glory like he wants, but suffocating and bleeding under a fallen bridge, just happy that he’s made a difference.
• Tragic Mistake : It’s a combination of being manipulated by a girlfriend in Starfleet, the trauma of season three making him think he needs another position, and Spock going back to Vulcan that makes Kirk accept being an Admiral. He makes even more mistakes trying to get his ship back, and even after he’s demoted like he wants it’s still a factor in his depression, telling Picard never to accept promotion.
• He worries everyone with how much he wants vengeance in “Arena” (even if he realises by the end) for what he thinks is a massacre/invasion, and he’s particularly upset with massacres that claim to be “clean”. He spends the last quarter of “Miri” sounding on the verge of a breakdown.
• The presence of Karidian / Kodos on the Enterprise brings up some bad memories of Tarsus IV, since he witnessed the massacre and watched a friend suffer permanent injuries.
• At the end of “Elaan Of Troyius”, having sex with her under the influence of being drugged, he tells Elaan that he has no choice remembering her. In the novel version of the sixth movie, it’s explicit that he doesn’t resist Martia kissing and spooning him due to wanting to get out of there, but still feels sick and guilty.
• Trauma Conga Line : A lot of it is self-imposed angst, but the movies do a number on him until he's broken down enough to want to stay in the Nexus. It's only the fact that there's no risk that gets him out of the funk, and he goes out Married to the Job as ever. Kirk : It was fun ...
• True Companions : with Spock and McCoy .
• Ultimate Job Security : Later crews even lampshade that Kirk shouldn't have been able to get away with so much. However, the times when he's reckless or rebellious have been exaggerated in popular culture's perception of the character; ordinarily, he's a pretty law-abiding guy. Furthermore, Starfleet looking the other way regarding his more wild exploits makes sense insofar as the Enterprise is continually getting mixed up in situations where one wrong decision could result in the destruction of humanity at the hands of alien forces, and Kirk is the only captain proven to have a talent for continually making the right call in those circumstances. Organizational discipline is one thing, but species survival trumps it.
• Urban Legend Love Life : Both in-universe and out. While quite charming and capable with women, Kirk was rather restrained and mature about it despite his reputation. Even Shatner and Nimoy around the time of Star Trek: The Motion Picture were getting annoyed with Kirk’s “love them and leave them” pop culture rep, and reminded people that sometimes Kirk went “ no no ” (though as the series bible and Shatner also points out, still a lot of Sex for Solace on shore leave because of the loneliness of the Enterprise ). In-universe he gets fucked over frequently, the assumption being the seduction tactics are just him wanting to sleep with everyone, and many years after his day even his biggest fans assume and believe this about him. Captain Sisko : "Kirk had quite the reputation as a ladies man."
• It should be noted that despite this being such an infamous trait of Kirk's, it's only Shatner 's Kirk who talks like this. Both Pine and Wesley consciously chose not to imitate it. Like the mysteriously disappearing and reappearing Klingon forehead ridges, this simply creates questions which are probably impossible to answer. Pine, for his part, proved he could do the "Kirk voice" when he appeared in one of the many Saturday Night Live parodies of Star Trek , in which he played the Kirk from TOS.
• In "Get a Life!" Shatner claims that it's a holdover from his D-list theatre days, when it was the only thing that kept the audience awake. Since his daughter thinks Kevin Pollack does a better Kirk than him, he also asks Pollack to help him punch up his Kirk.
• Wacky Parent, Serious Child : Deconstructed in the bio, as Kirk is more like his mother than he wants to be, but she regresses after the trauma of Tarsus and uses him as a therapist, while he suffers Innocence Lost . He also has to comfort his parents after the death of Sam, when he would like nothing more than to go home and be looked after.
• War Hero : Captain Kirk is openly stated to have been decorated many times for valor. Kirk doesn't talk about his awards or display them, preferring to keep them locked away in his quarters.
• What Beautiful Eyes! : The main reason for all the close ups of them with everything else in a darker light seems to be just for pointing out his big and luxuriously lashed bambi eyes.
• What the Hell, Hero? : Kirk gets his fair share, whether it’s from women upset that he’s pretended to love them as a means to whatever end, from Bones or Spock for being an impulsive martyr, or literally anyone for getting too much into a soldier mindset and acting like a dick as a captain.
• Worth It : Despite some not entirely undeserved grumbling about what a lifetime of service has gotten him, Kirk still helps Picard fight Soren in Generations . His last words? "It was fun."
• Worthy Opponent : Klingons, in particular, recognized Kirk as this. The legendary Kor, frustrated by Organian interference that made battle against Kirk impossible, wistfully surmised, "it would have been glorious" in 2267. Captain Klaa believed defeating Kirk would make him the greatest warrior in the galaxy in 2287. General Chang reveled in his attack on Kirk at the Battle of Khitomer, until he lost his advantage. Jadzia Dax would later relate Koloth telling Kurzon Dax about verbally sparring with Kirk on a space station, and lament he never had the opportunity to face Kirk in actual battle. The Romulan Commander of "Balance of Terror" also regards Kirk as a formidable opponent, acting as the Commander himself would in Kirk's place, calling him a sorcerer who "reads the thoughts in my head," and goes to his death telling Kirk "You and I are of a kind. In a different reality, I could have called you friend."
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit : The only time his evil half shows any intelligence, is when he’s playing charming and weak, lulling his good half into a false sense of security before slamming him against the wall and knocking him out. Kirk as a whole person will use nicer variations of the tactic with so many women, and a few men too.
• Wrestler in All of Us : You may have noticed Kirk isn’t actually good at fighting (the throwing himself at the three guys in “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” and the butt move in “Journey To Babel” are two good examples). This is because Shatner took it from wrestling he saw growing up, because he wanted to make it look like Kirk was always improvising.
• Wrong Genre Savvy : He really wants to believe he’s the shining knight when in reality, Lenore was right saying there was a stain on his armor, and he’s had to admit more than once that he wants blood. Wrath Of Khan finally dissuades him of the notion, telling his son morosely that he knows nothing, and part of his arc is having to deal with losses instead of trying to ignore them.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Portrayed By: Paul Wesley

Appearances: star trek: strange new worlds.

In the setting of Strange New Worlds , Kirk is presently a lieutenant serving on the Farragut before being promoted to First Officer. In the Prime timeline, after two alterate variants of the character appeared before him, Lieutenant Kirk finally appears as the recently promoted first officer of the USS Farragut , which was collaborating with the USS Enterprise on a mission.

• The Ace : Top of his class at Starfleet Academy, and (will be) the youngest captain in the fleet. He's already become the fastest promoted First Officer in Starfleet, breaking the record previously held by his father.
• Jim's struggle with his father's legacy in the Prime Reality stems from the fact that the elder George Kirk was always away helping others, and famed for being the youngest officer in the fleet to be promoted to first officer. In the Kelvin Timeline, Jim struggled with the fact that George was revered for having sacrificed his life on the Kelvin to save its crew, including Jim and his mother.
• The circumstances behind Kirk meeting Pike and Uhura are also much different. In the Kelvin Timeline, he met both in a bar brawl trying to flirt with Uhura and getting into a fight with Starfleet cadets, with Pike daring him to do better than the late George Kirk did instead of wasting his life. He meets Uhura while nursing a drink after an argument with his brother, and has to make it clear he's not flirting with her (even when she decks him during a hallucination), with his first meeting with Pike being a result of his efforts to help Uhura.
• While later works in the franchise establish that Kirk has a reputation as a ladies man, it is established here that when in a relationship he will remain committed to his partner and his natural charm and outgoing personality are easily mistaken as him being a flirt.
• Annoying Younger Sibling : As far as Sam Kirk's concerned, Jim is this on account of the way he's advancing through the Starfleet ranks; Sam thinks he's just trying to one up him to please their father.
• Big Good : He's a bit of a maverick, but he's one of Starfleet's best officers and a paragon of their ideals.
• Call-Forward : He immediately takes notice of Spock's skill and insight, hinting at their eventual friendship.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome : La'an quickly calls him out for "helping every stranger in need". He gets it from his father.
• Commonality Connection : In his first meeting with Spock, both men feel that Sam is a huge pain in the ass.
• Doomed by Canon : He turns down a relationship with La'an because he's in an off-again/on-again relationship with a woman named Carol, and she's pregnant. She doesn't even give him a chance to be a father. His son fares no better.
• Exact Words : He mentioned that he first met Pike when he became Fleet Captain. Turns out that it wasn't the exact time he was promoted; Pike had been given a temporary promotion to Fleet Captain, and Kirk happened to be on that same assignment.
• Following in Relative's Footsteps : It's already established that in the prime universe, George Kirk Sr. was the inspiration for his sons to join Starfleet, and Jim directly states that he wanted to understand his father's passion for helping others.
• Guile Hero : His defining trait. If there's even a slight chance to Take a Third Option , he'll do it. His brother Sam mentions that he doesn't like to lose, and will do whatever it takes to avoid that.
• Rank Up : He's given a promotion to First Officer of the Farragut in his first "Prime" appearance, albeit that it's going to take a few weeks until they can train his replacement.
• Reasonable Authority Figure : As Uhura begins to suffer from mysterious complications related to the mining facility the ship is stationed at, and seems to be the only one experiencing them, Kirk is the one officer that takes the extra step to help her out, as the rest of the Enterprise crew think she's just suffering from over-exhaustion and a form of radiation poisoning, which he suspects is something more.
• Smart People Play Chess : Prime Kirk points out a mistake that Spock makes in a game against Christine Chapel and how it costs him an easy win.
• Vitriolic Best Buds : He loves his brother Sam and would go to any lengths to keep him safe, but Sam's jealous attitude about his brother's fast-advancing career makes things an annoyance for the younger Kirk.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy : Sam accuses Jim of this by trying to outdo their father's already impressive Starfleet career.
• When You Coming Home, Dad? : George Kirk, in contrast to being dead in the Kelvin Timeline, was rarely home to spend time with his sons, having vested himself to his Starfleet career. This left Jim wondering why his father was choosing to help total strangers instead of making an effort to be there with his family.

