star trek captain's thing

Den of Geek

Ranking Star Trek Captain Catchphrases

Star Trek: Discovery just added another captain's catchphrase to the mix. We've ranked the catchphrases throughout franchise history, including the latest...

• Share on Facebook (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Twitter (opens in a new tab)
• Share on Linkedin (opens in a new tab)
• Share on email (opens in a new tab)

This Star Trek article contains spoilers for the ending of Discovery Season 3 .

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 may have taken place in a whole new future for our characters and for us, but it wasn’t afraid to call back to franchise history. One of the most delightful ways we saw this happen in Season 3 was in the discussion of the all important Star Trek captain catchphrase. In “Sanctuary,” Captain Saru and Tilly surreptitiously discuss “the other matter” of figuring out what he should say whenever it’s time to seem like a cool and in control Starfleet captain. This results in Saru hilariously trying to re-appropriate Captain Pike’s “Hit it,” followed by a fairly lukewarm reception of “Execute!” 

The subject comes up again in the Discovery Season 3 finale when Michael Burnham takes the captain chair. Captain Burnham doesn’t seem to have the same level of existential crisis as Saru did figuring out what his captain catchphrase may be (either that or we just don’t get to see the workshop session she has with Tilly), landing on an all-new catchphrase for the episode’s final moments. Now that Burnham has just busted-out her own excellent tag line, it’s time to look best and worst Starfleet catchphrases. It’s warp time!

12. “Execute”

Saru tries this one out in “Sanctuary,” but Captain Kirk actually used “Execute” fairly well! In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Kirk says “execute” twice . The more famous version is when he says “Prepare to execute emergency landing plan…b,” which is just Kirk making shit up on the fly. But, in the same movie, he also, very slickly says “Mister Sulu…execute.” Which is some badass Captain Kirk action, even in a fairly underloved Trek movie.

Ad – content continues below

11. “Get It Done”

Oh goody. Remember your favorite Captain of the USS Enterprise-D ; Edward Jellico? Played by RoboCop baddie Ronny Cox, Jellico liked to tell Riker and Troi to “Get It Done,” like that was something cool to say. In fairness, Jellico wasn’t a terrible Captain, and was partially responsible for Troi getting to wear a regular uniform for the rest of the series, so if he got one thing done , it was (arguably) getting Troi a little more respect. 

10. “Take Us Out”

Can you think of one Starfleet order that elicited a standing ovation for no reason? Yep, it was in Star Trek Generations , when, surrounded by reporters, Kirk said “Take us out.” Everyone went wild and Chekov and Scotty made fun of Kirk when he sat down. The weird thing was, as a 12-year-old- in 1994, I actually kind of thought this might have been a legit catchphrase of Kirk’s, and was confused when I couldn’t find him saying it all the time in old TOS episodes. I mean, in “City on the Edge of Forever,” he does say “Let’s get the hell out of here,” but that hardly counts as a catchphrase. Sure, Kirk said variations of “Take us out of orbit,” or whatever in TOS , but come on.

9. “Just Do IT!”

No, this wasn’t a Star Trek/Nike crossover. Picard said this one time when he was really depressed. Weirdly, this one comes from Generations , too. Does that make Generations like a low-key workshop for new Star Trek catchphrases? Maybe. 

8. “Go!”

This was Captain Lorca’s catchphrase in Star Trek: Discovery Season 1, and it mostly indicated the ship was about to use the Spore Drive. Interestingly, Saru did use “Go” in the Season 1 episode “Choose Your Pain,” the first time he was left in command of the Discovery . Is this really worse than “execute?” 

The Best Star Trek Holiday Gifts

How Star Trek: Discovery Fulfills Spock’s Franchise Legacy

7. “punch it”.

Remember when Star Trek ripped-off Han and Lando? In the first Star Trek reboot in 2009, that version of Captain Pike said “Punch it” twice . This was a clear Star Wars nod and, you know what? It worked.

6. “Warp me!” and “It’s Warp Time!”

In Star Trek: Lower Decks , Captain Freeman tries out the phrase “It’s warp time!” in the episode “Envoys.” Later, in a holographic simulation in “Crisis Point,” she says “Warp me!” This one isn’t bad, but considering Saru isn’t really using warp drive anymore, it’s suddenly…outdated!

5. “Hit It”

It’s weird that Anson Mount’s Captain Pike has only been around since 2019, and yet, “Hit It” has already become a huge part of the Trek fandom. Because Pike, Spock and Number One will all be in Strange New Worlds sometime in either 2021 or 2022, expect to be hearing “Hit It” a lot more in the coming years.

Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!

4. “Do It”

While Captain Sisko was never really given a catchphrase, his fellow late-’90s Star Trek star, Captain Janeway, did get one, kind of under the radar. Janeway says “Do it” in a very specific, almost angry way. When Janeway says “do it,” you kind of want to comply right away, but also, kind of figure out what you did wrong. Maybe she needs coffee?

3. “Let’s Fly!”

At the end of “That Hope Is You, Part 2,” Burnham busts-out her personal Starfleet captain catchphrase. Some fans have pointed out that in a sense, Burnham could be riffing on Captain Lorca in Discovery Season 1, when he said “We’re creating a new way to fly,” in reference to the Spore Drive. But, the stranger and extra-fictional deep-cut might have to do those killer Discovery Season 2 trailers that were set to the Lenny Kravitz rock classic, “Fly Away.” Yeah, remember that? I’m not saying “Fly Away” is an official anthem of Discovery , but I’m also not not saying that. 

Regardless of the inspiration, Burnham’s “let’s fly” feels perfect for her captaincy, and it fits well with the mood of Discovery. Too soon to put it this high on the list? Maybe. But it feels right. 

2. “Make It So”

It’s tempting to rank Picard’s “Make it so” ahead of “Engage,” but for some reason, the formality of it makes it closer to a “Manifest” or “Execute.” That said, it’s iconic for a reason. Just never forget that one time, Picard said “Step on it,” when he was still acting like Dixon HIll.

1. “Engage!”

While Picard certainly made “Engage” his own on S tar Trek: The Next Generation , the first Star Trek captain who said “Engage,” was Captain Pike! In the TOS pilot “The Cage,” Jeffrey Hunter’s Pike said “Engage,” which sort of means Anson Mount can bring it back at any time. (Can you imagine Hunter saying “Hit It” in 1964?) Captain Kirk also said “Engage” in the episode “The Corbomite Maneuver.”

Does this mean Saru can use “Engage?” Does he even know about Picard yet? Considering how much time has passed since the era of Picard, Saru could get away with “Enage” in the context of the 32nd Century, but certainly not in the context of fans in 2020. Maybe because the USS Discovery spins around before jumping, there’s an easy answer close at hand. How about Saru just says: “Spin me!” 

Yeah, that one needs a workshop, too.

Star Trek: Discovery — It’s DISCO TIME! — is available to watch on CBS All-Access.

Ryan Britt is a longtime contributor to Den of Geek! He is also the author of three non-fiction books: the Star Trek pop history book PHASERS…

The Origins of 11 Famous Star Trek Lines

Few franchises have had the cultural impact of the various Star Trek television series and movies, and nowhere is that more evident than in the snippets of dialogue that have become a part of the American vernacular—and in some cases, found their way abroad, too. Here are 11 of the most notable Star Trek catchphrases, as well as a little more information about their origins.

1. "Live Long and Prosper"

The Vulcan greeting and the finger-separating hand gesture that accompanies it first appeared in the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series , during an episode titled “Amok Time.” Spock himself (actor Leonard Nimoy) has made no secret of the fact that the gesture and phrase were his idea, and that he based them on Orthodox Jewish blessings he remembered from his childhood. In the Jewish blessing, the position of the fingers forms the Hebrew letter “Shin,” which represents the name “Shaddai” (Almighty God). Nimoy put his own spin on the traditional gesture by holding up just one hand (instead of both) and changing up the verbal blessing slightly.

2. "Highly Illogical..."

While Spock never shied away from questioning the logic of those around him—usually Kirk—it wasn't until the second season that he took things up a notch and deemed the actions of the native inhabitants of planet Omega IV “highly illogical” in the episode titled “The Omega Glory.” Previously, it had always just been “illogical” or, in rare cases, “most illogical,” but it took a pair of natives attacking Kirk in a jail cell for Spock to pair his trademark raised-eyebrow reaction with the term “highly illogical.” The phrase would then be repeated in several more episodes, as well as the subsequent films and J.J. Abrams' reboot of the franchise.

Bonus: “Highly Illogical” was also the name of Leonard Nimoy's 1993 music album featuring several songs he recorded in the 1960s (including “The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins”) as well as a few new tunes.

3. "Beam Me Up, Scotty"

One of the most interesting aspects of this phrase—a request directed at Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott for transport back to the USS Enterprise—is that it was never actually uttered in any of the Star Trek television series or movies. More often than not, the command was akin to “Three to beam up” or more directly, “Beam them up,” with the closest approximation being “Beam us up, Scotty” in a few episodes of the Star Trek animated series. However, William Shatner did say this line while reading the audio version of his novel Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden .

4. "I'm A Doctor, Not A..."

Everyone knows that Dr. Leonard McCoy is not an engineer, a coal miner, or an escalator, but that never stopped him from reminding his fellow crew members. The first time DeForest Kelley uttered his famous catchphrase as we know it was in a first-season episode titled “The Devil in the Dark.” In that episode, McCoy saw fit to let Kirk know that he was a doctor, not a brick-layer. It's worth noting that an earlier episode, “The Corbomite Maneuver," had him asking Capt. Kirk, “What am I, a doctor or a moon-shuttle conductor?” but it wasn't until much later in the season that we got the full line that would later be heard in just about every subsequent series, as well as the Star Trek films. The line even made it into J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot, with Karl Urban (as McCoy) exclaiming, “I'm a doctor, not a physicist!”

5. "Make It So"

Captain Jean-Luc Picard's signature line was a part of Star Trek: The Next Generation from the very start, with actor Patrick Stewart uttering what would become his character's most memorable catchphrase in the pilot episode, “Encounter at Farpoint.” The episode was written by Gene Roddenberry himself, so it's likely that he wrote the line for Picard, though the phrase has been in use for quite a while in military circles as a way to tell someone to proceed with a command.

6. "To Boldly Go Where No Man Has Gone Before..."

The infinitive-splitting opening narration for each episode of Star Trek: The Original Series (with the exception of the pilot episodes) was famously recited by William Shatner, but the actual origins of the line are uncertain at best. Some reports suggest that it was inspired by a 1958 White House press booklet promoting the space program, though some have speculated that it came from a statement made by explorer James Cook following an expedition to Newfoundland. Writer Samuel Peeples, who authored the pilot episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” is often credited with the decision to make the phrase such a significant part of the series. The line was eventually repeated—with a few minor tweaks—in each iteration of the series and films.

7. "Khaaannnn!"

Possibly the most meme-friendly line of dialogue ever to come out of the Star Trek universe, this scream of rage originated in (no surprise here) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Left marooned on a dead planet by the evil villain Khan then taunted about his predicament, Kirk let loose with a primal roar—and the rest was viral-video history.

8. "I'm Givin' Her All She's Got, Captain!"

Much like “Beam me up, Scotty,” this famous catchphrase often associated with USS Enterprise Chief Engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott in Star Trek: The Original Series was never said in this exact form by actor James Doohan in the series or subsequent films. The closest approximation is a line in the second-season episode “The Changeling,” when Kirk asks Scotty to divert more power to the ship's shields. Scotty responds with, “Giving them all we got.” However, Doohan did utter every word of the famous line as part of a cameo in 1993's Loaded Weapon , in which he turns up as a panicky police officer trying to fix a coffee machine. Similarly, Simon Pegg used the same line “I'm givin' her all she's got, Captain!” in 2009's Star Trek reboot, in which he plays a young Montgomery Scott.

9. "Nuclear Wessels"

Russian crew member Pavel Andreievich Chekov's inability to pronounce the letter “V” became a recurring joke after the character was introduced in the second season of Star Trek: The Original Series as the ship's navigator. While it made for some funny moments throughout the series and subsequent movies, one of the most memorable pronunciation gaffes occurred during Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , when Chekov begins asking passers-by in 1980s San Francisco where he can find “nuclear wessels.” Even though Walter Koenig had been playing the character for almost 20 years before The Voyage Home hit theaters, the two-word line soon became indelibly connected with his portrayal of the character.