    A Quality of Mercy Kirk (spoilers)  

• Always Someone Better : To Pike, at least in the scenario of "Balance of Terror". The viewer gets the benefit of seeing that Kirk's handling of the Romulans would have indeed proven itself correct, as Kirk's more aggressive response discouraged the Romulans' belligerence, while Pike's attempt at diplomacy and negotiation in an alternate timeline was seen as weakness.
• Batman Gambit : He does these so frequently that he's able to identify one on sight. When the Romulans let their appearance leak, showing that they're similar to Vulcans, Kirk suspects they did it to sow discord amongst Federation officers.
• Birds of a Feather : We first meet this version of Kirk in an alternate timeline where he never captained the Enterprise , and thus he meets Spock much later than he did before. That aside, they both get on immediately due to their shared ability to think outside the box and to also be pragmatic when the occasion calls for it.
• No Hero to His Valet : His older brother Sam makes it clear that he's one of the best captains in Starfleet. He also freely acknowledges that his little brother is a massive pain in the ass. Later, it turns out his brother is The Resenter of Kirk's rapid success in Starfleet, making Sam feel inadequate compared to his equally-famous father. Sam Kirk: Look, I'm not gonna say that Jim isn't a pain in the ass . He is. He's a huge pain in the ass. But the truth is, he's as fine a Captain as Starfleet has.
• Strange Minds Think Alike : Both he and Spock agree that showing weakness in front of the Romulans is bad, but for different reasons. Kirk doesn't want the Romulans to think the Federation won't defend themselves. Spock knows how vicious Vulcans were before they embraced logic, and if Romulans are an off-shoot of that martial philosophy, then he knows they should not be under-estimated.
• What the Hell, Hero? : Pike hesitating against the Romulans costs Kirk the Farragut , and he's not happy about that. Kirk doesn't want war, but he also isn't willing to hesitate against a violent enemy. "You flinched! You deliberated! And you lost! "

    Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow Kirk (spoilers)  

• Big Brother Instinct : Or rather, little brother instinct. He has no pretense of altering the timeline until La'an reveals Sam is still alive in her time, at which point he changes his tune.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation : Instead of having a bridge dropped on him after traveling into the future, he dies in the past with a point-blank disruptor shot to the chest.
• For Want Of A Nail : In this timeline, the Romulans assassinated a child named Khan Noonien Singh before he could become the infamous dictator of the Eugenics Wars. Without him, they never occurred, but it didn't give humanity the kick in the teeth it needed for losing billions of lives to it, and they became an isolationist government with a bleak, barely habitable Earth, and are stuck in a war with the Romulans that they're implied to be losing. For Kirk, he was born on the Iowa instead of Riverside, Iowa, his brother is dead (well, dead before he should be ), and his only contact with Spock is a message to tell him they can't help.
• In Spite of a Nail : He still becomes Captain of the Enterprise , albeit much earlier than he did in the Prime Reality.
• The Lost Lenore : For La'an, compounded by the presence of Prime Kirk as an eternal reminder. As of " Subspace Rhapsody ", she is still holding onto the watch he gave her .
• Smart People Play Chess : Not only does the alternate version of Kirk in season 2 defeat multiple 21st-century opponents at traditional chess, but he also dismisses it as "idiot's chess".

Tropes applying to the novelverse Kirk

    Novelverse Kirk 

• Antiquated Linguistics : How Bones got his nickname, according to "The Captain's Oath". Kirk called McCoy a 'sawbones' in one of their early meetings, and Bones was amused by the fact the younger man was using more outdated language than the self-professed country doctor.
• Break the Badass : He's initially talked into experimenting with time travel by Admiral Delgado on the grounds of "think of the potential". After what happens with Edith, Kirk's attitude is locked into " screw the potential". The events of "Yesteryear" do not help. At all.
• But for Me, It Was Tuesday : The events of The Motion Picture , specifically V'Ger's ascension. A mass freak out occurs across Federation space, with people debating what it means, some people seeing Kirk as a religious icon and some as a monster who kills AI. Kirk doesn't get what the big deal is.
• Cassandra Truth : Some of Jim's more... unusual exploits tend to get dismissed by 24th century characters as being implausible, or stuff he made up (such as that incident where someone supposedly stole Spock's brain). The Enterprise -E crew, on hearing the things about "Requiem for Methuselah", however, are more open-minded (run-ins with Q will do that).
• "The Captain's Oath" shows Kirk's transformation from the humorless terror of the Academy to the rules-lawyering man of the show proper, along with the start of his friendships with Bones and Spock.
• A flashback in "Forgotten History" shows the transitory Kirk at the end of the five year mission - he's gotten fed up of The Chains of Commanding , the lost red shirts, the various failed romances and chasing around the galaxy, and is looking to pack it all in and take a desk job, maybe just settle down with someone.
• "Ex Machina" has Kirk beginning to go from getting his fire back at the end of The Motion Picture to the man we see in Wrath of Khan , feeling his age and use diminishing in equal measure.
• Designated Villain : In-universe, even. The Department of Temporal Investigations calls Kirk one of the biggest menaces of time travel on record; a boogeyman held up as a cautionary example of exactly what not to do. Most of Kirk's seventeen violations were accidents, or things Starfleet got him into. Agent Lucsly even comes to realize this when an eighteenth violation brings him into contact with the man, and he sees the dreaded "Time Pirate" isn't so bad as all that. But for the sake of the Department, he still has to lie and maintain Kirk's image.
• Famous for Being First : Among other unsavory bits of his reputation, he's the first captain to be court-martialed thanks to that mess with Ben Finney.
• A Father to His Men : Used to justify why he keeps leading shore parties - he doesn't want to expose anyone to danger he wouldn't face himself.
• Improbable Age : As mentioned up above, he made Captain by his thirties, which gets mentioned in "The Captain's Oath", with one or two characters thinking poorly of him for it, figuring he didn't earn it on legitimate merit.
• Kicked Upstairs : Sort of... his being made admiral is a little more complicated. There was a court martial after Kirk decided to screw the Prime Directive again, this time when an Obstructive Bureaucrat was on-board (of the TNG-era style mindset of "the Prime Directive says they must die"). The bureaucrat had been put there by Admiral Delgado, who wanted Kirk out of the way so he could get his hands on the Enterprise engines, but Admiral Nogura actually did want Kirk as a Fleet Admiral because he thought he'd be good at it.
• Love at First Sight : No, not Spock. The Enterprise . Kirk fell in love with the old girl the first moment he saw the bridge. (Spock played Moment Killer .)
• His various meddlings with alien cultures. Related, his habit of destroying AIs , which even has pro-AI groups seeing him as some sort of demon.
• Apparently Spock taunted him about not recognising who Surak was that one time. Afterward, Kirk made time to study up on Vulcan history.
• His reputation as a seducer. One book in New Frontier has a member of the Excalibur crew decry this reputation Kirk has... only to seconds later state he did seduce her grandmother .
• A century onward, and Flint is still ticked off with him, and Starfleet types in general.
• Red Baron : The Department of Temporal Investigations brand Kirk "The Time Pirate".

Captain James T. Kirk (Kelvin Timeline)

Played by: Chris Pine

Dubbed in french by: emmanuel garijo, dubbed in brazilian portuguese by: marcelo garcia, appearances: star trek | star trek into darkness | star trek beyond.

• Abusive Parents : His unseen stepfather is heavily implied to have been abusive towards him and his brother. In the original script, his friend "Johnny" that young Kirk speaks to is his brother George Jr., who was running away from home due to this and learning their stepfather intended to sell their biological father's prized car. Kirk, meanwhile, decided to total it to spite him .
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade : Due to his father's death, this Kirk had a significantly rougher upbringing. He was essentially an aimless drifter before Pike encouraged him to step up while the original Kirk had wanted to join from a young age. Even by Beyond where he's mostly grown back into his original characterization, the loss of his father still weighs on him.
• Adaptational Dumbass : While far from stupid (Pike describes him as "the only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest"), this version of Kirk is more prone to reckless overconfidence and impulsive action than the Prime universe version, though this can mostly be put down to inexperience ; the Prime Kirk was an experienced, seasoned officer when he became Captain of the Enterprise , whereas this one got the job while he was still a cadet. By Star Trek Beyond , he's closer to his original portrayal.
• Adaptational Dye-Job : A minor example; the original Kirk had hazel eyes, while this one's eyes are blue.
• Adaptational Personality Change : This Kirk is more laid back than the original .
• AM/FM Characterization : In his first scene, he's hanging up on his step-father in favor of blasting Beastie Boys ' "Sabotage" (a song that In-Universe is a 100-plus-years-old) over the radio, establishing his disregard for authority (and a certain degree of love for Good Old Ways , even if they clash with Federation standards) even before the character says a single word. The detail about "Sabotage" being so old it's considered "classic" (and Kirk loving it) gets a Call-Back gag on Star Trek Beyond .
• Amusing Injuries : A lot of them in the first movie. Gets shades of it in the first half-hour of the second, but after Admiral Pike dies, the joke stops being funny in a real hurry.
• Anti-Hero : He's a Chivalrous Pervert and Jerk with a Heart of Gold with some serious issues when it comes to authority. But at the end of the day, you can count on him to do what's right, even if it conflicts with protocol. By the end of Star Trek Into Darkness , he's becoming more of a Hero Classic.
• Arch-Enemy : No matter the universe or timeline, Kirk and Khan will always be bitter enemies.
• Badass Biker : Star Trek Beyond has Kirk show his amazing biker skills when he averts the attention of Krall's men.
• Badass Normal : No superpowers, but he'll go charging in anyway.
• Big Brother Mentor : To Chekov in Into Darkness and Beyond .
• Big Ol' Eyebrows : The character retains Chris Pine 's bushy eyebrows.
• Birthday Hater : He hates celebrating his birthday because it reminds him of his father's death. In Beyond , he hates it even more because he's now one year older than his father ever got to be.
• Boldly Coming : Zigzagged . So far, he's bedded an Orion woman and Caitian twins, but both those incidents took place on Earth. When he's on the Enterprise or otherwise away from his home planet, he avoids actually romancing anyone.
• Kirk is confident about himself, fearless, and absolutely believes there's no such thing as a no-win scenario, prompting him to cheat at the Kobayashi Maru test to prove his point. But then comes Star Trek Into Darkness where he gets demoted and lost the command of the Enterprise , lost his father-figure Pike, and almost led his entire ship to its demise because of his impulsiveness (good thing Scotty saved them) . Kirk: I'm sorry...
• At the beginning of Into Darkness , he bragged how no one in his crew was killed in the past six months of his command, then his mission to Kronos cost the lives of his escorts, many of the crewmen sucked into space at warp speed and fell into their deaths when the ship was crashing. Kirk was unable to do anything but watch. He tried to save one woman, but she slipped from his fingers.
• On the mission to infiltrate the Vengeance , he ordered Spock to stay and take command of the ship, admitting that he didn't know what to do. He realized Spock was the one needed while he's expendable.
• By the time he's dying, he's definitely broken . Kirk: I'm scared, Spock. Help me not be...
• Brilliant, but Lazy : Kirk has a brilliant tactical mind and is an outstanding leader, but only if you can pry him away from women and alcohol long enough. Pike even refers to him as the "only genius-level repeat-offender in the Midwest."
• Broken Ace : While Kirk Prime had shades of this, the premature loss of his father in this reality definitely has caused this Kirk to grow up a lot more rough around the edges. Many of his behaviors, such as excessive flirting and posturing, could be construed as coping mechanisms for his Dark and Troubled Past .
• He gets choked by Spock at one point and by a Romulan at another . Both times with some pretty good acting by Pine. It hurts as you try to catch your breath afterwards. Pine actually mentioned in an interview that he admires Harrison Ford for his ability to take a beating like it really hurts , and that he considered that an underrated skill.
• Kirk getting repeatedly owned in hand-to-hand combat with Spock and the Romulans is somewhat justifiable, considering they're meant to be three times stronger than humans.
• The second film is no different, although it's less humorous this time around: He accidentally shoots the ride that he and Bones were going to use to get back to the Enterprise , loses his ship (temporarily), watches his father figure Pike die , gets the snot beaten out of him by Harrison, and he even dies (albeit temporarily) a very painful death of radiation poisoning .
• By the third movie, his injuries aren't so amusing anymore.
• The Captain : Captain of the Enterprise , leading his Ragtag Bunch of Misfits across the stars.
• Cerebus Callback : Kirk's Heroic Sacrifice in into Darkness is a direct reference to Kirk and Spock's debate in the first film after Kirk cheated on the simulation.
• Character Development : Grows from a smart-ass drifter to a capable leader throughout the first film, and learns to abandon some of his Military Maverick and Leeroy Jenkins tendencies in the second. By the third, he is becoming jaded with never-ending exploration and considers taking a promotion to a desk job, though he later turns it down and loses his jadedness.
• The Charmer : Flaws aside, he's likable, friendly, and charming.
• Chick Magnet : Gaila was into him in the first movie and the sequel has him in bed with two Caitians.
• Chivalrous Pervert : Despite how much he flirts with women, we never see Kirk get pushy, and the only woman he ever (visibly) scores with is Uhura's roommate. Though in Into Darkness , he's in bed with two Caitians. As for the "chivalrous" part, it's worth noting that, despite chasing Uhura the entire first movie, he treats her as a professional and an officer worthy of respect and never makes a pass at her in the second movie. They even have a Friendship Moment bonding over their frustration with Spock.
• Dark and Troubled Past : Heavily alluded to. Kirk lost his father just minutes after his birth, was frequently abused by his stepfather while his mother was off-planet, his brother ran away when Jim was still young because he hated their stepfather so much, nearly killed himself by driving a car off a cliff when he was 12, and was already a repeat offender long before enlisting in Starfleet. It certainly explains a lot of the behavioral differences between him and Kirk Prime.
• Deadpan Snarker : Kirk often exhibits a dry wit. Kirk : The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Spock : An Arabic proverb attributed to a prince who was betrayed and decapitated by his own subjects.. Kirk : Well, still, it's a hell of a quote.
• Determinator : He doesn't believe in no-win scenarios and is certainly one stubborn fellow once he sets his mind to accomplishing something. He keeps fighting physically superior beings (Vulcans, Romulans, Klingons, Harrison), and either holds his own or keeps going despite taking beatings that others would collapse from.
• Did Not Get the Girl : Kirk hits on Uhura at the beginning of the first movie, but she turns him down. It is later revealed that she and Spock have an established relationship. In the Star Trek (IDW) comics and subsequent films, he's actually quite supportive of the relationship and gets worried about them when problems arise.
• Embarrassing Middle Name : To the point his father refused to let it be Kirk's first name. George Kirk: What, "Tiberius?" [chuckling] No, are you kidding me? That's the worst.
• Of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell . Both are Military Mavericks who are also Handsome Leches and eventually prove their mettle when faced with danger in an emergency situation. Both also served on the USS Enterprise and have fathers who were killed in action.
• To make things more interesting, he also has traits of Jason Nesmith from Galaxy Quest — who was himself an expy of Shatner's Kirk (bringing things full-circle). Both start out as arrogant jerks who go through major Break the Haughty plots and emerge humbler and more serious about leadership.
• Farm Boy : Kirk was raised on a farm in Iowa.
• A Father to His Men : Kirk loves his crew as if they were his family. Harrison notices this and presents his own love for his crew as a point of similarity between them. Towards the end of Into Darkness , Kirk provides an answer to the question posed by Harrison when he gives his life (temporarily) to save the Enterprise and her crew . Harrison : My crew is my family, Kirk. Is there anything you would not do for your family?
• Fight Magnet : He gets into no fewer than four fistfights during the first film and loses pretty much all of them.
• First-Name Basis : McCoy mostly is on this with Kirk, Spock, and Scotty as well, but not so much.
• Fire-Forged Friends : He and Spock had to be this first, though.
• Former Teen Rebel : In Pike's words, "The only genius-level repeat offender in the Midwest."
• Freudian Trio : The Military Maverick and Handsome Lech id to Spock's superego and McCoy 's ego .
• Genius Bruiser : According to Pike, "[his] aptitude tests are off the chart." And he's good in a scrap.
• Guile Hero : He loses most of the physical fights he gets involved in and has limited scientific expertise. Instead, Kirk relies on his wits to win.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold : A bit jerkish , maybe, but Kirk still fits the archetype of a heroic blond protagonist. This trait also contrasts against Harrison and Admiral Marcus .
• Handsome Lech : Played by the attractive Chris Pine , but also eyeballs every woman in the vicinity (even while delirious from the vaccine McCoy gave him).
• The Hero : He is the lead protagonist of all three films.
• The Hero Dies : In Into Darkness . But only briefly . It helps that McCoy put him into cryostasis to preserve Kirk's body as soon as possible .
• Heroic Sacrifice : Goes into the radiation-filled warp reactor of the Enterprise during Star Trek Into Darkness to save his crew .
• He also has elements of this with McCoy , which is especially apparent in the first film. In this universe, if there's anyone who's going to stick by Kirk's side through thick and thin, it's the good doctor. And he's proven it plenty so far.
• I Am Not My Father : He does not enjoy constantly being compared to his deceased father.
• Iron Butt Monkey : Frequently gets his ass handed to him in fights, but makes up for it with guile and simply refusing to give up.
• It's Personal : In the sequel after Harrison murders Pike .
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold : Kirk can be a rather manipulative Guile Hero . However, Kirk is never out to hurt anyone just for his own ends and it's made clear he's only acting up because he lacks a challenge worthy of his smarts. Most importantly, he uses his cunning to save the universe.
• The Leader : Starts out as The Headstrong type, which gets brutally deconstructed as he leads the Enterprise into near-destruction. After coming back from being mostly dead , he grows into The Levelheaded type.
• Living Emotional Crutch : He and Uhura are this to Spock . He is Spock's closest friend (besides Uhura) and their bond is a crucial one in the franchise. Zoe Saldaña even describes how he and Uhura are emotional crutches to Spock in the documentary For the Love of Spock : Zoe: Every time he [Spock] goes into a negative place, or he starts being a little bit of a pessimist, he allows Uhura and Kirk to snap him out of it. And I really like that.
• Manly Tears : When he sees that Pike has died during Harrison's assault .
• Military Maverick : Regularly says Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! or straight-out leaps before he looks.
• Mr. Fanservice : Played by the attractive Chris Pine , and has a number of shirtless scenes .
• Not Quite Dead : McCoy revives him with Khan's enhanced blood, even lampshades it by saying "Oh, don't be so melodramatic. You were barely dead."
• Over Ranked Soldier : Gets an official promotion to Captain at the end of the first film. Note that he wasn't even technically a Cadet at the time. The expectable happens in the sequel when it shows he's as hot-headed as ever.
• Papa Wolf : Kirk will do anything to ensure the safety of his crew.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni : The brash, rule-breaking Red Oni to Spock's logical, task-orientated Blue Oni.
• Revenge Before Reason : He's dead-set on killing Harrison after Pike's death , to the point that he's nearly manipulated into provoking a war with the Klingons . His crew talks him out of it before it's too late .
• This actually gets him in trouble in the sequel, as Starfleet, for some reason , does not like him violating the Prime Directive. He's actually stripped of his command and Pike has to struggle to keep him as Commander .
• Seen It All : He has a different flavour of angst in Beyond than his original, Prime Kirk feeling like he's nothing without the Enterprise , Reboot Kirk tired of how "episodic" it all feels.
• During Spock and Uhura's conversation on Qo'noS, he was clearly on her side, commenting that she's right and Spock's response to Uhura's accusation is "not exactly a love song."
• Despite Spock's injuries, Kirk still allows him to join the mission into Krall's camp after Spock says it's for Uhura.
• Took a Level in Badass : Goes from a delinquent in Iowa to being a legendary captain who saved the Federation from total annihilation twice .
• Took a Level in Kindness : He starts out a Jerk with a Heart of Gold , but loses the jerk part by the third movie.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid : A Deleted Scene reveals that Kirk, as a child, would get good grades and stay out of trouble. Things didn't stay that way. invoked
• Vitriolic Best Buds : With McCoy . And Spock, far more in the Abramsverse than the original series.
• Wrong Genre Savvy : While he's fully in the right not to trust Khan during their Enemy Mine , he might have ordered Scotty to knock him out a little too early, though admittedly they'd probably not have fared well owing to Khan's Chronic Back Stabbing Disorder .
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In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets. In the 23rd Century, Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise explore the galaxy and defend the United Federation of Planets.