10. "Resistance Is Futile"

This famous line was first uttered by robotic aliens The Borg in the epic third-season finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation , titled “Best of Both Worlds, Part 1.” Not only did the 1990 episode offer up one of the greatest cliffhangers in television history, but it also coined a phrase that would live forever in the nightmares of fans—mainly because it was recycled for use in countless other series and films down the road.

James T. Kirk

James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk was a male Human Starfleet officer who lived during the 23rd century . His time in Starfleet made Kirk arguably one of the most famous and sometimes infamous starship captains in Starfleet history . The highly decorated Kirk served as the commanding officer of the Constitution -class starship USS Enterprise and the Constitution II -class starship USS Enterprise -A , where he served Federation interests as an explorer , soldier , diplomat , and time traveler . ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " Court Martial ", " Errand of Mercy "; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ; Star Trek Generations ; DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations "; VOY : " Q2 ", " Friendship One ", et al.)

• 1.1 Origins
• 1.2 Childhood
• 2.1 Academy years
• 2.2.1 Service aboard the Republic
• 2.2.2 Academy instructor
• 2.3.1 Mission to Neural
• 2.3.2 First encounter with the cloud creature
• 2.3.3 Pike's interest
• 2.3.4 Contact by La'an Noonien-Singh
• 2.3.5 First officer Kirk
• 2.4.1 Year One
• 2.4.2 Year Two
• 2.4.3 Year Three
• 2.4.4 Year Four
• 2.4.5 Year Five
• 2.5 Chief of Starfleet operations
• 2.6 The V'ger crisis
• 2.7 First retirement
• 2.8.1 Inspection tour
• 2.8.2 Stealing the Enterprise
• 2.8.3 Saving Earth
• 2.9.1 Sybok and Sha Ka Ree
• 2.9.2 Final mission
• 2.10.1 Maiden voyage of the Enterprise -B
• 2.10.2 The Nexus and death
• 4.1 Skills and hobbies
• 4.2 Personal combat
• 5.1.1 Baby Kirok
• 5.1.2 George Kirk, Sr.
• 5.1.3 Sam Kirk
• 5.1.4 David Marcus
• 5.2.1 Nyota Uhura
• 5.2.2 Spock
• 5.2.3 Leonard McCoy
• 5.2.4 Montgomery Scott
• 5.2.5 Hikaru Sulu
• 5.2.6 Janice Rand
• 5.2.7 Ben Finney
• 5.2.8 Jean-Luc Picard
• 5.3.2 Janice Lester
• 5.3.3 La'an Noonien-Singh
• 5.3.4 Carol Marcus
• 5.3.5 Janet Wallace
• 5.3.6 Areel Shaw
• 5.3.7 Helen Noel
• 5.3.8 Janice Rand
• 5.3.10 Lenore Karidian
• 5.3.11 Edith Keeler
• 5.3.12 Sylvia
• 5.3.13 Marlena Moreau
• 5.3.14 Drusilla
• 5.3.15 Kelinda
• 5.3.16 Elaan
• 5.3.17 Miramanee
• 5.3.18 Shahna
• 5.3.19 Deela
• 5.3.20 Marta
• 5.3.21 Odona
• 5.3.22 Rayna Kapec
• 5.3.23 Antonia
• 5.3.24 Martia
• 5.4.1 Khan Noonien Singh
• 6.1 Earth's 20th century
• 6.2 Other temporal events
• 7.1 Captain of the UEF Enterprise
• 7.2 Captain of the USS Farragut
• 7.3 Thelin's commanding officer
• 8 Awards and honors
• 9 Key dates
• 10.1 Existential Kirk
• 10.2 Kirk on death
• 10.3 In Harm's Way
• 10.4 Kirk on women
• 10.5 Kirk and Spock
• 10.6 Opinions of Kirk
• 11.1 Appearances
• 11.2.1 Casting Kirk
• 11.2.2 Naming Kirk
• 11.2.3 Character development
• 11.2.4 Kirk's demise
• 11.3 Ambiguities
• 11.4 Reiteration
• 11.5 Apocrypha
• 11.6 External links

Early history

Kirk (lower right) appearing as he did as a toddler

James Tiberius Kirk was born on March 22nd , 2233 in Riverside , Iowa on Earth . ( TOS : " The Deadly Years "; Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ; Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ; ENT : " In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II " production resource ; SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ") He was the son of George and Winona Kirk ; their other son, his brother , was George Samuel . ( Star Trek ; TOS : " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ", " Operation -- Annihilate! ")

His parents named him after his maternal grandfather , James , and his paternal grandfather, Tiberius . ( TAS : " Bem "; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ; Star Trek ) Furthermore, Kirk was a descendant of late 19th century American frontier pioneers . ( TOS : " Spectre of the Gun ") Kirk embraced the culture and history of his homeland , especially western lore and the life of his hero Abraham Lincoln , and later even recognized the document mirrored on the planet Omega IV , he could recite the preamble of the United States Constitution from memory. ( TOS : " Spectre of the Gun ", " The Savage Curtain ", " The Omega Glory ")

Kirk, along with Winona and Sam, spent the majority of Kirk's childhood chasing George Kirk, Sr. from one posting to another, to the point that Kirk barely saw the man. When Kirk asked Winona why they never saw George Sr., she told James that "he's helping people who really need it." ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

Kirk sang around a campfire sometimes was when he was a boy in Iowa, something he would later recall not having done since that time, as of 2287 . ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

At some point early in his life, Kirk contracted and nearly died from Vegan choriomeningitis . Although he was cured , the organisms of the disease continued to be carried in his blood. ( TOS : " The Mark of Gideon ")

Governor Kodos in 2246

By 2246 , he was living on Tarsus IV , as his father George moved there. During his time on Tarsus IV, the planet was undergoing a food crisis that was starving the colony , which consisted of eight thousand people. Governor Kodos , sympathetic to old eugenics philosophies and unaware that supply ships were imminent, tried to save a portion of the colony by killing four thousand colonists he deemed least desirable or able to survive. The thirteen-year-old Jim Kirk was one of only nine eyewitnesses to the massacre. ( TOS : " The Conscience of the King "; SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

In the first draft story outline of "The Conscience of the King", Kirk was instead to have witnessed his father being murdered by Kodos and an army of marauders led by him. Even in the episode's final revised draft script, Kirk was established as having had more of a connection to those he saw being killed than in the final version of the episode, as they were said to have included friends of his, though no family. Also in ultimately omitted dialogue from the final revised draft script, the incident was said to have taken place when Kirk was a young, inexperienced midshipman , fresh out of the Academy . The notion of Kirk being a midshipman with no family on Tarsus IV at the time of the massacre was also included in a deleted scene from "The Conscience of the King". ("Swept Up: Snippets from the Cutting Room Floor", Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault special features) As for Kirk having survived the incident, the aforementioned script had him say, " I was one of those Kodos spared! He ordered me left alive! I was one of the fittest! "

Starfleet career

Academy years.

In 2252 , Kirk entered Starfleet Academy, with help of Mallory , whose son later served under Kirk. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ", " The Apple ") He also often spoke of his father as being his inspiration for joining Starfleet. ( Star Trek )

Finnegan as he appeared in 2252

As a plebe , Kirk soon caught the attention of a boisterous and bullying Irishman named Finnegan . The upperclassman evidently hazed "Jimmy-boy" mercilessly throughout their shared time at the Academy. Fifteen years later , the Shore Leave Planet sensed Kirk's antipathy for Finnegan and produced a simulacrum that Kirk could pummel for satisfaction. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ")

As a cadet , Kirk participated in a successful peace mission to Axanar , for which Starfleet Command awarded him with the Palm Leaf of Axanar Peace Mission . ( TOS : " Court Martial ", " Whom Gods Destroy ")

When he was a midshipman , Kirk began a friendship with his instructor , Lieutenant Benjamin Finney . Their relationship was so important to the two men that Finney named his daughter , Jame , after Kirk. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

Kirk's physical training included tests he had to pass for working in an oxygen -deficient atmosphere , as well as hand-to-hand combat . ( TOS : " Tomorrow is Yesterday "; TAS : " The Pirates of Orion ") He was also trained in hyper-power circuits . ( TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ")

His academic studies introduced him to several men that he encountered later in his career. Among them was John Gill , a noted history professor and cultural observer . ( TOS : " Patterns of Force ") Kirk studied the exploits of Garth of Izar , a famous captain who joined Kirk's pantheon of heroes. ( TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ") The " Pasteur of archaeological medicine ", Dr. Roger Korby , became a man Kirk wanted to meet. ( TOS : " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ") Kirk also studied the military strategies of Klingon General Korrd . ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ) He also attended lectures at the Academy on the Nomad space probe. ( TOS : " The Changeling ")

During his time in the Command Training Program , Kirk confronted the Kobayashi Maru scenario . He refused to accept his first two defeats. Before making a third attempt, he secretly reprogrammed the simulation computer , consequently becoming the only cadet in Academy history to beat the "no-win" scenario and earning a commendation for original thinking. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

In a line from the script of The Wrath of Khan but not in the theatrical or director's cut of the film , Kirk mentioned that what he had done nearly got him tossed out of the Academy. [1] In Star Trek , the alternate James T. Kirk faced this situation after he defeated the scenario.

Kirk's graduating class was represented with such future officers as Corrigan , Mike , Teller , and Timothy . ( TOS : " Court Martial ") One of his former classmates, R.M. Merik , was dropped in his fifth year for failing the psychosimulator test . ( TOS : " Bread and Circuses ")

Early postings and assignments

The personnel file for James T. Kirk, 2259

Kirk was commissioned as a Starfleet officer with the rank of ensign and the serial number SC937-0176CEC. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

Kirk's graduation and "first star cruise" were mentioned in passing in an ultimately unused line of dialogue from the final draft script of " Shore Leave ". In the scripted line, a robotic facsimile of his former lover Ruth reminded Kirk that, following these events, he had thought he'd lost her. Given that the last encounter between Kirk and Ruth was said to have taken place fifteen years prior, the scripted line would have placed Kirk's graduation and initial "star cruise" in 2252 or thereabouts.

Among his early missions was the Vulcanian expedition , along with former classmate Timothy. ( TOS : " Court Martial ") He had also, at one point, visited Alpha Majoris I , where he had personally witnessed the native mellitus . ( TOS : " Wolf in the Fold ")

Also early in Kirk's career, he became quite familiar with the work of Doctor Tristan Adams . He even had the opportunity to visit penal colonies that had been revolutionized by Adams, later describing what he saw as " clean, decent hospitals for sick minds , " even describing them as " resort colonies ", as opposed to " cages ". ( TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ")

Service aboard the Republic

During the 2250s , "some years" after being a midshipman, Ensign Kirk rejoined his friend and former instructor, Lieutenant Finney, aboard the USS Republic . After Finney made a mistake nearly catastrophic to the ship, Kirk logged the incident, which resulted in his friend being reprimanded and put to the bottom of the promotion list . ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

Academy instructor

During the same period, Kirk was promoted to Lieutenant and worked as an instructor at the Academy. It was around this time he first met Cadet Gary Mitchell , who was a student in his class where, according to an upperclassman , "you either think or sink". Mitchell later remembered Kirk as "a stack of books with legs ." In an attempt to divert his friend's attention and make the class easier to get through, Mitchell set Kirk up with a " little blonde lab technician " whom Kirk almost married . ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

In a line of dialogue that was written into the script of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" but was not included in the episode's final edit, Gary Mitchell implied a recollection that Kirk nearly washed him out of the Academy.

Kirk's early career included a year alongside Janice Lester , during which time the two became romantically involved. The perceived lack of opportunities for a woman to command a starship struck them both as unfair, but she became embittered by the supposed career barrier. Their relationship soured to a point where Kirk felt she punished and tortured him for her circumstances. Years later, Kirk said that he never stopped her from going on with her "space work", but ultimately felt that "we'd have killed each other" if they had stayed together. Lester recalled that Kirk walked out on her "when it became serious." ( TOS : " Turnabout Intruder ")

They spoke of their "year together at Starfleet", which vaguely suggested "Starfleet Academy", more so that any sort of starship service together.