• Gene Roddenberry
• William Shatner
• Leonard Nimoy
• DeForest Kelley
• 277 User reviews
• 99 Critic reviews
• 16 wins & 31 nominations total

Episodes 80

Photos 1999

• Captain James Tiberius 'Jim' Kirk …

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• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia In the hallways of the Enterprise there are tubes marked "GNDN." These initials stand for "goes nowhere does nothing."
• Goofs The deck locations for Kirk's Quarters, Sickbay and Transporter Room vary (usually between decks 4-7) throughout the series.

Dr. McCoy : "He's dead, Jim."

• Crazy credits On some episodes, the closing credits show a still that is actually from the Star Trek blooper reel. It is a close-up of stunt man Bill Blackburn who played an android in Return to Tomorrow (1968) , removing his latex make up. In the reel, He is shown taking it off, while an off-screen voice says "You wanted show business, you got it!"
• Alternate versions In 2006, CBS went back to the archives and created HD prints of every episode of the show. In addition to the new video transfer, they re-did all of the model shots and some matte paintings using CGI effects, and re-recorded the original theme song to clean it up. These "Enhanced" versions of the episodes aired on syndication and have been released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
• Connections Edited into Ben 10: Secrets (2006)
• Soundtracks Star Trek Music by Alexander Courage

User reviews 277

• Dec 27, 2008
• How do they maintain Gravity on the the U.S.S. Enterprise ? .
• All aliens on all planets speak the English language?
• What does "TOS" mean?
• September 8, 1966 (United States)
• United States
• Star Trek: The Original Series
• Backlot, Culver Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA
• Desilu Productions
• Norway Corporation
• Paramount Television
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Technical specs

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USS Farragut (NCC-1647)

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The USS Farragut (NCC-1647) was a Farragut -type Federation starship operated by Starfleet in the 23rd century .

• 1.1 Early service
• 2 Alternate timeline
• 3 Command crew
• 4.1 Appearances
• 4.2 Background information
• 4.3 Apocrypha
• 4.4 External links

Service history [ ]

Early service [ ].

In the 2250s , the Farragut was commanded by Captain Garrovick . ( TOS : " Obsession ")

Nurse Christine Chapel had served aboard the Farragut prior to her assignment to the USS Enterprise in 2259 . For Starfleet Remembrance Day that year, she wore a Farragut pin to memorialize the crewmates she had lost from this ship. ( SNW : " Memento Mori ")

In 2255 , Lieutenant James T. Kirk 's was assigned to the Farragut as his first deep space assignment after his graduation from Starfleet Academy , where he was assigned to a phaser station . ( TOS : " Obsession ")

While exploring Tycho IV in 2257 , the Farragut encountered a dikironium cloud creature that proceeded to kill nearly half the crew, some two hundred personnel including Captain Garrovick. Nearly ten hours of record tapes chronicled the encounter. According to the tapes, Kirk insisted upon blaming himself for the incident because of his delay in firing phasers at the creature. The executive officer disagreed, stating for the record: " Lieutenant Kirk is a fine young officer who performed with uncommon bravery. "

Eleven years later, it was determined that Kirk could not have prevented the death of his captain and crewmates, when the USS Enterprise encountered the same creature and discovered that phasers were ineffective against it. ( TOS : " Obsession ")

The USS Farragut was docked at Starbase 1 in 2259.

In 2259, the Farragut was docked at Starbase 1 alongside the Enterprise . ( SNW : " The Broken Circle ") James Kirk was still serving aboard the Farragut at this time. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Later that year, Kirk was promoted to first officer of the Farragut , breaking his father's record as the youngest first officer in Starfleet, although Kirk wouldn't actually assume the position for a few more months as Kirk needed to train his replacement for his previous position first. The Farragut joined the Enterprise , under the joint command of newly promoted fleet captain Christopher Pike , to bring a deuterium refinery online. After the decision was made to destroy the refinery instead, the Farragut collected all of station's shuttles and escape pods. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

Some time after, the Farragut temporarily transferred Kirk to the Enterprise , to allow him to shadow Lieutenant Commander Una Chin-Riley in preparation for assuming the duties of first officer. ( SNW : " Subspace Rhapsody ")

The Farragut was near the USS Republic and the USS Enterprise when the Enterprise discovered a subspace fissure . ( SNW : " Subspace Rhapsody " display graphic )

Alternate timeline [ ]

In an alternate timeline where Captain Christopher Pike remained in command of the Enterprise and avoided the accident that exposed him to delta radiation , Kirk became the captain of the Farragut . In 2266 , he responded to the distress call sent by Outpost 4 as it came under Romulan attack. At Kirk's suggestion, the Farragut and the Enterprise shadowed the Romulan Bird-of-Prey responsible, preparing to engage it in a pincer move once it entered the tail of the comet Icarus IV and became temporarily visible through its cloaking device .

The Farragut is hit by a plasma torpedo in an alternate timeline

However, the Romulan Commander had anticipated their plan and positioned his vessel behind the Farragut . Kirk ordered his ship to turn and engage the Bird-of-Prey, but the Farragut was hit by a plasma torpedo at close range and sustained catastrophic damage to its saucer section . With life support failing, the surviving crew were evacuated to the Enterprise . ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

Command crew [ ]

The bridge of the USS Farragut in alternate 2266

• Garrovick ( 2257 )
• Christopher Pike ( 2259 ) (acting)
• James T. Kirk ( 2266 , alternate timeline )
• James T. Kirk (2259)
• See : USS Farragut personnel

Appendices [ ]

Appearances [ ].

• " A Quality of Mercy " ( Season 1 )
• " The Broken Circle " ( Season 2 )
• " Lost in Translation "
• " Subspace Rhapsody " (display graphic)

Background information [ ]

Although no official registry or class was established during the TOS -era when this ship was mentioned, both the Star Trek Concordance and the Star Trek Encyclopedia  (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 262), using the information created by Greg Jein in his The Case of Jonathan Doe Starship article, identified this ship as a Constitution -class heavy cruiser with the registry number NCC -1647. Doug Drexler confirmed this on his blog, Drexfiles.

Many other publications, beginning with The Making of Star Trek , p. 165 and Franz Joseph 's Star Fleet Technical Manual , listed the Farragut as a Constitution -class heavy cruiser. The Technical Manual . giving the ship a registry of NCC-1702, also listed the vessel as being destroyed, as does The Making of Star Trek , although there was no canon evidence supporting that assertion.

The Farragut was " named for American naval officer David Farragut , who commanded Union ships during the American Civil War , famous for his rallying cry, "Damn the torpedoes , full speed ahead!" " ( Star Trek Encyclopedia  (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 262))

In the Star Trek Encyclopedia (4th ed., vol. 1, p. 262), there was a starboard profile of the Farragut .

The registry of this ship and its class were revealed in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode " A Quality of Mercy ". Though the ship retained the registry NCC-1647, it belonged to a new class of ship.

Like other Federation starships of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , there were two dedication plaques on the ship's bridge. The ship's class would be mentioned on these plaques. They are not readable in the episode.

In a tweet, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds art director Tim Peel wrote that he believed the class of this ship to be Bellerophon . This was based on information he had received from other members of the production crew. [1]

For the ship's appearance in "The Broken Circle", black stripes and white text were added to the ship's nacelles. This matches how the ship appears in Star Trek Online .

Apocrypha [ ]

Two DC comic books in the second volume provided non- canon appearances of the Farragut in " Behind Enemy Lines! " and " All Those Years Ago... ". The ship appeared in the Gold Key TOS issue " Murder Boards the Enterprise ". Further appearances in DC issues included " The Ashes of Eden " showing a model of the Constitution -class Farragut with the NCC-1647 registry, while the comic " Debt of Honor " showed the ship with the registry NCC-1702 (matching the Star Fleet Technical Manual ).

In the novel The Ashes of Eden by William Shatner , Kirk participated in an early holodeck recreation of his first encounter with the creature that confirms that he could have done nothing; if the Farragut had fired on the creature, the entire ship would have been destroyed. The ship also made appearances in a number of other novels including Web of the Romulans , The Rings of Tautee , Crisis on Centaurus , The Covenant of the Crown , and Treaty's Law .

In the novel The Captains' Honor , the Farragut had been decommissioned from Starfleet and was operated by the Romans of the planet Magna Roma as the USS Centurion . However, "Debt of Honor" shows the Farragut separating her saucer section and the engineering hull being destroyed by self-destruct after it was overrun by the inter-dimensional creatures in the aftermath of the encounter with the Cloud Creature.

In the computer games Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Star Trek: Judgment Rites , Kirk mentions that his first dealings with the Vardaine ( β ) were as a lieutenant on the Farragut .

In The Autobiography of James T. Kirk , the Farragut was a Constitution -class starship.

External links [ ]

• USS Farragut (NCC-1647) at StarTrek.com
• USS Farragut (NCC-1647) at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works

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Published Mar 22, 2023

Captain Kirk's Wisest Quotes

The Enterprise captain shared plenty of words of wisdom across three seasons and seven movies.