Service aboard the Farragut

Kirk served aboard the USS Farragut in the late 2250s.

Upon graduating from Starfleet Academy, Kirk began his service under Captain Garrovick . His first deep space assignment was as a lieutenant aboard Garrovick's USS Farragut , as a member of the phaser gun crew , where he was assigned to a phaser station . ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " Obsession ")

After joining the crew of the Farragut , Kirk quickly made a name for himself and "put in some legwork to beat" the record of becoming both the youngest active and all-time first officer in all of Starfleet; a record previously held by his father. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

Mission to Neural

Lt. Kirk visited Neural in 2255 on his first planetary survey.

In 2255 , the young lieutenant visited Neural on his first planetary survey mission. He befriended one of the planet's natives, the Hill man Tyree . Kirk's report described a primitive but promising culture , and Starfleet endorsed him recommending a policy of non-interference . ( TOS : " A Private Little War ")

First encounter with the cloud creature

In 2257 , the Farragut engaged the dikironium cloud creature at Tycho IV . The creature killed Garrovick and two hundred of the ship's crew . Farragut 's record tapes of the event included Kirk insisting upon blaming himself for the disaster, citing his delay in firing the ship's phaser banks at the creature as he lost consciousness. The ship's executive officer disagreed, stating, " Lieutenant Kirk is a fine young officer who performed with uncommon bravery. " ( TOS : " Obsession ")

Pike's interest

In 2259 , Captain Christopher Pike took an interest in Kirk and looked up his file after witnessing Kirk in action as the captain of the Farragut in an alternate timeline , recognizing that Kirk had the potential to make a good captain for the USS Enterprise and sensing that Kirk was meant to be in command during the coming Neutral Zone Incursion in 2266 . ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

Contact by La'an Noonien-Singh

Lieutenant Kirk, 2259

Later that year, Lieutenant Kirk was contacted by La'an Noonien-Singh , on the pretense of confirming his brother's place of birth, after her adventures with another alternate timeline version of Kirk. He later invited her for drinks if they were ever to meet at starbase . ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

First officer Kirk

Lt. Kirk meeting Fleet Captain Christopher Pike

Shortly after, Kirk was promoted to first officer of the Farragut , breaking his father's record as the youngest first officer in Starfleet history. However, Kirk had a few months before he would actually assume the post as Kirk needed to train his replacement for his current duties first. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

During this time, under Fleet Captain Pike, the Enterprise and the Farragut were assigned to bring a deuterium mining station online. During the mission, clashed with his brother Sam, the ship's xenoanthropologist , several times over his promotion.

Kirk helped Nyota Uhura to figure out the signals that she was receiving from aliens in the Bannon's Nebula . During his time with Uhura, he suffered a broken nose inflicted by her during one of her hallucinations , initially believed to be associated with lack of sleep and deuterium poisoning . He admitted to her that he had previously gone days without sleep and experienced a case of deuterium poisoning himself, but that he had never punched a superior officer before.

Nonetheless, Kirk continued to believe in Uhura, and helped her find the true cause of the hallucinations. With help of his brother Sam, they focused on the possibility that she was being contacted by an extradimensional lifeform that was located in the nebula. After figuring out what the lifeform was trying to communicate, Pike had the Enterprise destroy the mining station. Following the mission, Kirk attended a celebration on the Enterprise where he met his future first officer and best friend Spock for the first time. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

Lt. Kirk spent some time on the Enterprise shadowing Lt. Cmdr. Chin-Riley prior to him assuming his position as first officer about the Farragut

Kirk later returned to the Enterprise on a short-term posting; his commanding officer felt Kirk would benefit from shadowing Enterprise 's first officer, Una Chin-Riley before he assumed the same position on the Farragut . During this time, La'an revealed her history with his alternate self, but Kirk revealed to her he was in a relationship with Carol Marcus who was pregnant with their son . ( SNW : " Subspace Rhapsody ")

Commanding the USS Enterprise

The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

By 2265 , at the age of thirty-two, Kirk assumed command of the Constitution -class USS Enterprise from Fleet Captain Pike. ( TOS : " The Menagerie, Part I ") Kirk's father lived long enough to see his son earn his first captaincy. ( Star Trek )

Along with the Enterprise , Kirk also acquired a number of Pike's old crewmates as well as science officer Spock, as his first officer. For his first command, he also requested to have Lieutenant Commander Gary Mitchell along with him. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ") Also under his command was his former instructor, Ben Finney. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

According to The Making of Star Trek [ page number? • edit ] stated that " Kirk rose rapidly through the ranks and received his first command (the equivalent of a destroyer-class space ship) while still quite young. " However, it has never been indicated onscreen or otherwise that Kirk had any command prior to the Enterprise herself.

Kirk was initially quartered on Deck 12 in 2266 , before moving to Deck 5, room "3F 121". ( TOS : " Mudd's Women ", " Journey to Babel ")

Kirk and Spock graffiti

At some point during the 2260s, Kirk and "his pointy-eared pal" attempted to "crash" the Command Conference afterparty on Starbase 25 , but struck out and settled to end the night in a nearby dive bar . Over a century later , two other Starfleet officers – Beckett Mariner and Brad Boimler – also struck out, before ending up in the same bar.

In recollecting the incident, the alien bartender , who coincidentally was the same who served Kirk and Spock years before, added to her story that " [t]he blonde one did most of the drinking. " Before they left, "Kirk + Spock" was left behind, scrawled into the bar's countertop. Likewise, before Mariner and Boimler left, they too scrawled their names alongside those of their heroes. ( LD : " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

USS Enterprise in 2265

For five years , Kirk commanded the Enterprise , which made him a legend in space exploration. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; VOY : " Q2 ") In addition to his primary mission statement – "to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life, and new civilizations" – Kirk received standing orders to investigate all quasars and quasar-like phenomena. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " The Galileo Seven ", " Return to Tomorrow ")

On more than one occasion, Kirk and Mitchell took part in missions together, including one on Dimorus , where they encountered rodent-like creatures that shot poisonous darts . Mitchell took one of the darts meant for Kirk, saving Kirk's life but nearly dying himself. The two later visited Deneb IV where, in at least three cases, Mitchell was capable of carrying long telepathic conversations with the natives , scoring 80% or higher on comprehension. One night, a telepathic conversation with a female native had a deleterious effect on Mitchell. Kirk later stated that he'd been worried about Mitchell ever since that night. As a pun, Mitchell referred to the girl as a nova . ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

Kirk faces the unknown

Following a stopover at the Aldebaron colony , the Enterprise attempted to determine the whereabouts of the missing SS Valiant . After discovering the Valiant 's disaster recorder which described a catastrophic disaster following that early vessel's visit to the galaxy 's edge, Kirk pushed on and encountered the galactic barrier for his first time. The Enterprise failed to breach the barrier and barely escaped destruction. With its warp engines badly damaged, the Enterprise limped under impulse power towards the Delta Vega lithium cracking station .

The barrier triggered a transformation in Mitchell who began developing psychic powers that progressed rapidly, with a commensurate loss of his Humanity. Ignoring Spock advising him to destroy Mitchell immediately, Kirk hesitated until after Mitchell killed navigator Lee Kelso . On the surface of Delta Vega, he hunted Mitchell and managed to kill him only with the help of another officer undergoing the same transformation as Mitchell, Dr. Elizabeth Dehner . ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

Following the tragedy, Kirk shuffled the Enterprise 's command crew. Lieutenant Commander Spock remained science officer and Kirk acknowledged him as first officer. A new chief medical officer , Dr. Leonard McCoy , replaced Dr. Mark Piper . Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott remained chief engineer . Lieutenant Nyota Uhura became communications officer and Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu was transferred from astrosciences to the helm . Kirk did not settle on a regular navigator for another two years. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " Catspaw ", " Amok Time ", " Who Mourns for Adonais? ")

On stardate 1512.2, Kirk made first contact with the First Federation , when the Enterprise was detained by Captain Balok and a massive spaceship under Balok's command, the Fesarius . Both captains bluffed ferociously, but Kirk's poker face held. Balok proved to be quite friendly, eager to begin a cultural exchange. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")

The darker half of Kirk rages in frustration, 2266

Kirk learned something about his own nature after a transporter malfunction in 2266. Kirk was split into two physical duplicates, one intuitive and passive, the other violent and passionate. While separated, the survival of both personalities were threatened, and a way was eventually found to recombine the two.

After his personality was split due to a transporter accident in 2266 , Kirk was forcibly introduced to the competing elements in his personality, described most roughly as passive and aggressive. ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

In ultimately unused dialogue from the final draft and the revised final draft of the script for "The Enemy Within", Kirk admitted that, at the outcome of this experience, he felt "just the opposite" of "sadder but wiser."

McCoy curing Kirk of polywater intoxication

Succumbing to the effects of polywater intoxication in 2266, Kirk contemplated aloud the heavy responsibility of command, and the price the Enterprise exacted from his personal life: " this vessel... I give, she takes... She won't permit me my life; I've got to live hers." Ultimately, he gathered himself, speaking directly to the Enterprise, " Never lose you... never. " ( TOS : " The Naked Time ")

On stardate 1533.6, Kirk and his crew made a brief first contact with the Thasians , an uncanny group of aliens . While interacting with Charlie Evans , a temporary visitor to the Enterprise , Kirk demonstrated prowess with judo , and deep-rooted compassion when Charlie's "teachers" wanted to return him to an isolated existence. ( TOS : " Charlie X ")

The Romulan commander

Kirk repelled the first Romulan incursion into Federation space in over a century, on stardate 1709.2. A Romulan Bird-of-Prey equipped with a cloak and a powerful plasma torpedo system destroyed four Earth Outpost Stations along the Romulan Neutral Zone . Kirk engaged and pursued the Romulan ship in a drawn-out cat-and-mouse chase against a Romulan commander in whom Kirk found an instinctual rapport. Both captains used ruses that simulated more damage than actually received. Kirk was able to briefly track the Romulan, by mirroring its movements to simulate a sensor ghost. Finally, emerging from the camouflage of a comet 's tail, Kirk was able to disable the Romulan vessel. Before ordering his vessel's self-destruction , the Romulan captain remarked that under different circumstances he and Kirk might have been allies. ( TOS : " Balance of Terror ")

Kirk encountering Miri

The Enterprise reached Exo III on stardate 2712.4, where Dr. Roger Korby was found after years of silence, exploring and exploiting a sophisticated android manufacturing technology – the legacy of a long- dead civilization . Korby had replaced his own damaged body, transplanting his personality into an android replica, and built himself a beautiful companion, Andrea . Against Kirk's wishes, an android duplicate of Kirk was created too. However, the android Korby, after exhibiting madness , destroyed himself. ( TOS : " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ")

At the end of the episode, it is implied that Kirk decided not to log this incident, for he tells Spock, " Dr. Korby... was never here."

Kirk is tortured in 2266

At the Tantalus Penal Colony in 2266, Doctor Tristan Adams used his neural neutralizer device as an instrument torture on Kirk. The device emptied a victims mind of thought, leaving it vulnerable to suggestion. Adams included conditioning that made him feel love for Dr. Helen Noel , including deep pain at the idea of her loss. Kirk was able to resist long-term damage from the device. ( TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ")

In a cut line from the final draft script of " Dagger of the Mind ", Kirk mentioned he was proud to be Human and that the penal colonies that Tristan Adams had inspired made him feel that way. However, he ultimately concluded (in another ultimately omitted line from the same script), " Doctor Adams and I agreed on one thing. Vengeance is wrong. I'm sorry for him. "

On stardate 2817.6, Kirk responded to a call from Dr. Thomas Leighton , a fellow survivor and witness to the horror of Tarsus IV. Leighton suspected the leader of a traveling theater troupe , actor Anton Karidian , of being Kodos "the Executioner," a man long thought dead. After Leighton was murdered and other witnesses's deaths were revealed, Kirk convinced Anton Karidian's daughter, Lenore , to bring the acting troupe aboard the Enterprise. Attempted murders of Kirk and Enterprise crewmember Kevin Riley (another survivor) led Kirk to confront Karidian (who was indeed Kodos), discovering the recent killings were the acts of his mad daughter, trying to protect her tormented aging father. ( TOS : " The Conscience of the King ")

Kirk's court martial proceedings

Kirk became the first Federation starship captain to ever face a court martial , after he was accused of causing the death of Lt. Commander Benjamin Finney, the Enterprise records officer . Kirk employed Defense Attorney Samuel T. Cogley , and Kirk's former flame Areel Shaw acted as prosecutor at his trial , which was held on Starbase 11 , convened by Commodore Stone . Kirk was exonerated after Finney was discovered alive, having faked his death and the evidence implicating Kirk. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

In ultimately unused dialogue from the final draft script of "Court Martial", Kirk was referred to as having been on one particular mission, in command of the Enterprise , for the past nineteen months, prior to that episode. In another unused line of dialogue from later in the same script, Cogley said of Kirk (during his trial), " Captain Kirk is a strong man, a good man, an heroic man, who has served us all long, and well. " Shortly thereafter, more excised dialogue involved Kirk himself commenting, " Like you,... I'm trained to one thing. My life has been, one thing. Command. It's what I know. It's what I do. And it's a way of life that doesn't sharpen a man's verbal skills... only his sense of duty... and confidence in himself to discharge that duty. "

When Spock kidnapped his former commander, Fleet Captain Christopher Pike, who had been horribly crippled, and commandeered the Enterprise in 2267, he inadvertently jeopardized Kirk's command. After Spock locked the ship on course to Talos IV , Kirk was a member of a tribunal that tried Spock, the other members being Pike himself, and an illusion of Commodore Mendez . Spock's crimes were in violation of General Order 7 and were punishable by death . Once it was revealed that Spock's ultimate goal was to allow Pike, a Starfleet hero, to live a semblance of normality under Talosian illusion, Starfleet declined to prosecute the matter. ( TOS : " The Menagerie, Part I ", " The Menagerie, Part II ")

When the Enterprise passed through the Omicron Delta region , Kirk hoped to arrange for his crew (and himself) to take some badly needed shore leave . While Kirk and his landing party investigated a candidate planet to determine its suitability for that purpose, they were beset with manifestations of hidden desires they had. In fact, they had discovered the Shore Leave Planet, and advanced technologies which an ancient, enigmatic species had left behind. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ")

On stardate 2124.5, a being calling himself " General Trelane ( retired ), the Squire of Gothos " waylaid the Enterprise . Though immensely powerful and troublesome, Trelane was revealed to be nothing more than a child of his species , and a badly behaved one at that. Kirk was put on trial, albeit this time in an illusory court , by Trelane. ( TOS : " The Squire of Gothos ")

Kirk fighting the Gorn captain

Kirk made contact with the Gorn Hegemony and the Metrons on stardate 3045.6. Finding a Federation base on Cestus III destroyed and Gorn forces lying in wait, Kirk ordered the Enterprise to give chase to a Gorn starship that had been responsible for the attack, intending to destroy it. The pursuit took the two belligerents through Metron space. The Metrons, pacifistic but powerful, interrupted the engagement and declared both sides were savages.

Kirk and the Gorn captain were removed from their respective ships by the Metrons and deposited on a desolate planetoid , where the Metrons forced the two captains to fight each other, threatening to destroy the loser's vessel. Kirk was victorious, but refused to kill the Gorn. Kirk's act of mercy impressed the Metrons, who allowed both ships to go free. ( TOS : " Arena ")

On stardate 3192.1, the Enterprise was caught up in a "civilized" interplanetary war between Eminiar VII and Vendikar , whose engagements were fought only by computers, and marked "casualties" among the citizenry dutifully reported to death chambers . After the Enterprise was declared a target and the crew ordered to die, Kirk destroyed the Eminiar computers, forcing them to finally treat with their enemy – or face a war that would destroy their civilization. ( TOS : " A Taste of Armageddon ")

In the first draft script of VOY : " Flashback ", Kathryn Janeway told Harry Kim of Kirk's time as a captive of the Eminians . Kim was amazed to learn that Kirk had ordered the Enterprise to destroy Eminiar VII unless he was released, Kim found it hard to believe that Kirk would be allowed to do that without Starfleet punishing him.

Khan in 2267

The Enterprise discovered the SS Botany Bay , an ancient sleeper ship , on stardate 3141.9. The vessel carried a group of eighty-four genetically-engineered Augments from Earth's Eugenics Wars , kept alive in cryogenic freeze ; twelve of these had died when their stasis capsules failed. Their leader, Khan Noonien Singh , seduced Enterprise historian Lieutenant Marla McGivers , revived his seventy-one surviving comrades, and attempted to steal the starship – before Kirk stopped him. Somewhat respectful of Khan's integrity and abilities, Kirk exiled Khan and his people on planet Ceti Alpha V , where the former tyrant would have a chance to "tame a world" without threatening others. ( TOS : " Space Seed ")

Under the euphoric , enervating influence of pod plants , the entire Enterprise crew mutinied, abandoning the ship for the planet Omicron Ceti III in 2267. Kirk was the last to fall under the influence, but his subconscious anger at the idea of leaving the ship rose to the surface, and broke the pod plant's effect. ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

Accompanied by Spock and McCoy, Kirk discovered the first known silicon-based lifeform , a sentient Horta matriarch, on the mining colony Janus VI on stardate 3196.1. ( TOS : " The Devil in the Dark ")

At the start of another war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire , Kirk and Spock met with the Organian Council of Elders personally and attempted to convince the Organians , who were apparently primitive, to accept Federation protection. Shortly after the planet Organia was subsequently occupied by Klingons, Kirk and Spock began conducting a guerrilla war against the Klingon occupation, but Organians abandoned their false humanoid forms and intervened, forcing an end to the interstellar war and imposing the Treaty of Organia . Organians predicted that, in time, the antagonistic powers would eventually become friends. In the end, Kor, frustrated by Organian interference that made battle against Kirk impossible, wistfully surmised, "it would have been glorious". ( TOS : " Errand of Mercy ")

Responding to the Deneva colony having recently gone silent, Kirk found that a hive-mind of marauding flying parasites had killed his brother , George Samuel Kirk, and that the colony's remaining population was under their influence, causing mass insanity . McCoy and Spock were able to develop a method of killing the exotic creatures. ( TOS : " Operation -- Annihilate! ")

By this time in 2267, Kirk had finally settled on Ensign Pavel Chekov as the Enterprise 's regular navigator. ( TOS : " Catspaw ")

Kirk, Spock, and McCoy discovered Zefram Cochrane , the inventor of the warp drive , missing for 150 years, on a planetoid . An energy being Cochrane called "the Companion " had kept him alive and young all those years. At Cochrane's request, Kirk did not log the encounter. ( TOS : " Metamorphosis ")

Kirk diverted the Enterprise from an assigned ceremonial mission on Altair IV to Vulcan on stardate 3372.7, in order to save his first officer from the dangerous effects of his pon farr mating cycle. In the presence of the Vulcan matriarch, T'Pau , Kirk was forced to participate in Spock's marriage ceremony. ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

Making repairs in 2267

A distress call led the Enterprise to the crippled USS Constellation after an ancient machine, deemed a " planet killer ", had nearly destroyed that starship. While stranded aboard the nearly crippled Constellation , he and Chief Engineer Scott worked together to recover enough power and control functions to partially restore ship's functions. After Matt Decker , a Starfleet commodore who was now mentally unbalanced, made a suicide run with a stolen shuttlecraft , Kirk piloted the Constellation inside the machine, detonating the engines and destroying the device. ( TOS : " The Doomsday Machine ")

On the planet Halkan , a transporter malfunction swapped the Enterprise landing party with a corresponding landing party from a parallel " mirror universe " where a savage, oppressive, Terran Empire had replaced the United Federation of Planets. A sadistic alternate version of Captain Kirk captained the ISS Enterprise , whose first officer was a ruthless, bearded Spock . ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

After beaming down to the planet Gamma Hydra IV , Kirk, along with Spock, Dr. McCoy, and Scott were all exposed to a rare form of radiation poisoning from a rogue comet . The radiation caused the party to age very rapidly. Kirk's accelerated dotage forced Commodore Stocker , who was visiting the Enterprise , to relieve Kirk from command of the ship until Dr. McCoy discovered a cure. Standard hyronalin therapy, alone, was ineffective. It was not until Spock, Nurse Chapel , and Dr. Janet Wallace were able to concoct a new type of treatment based on an old-style adrenaline radiation therapy that Kirk and his party could receive an antidote for the poisonous radiation, and just in time for the captain to regain his ability to command and save the Enterprise from a heavy Romulan attack into which Stocker, whom Kirk had earlier dismissed as a "chair-bound paper pusher" but who had relieved him after an extra-ordinary competency hearing, had unwisely led the ship. After Kirk was cured, he managed to maneuver the Enterprise out of the Neutral Zone and away from Romulan ships via a bluff . ( TOS : " The Deadly Years ")

On stardate 4523.6, the Enterprise was dispatched to Deep Space Station K-7 , Koroth , Federation bureaucrats , and myriads of cuddly but prodigious tribbles tested Kirk's patience. ( TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles "; DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ") Unknown to Kirk, Benjamin Sisko and the crew of the USS Defiant observed and facilitated his actions after a Bajoran Orb : the Orb of Time brought them from the 24th century ; Sisko even got Kirk's autograph (although Kirk thought he was signing a shipping order ) and told Kirk that it had been an honor to serve with him. During the same mission, Lieutenant Commander Jadzia Dax expressed her knowledge that Koloth always regretted not getting the chance to face Kirk in battle. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

An Orion spy stabbing Kirk

While the Enterprise was transporting ambassadors to the Babel Conference of 2268, an Orion agent , Thelev , disguised as an Andorian , stabbed Kirk, puncturing his left lung. ( TOS : " Journey to Babel ")

On Neural in 2268

Kirk returned to Neural, the site of his first Starfleet assignment, on stardate 4211.4. Klingons had begun supplying the primitive native villagers with firearms , leading them to war on the neighboring Hill People . Kirk decided to supply the Hill People with similar weaponry , escalating the conflict, but putting both sides on equal footing. ( TOS : " A Private Little War ")

Upon his second encounter with the dikironium cloud creature in 2267, Kirk re-experienced the feelings of guilt over his actions in a previous disastrous incident, aboard the USS Farragut . Exhibiting a single-minded fixation on the destruction of the creature, McCoy and Spock questioned Kirk's emotional condition. But as it proved, phasers were ineffective against the cloud creature; thus, Kirk learned that he could not have stopped it in their previous encounter, and hence that he had nothing to regret. With the help of his former captain's son, Ensign Garrovick , Kirk lured the creature to the planet Tycho IV , destroying it with an antimatter bomb. ( TOS : " Obsession ")

Kirk found the contaminated society of Sigma Iotia II , based on 1920s Chicago gang culture, puzzling at first, but he quickly warmed to it. Uniting the world's "gangs" under one "boss", the Iotians became a Federation protectorate . ( TOS : " A Piece of the Action ")

Scouts from the Kelvan Empire in the Andromeda Galaxy hijacked the Enterprise for their return voyage on stardate 4657.5. The Enterprise , modified with Kelvan technology , became the first Federation starship known to cross the galactic barrier, briefly leaving the boundary of the Milky Way Galaxy before Kirk and his senior officers overwhelmed the Kelvans and returned to Federation space. ( TOS : " By Any Other Name ")

Kirk later had his mind displaced into a receptacle in 2268, briefly allowing the ancient being Sargon to live as a corporeal being. ( TOS : " Return to Tomorrow ")

Kirk holding John Gill as he dies

After John Gill failed to report in from a cultural observation mission to Ekos , the Enterprise was assigned to investigate. Kirk found his old professor had developed an idealization of Utopian fascism and had abandoned observation for intervention, creating a Nazi -like world government that overwhelmed Gill's best intentions. Kirk aroused the subverted Gill in time to avert Ekos' impending war with neighboring Zeon , and heard Gill recant his philosophies before he died. ( TOS : " Patterns of Force ")