StarTrek.com

To celebrate Star Trek legend William Shatner’s birthday, we thought today would be an excellent time to reflect on the many pieces of wisdom that his character Captain James T. Kirk delivered throughout Star Trek: The Original Series and over the course of seven films. Kirk conveyed his insight in many ways, ranging from clever quips and signature one-liners to profound statements and emotional pleas. The captain proved as unafraid to acknowledge his own failings as he was to challenge evils he encountered across the galaxy. Let’s wish Mr. Shatner the happiest of birthdays and absorb the lessons he delivered to us as Captain Kirk.

12. “Your father called the future, ‘The Undiscovered Country.’ People can be very frightened of change.” - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Speaking to Klingon Chancellor Azetbur about her father Gorkon’s hope for better relations between the Federation and Klingon Empire, Captain Kirk astutely points to the hesitancy that many people feel toward change. Earlier in the film, Kirk expressed his lingering anger over the death of his son at the hands of Klingons, thus making this quote even more potent as an admission of his own personal fear of a new future.

11. “Risk… risk is our business. That’s what this starship is all about. That’s why we’re aboard her.” - “Return to Tomorrow”

When McCoy expresses misgivings about the notion of allowing Sargon, Thalassa, and Henoch to temporarily inhabit the bodies of Kirk, Spock, and Mulhall, the captain calls upon the goals of exploration and scientific advancement as a way to rationalize the need to take risks in order to grow beyond ourselves. Kirk’s statement also summarizes the willingness to make sacrifices and the promise to pursue knowledge that every officer informally agrees to the moment they put on a Starfleet uniform.

10. “Your planet is dead! There’s nobody alive on Cheron, because of hate. The cause you fought about no longer exists… give yourselves time to breathe, give up your hate!” - “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”

The racism that fueled the strife between Lokai and Bele reflected the bigotry that their peoples expressed for one another on their homeworld Cheron, and that hatred eventually led to a civil war that eradicated the planet’s entire population. Kirk’s plea for cooler heads to prevail goes unheeded by the duo, yet his rational argument to pause the conflict and take time to reconsider their positions remains profound. Kirk exposes hate as a fault that can be avoided, so long as one chooses to put that hatred behind them.

9. “Don’t let them promote you, don’t let them transfer you, don’t let them do anything that takes you off the bridge of that ship, because while you’re there, you can make a difference.” - Star Trek Generations

What happens when two iconic captains meet? The elder, more experienced officer shares his knowledge with his counterpart, of course! Having gone through the process of being promoted to the rank of admiral and realizing how much he missed the bridge of a starship, Kirk implores Picard to recognize the positive change that he can effect for others while being out among the stars and leading his own ship through perilous rescues, consular duties, and humanitarian aid.

8. “Excuse me, I’d just like to ask a question. What does God need with a starship?” - Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

After reaching Sha Ka Ree and encountering the entity that claims to be the galaxy’s supreme deity, Kirk observes an oddity in God’s request to use the U.S.S. Enterprise-A as a means to carry his power throughout the heavens. As a result, Kirk questions the being’s divinity by delivering one of the most quotable lines in all of Star Trek . The captain’s ability to recognize the entity’s error and fearlessly present his query ultimately helps convince Sybok, Spock, and McCoy that the group is dealing with an alien presence rather than a supernatural deity.

7. “I don't believe in a no-win scenario.” - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Trapped in the caverns of Regula I without any apparent hope for rescue, Saavik recoils when she learns that Kirk reprogrammed the Kobayashi Maru simulation so that he could rescue the ship. Saavik argues that the captain never truly faced the test’s “no-win scenario,” and Kirk calmly responds that he does not believe in such a situation. While some might see this as arrogance, Kirk knows that a captain must demonstrate confidence and strength to their crew. Of course, Kirk follows this discourse by contacting Spock and revealing that he had a plan of escape plotted out all along.

6. “We’re human beings with the blood of a million savage years on our hands, but we can stop it! We can admit that we’re killers, but we’re not going to kill today. That’s all it takes… knowing that we’re not going to kill today.” - “A Taste of Armageddon”

On Eminiar VII, where wars are fought with computers and citizens are willingly disintegrated as casualties, Kirk acknowledges humanity’s brutal past while also pointing out that we can better ourselves by choosing not to repeat our mistakes. We must decide to be better than our earlier selves and can move beyond our violent wrongs by accepting the conviction that we will cease those actions immediately.

5. “The needs of the one outweighed the needs of the many.” - Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Having risked his career, endangered his crew, and lost his son and his starship on a quest to reunite Spock’s body with his katra, Kirk is rewarded with the apparent resurrection of his old friend. Still acclimating to his return, Spock questions why the captain would put so much on the line to come back for him. Kirk flips the popular Vulcan maxim around, illustrating that the plight of a single being can be just as important as the larger galactic picture. In a sense, Kirk posits that fighting for the many is fruitless without placing equal emphasis on the suffering of individuals, particularly those closest to us.

4. “You know that pain and guilt can’t be taken away with the wave of a magic wand! They’re the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don’t want my pain taken away, I need my pain!” - Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

After Sybok lets McCoy relive his father’s passing, the doctor implores Kirk to permit Spock’s half-brother to do the same for him and release his pain. The captain’s response evokes the hard-earned wisdom that many of our toughest trials and most unbearable losses teach us invaluable lessons that shape our personalities and guide us through life. Kirk speaks truth to the fact that our pain is an integral part of who we become.

3. “Death, destruction, disease, horror… that’s what war is all about, Anan. That’s what makes it a thing to be avoided. You’ve made it neat and painless… so neat and painless, you’ve had no reason to stop it.” - “A Taste of Armageddon”

In another ardent appeal on Eminiar VII, Kirk outlines the true tragedies of war to Anan 7. The planet’s search to create “humane” warfare has resulted in an endless cycle of death that consumes lives without any end in sight. Free of disease and collateral destruction, the two warring planets do not feel compelled to approach each other diplomatically and engage in peace talks. By explaining to Anan 7 the devastating results inherent in a real war, Kirk finally convinces the Eminian Union’s First Councilman to rethink his position and approach his counterpart with a peaceful overture.

2. “Where I come from, size, shape, or color makes no difference… and nobody has the power.” - “Plato’s Stepchildren”

Ridiculed by his fellow Platonians just because of his height and lack of psychokinetic powers, Alexander asks Kirk what society is like where he is from. The captain’s reply stands as a symbol of the equality that our planet still strives for and demonstrates the ideals of the utopia that Gene Roddenberry envisioned for humanity’s future. Embracing diversity continues to be a driving force behind the stories that Star Trek tells.

1. “Well, here's one thing you can be sure of, Mister. Leave any bigotry in your quarters, there's no room for it on the bridge.” - “Balance of Terror”

Blaming the Romulans for the death of his ancestors, Lieutenant Stiles openly displays distrust toward the alien species. Once the crew gets a glimpse of the Romulans and recognizes that they may be related to Vulcans, Stiles turns his ire against Spock and refers to the first officer with disdain. Kirk overhears the abusive tone and offers one of the most clear-cut rebukes of intolerance that the series ever produced. With the words “the bridge” acting as a metaphor for our society as a whole, Kirk pulls no punches when he declares that such bigotry does not belong in our civilization.

This article was originally published on March 22, 2021.

Jay Stobie (he/him) is a freelance writer who has contributed articles to the official Star Trek website and Star Trek Magazine, as well as to Star Wars Insider and the official Star Wars website. Jay also serves as a part-time assistant and consultant advising many actors and creatives who work on his favorite sci-fi shows and films. He can be found on Twitter and Instagram at @StobiesGalaxy.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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William shatner willing to return to ‘star trek’ as de-aged captain kirk.

The 93-year-old actor says he's down to return as James T. Kirk for a new movie, and has an idea about how to make it work.

By James Hibberd

James Hibberd

Writer-at-Large

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“Mr. Scott, set the de-ager for 40 years!”

William Shatner says he’s down to play Captain James T. Kirk in a movie again, and has an idea for how it might work.

The 93-year-old sci-fi legend told the Canadian Press that he’d be willing to return to the Starship Enterprise under certain conditions.

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William shatner on living boldly throughout acting career: "the future is unheralded", 'star trek: lower decks' to end with season 5.

Shatner suggested he could play a younger version of his iconic character, thanks to a company he’s working with that specializes in de-aging technology that “takes years off your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are.”

While Kirk was, of course, killed off in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations (photo above), Shatner suggested that Kirk’s body and brain might have been frozen for posterity, and then he could be revived years later.

“‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here,'” he mused. “There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper [in his hair]. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!'”

The prospect of this happening seems rather unlikely, of course. But filmmakers have been getting rather bold with de-aging technology, so it’s hardly impossible that a future Trek film might take Shatner up on his offer and at least try for a de-aged Kirk flashback or cameo of some kind.

Shatner was doing this interview to promote his biographical documentary You Can Call Me Bill , which is being released On Demand.

The actor famously journeyed into space in 2021 as a member of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin craft, becoming the oldest person to ever go into orbit.

Shatner has managed to remain quite sharp, energetic and hearty despite his years. The actor credits both genetic luck and taking care of himself.

“I eat well, I exercise, I ride horses a lot,” he said. “My wife cooks noninflammatory foods extremely well.”

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93-Year-Old William Shatner ‘Might Consider’ Returning as Captain Kirk in New ‘Star Trek’ Project Through De-Aging: ‘It Takes Years Off of Your Face’

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William Shatner recently told Canadian Press that he wouldn’t rule out returning as Captain Kirk in a new “ Star Trek ” project if the script impressed him. While the actor’s age might pose an issue as Shatner turned 93 years old in March, that’s nothing a bit of de-aging technology couldn’t fix.

“It’s an intriguing idea,” Shatner said about returning as Kirk. “It’s almost impossible. But if was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it.”

Popular on Variety

“[It] takes years off of your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are,” Shatner said.

Another issue around Shatner’s “Star Trek” return is Kirk’s death in the 1994 film “Star Trek Generations,” which is the last time Shatner appeared in the iconic franchise. He’s already brainstormed a plot device that could serve as a workaround and have his version of Kirk come back to life.

“A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it,” Shatner said. “‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.’ There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!’”