Kirk being threatened by Kara with a phaser on Sigma Draconis VI

On stardate 4842.6, the Enterprise discovered the Amerind planet, where an ancient race, the " Preservers ", had transplanted elements of Native American cultures that had been endangered in centuries past. When an accident separated Kirk from the landing party and caused him to suffer amnesia , Spock was forced to abandon the search and command the Enterprise in its mission, that of the interception of an asteroid on course to hit the planet. For several months, the inhabitants worshiped Kirk as a god called " Kirok ". During that time, Kirk took a wife . Upon the Enterprise 's return and the restoration of his memories, Kirk was able to activate an ancient planetary defense mechanism the Preservers had left behind, and thereby divert the approaching asteroid. ( TOS : " The Paradise Syndrome ")

In Romulan disguise in 2268

Inexplicably to his crew, Kirk began exhibiting bizarre behavior on stardate 5027.3, and ordered the Enterprise across the Romulan Neutral Zone. Three Romulan starships detained the Enterprise , and Kirk and Spock met the Romulan commander aboard her ship, where Kirk's death was faked. The ruse allowed Kirk, surgically altered to look Romulan, to infiltrate the Romulan vessel and steal its cloaking device. Using the device, the Enterprise cloaked and escaped to Federation space, taking along the captured Romulan commander. The entire operation had been designed to give the Federation plausible deniability in case of the mission's failure, and place the culpability on Kirk in that case. ( TOS : " The Enterprise Incident ")

Near Tholian space , on stardate 5693.2, the Enterprise discovered the USS Defiant adrift, its crew dead, trapped in a spatial interphase . Tholian commander Loskene responded to the trespass of "recently annexed" Tholian space. Kirk was lost in the interphase and presumed dead. The Enterprise exchanged fire with the Tholians, and the unstable region incited madness among the crew. A second Tholian ship joined the engagement, producing a web to ensnare the Enterprise . After various crew members witnessed Kirk's spectral image, he was retrieved from interphase, and the Enterprise used the rift to escape Tholian entrapment. ( TOS : " The Tholian Web ") Many years later, in 2381, a framed photograph of Kirk in an environmental suit during this mission was hanging on the wall of an old bar at Starbase 25 . ( LD : " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

Spock attempting to differentiate between two almost identical Kirks in 2269

The Enterprise visited a Federation asylum on Elba II on stardate 5718.3. Kirk's longtime hero, Fleet Captain Garth of Izar , was committed as a patient. Garth, capable of cellular metamorphosis , assumed Kirk's form in an attempt to escape and commandeer the Enterprise . Spock was able to determine which man was truly his captain, and Garth was returned to rehabilitation . ( TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ")

At the end of that year, the governing council of the planet Gideon attempted to use the Vegan choriomeningitis organisms in Kirk's blood to control their planet's extreme over-population. ( TOS : " The Mark of Gideon ")

A deadly plague struck the crew of the Enterprise before stardate 5843.7. Seeking a cure on Holberg 917G , Kirk encountered Flint , a near- immortal Human. Born as Akharin , during Earth's 4th millennium BC in Mesopotamia , Flint had later been known as Solomon , Alexander the Great , and Leonardo da Vinci , among other famous identities. Kirk fell in love with Rayna Kapec , an android Flint had built to give him company in his final days of seclusion. ( TOS : " Requiem for Methuselah ") A century later, Captain Janeway of the USS Voyager expressed some doubt about this encounter. ( VOY : " Concerning Flight ")

Kirk, with the Excalbian recreation of Abraham Lincoln, and Spock on Excalbia

An incredibly realistic simulacrum of Kirk's hero, the American President Abraham Lincoln , greeted the Enterprise on stardate 5906.4. Following an invitation to the surface of the planet Excalbia , the silicon-based Excalbians re-created the historical figures Surak , Genghis Khan , Phillip Green , Kahless , and Zora . Kirk, Spock, Lincoln, and Surak were pitted against the others as means for the Excalbians to understand the nature and strength of good versus evil . During the battle, Kirk received perhaps on of his most meaningful compliments from the form of Lincoln, who was struck by Kirk's propensity to take the offensive when required, when his he asked of Kirk, " Do you drink whiskey ? " After Kirk responded, " Occasionally; why? " Lincoln answered, " Because you have qualities very much like those of another man I admire greatly, General Grant . " ( TOS : " The Savage Curtain ")

James Kirk's mind, trapped inside Janice Lester's body

After responding to a distress call from his former lover, Janice Lester, on Camus II , Kirk arrived at her bedside, where she appeared to be near death. Not expecting danger, Kirk was easily ensnared. Lester activated the life-entity transfer device and was immediately thrilled by her possession of Kirk's body. The transfer would eventually return the exchanged persona to its original body, as long as both remained alive. Drugged and disoriented within Lester's body, Kirk was easy prey, but Lester's spontaneous gloating monologue prevented her from strangling Kirk before Dr. Leonard McCoy arrived.

Kirk was still a liability as long as he remained alive in sickbay , but the exclusive care of Dr. Coleman kept Kirk isolated from the crew , however, Spock discovered the truth of the situation through a brief mind meld with the imprisoned Kirk in Lester's body, but their attempted escape was halted by security officers ignorant of the captain's strange new behavior.

During Lester's final attempt to kill Kirk, the two touched in a brief struggle, and the misplaced personalities returned to their proper bodies. Broken, incoherent, and sobbing in her complete failure, Kirk couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor, mentally unstable, twisted-minded woman, who was driven mad not only by her ambition of craving the power to command a starship, but also her hatred and jealousy of the captain she once loved, then wanted dead. Kirk felt her life could have been as rich as any woman's, "if only…" ( TOS : " Turnabout Intruder ")

In 2269, Kirk encountered Cyrano Jones and Koloth once again, saving Jones when his vessel, a Federation scout ship , was destroyed by the IKS Devisor . Koloth demanded that Kirk hand Jones over and Kirk defiantly told him that the first Klingon to board the Enterprise would be the last Klingon. ( TAS : " More Tribbles, More Troubles ")

Kirk restrained by a Swooper on Phylos

Kirk, along with Spock, Sulu, and McCoy visited the planet Phylos , where he encountered a clone of Stavos Keniclius , a scientist from the Eugenics Wars. Spock was abducted by Swoopers and cloned, which became known as Spock Two . Kirk later lead a rescue mission to get Spock back, which was successful. Before leaving Phylos, Kirk told Stavos Keniclius 5 that Spock Two could stay with him and together they could attempt to bring the Phylosian civilization back from the dead. ( TAS : " The Infinite Vulcan ")

Kirk wearing a polarized conductor headband

Late the same year, the Enterprise returned to the time planet to once again visit the Guardian of Forever, when he, Spock, and historian Erickson observe the dawn of the Orion civilization . ( TAS : " Yesteryear ")

Kirk and his crew were instrumental in stopping a massive matter-energy cloud from consuming the planet Mantilles . Kirk wrestled with the ethical implications of destroying the cloud once it was determined to be a living creature but fortunately, Spock was able to mind meld with it and convinced it to cease its movement toward Mantilles. ( TAS : " One of Our Planets Is Missing ")

Kirk lead a landing party that beamed down to inspect Planet Two of the Taurean system . There, he became affected by the glandular secretion of the female members of Theela's species who inhabited there, who were known for controlling the male mind. This drained Kirk of his "life force," causing him to age at a rate of ten years per day. After an all-female security detachment led by Lieutenant Uhura recovered him and the landing party. By using their molecular pattern stored in the transporter system, Kirk and the others were returned to their previous ages. ( TAS : " The Lorelei Signal ")

Sord and Kirk working together

Kirk, together with Spock, were tasked by the Vedala to recover the Soul of the Skorr , which had been stolen and had triggered a racial fury among the Skorr . As a result, they had prepared for war against the known galaxy. Kirk was specifically chosen for the mission for his leadership and adaptability skills. Together with a team consisting of Spock, Lara , Em/3/Green , Sord , and Tchar , they were transported to a world simply named " mad planet " to recover the Soul of the Skorr. Kirk later determined that the thief was Tchar, and together with Spock, he was able to defeat him and get the Soul of the Skorr back using null-gravity combat exercises . ( TAS : " The Jihad ")

Kirk, shrunken down, assists an injured Sulu, along with Spock, Arex, and Kyle

Kirk and the Enterprise crew later discovered the long-lost Earth colony Terratin after they had sent out a distress signal. However, the only way the colony believed they could get Kirk's attention was to shrink the crew of the Enterprise down to their size. Upon requesting that the colony's inhabitants be saved, Kirk, after being restored to full-size when he transported down to Terra 10 's surface, had the miniature colony beamed aboard the Enterprise and later had it relocated to the planet Verdanis . ( TAS : " The Terratin Incident ")

Kirk attempting to be beamed up from Lactra VII

Kirk, together with Spock and McCoy, beamed down to Lactra VII to locate Lieutenant Commander Tom Markel and other missing officers from the starship USS Ariel after they had been missing for approximately six weeks . While there, Kirk located the missing Ariel officers and encountered the Lactrans . While being held in their " zoo ", Kirk faked being ill in order to regain his confiscated communicator and escape with his crewmembers. Unfortunately, it was taken away by a young Lactran and it was beamed up to the Enterprise instead. Upon witnessing this, the Lactrans tried to destroy Kirk's mind after their "child" had disappeared. After it returned to the surface with Montgomery Scott, it told its fellow Lactrans all it had learned about the Federation and the races it encompassed while on the Enterprise , which led them to free Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the Ariel crew. The Lactrans later requested that Starfleet visit their planet again in about twenty or thirty centuries in their time. When Spock told Kirk that it would take some time to figure out long that would actually be, Kirk responded that, regardless, it would not be their problem. ( TAS : " The Eye of the Beholder ")

Kirk calling Scott after the gravity on the bridge cuts out

In 2270 , Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise fell victim to several practical jokes after the ship passed through an energy field near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Passing through the field caused the Enterprise 's main computer to malfunction and it began erratically playing jokes on the crew. Among the jokes that Kirk had played on him were the computer printing that he was a jerk on the back of his uniform, making him and Spock slip on ice in a corridor, and causing the artificial gravity on the bridge to cut out, making Kirk float to the top of the bridge. ( TAS : " The Practical Joker ")

Kirk in a briefing with Commodore Robert April

Later that year, Kirk welcomed aboard Commodore and Federation Ambassador-at-large , as well as former commanding officer of the Enterprise , Robert April , along with his wife Sarah , on its journey back to Babel, where April was due to be honored before his mandatory retirement . While on the way there, the Enterprise encountered Karla Five and her vessel while it was apparently headed for its destruction at the heart of Beta Niobe supernova. While attempting to save her and her ship, Kirk and his crew were drawn into a reverse universe , where Karla Five was actually from and was intending to return to through the supernova remnant. Kirk, along with his entire crew, began to turn into children while in this universe. Thankfully, due to the efforts of a younger Commodore April taking command of the Enterprise from its captain, Kirk, along with his crew, were all restored to their normal ages when they returned to their own universe. ( TAS : " The Counter-Clock Incident ")

Further exploits of this time included saving the Pelosians from extinction , despite it being a violation of the Prime Directive , such as he had with the Baezians and Chenari years earlier. ( VOY : " Q2 ")

Reaching the end of its five-year deployment in 2270, Kirk ordered the Enterprise set on a course returning the ship to Earth. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

Chief of Starfleet operations

As a rear admiral in the mid-2270s

The USS Enterprise returned to Earth in 2270. Kirk's successful mission resulted in his promotion to rear admiral and a posting as Chief of Starfleet Operations at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco for the following two and a half years. With Spock leaving Starfleet to return to Vulcan to purge all emotion, Kirk recommended Will Decker to replace him as Enterprise captain while the ship underwent an extensive refit at the San Francisco Fleet Yards , but he told Decker how envious he was and how much he hoped to find a way to get a starship command again. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

The V'ger crisis

Kirk commanded the Enterprise during the V'ger crisis and its official shakedown cruise

In the mid- 2270s , V'ger , an energy cloud assimilating information from (and destroying) objects in its path, threatened Earth. The only starship positioned to intercept it was the Enterprise , her refit nearly complete but still awaiting trial runs. After convincing Admiral Nogura that he was the best man to meet the threat, Kirk rushed the Enterprise into service, assuming the rank of captain for the duration of the mission. Decker regarded Kirk's command as an insult and a mistake and pointed to his recent desk service and unfamiliarity with the ship's new systems, but the younger man fulfilled his duty as first officer.

The entity proved to be the late 20th century NASA space probe Voyager 6 , having amassed great power and self-awareness in its travels. When Kirk and his party discovered the true nature of V'ger and negotiated a visit to the actual probe itself, located at the heart of the 'V'ger' vessel, Decker used the opportunity, with V'ger 's protection, to fulfill his wish to merge with the V'ger entity through the simulacrum of his lover Ilia , thereby uniting V'ger 's mechanical nature with its Human origins. The union resulted in the birth of a radically new, and benign, lifeform. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

Following the success of this mission, Kirk commanded the Enterprise in the mid-to-late 2270s. His quarters were on deck 5.

According to StarTrek.com , Kirk's second five year mission ran from 2271 to 2276. [2] (X)

See also: Ambiguities

First retirement

Kirk briefly retired from Starfleet sometime before 2284 to pursue a number of personal goals and affairs, namely his relationship with a woman named Antonia . ( Star Trek Generations )

Return to Starfleet

Inspection tour.

Kirk returned to Starfleet in 2284 and took a position in the admiralty , supervising command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy among his duties. The lack of a center seat gnawed at him until he began to express discontent in his latest posting. Kirk celebrated his fifty-second birthday alone, barring a visit from his friend Dr. McCoy, who gifts him a bottle of 2283 Romulan ale and, as Kirk was allergic to Retinax V , a pair of glasses to adjust for his increasing farsightedness.

The following day, Kirk visited the Enterprise , now commanded by Captain Spock, for an inspection tour and as an observer to a cadet training cruise. Unknown to Kirk at the time, his nemesis, han Noonien Singh had been accidentally released from his exile on Ceti Alpha V , which had lost the inhabitability it had possessed when he and his people were originally left there, by hijacking the USS Reliant , leading to the hunt for the Genesis Device from the Regula I space station . A call from Dr. Carol Marcus alerted the Enterprise , which changed course to investigate even though its crew was largely "a boatload of--children," in Kirk's phrasing. Despite Kirk's (somewhat half-hearted) protests, Spock insisted on deferring his command to Admiral Kirk, quipping that as a Vulcan "he had no ego to bruise."

The subsequent engagement with his old enemy was tumultuous for Kirk, including a near-disastrous blunder disregarding Starfleet regulations quoted by Saavik that nearly doomed his ship and crew. In a textbook example of Kirk's ability to wield the Enterprise against a well-matched opponent was in the encounter with the USS Reliant , where he saved the Enterprise by tricking Khan into believing he was receiving data on Genesis but instead having his shields lowered via the Reliant 's prefix code , allowing the ship to make several retaliatory phaser hits on the Reliant , leading to a temporary withdrawl. Following the immediate success, Kirk admitted, in frustration and fury, to having gotten "caught with my britches down," at first, namely ignoring General Order 12 , which allowed the Enterprise to be crippled by the non-communicative ship's sudden attack.

After arriving at Regula I, Kirk met his estranged son, David Marcus , whom he rescued along with Carol Marcus , and the Enterprise escaped into the Mutara Nebula . A difficult battle with Khan ensued , however, Kirk prevailed after he used his long starship experience and Khan's own egomaniacal psychology to level the playing field and prevail, though it came at a great personal cost, the resulting death of his friend of twenty years, Spock. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Stealing the Enterprise

Kirk in 2285, stealing the Enterprise

Kirk's return to Earth in 2285 was solemn. The loss of Spock affected Kirk deeply, and McCoy began to show signs of mental illness. Planning to return to the Genesis Planet after his battle-damaged starship was fully repaired, Kirk's hopes were dashed when Commander, Starfleet Fleet Admiral Morrow announced that the Enterprise would soon be decommissioned.

Ambassador Sarek approached Kirk, leading to the discovery of Spock's katra surviving in McCoy. Kirk's senior officers rallied to him, conspiring to rescue McCoy and steal the Enterprise from Spacedock One in order to recover Spock's body from the Genesis Planet and to bring it, and his katra , to Mount Seleya on Vulcan.

At the Genesis planet, a Klingon Bird-of-Prey 's attack left the Enterprise disabled. After setting an auto-destruct sequence, Kirk and his crew abandoned the ship for the surface. The Enterprise was destroyed, taking a Klingon boarding party along with it. Finding Spock's body reanimated by Genesis, Kirk took the Bird-of-Prey to Mount Seleya on Vulcan, where Spock's katra and body were reunited. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Saving Earth

Kirk and Spock walking the streets of San Francisco in 1986

After three months of exile on Vulcan, Kirk and his crew departed (aboard the Bird-of-Prey renamed HMS Bounty ) for Earth, to face their charges of violating nine Starfleet regulations . During the voyage, a mysterious probe besieged Earth and communicated only in whale song . After answering the planetary distress signal and determining the probe's objective, Kirk used the slingshot effect to take the Bounty back in time to 1986 San Francisco , 300 years ago.

With the help of cetacean biologist Dr. Gillian Taylor , Kirk successfully obtained the humpback whales George and Gracie and returned with them to 2286 . By providing the whales that could answer the probe's query, Kirk redeemed Humanity's extermination of a sentient species and saved Earth from an environmental catastrophe. ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Commanding the USS Enterprise -A

Kirk and crew on the bridge of the Enterprise -A

Following the Whale Probe incident, the Federation president declared to Kirk, "we are forever in your debt." In light of their recent heroics, all charges facing his crew were dismissed, but one remained against Admiral Kirk: disobeying the orders of a superior officer. Kirk's punishment was a reduction in rank to captain and a return to the duty that had served the Federation so well, starship command. He was assigned to the Constitution II -class starship, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A) , in 2286. He commanded the Enterprise -A for the next seven years. ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home ; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Sybok and Sha Ka Ree

Kirk and the Enterprise -A were hijacked by Sybok and traveled to Sha Ka Ree

In 2287 , after a brief shakedown cruise proved the Enterprise -A not quite to be as fully spaceworthy as it had initially seemed to be, Kirk vacationed in Yosemite National Park with Spock and McCoy, while Montgomery Scott attended to the technical problems. The respite was interrupted after Spock's half-brother, Sybok , raised a small force called the Galactic Army of Light to take over the planet Nimbus III and captured the Federation, Klingon and Romulan representatives.

Kirk and the Enterprise -A responded, as did a Klingon Bird-of-Prey commanded by Klaa , who took on the rescue mission as an opportunity to take on Kirk, as he believed defeating Kirk would make him the greatest warrior in the galaxy.

Following a failed assault on Paradise City , Sybok captured the crew of the Enterprise -A and took over the ship. After most of Kirk's crew fell under Sybok's influence and joined in his quest to meet " God " by taking the starship through the Great Barrier to the legendary Sha Ka Ree . En route, Sybok offered Kirk the chance to "ease his pain," as he had seemingly demonstrated on Spock and McCoy. But Kirk rejected the offer angrily, insisting, " I don't want my pain taken away; I NEED my pain!!! "

Later, the entity they encountered proved to be a malevolent force, imprisoned and looking for release. Sybok joined the entity in combat, sacrificing himself and permitting the Enterprise -A to escape. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

Final mission

Kirk and McCoy on trial

Kirk's career culminated in 2293 , when the Enterprise -A was assigned to escort Klingon Chancellor Gorkon to Earth for a peace conference. Kirk opposed the peace initiative Spock covertly negotiated. He especially resented that Starfleet had chosen him to be the Federation's olive branch. A cabal of Federation and Klingon officials instigated an attack on Kronos One that appeared to come from the Enterprise -A, and assassinated Gorkon.

The Klingons arrested Kirk and McCoy, then tried and convicted them for the murder of Gorkon, sentencing them to the Rura Penthe penal asteroid. In violation of orders and treaties, Spock took the Enterprise -A into Klingon space, eluded detection and rescued Kirk and McCoy. Following his victory over General Chang at the Battle of Khitomer , Kirk saved the Federation president from assassination, and the historic Khitomer Conference continued; this led to the successful negotiation, signatures, and ratifications of "The First Khitomer Accords" between the UFP and the Klingon Empire.

After commanding two Starships named Enterprise , Kirk's tenure as captain of the Enterprise ended in 2293.

Kirk, Spock, Scott, Uhura, Chekov, and McCoy see the rest of Sulu's crew onboard the Excelsior -class USS Excelsior on the view screen one last time before parting ways. Kirk ordered Chekov to set the course "second star to the right, and straight on till morning," as the last flight of the Enterprise -A. After that, she was decommissioned, and Kirk retired permanently from Starfleet. ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Second Retirement

Maiden voyage of the enterprise -b.

Kirk briefly taking command of the Enterprise -B

Shortly after retirement, Kirk joined his friends Montgomery Scott and Pavel Chekov as the honored guests of Captain John Harriman on the maiden voyage of the Excelsior -class starship USS Enterprise -B . The event, featuring a media frenzy surrounding Kirk, was little more than a ceremonial cruise, as the Enterprise -B was not yet fully crewed or equipped for regular duty. Soon after departure, the ship received a distress signal from two Whorfin -class ships transporting El Aurian refugees trapped in an energy distortion called the Nexus .

With the advice of Kirk, and the help of Scott and Chekov, the rescue mission was a partial success, but the Enterprise -B succumbed to the Nexus' gravimetric field. Declining Harriman's offer to take command, Kirk volunteered to modify the ship's deflector relays and successfully enabled the ship's escape, but not before a burst of energy from the Nexus breached the secondary hull . Kirk was lost and presumed dead. ( Star Trek Generations )

The Nexus and death

Kirk, just before jumping over a chasm

Events of 2371 revealed Kirk had entered the Nexus, yet unaware of the passing of 78 years due to the non-linear nature of time in the Nexus. Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the USS Enterprise -D discovered Kirk within the Nexus. Kirk agreed to leave his idyllic but unsatisfying existence to help Picard defeat the deranged scientist Tolian Soran , who was going to destroy the Veridian system .

As Kirk explained to Picard, the main reason he always returned to the command chair of the Enterprise was that it was only there that Kirk could truly make a difference. He advised Picard to refuse anything Starfleet offered him that would take him away from the current Enterprise , because he would lose the ability to make a difference in the universe.

" It was... fun. Oh my.... "

Kirk sacrificed his life to save the inhabitants of Veridian IV , as well as the crew of the Enterprise -D, climbing along a precariously-balanced metal bridge in order to grab the control panel necessary to disable the missile that Soran would have used, the bridge subsequently falling down a steep cliff when its support beams broke. His last words, spoken to Picard after being assured that he had made a difference, were to comment that his help was the least he could do for the captain of the Enterprise , as well as to assure Picard that " It was... fun. Oh my.... " ( Star Trek Generations )

Soran originally killed Kirk by shooting him in the back. This ending was changed because it was thought that Kirk needed a more "heroic" death. ("Strange New Worlds: The Valley of Fire", Star Trek Generations (Special Edition) DVD / Blu-ray )

Scan of Kirk's remains at Daystrom Station

Captain Picard buried Kirk in a simple stone cairn on a Veridian III mountain top. ( Star Trek Generations )

After Kirk's death, Section 31 retrieved his body for Project Phoenix .