Variety exclusively reported in March that Steve Yockey, creator of the Max series “The Flight Attendant,” had signed on to write the script for “Star Trek 4.” The movie is being designed as the final installment for Pine and the cast. Several attempts to get a fourth “Star Trek” movie off the ground with this cast have failed over the years. One version of the project was to be directed by Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) and written by Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) and Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel”). Shakman left the project to direct Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” instead.

Other “Star Trek” projects remain in development at Paramount as well. The studio is working with screenwriter Seth Grahame-Smith (“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”) and director by Toby Haynes (“Black Mirror: USS Callister”) on an origin story movie, while a project with screenwriter Kalinda Vazquez (“Fear the Walking Dead”) that was first announced in 2021 also remains in development.

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Star Trek's William Shatner Knows How His Captain Kirk Can Return (But It's Gross)

James Tiberius Kirk (William Shatner) is without a doubt one of the best Enterprise captains in "Star Trek." The bold, brash Starfleet officer was the main man of "Star Trek: The Original Series" and multiple movies, but with the Kelvin Universe version (Chris Pine) possibly notwithstanding, it's easy to assume that time has passed him by — especially since the character dies in "Star Trek: Generations" when the movie quite literally drops a bridge on him. 

Despite this, Shatner was willing to entertain the idea of bringing Kirk back in an interview with the Canadian Press (via Global News ), and he even came up with a somewhat unsettling plot where Kirk's frozen remains would be used to transplant his brain into a younger version of the character — played by a digitally de-aged Shatner, of course. 

"A company that wants to freeze my body and my brain for the future might be a way of going about it," he described the idea. "'We've got Captain Kirk's brain frozen here.' There's a scenario. 'Let's see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!'"

Shatner isn't happy with the way Kirk dies

William Shatner would change some things about Kirk's death in "Star Trek: Generations," and he's even said that he would go back and demand a better death for Kirk if he could . As such, it's hardly surprising that he's willing to speculate about ways to give his famous character one more whirl — and possibly, a better ending. 

Still, don't take that to mean Shatner is chasing Kirk clout at any cost. On the contrary, he's quite aware of the character's importance in the franchise, and as such, any potential return would require a story worthy of Captain James T. Kirk's time. 

In the Canadian Press interview, Shatner himself notes that while he might be willing to revisit the role in the right circumstances, bringing Kirk back would be a tall order. "It's almost impossible but it was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it," he said. As such, if Kirk ever ends up returning on screens big or small, expect Shatner to make sure that fans are in for a thrilling ride. 

Did Captain Kirk Really Meet God In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier?

• William Shatner directed The Final Frontier due to contract clause and Jerry Goldsmith returned to score.
• Spock kills "God," which was a controversial plot point and seen as a low point for Star Trek movies.
• Kirk, Spock, and McCoy didn't actually meet "God" on Sha Ka Ree, per Roddenberry's vision.

There are three notable things about Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the fifth movie starring the cast from Star Trek: The Original Series . The first is that James T. Kirk actor, William Shatner, directed the feature as part of his "favored nations" clause in his contract. The second is that legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith returned to score the film for the first time since Star Trek: The Motion Picture . The third is that Spock kills "God." Yet, in The Final Frontier , does Kirk and company actually meet the real God on the planet Sha Ka Ree?

Of course, there is a lot that is polarizing about Star Trek V , as it's seen as a low point in the storied film franchise. Yet, even with the appreciation of Marvel Studios' CEO Kevin Feige, it's called Star Trek 's worst movie . There are many reasons for this, however, as Shatner's direction is not entirely to blame. There was also a more controversial message in the film than the previous entry's "don't murder whales." Still, the film has its charms, which stand out much more clearly when audiences realize that Kirk, Spock and Doctor McCoy didn't actually meet "God" on Sha Ka Ree.

The Star Trek Crew Always Had a Date With God

Star trek's worst movie was its best story about kirk, mccoy and spock.

Visionary Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry always wanted his crew to meet God . There are signs of this throughout the previous iterations of Star Trek , from The Original Series to the pilot of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Roddenberry had a vision of a united world that put war, poverty and religious extremism behind them and looked to the stars . He was an atheist, and an allegory he wanted to put in Star Trek was that the concept of gods came from simple human misunderstanding of scientific concepts. Sure, some of those concepts were things like "Where does the sun go at night." Yet, as his friend Arthur C. Clarke posited: "Any significantly advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Who Mourns for Adonais," the USS Enterprise is stopped by a powerful alien claiming to be the god Apollo. In the episode, he tells the crew the other aliens who inspired the Greek Gods moved on to a higher plane. Yet, he waited for humans to find him and start worshipping him again. In Star Trek: The Animated Series , two episodes dealt with this. In "The Magicks of Megas-Tu," a proposed story about meeting God became a story about the Enterprise meeting the alien who was the source of the Devil myths, and Kirk defended him. The Emmy-winning Star Trek: TAS episode , "Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth" introduced K'ul'ulkan as an alien being also encountered by the Enterprise.

This continued into the feature film era. The story Roddenberry most wanted to tell on the big screen was put into script form with the working title The God Thing . Another lost Star Trek movie called Planet of the Titans had nothing to do with Roddenberry, but would've sent Kirk and the crew back in time where they became the basis for the Greek Gods on Mount Olympus. There are many attempts to use the Star Trek characters to make the argument that humanity's myths about gods could've simply been born from extraterrestrial contact from before society had the vocabulary for such things .

William Shatner Never Intended for Kirk to Meet the 'Real' God In Star Trek V

William shatner is wrong about his regret for kirk's death scene.

Ironically, Gene Roddenberry hated The Final Frontier when it was set to be released. In the book The Fifty-Year Mission - The First 25 Years by Edward Gross and Mark A Altman, many speculate he didn't like the idea of the story being told without him writing the script. The other problem he had with the film was Sybok. Not because he was Spock's secret brother, but rather because Sybok's "Share your pain" gimmick won over the members of the crew like Sulu, Uhura, Chekov and even Doctor McCoy. Yet, it's that very detail that proves the God of Sha Ka Ree was not the actual God . He likely never even made it to Earth.

The story itself was inspired by the 1980s televangelists who used hokey gimmicks and tricks to con people out of their money. Sybok, however, wasn't that cynical. He believed he had been in communication with God. His ability to win over people to his side by asking them to share their pain, was likely because of his Vulcan telepathic abilities combined with his full embrace of emotion. Perhaps because this being was powerful and in pain, it reached Sybok and enticed him to capture a starship to push past the barrier around the planet, so it could be freed. If this being was the source of any of Earth's mythology, it was likely the Old Testament-style God, full of wrath, destruction and a need to be praised.

Audiences can think whatever they'd like about The Final Frontier , but Kirk asking "Excuse me? What does God need with a starship?" is one of the most memorable Star Trek lines of all time. The being on Sha Ka Ree was clearly imprisoned there for some kind of galactic crime. Perhaps an advanced civilization trapped him there to protect developing worlds, or perhaps this being was incarcerated by his equally powerful kin. Similar to Apollo (who chose to stay) and the beings from "Who Mourns for Adonais?", it seems like the God of Sha Ka Ree was being punished. Either way, it was seemingly destroyed by a few choice shots from a Klingon Bird of Prey, making him a sorry example of even alien divinity .

What Species Was The Final Frontier's God, Anyway?

One of the most underrated star trek films is far better than fans remember.

There is no shortage of god-like aliens in the Star Trek universe. In fact, the last time Roddenberry tried to tell his version of the God story came in The Next Generation's pilot. It's very possible that the God of Sha Ka Ree was a "Q." Introduced in "Encounter at Farpoint," Q was a member of the Q Continuum, whose members all went by that single-letter name. It's also believed that Trelane, the reality-bending being from The Original Series episode "The Squire of Gothos." Like Q in the second-wave series, he was jovial, a little silly and prone to fits of anger.

Of course, the God of Sha Ka Ree doesn't have to be a member of the Q Continuum, as there are other options. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced the Bajoran Prophets as fourth-dimensional beings who had the power to send visions and see all of time and space. Yet, they didn't seem to express the ability to interact with "linear" types as well. There are other powerful alien species in Star Trek who could. In The Original Series alone, beyond Apollo and Trelane, there were the Metrons and Organians, who were both noncorporeal lifeforms that could alter reality.

The reverse has also happened, most notably in The Next Generation 's episode "Who Watches the Watchers." Captain Picard is viewed as a god when a surreptitious survey mission on a pre-warp planet is discovered by the locals. While there is no definitive answer to what species the God of Sha Ka Ree actually was, there is plenty of evidence in the universe to make it clear he wasn't the actual Divine Creator of the universe . Yet, it's Star Trek: Discovery that's getting the closest to actually "finding God."

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 Is Bringing Humanity's Creator Closer Than Ever

Star trek's william shatner pokes fun at star wars on may the fourth.

In TNG's Season 6 episode "The Chase," the writers introduced a massive canon reveal that was meant to address a nitpicky fan complaint. Since Star Trek is all about "infinite diversity in infinite combinations," fans wondered why so many aliens had a head, two arms and two legs. The real answer, of course, is that humans had to play them. Yet, TNG revealed a species of aliens from 4.5 billion years ago seeded planets across the Milky Way to create humanoid life after traveling the galaxy and finding they were alone . This revelation was buried by Starfleet, but Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 picked up the story.

Throughout the season, the USS Discovery is assembling clues left by a group of 24th Century scientists who found more evidence of the Progenitors and their technology. Because Starfleet was at war with the Dominion, they hid this discovery until a time when the galaxy was at peace. If the USS Discovery finds this technology, that will be the closest Star Trek has gotten to actually unveiling the true creator of humanity . As Roddenberry always intended, it wasn't some omniscient, supernatural being, but rather an advanced race of "people" who had technology indistinguishable from magic.

Star Trek: Discovery debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+, where the rest of the series in the universe are streaming. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is streaming with the rest of the films on Max .

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Captain Kirk and his crew must deal with Mr. Spock's long-lost half-brother who hijacks the Enterprise for an obsessive search for God at the center of the galaxy.

Director William Shatner

Release Date June 9, 1989

Cast Todd Bryant, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, William Shatner, George Takei, Leonard Nimoy, Deforest Kelley, James Doohan, David Warner

Writers Harve Bennett, Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner

Runtime 107 minutes

Main Genre Science Fiction

Genres Action, Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy

Production Company Paramount Pictures, Polyphony Digital

Screen Rant

Every star trek captain warp catchphrase explained.

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Star Trek: Every Captain of the Enterprise

Star trek: every version of the starship enterprise, the star trek universe's next major crossover event to begin in landmark 500th issue special.

• "Go" - Captain Gabriel Lorca keeps it simple with a concise and authoritative command in Star Trek: Discovery season 1.
• "Execute" - Captain Saru's choice of catchphrase falls a bit flat, feeling clunky and lacking elegance in Star Trek: Discovery.
• "Carry On" - Captain Saru opts for a passive catchphrase that may not convey the necessary authority in Star Trek: Discovery, still workshopping his perfect phrase.

The starships of Star Trek have seen many Captains and almost all of them has uttered a catchphrase when preparing the ship for Warp speed. The moment a starship jumps into warp is a moment full of endless possibilities. It seems fitting that most Captains would choose to punctuate this moment with a memorable saying. The warp catchphrase has become such a staple that Star Trek: Discovery showed the crewmembers eagerly anticipating what a new Captain would say (and then poking fun at them if their chosen phrase didn't quite work).

Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was in charge of the USS Enterprise when it was a training vessel in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , but he never uttered a warp catchphrase before ceding the center seat to Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner). Perhaps this is because of his experience in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's premiere when Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck) said, " I would like the ship to go... now " after Lt. Erica Ortegas (Melissa Navia) asks him what his catchphrase will be. While that particular phrase might be a bit too clunky to stick, here are 17 warp catchphrases that have been used by various starship Captains.

17 "Go"

Captain gabriel lorca - star trek: discovery.

Star Trek Captain catchphrases don't get much simpler than this. In Star Trek: Discovery season 1, Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs) simply says " Go " just before the USS Discovery engages its spore displacement hub drive . Everyone on the ship is nervous to use the spore drive, but Lorca delivers his concise command in a way that communicates his authority and confidence. While it's not a particularly creative catchphrase, it serves to get his meaning across. Taking into account Lorca's no-nonsense demeanor, it's possible he simply couldn't be bothered to come up with a lengthier Warp catchphrase.

16 "Execute"

Captain saru - star trek: discovery.

Captain James T. Kirk made use of this catchphrase in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , but he's not the only Star Trek captain to have said it. Saru (Doug Jones) tries this one as Captain of the USS Discovery to signal the use of the spore drive. Saru struggled to find his perfect Captain's catchphrase , and " Execute " just doesn't quite stick. It's not an elegant word, and it feels clunky to shout when in the middle of a potentially tense situation.

15 "Carry On"

Captain Saru still has some workshopping to do when it comes to his catchphrase.

After having previously tried " Execute " out as his potential catchphrase, Saru then chooses to go with " Carry on ." While this one arguably works better than " Execute ," it feels almost too passive. " Carry on " is not an authoritative command so much as it is a suggestion to keep doing what you're doing. Perhaps, nothing will ever top the simplicity and punchiness of Captain Picard's (Patrick Stewart) " Engage ," but it seems Captain Saru still has some workshopping to do when it comes to his catchphrase.

14 "Let's Go"

Captain jonathan archer - star trek: enterprise.

Simple, and to the point, it seems fitting that the first Captain of the Enterprise would say this to send his ship, the NX-01, to Warp. Not so much a catchphrase as a thing Captain Archer (Scott Bakula) just says sometimes , this doesn't feel like the order that it should be. He says it as if he's excited to set off on this journey through space, but not necessarily as if he's commanding an entire ship full of people.

Star Trek has featured many starships named Enterprise. Along with Kirk and Picard, here's every Enterprise Captain from each movie and TV series.

13 "Take Us Out"

Captain james t. kirk - star trek (2009).

In the 2009 Star Trek movie , Chris Pine's Captain James T. Kirk uses " Take us out ," but as will become apparent from this list, Kirk doesn't have one particular catchphrase. Kirk orders his crew to initiate Warp Drive in many different ways , often specific to the situation he and his crew are in. This catchphrase, for example, works best when the USS Enterprise is leaving a ship dock or otherwise heading out into the stars. " Take us out" might be more appropriate for impulse engines; it doesn't feel strong enough as a command to go to Warp.

12 "That-a-Way"

Admiral james t. kirk - star trek: the motion picture.

Admiral James T. Kirk responds with this one at the end of Star Trek: The Motion Picture when Mr. Sulu (George Takei) asks for a heading. As Kirk says this, he gestures vaguely at the stars, suggesting that there will be more adventures ahead for Kirk and his USS Enterprise crew. Though this one didn't exactly catch on, it wouldn't make sense in every context anyway. However, here, it's perfect. As the send-off for the first feature-length Star Trek film, Kirk's phrase encapsulates the wonders of exploring the stars.

11 "Let's See What She's Got"

Captain james t. kirk - star trek iv: the voyage home.

Kirk's line feels like a fitting end for Star Trek IV.

As the final words said in the film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , this catchphrase works so well. Kirk and his crew have just successfully traveled back in time and saved the Earth. This phrase not only hints that there are more adventures to come but also celebrates Kirk's new USS Enterprise-A and what she's capable of. It's also reminiscent of the popular Scotty phrase, " I'm giving her all she's got! " Kirk's line feels like a fitting end for Star Trek IV and a way to commemorate the many achievements of the ship called Enterprise.

10 "Do It"

Captain kathryn janeway - star trek: voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Captain Janeway's (Kate Mulgrew) Warp catchphrase may be simple, but she says it with such a commanding air that it's impossible not to want to follow her orders. While it's more than just the word " Go ," this one is still a basic catchphrase that serves to get the point across without any flowery language. As the first female starship Captain to lead her own show, it makes sense that Janeway would have a catchphrase that commands authority. Something about the way she says it also makes it feel like it must be obeyed, which works well for her job on the USS Voyager.

The Federation flagship, the USS Enterprise, has a long, fabled history, and each version of the classic Star Trek spacecraft has its own unique look.

9 "¡Dale!"

Captain cristobal rios - star trek: picard.

Spanish for " Go ahead ," this was Captain Cristobal Rios' (Santiago Cabrera) catchphrase of choice in Star Trek: Picard . While at one point, Rios also lovingly mocks Picard by saying " Make it so ," his " ¡Dale! " is direct and effective regardless of whether his crew speaks Spanish or not. The way Rios says it communicates his meaning clearly enough, and it's a word that has the same punchy quality as Picard's " Engage ."

8 "Punch It"

Captain christopher pike - star trek (2009).

"Punch it" denotes director J.J. Abrams' Star Wars fandom.

Used only by the version of Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood) from 2009's Star Trek , this catchphrase acts as an homage to the Star Wars franchise. " Punch it " is Han Solo's preferred way to tell Chewie to send the Millennium Falcon into hyperspace. It's not a bad Warp catchphrase, and it's always fun to see connections between two of science fiction's biggest franchises, but this phrase will be forever associated with Solo and the Millennium Falcon. A good Star Trek Captain should come up with their own catchphrase, not just borrow from another franchise, but "Punch it" denotes director J.J. Abrams' Star Wars fandom.

7 "Let's Fly"

Captain michael burnham - star trek: discovery.

When Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) became the USS Discovery's Captain, she went with " Let's fly " as her catchphrase. "Let's fly" phrase captures Captain Burnham's idealism and desire to explore the stars . While it doesn't feel as commanding as something like " Hit it " or " Engage ," that's not really Burnham's style anyway. This phrase works well for her as a character and as a Captain. It conjures the wonder and pure fun of spending your time exploring space in a starship.

6 "Step On It"

Captain jean-luc picard - star trek: the next generation.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) only uses this one once, after just returning from a Holodeck program as Dixon Hill in Star Trek: The Next Generation . While it's fitting for the outfit he's wearing and the concept of driving a car, it doesn't really make sense as a Warp catchphrase. No one has to step on anything to make a starship go. Still, it works here because everyone on the bridge is in on the joke . It's a fitting end to an entertaining episode that allowed the normally serious Picard to have a little fun.

5 "Warp Me!" & "It's Warp Time!"

Captain carol freeman - star trek: lower decks.

Captain Freeman tried out both "Warp Me!" and "It's Warp Time!," and she seems to prefer the former to launch the Cerritos into action.

Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis) experienced a lot of Captain envy on Star Trek: Lower Decks , and that includes trying to think up an iconic catchphrase of her own. As Captain of the California Class USS Cerritos, Freeman's Starfleet career is perpetually in the shadow of more prestigious ships like the USS Enterprise . Captain Freeman tried out both "Warp Me!" and "It's Warp Time!," and she seems to prefer the former to launch the Cerritos into action.

4 "Hit It"

Captain christopher pike - star trek: strange new worlds.

Captain Christopher Pike's (Anson Mount) " Hit it " has already hit it off with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds fans. Somehow, this phrase feels punchier than many of the others, and it just fits this version of Pike so well. Of all the catchphrases on this list, this one might come the closest to achieving the iconic status held by both of Captain Picard's famous phrases. It's not especially different from many of the other chosen catchphrases, but for whatever reason, when Captain Pike says it, it just works.

3 "Make It So"

"Make it so" is perhaps Picard's most well-known catchphrase

One of the most iconic Star Trek phrases of all time, Captain Picard's " Make it so " was first used during Star Trek: The Next Generation series premiere. "Make it so" is perhaps Picard's most well-known catchphrase, and it feels fitting for the type of captain Jean-Luc is. He's professional, diplomatic, and to the point, and this catchphrase perfectly encapsulates that. Often used after an Enterprise crew member has suggested a course of action, this phrase also shows Captain Picard's regard for his crew. Fans have jumped on this phrase as well, going so far as to make a parody video for the holidays called " Make it snow ."