As of 2401 , the remains were stored on Daystrom Station . ( PIC : " The Bounty " okudagram )

Sometime after 2285 , Kirk made a brief appearance in a film called The Tardigrade in Space , which was about the adventures of a female tardigrade and a DOT-7 robot called Dot . His appearance in the film depicted his first encounter with Khan Noonien Singh in sickbay , when he was first awakened from cryosleep in the year 2267 . ( ST : " Ephraim and Dot ")

His missions were read by grade school students and Starfleet Academy cadets alike. ( Star Trek Generations ; VOY : " Q2 ") As a child in grade school , future Enterprise -B Captain Harriman read about Kirk's missions. ( Star Trek Generations ) While nearly a century later, in 2377 , as Icheb began his cadet training aboard Voyager , he recited a report for Early Starfleet History , that described when Kirk concluded his " historic five year mission", that "one of the greatest chapters in Starfleet history came to a close. " ( VOY : " Q2 ")

Captain Kathryn Janeway of the USS Voyager nostalgically recalled Captain Kirk (and his contemporaries) as belonging " to a different breed of Starfleet officer. " She went on to note that, given " the era they lived in, [...] It's not surprising they had to bend the rules a little. They were a little slower to invoke the Prime Directive, and a little quicker to pull their phasers. " She opined, "Of course, the whole bunch of them would be booted out of Starfleet today. But I have to admit, I would have loved to ride shotgun at least once with a group of officers like that." ( VOY : " Flashback ")

Along with Kirk's seventeen separate temporal violations, which gave him the distinction of having the biggest file on record with the Department of Temporal Investigations, Kirk also had a long standing first contact record to his name. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ") It remained untouched until 2378 , when Captain Janeway concluded her seven-year trip across the Delta Quadrant aboard the USS Voyager . ( VOY : " Friendship One ")

During a visit to the 23rd century from 2373 , Lieutenant Commander Worf remarked that it would be an honor to meet Kirk. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

The defensive pattern Kirk Epsilon was a battle tactic that was still in use during the late 2370s . ( Star Trek Nemesis )

In 2380 and 2381 , Kirk was mentioned multiple times by various crew members of the USS Cerritos , including Brad Boimler and Beckett Mariner . ( LD : " Second Contact ", " Veritas ", " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

Kirk's old bar on Starbase 25 still had his and Spock's names scratched into the counter top as of 2381 . ( LD : " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers ")

In 2383 , Kirk was an option for a crewmember in the Kobayashi Maru scenario . Jankom Pog suggested that he and Dal R'El use "this JT Kirk guy," but Dal was uninterested as they already had a captain: himself. ( PRO : " Kobayashi ")

In 2384 , Hologram Janeway noted that both Captains Kirk and Sulu were "Starfleet legends". To the Enderprizians , Kirk was known as " James'T the Warrior ", and he had at least one namesake on Planet 0042692 , James'T . ( PRO : " All the World's a Stage ") Kirk also had at least two others named in his honor during his lifetime, Jame Finney and Leonard James Akaar . ( TOS : " Court Martial ", " Friday's Child ")

Personal interests

Skills and hobbies.

Kirk spent a huge portion of his life aboard starships, and consequently relished the times he could spend outdoors. He was an accomplished equestrian, and kept a horse at a mountain cabin that he owned during his first retirement. Another companion at his mountain cabin was Butler , his Great Dane . He sold the cabin sometime after his return to Starfleet. ( Star Trek Generations )

A personal challenge that nearly cost him his life was free-solo climbing the face of El Capitan mountain in Yosemite National Park on Earth. After Spock rescued Kirk from an accidental free fall, Kirk told the Vulcan and McCoy that while falling he knew he would not die because he had always known that he would die alone, and since he, McCoy, and Spock were present during the incident, he could not die. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier ) However, Kirk's prediction eventually proved apparently wrong when he died on Veridian III in the company of Jean-Luc Picard, who was, evidently, an ultimately poor surrogate for Spock and/or McCoy in that particular situation. ( Star Trek Generations )

Beckett Mariner once described herself as a "Kirk-style free spirit ", though her mother, Captain Carol Freeman , retorted that Kirk was confident, whereas Mariner was unwilling to risk dropping her defenses to make allies. ( LD : " First First Contact ")

Personal combat

Kirk's unique fighting style

Kirk incorporated techniques from Judo into his personal combat style

Kirk's command style frequently brought him in close proximity to his enemies, often resulting in hand-to-hand combat. His idiosyncratic martial-arts style used hand chops to the neck, wrestling and judo throws, roundhouse punches, two-fisted swings and open-hand slaps in varying combinations, and even drop kicks. One or two of Kirk's blows overwhelmed a variety of enemy guards and henchmen. In addition, Kirk regularly performed dives and rolls, either to evade phaser fire or to attack an opponent, thereby often jumping off walls and other fixed elements.

A typical example of Kirk's fighting style in a more extended bout occurred in 2265 on the surface of Delta Vega , in the attempt to kill his friend Gary Mitchell. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

While typical examples of his wrestling and Judo abilities were seen when the Orion spy Thelev assaulted him, and when he used a judo throw to disarm the Redjac entity which had taken the form of Hengist . ( TOS : " Journey to Babel ", " Wolf in the Fold ")

At times, a larger, more powerful opponent clearly out-classed Kirk, leaving him to his wits, the aid of his crew, or pure luck to see him through. Pitted against the Gorn captain in 2267, he held his own for a time, until his injuries forced withdrawal and a search for a more efficient weapon. ( TOS : " Arena ")

In 2255 and again in 2268, he wrestled a ferocious Mugato of Neural. When the massive ancient android Ruk attacked Kirk on Exo III in 2266, Kirk could do little but hold on for the ride. ( TOS : " A Private Little War ", " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ")

On the Shore Leave Planet in 2267, Kirk was shocked by the appearance of Finnegan, his Academy nemesis, who had not seemed to age. The two proceeded to slug each other until both were bleeding and exhausted. Perhaps the longest fist-fight of his life, it was clearly the most satisfying. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ")

Kirk fought his friend and first officer Spock on three occasions when the half-Vulcan lost his normal emotional control. A series of slaps delivered to Spock in 2266 resulted in a blow that sent Kirk over a table. In 2267, after necessarily cruel taunts, Spock tossed Kirk back and forth across the transporter room , regaining control just before he crushed his captain's skull. Spock's blood fever during his pon farr of 2267 made him so dangerous in the koon-ut-kal-if-fee ritual fight that Dr. McCoy was forced to falsify Kirk's death before Spock could kill him. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ", " This Side of Paradise ", " Amok Time ")

Kirk was constantly looking to improve his arsenal of combat techniques. Upon witnessing Hikaru Sulu perform a body throw on Agmar on Phylos in 2269, he asked Sulu to teach him the technique sometime, since it might come in handy. ( TAS : " The Infinite Vulcan ")

Relationships

The Kirk family ancestry included settlers who pioneered the American frontier in the 19th century , and the Kirks of the early 23rd century rediscovered the impulse for untamed spaces. After his early childhood on Earth, Kirk lived on Tarsus IV by the age of thirteen, and his brother's family later lived on colonies as well. ( TOS : " Spectre of the Gun ", " The Conscience of the King ", " Operation -- Annihilate! ")

Kirk's brief 2268 marriage to Miramanee produced a child. Though she and the baby died while she was still in the early days of her pregnancy, " Kirok " had welcomed her news of the child. ( TOS : " The Paradise Syndrome ")

George Kirk, Sr.

Kirk's father, Lieutenant Commander George Kirk was serving as first officer of the USS Kelvin during the time of Kirk's birth.

Kirk often credited his father with inspiring him to join Starfleet. His father proudly lived long enough to see his son achieve command. ( Star Trek )

Sam and Jim reuniting in an alternate 2266

George Samuel Kirk (called "Sam" only by his brother) was also, for a time, a Starfleet officer. ( SNW : " Strange New Worlds ", " A Quality of Mercy ")

Their relationship did experience signs of strain at times; Sam expressed feelings of jealousy towards James' quick rise. In 2259 , James had become the first officer on the Farragut , the youngest in Starfleet history, a record previously held by their father. Sam felt James' ambition and brash attitude reflected badly on him. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

Sam later described Una Chin-Riley to James as "the first officer that James thought he should be like." Someone who kept a necessary distance from her crew because she knows she has to make hard decisions. ( SNW : " Subspace Rhapsody ")

Sam, along with his wife Aurelan and three sons, joined his younger brother for a farewell visit before the Enterprise departed for her five-year mission. It was the last time Jim saw Sam alive. ( TOS : " What Are Little Girls Made Of? ") Sam ended up on Deneva, with his wife and son Peter by 2267 . James was too late to save his brother and sister-in-law from the neural parasites that had invaded Deneva that year, and killed the couple, but Peter survived the attack. ( TOS : " Operation -- Annihilate! ")

According to an alternate timeline version of Sam Kirk, he described Jim as a " huge pain in the ass but he's a fine a captain as Starfleet has." ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

David Marcus

David Marcus in 2285

Kirk's romance with Carol Marcus produced a son, David Marcus. At Carol's request, Kirk stayed out of David's early life. David knew something of Kirk, referring to him as "the over-grown Boy Scout " his mother used to know, but not that Kirk was his father. Carol kept David's father's identity a secret, fearing that Kirk's adventurous life would draw David away from her. In spite of the separation, Carol told Kirk that David was "a lot like you, in many ways."

In 2285 , David was working with his mother at the Federation research station Regula I as part of a team developing Project Genesis when Khan Noonien Singh attacked the station. After fleeing to the Regula planetoid , Kirk rescued David and Carol. Kirk did not immediately recognize his son at their awkward meeting, and later became melancholy when considering an alternate life as a father. He observed David's dislike of him, complaining to Carol, "There's a man out there whom I haven't seen in fifteen years, who's trying to kill me. You show me a son who'd be happy to help him." After witnessing Kirk's victory at the Battle of the Mutara Nebula and the funeral for Spock, David consoled his father and admitted he was "proud, very proud, to be [his] son." ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Kirk with David's body on Genesis

Later in 2285, David was an advisor on the starship USS Grissom , researching the Genesis planet he had helped to create. Taken hostage by Klingons , David interrupted an attempted execution of Lieutenant Saavik , wrestling a Klingon warrior briefly before being killed with a stab to the chest. The news of David's death led Kirk to stumble to the deck in grief, spitting at Commander Kruge in his rage, "You Klingon bastard, you've--killed my son!" Kirk subsequently killed Kruge and all but one ( Maltz ) of his crew. As Kirk and his crew made their escape from the collapsing Genesis planet, he somberly and mournfully said goodbye to his son. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Kirk kept David's memory close, with a picture of his son in his quarters aboard the Enterprise -A. Kirk's opinion of Klingons, once enemies he could occasionally respect and even share a laugh with, grew into hatred. In 2293 , during the diplomatic mission to the Klingon Empire instigated by the destruction of Praxis , he logged, "I have never trusted Klingons, and I never will. I've never been able to forgive them for the death of my boy." Acknowledging that he wanted to believe Spock's statements that the mission was historic, he added, "(H)ow on Earth can history get past people like me?" The partial log entry, surreptitiously and illegally recorded by the evil Lieutenant Valeris , was used against him during the trial for the assassination of Chancellor Gorkon, and the incident forced him to come to terms with his hatred for Klingons; Gorkon's daughter and acting successor, Azetbur , realized and admitted just as the Khitomer Conference was getting under way that Kirk had restored her father's faith, to which Kirk responded that Azetbur had in turn restored his son's faith. ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Friendships

An approachable, gregarious individual, Kirk made many friends across a range of worlds and status, from the Hill dweller Tyree to Starfleet Fleet Admiral Morrow. Those that shared his closest, personal confidence appear to be limited to a few, including Spock, Leonard McCoy, and Gary Mitchell. The core group of talented officers that he assembled in his first years aboard the Enterprise followed his call throughout their own careers, and were integral factors to his long success and lasting reputation.