2 "Engage"

Captain & admiral jean-luc picard - star trek: the next generation & star trek: picard.

Though the warp catchphrase, " Engage ," may be most associated with Captain Picard, many starship Captains have used this one. Captain Pike used it all the way back in Star Trek: The Original Series unaired pilot,, "The Cage." Captain Kirk used it over the course of TOS , Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) used it on the USS Defiant , Janeway and Lt. Tuvok (Tim Russ) both used it on the USS Voyager, and of course, Picard used it often on Star Trek: The Next Generation . It's no surprise " Engage " is as popular as it is. For one thing, it's a more realistic command, as the starship engines are, in fact, engaging as they start up. It's also satisfying to say and has the ring of a true order, so it's no surprise it has become such an iconic Star Trek phrase.

1 "???"

Captain seven of nine - star trek: picard season 3.

We don't know what Captain Seven's warp command is.

Star Trek: Picard season 3 ended with the newly-minted Captain of the USS Enterprise-G, Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), about to command her starship to warp for the first time. Only we don't know what Captain Seven's warp command is. Picard season 3's in-joke sets up a spinoff series, Star Trek: Legacy , about Captain Seven and the Enterprise-G's voyages. But, unfortunately, no Picard spinoff is in development at Paramount+. This means Captain Seven's warp catchphrase will remain a Star Trek mystery.

• Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987)

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 8 Review: Captain Burnham Faces the Dreaded No-Win Scenario in “Labyrinths”

Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 6, "Labyrinths" tests Captain Michael Burnham in a way she never expected, as the Breen show up ready for war.

The following contains spoilers from Star Trek: Discovery, Season 5, Episode 8, "Labyrinths."

The lights are going out for Star Trek: Discovery , with only two episodes left in the remarkable series that ushered in the third wave of Gene Roddenberry's universe. What began as a high-minded sci-fi TV show with cardboard sets and rubber suit monsters expanded into a universe that now lives in and inspires the hearts of countless fans. With "Labyrinths," the crew of the USS Discovery closes in on their goal and faces the kind of no-win scenario that Star Trek does best.

Legend has it that a phrase was carved atop the entrance to the Temple of Apollo where the Oracle at Delphi resided. This phrase was "Know thyself." In Star Trek: The Original Series , the crew of the USS Enterprise met Apollo , who ironically didn't know himself at all. Much of the action in "Labyrinths" takes place in a mindscape. Specifically, a mental reconstruction of a galactic library filled with so much information and history that those who still despair over the loss of the Library at Alexandria online will never think of it again. It's here where Captain Michael Burnham lives out this key phrase's meaning to the fullest extent.

As Captain Burnham desperately tried to solve this final test, the lights in the labyrinth she traveled in kept shutting off. Should all the lights go dark, she will die with the information leading to the final clue left undiscovered. While this episode may have been better positioned before the previous week's clash with the Breen Imperium, "Labyrinths" is still a necessary step on the journey to Star Trek: Discovery 's final destination.

A New Breen Leader Arises After Moll Learns Who She Was Meant to Be

Star trek: discovery’s new ‘villain’ is motivated by love and loss, 'she's almost died a couple times': star trek: discovery star on tilly's season 5 journey.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 introduced two new antagonists: Moll, the daughter of the last man to go by the name Cleveland Booker, and L'ak, "scion" of the Breen Imperium's Emperor who fled his destiny for love. Both actors Eve Harlow and Elias Toufexis told CBR that Moll and L'ak aren't "really villains," and this episode proves them right. Despite doing everything they could to escape Starfleet and the USS Discovery, Moll was genuinely upset when the Breen Primarch destroyed the ship. She's also appalled that the Primarch would want to destroy the Eternal Gallery and Archive, which houses literature and antiquities from many cultures, including the Breen's own.

Even after spending most of her time fleeing the Imperium, Moll still has greater respect for Breen culture and traditions than the Primarch. Perhaps this is why she's not instantly vaporized when she disarms and kills the Primarch. As L'ak's wife and in keeping with Breen customs, she is now dedicated to finding the Progenitor's technology to bring L'ak back from the dead .

Like most tyrants, the Breen Primarch was a fool and a brutish killer. Conversely, Moll is no one's fool. Despite Cleveland Booker V's faith in her, Moll is becoming more and more of a killer in her own right. After all, in the Season 5 premiere, she and L'ak were willing to decimate an entire village just to make their escape from Starfleet. This was just her personal journey's tragic natural endpoint.

Elsewhere in the episode, Captain Burnham admits that she doesn't fear death, and this was something she and Moll had in common. Moll is a survivor, but her survival meant nothing to her without the man she loved. Originally, she hunted this technology to buy L'ak's freedom, but now she wants it to bring him back. Ruling the galaxy at his side once she does is perhaps just a bonus. Still, eagle-eyed fans know that, based on the latest Star Trek: Discovery trailer , Moll hasn't faced Captain Burnham for the last time, and their fated rematch is coming sooner than later.

Captain Michael Burnham Faced the Final Test for the Progenitor's Technology

“labyrinths” brought captain burnham’s character arc to a meaningful conclusion, star trek: discovery's alex kurtzman & michelle paradise talk final season.

When Captain Burnham and Cleveland Booker traveled to Trill, Jinaal told them what lay ahead for their search. The 24th Century scientists who created the galactic scavenger hunt did so in order to test neither intelligence nor commitment. Rather, they wanted to ensure that the people who discovered this great power had the proper sense of responsibility to wield it. Jinaal wanted to see if Captain Burnham and Book would kill an innocent life form or be killed in the process. The Betazed portion of the quest put no innocents directly at risk, but it still could've proven fatal if the person taking the test failed.

In finding the hidden clue, Captain Burnham approached the task like any good Starfleet officer . She used logic, reason and other tricks she learned along the way to search for the mental recreation of the library. However, she didn't realize until it was almost too late why she was in a library in the first place. The playing field for this mental exercise could've been anywhere. It just so happened to be set in the library because, to Captain Burnham, the mission was always the most important thing to her. Everything had to be by the book in a very literal sense. Yet, it wasn't until she almost failed that she stopped searching outwardly and looked inward.

Ever since she committed mutiny (just like her brother Spock), Captain Burnham was driven by the fear of that failure. Her motives now are pure, just as they were then. She didn't want power; she wanted to take command of the ship to save the crew, her captain and prevent war. Unfortunately, she failed on all counts. Since then, even though some of the most critical fans are still oblivious to this, she's been trying to make up for that failure by carrying all the burden by herself.

In admitting that she was driven by her fears of failing her mission, her crew and, most importantly, those she loved, Captain Burnham passed the test. Again, according to legend, the ancients believed the Oracle at Delphi held the powers of the gods. It's something no mere mortal can wield unless they truly knew themselves.

By Failing, Captain Michael Burnham Proved Herself a Quintessential Star Trek Captain

Captain burnham succeeded where captain james t. kirk failed, every star trek captain who led a series, ranked.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock turned 40 years old this year. In this movie, Doctor Leonard McCoy perfectly defined what made a great captain. When Kirk asked him "What have I done?" after he destroyed the original USS Enterprise, McCoy had the answer. "What you always do. Turned death into a fighting chance to live." If Kirk couldn't or didn't want to believe in the "no-win scenario," Captain Burnham rose to this challenge when she conceded victory to the Breen.

After claiming the final clue and discovering the location of the "treasure," Captain Burnham had no choice but to give it up. This was because the Breen threatened not only the USS Discovery, but the innocents and history that lived in the Eternal Gallery and Archive. She sent the clue to the Breen Primarch and allowed the USS Discovery to take a detrimental beating to convince them that it was destroyed.

This was yet another version of the infamous Kobayashi Maru test that Captain Burnham faced. The USS Discovery couldn't beat the Breen dreadnaught alone, nor could they allow the galactic library to be destroyed. To save lives and history, Captain Burnham accepted the no-win scenario and surrendered the clue she fought so hard for to the Breen. But, conveniently, she did so while keeping a piece of vital information that only she knew to herself.

Though Captain Burnham gave her crew and the universe a fighting chance, this also meant that her ship was critically behind in the race to the Progenitors' awesome power. Now, it's up to her crew to beat the Breen to the prize and save the universe.

The USS Discovery’s Crew Has Never Been Better

The crew finally achieved their full potential in star trek: discovery season 5, one of star trek's best new characters reclaimed a problematic trope.

The moment Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 began, it was clear that this season was different from its predecessors. While the stakes of their overall mission were less devastating on a galactic scale (at least, until now), there was something else going on. For the most part, Star Trek: Discovery was a series where the crew's interpersonal drama was often as tense as the larger, galactic threats they faced. Infighting and internal strife threatened not only the crew's fabric, but the safety of countless galaxies. For better and worse, the universe's fate rested in the hands of the USS Discovery's very dysfunctional ragtag crew.

This was no longer the case in Season 5. Now, each crewmember is comfortable in their roles, and they are working as a cohesive unit better than ever before. While Captain Burnham and Book were in the Archive, the crew had to both hide from the Breen and prevent them from attacking the facility. They were able to do this with a textbook combination of risky flying and sci-fi technobabble (a loving term within Star Trek fandom).

When Commander Rayner finally revealed the ship to the Breen, it was done strategically and to preserve the lives of innocents. And, of course, Captain Burnham and Book, who were also in the Archive. While the ship and its crew were not in the best position when the battle was over, they have never been more ready to face the impossible challenges ahead in Star Trek: Discovery 's penultimate episode.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 5 debuts new episodes Thursdays on Paramount+.

Star Trek: Discovery

• Emotional and powerful performances from the cast, especially Sonequa Martin-Green.
• Beautifully cinematic visual effects sequences and sets brings the episode to life.
• The rare complete, standalone story and perfect cliffhanger for what's to come.
• The quiet, introspective nature of this episode stalls the momentum set by the previous installment.
• More time with Moll would have helped give her takeover of the Breen impact.
• The emotional and action narratives could've been slightly better ballanced with longer sequences