Kirk recognized the impact his life in Starfleet had on his family life. In 2287 , while camping with his friends in Yosemite, he referred to himself, Spock, and McCoy as the only family that men like themselves were likely to have. Presumably, his prediction that he would die alone meant that he would die with neither of them also present at his death. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

Nyota Uhura

Lt. Kirk introducing himself to Ensign Uhura

Kirk first met Nyota Uhura at a bar on the Enterprise in 2259. He introduced himself to her and she responded with hostility as she believed he was flirting with her. Over time, the two began to trust to one another and after dealing with the deuterium creatures within Bannon's Nebula , the two shared a drink and Uhura introduced Kirk to Spock. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

After Kirk replaced Pike as captain of the Enterprise , Kirk kept Uhura on as communications officer. The two would work closely together for the next thirty years. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Kirk and Spock meeting for the first time

Kirk and Spock officially met in 2259 after Kirk visited the Enterprise for the first time after being tentatively promoted to first officer aboard the Farragut . ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

By 2265, Kirk and Spock were serving together aboard the Enterprise and were familiar enough with each other for Spock to address Kirk as "Jim". After the death of Gary Mitchell, Kirk came to depend on Spock's detached, logical analysis as a supplement to his own intuitive and impulsive nature. Their official relationship deepened into a friendship of mutual respect and love that was without a doubt the most important relationship of both Kirk and Spock's life. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

Kirk's first ever scene with Spock, in " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", was not included in that episode's first draft script. In ultimately unused dialogue from that scene in the final revised draft of the teleplay, (dated 8 July 1965 ), Kirk began a sentence that was concluded by Spock and later predicted Spock might someday learn to enjoy his "bad blood."

The inseparable trio (l to r) McCoy, Kirk, and Spock in 2267

As Edith Keeler observed of Spock's place in the world, " You? At his side. As if you've always been there and always will. " ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ") He once described his Vulcan friend as " the noblest part of myself " and declared that Spock's immortal soul " is my responsibility, as surely as if it were my very own. " Kirk even told Spock's father that he would never realize how important Spock was to him, and declared that, despite losing the Enterprise and his son, had he not tried to rescue his friend, " ...the cost would have been my soul . " ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Kirk with Spock on Earth in 1969

The polywater intoxication that affected the Enterprise crew in 2266 led to a difficult encounter between Kirk and his first officer. Needing Spock at a critical moment, Kirk found him in anguished reflection, regretting his inability to express love even for his mother. Trying to bring the first officer around to the moment, Kirk slapped him. Spock's reaction was flat and revelatory, " Jim, when I feel friendship for you, I'm ashamed. " Struck again, Spock responded in kind, sending Kirk backwards over a table. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ")

Spock was sympathetic to Kirk's plight after the transporter divided the captain's personality into opposite aspects. He referred to his own halves, "submerged...constantly at war with each other," explaining that he survived it because his intelligence won out over both and forced them to coexist. Spock believed that Kirk's own intelligence would also enable him to survive such a contest intact, and urged him to embrace the part of himself that, seemingly ugly, was crucial to his personality and captaincy. ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

Kirk holding Spock after he is attacked by a parasite on Deneva

After Kirk discovered emotional rage was the key to nullifying the effect of the pod plants, his first step in retrieving his crew was to taunt Spock into anger. Anticipating the result of a Vulcan's higher strength level pitted against his own, Kirk wielded a pipe for protection. After being called an "elf with a hyperactive thyroid" and told that he belonged "in the circus, right next to the dog-faced boy," Spock indeed lost control, nearly killing Kirk before resuming command of himself. ( TOS : " This Side of Paradise ")

In 2267, Spock began his pon farr mating cycle, and behaved bizarrely aboard the Enterprise . Kirk called to Spock " the best first officer in the fleet " and " an enormous asset to me " as he pled with Spock to explain his actions. When told that by taking Spock to Vulcan, against Starfleet orders, Kirk fired back, " I owe him [Spock] my life a dozen times over! Isn't that worth a career? "

Joining him on Vulcan for his marriage ceremony, Kirk was drawn into T'Pring 's scheme to marry another, and forced to fight Spock to the death. McCoy, knowing Kirk was endangered, faked Kirk's death, and the marriage was not consummated. Spock, despondent that he had murdered his captain, thrilled at the sight of Kirk alive, exclaiming, " JIM! ", which McCoy delighted in needling Spock about once he gained his composure. ( TOS : " Amok Time ")

Kirk's understanding of Spock had an enormous impact on the parallel mirror universe, visited after a transporter accident in 2267. As Kirk's party prepared to return to their proper universe, Kirk implored the mirror-Spock to re-examine his role in the fascistic Terran Empire , insisting, "One man can make a difference." Mirror-Spock's consideration of those words led to his rise to dominance and reform of the Empire, with drastic consequences. ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror "; DS9 : " Crossover ")

When Kirk was trapped in spatial interphase during a rescue operation in Tholian space, Spock ordered the Enterprise to maintain her position in an effort to retrieve him, in spite of the danger the Tholians presented and the disruptive nature of the local space. After Kirk's assumed death, Spock and McCoy viewed the "last orders" Kirk had prepared. He urged Spock to use all the Vulcan disciplines at his disposal, tempered with intuitive insight. Kirk believed Spock had the latter qualities, but should they elude him, he was urged to seek out McCoy. ( TOS : " The Tholian Web ")

Kirk once commented to Captain Garth that the dream of the Axanar Peace Mission participants made him and Spock "brothers." Spock only said, " Captain Kirk speaks somewhat figuratively, and with undue emotion, but what he says is logical and I do, in fact, agree with it. " ( TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ")

When Dr. Janice Lester, a former lover of Kirk's, took over Kirk's body, Spock performed a mind meld on Kirk while he was trapped in Lester's body. Spock believed Kirk was Lester before anyone else, and when Lester as Kirk ordered his execution, he continued to stand by his friend. ( TOS : " Turnabout Intruder ")

Kirk with Spock again in the 2270s

At the end of the Enterprise 's five-year mission, a period marked by his frequent loss of his emotional control, Spock chose to leave Starfleet and his friends, to pursue the Kolinahr discipline of logic on Vulcan . His return to Enterprise during the V'ger threat was a cold event, without acknowledgment of his past friendships. In V'ger 's aftermath, Spock finally achieved equilibrium, able to express his friendship for Kirk without the influence of aliens or illness, and notably lacking any threat of physical violence. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture ) In 2285, Spock was calmly able to tell Kirk, " You are my superior officer. You are also my friend. I have been and always shall be yours. " ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Kirk and Spock, together on Kirk's birthday

Spock's sacrifice of his own life, to save the Enterprise from Khan's detonation of the Genesis Device, deeply affected Kirk. At his funeral, Kirk could only bring himself to say of Spock, " Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... Human... " but he broke off and broke down without being able to continue. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

The revelation that Spock's katra, his "living spirit" (actually his complete brain patterns), survived in the tormented mind of McCoy, led Kirk to risk his career, and in turn, his crew's. He first asked Admiral Morrow for permission to retrieve Spock's body from the Genesis Planet, to bring it, and McCoy, to Vulcan. Kirk insisted that any chance to save Spock's soul was his responsibility, "as surely as if it were my very own." His request declined, he told his crew, "The word...is 'No.' I am therefore going anyway."

With the help of Uhura, Scott, Sulu, and Chekov, Kirk rescued McCoy from confinement and commandeered the Enterprise from Spacedock One . The renegade mission saw the destruction of Kirk's ship and the death of his son. Finding Spock's body re-animated by Genesis, Kirk brought him and McCoy to Vulcan for the fal-tor-pan (re-fusion) ritual. The first person Spock recognized was Kirk: "Jim. Your name...is Jim." ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

During their homecoming from Vulcan, and eventually their trip to 1986 , Kirk tried to remind the resurrected Spock, suffering from memory loss, to their friendship and past adventures together. After Kirk's and the command crew's trial, Spock told his father, Sarek, that his "associates" were his friends. ( Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home )

Spock in an attempt to save Kirk's life at Yosemite National Park

In 2287, the trio enjoyed a camping trip together at Yosemite National Park , which abruptly ended when Spock, half-brother Sybok diverted the Enterprise to Nimbus III . After their adventure on Sha Ka Ree and Sybok's death, Kirk referred to Spock once again as his "brother," and told him and McCoy that they were his real family. ( Star Trek V: The Final Frontier )

When Spock later entered the alternate reality , he told the James T. Kirk of that reality of their deep friendship, despite the fact that the alternate Spock had marooned Kirk on Delta Vega . During this meeting, Spock called the alternate Kirk "old friend" several times and felt it was good to see a version of James Kirk despite the terrible events of that day . Kirk, who had been accused of cheating on the Kobayashi Maru by the alternate Spock, told Spock Prime that his actions in changing history could be construed as cheating. Spock nostalgically admitted that it was "a trick I learned from an old friend," referencing the prime Kirk.

When meeting with his alternate reality counterpart, Spock Prime admitted to deceiving the alternate Kirk to force him and the alternate Spock to work together to defeat Nero rather than intervening in the situation himself to make both men see the potential of their friendship. Spock Prime explained it as " I could not deprive you of the revelation of all that you could accomplish together, of a friendship that will define you both in ways you cannot yet realize. " He then encouraged the alternate Spock to stay in Starfleet and foster that friendship, something Spock ultimately chose to do. ( Star Trek )

In 2263 of the alternate reality, the alternate Spock discovered that even so long after Kirk's death, Spock Prime kept a picture of him and the bridge crew of the Enterprise -A amongst his personal things. ( Star Trek Beyond )

A scripted but ultimately unused conversation between Kirk and Spock was included in the final revised draft teleplay of TOS : " The Conscience of the King ". In that discussion, Kirk remarked that he was "touched" by Spock being concerned about the efficiency of the Enterprise .

According to the script for The Wrath of Khan , after taking the Kobayashi Maru test for the third time, Spock said to Kirk that his solution would not have occurred to a Vulcan mentality. This would have implied that Kirk and Spock knew each other since the late 2250s, and that Spock was at the Academy. [3] As it was, this information was not in the theatrical or director's cut of the film. In the film Star Trek , the alternate Spock programmed the scenario and leveled charges of cheating against Kirk.

Another scripted but never executed moment was when, in the first draft script of Star Trek Generations , Kirk learned from Picard that Spock was an ambassador in the 24th century. His response to Picard was, " Spock's an Ambassador ? What have things come to? " He then paused before concluding, " I can see I'm needed in your century. "

In an ultimately unused line of dialogue from the script of the aforementioned film Star Trek , Spock made reference to Kirk Prime upon reacting to the Kirk of the alternate reality clearly looking confused by a particular regulation . In reply, Spock said, " Yes. I forget what little regard you had for such things. " [4]

Leonard McCoy

Sharing a drink in 2266

Doctor Leonard McCoy became chief medical officer of the Enterprise after the departure of Dr. Mark Piper in 2265 . Kirk formed an easy rapport with his new doctor, giving him the moniker "Bones" (as in the old-fashioned colloquialism "sawbones" for a doctor or a surgeon). Even after McCoy began a program of exhaustive (and exhausting) quarterly physicals and interfered with Kirk's usual diet, their friendship grew rapidly. McCoy was probably Kirk's closest friend, aside, of course, from Spock. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")

The demands of Kirk's career required his best possible health, which Dr. McCoy closely oversaw. Kirk sparred with his crew in the Enterprise gymnasium for exercise. Quarterly physical checks tested his physical fitness as well as general health. In spite of his evident strength and conditioning, Kirk did tend to put on extra weight from time to time. Whenever Dr. McCoy noticed such a gain, he was unafraid to adjust Kirk's diet card , at least once annoying his captain with a plate of dietary salad . ( TOS : " Charlie X ", " The Corbomite Maneuver ")

Kirk could count on McCoy to express exactly what he thought, whenever he thought it, frequently without the courtesy of a question, and the doctor was often the sharpest observer of Kirk's actions and character. An early act of constructive insubordination occurred when the Enterprise faced the ominous spacecraft Fesarius and Kirk seemed to be pushing young Lieutenant Dave Bailey past his breaking point. McCoy let his opinion loose from beside the captain's chair, and Kirk barked an angry reply--but this led Kirk to realize that poker, not chess as Spock had postulated, was the game he and Commander Balok were really playing. Unintimidated by that angered reply to his unrestrained expression of opinion, McCoy continued that behavior throughout their service together, earning a wide latitude with Kirk. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ")

The first time McCoy saved Kirk's life, however, was not in surgery, but instead when McCoy fired a phaser (which itself was unusual for McCoy) in 2266. When the M-113 creature of planet M-113 attacked Kirk, it appeared to McCoy as Nancy Crater , a past love and a particularly powerful impediment to inflict harm. With Spock's help, McCoy was able to see past the creature's camouflage, killing it before it killed Kirk. ( TOS : " The Man Trap ")

In an ultimately unused line of dialogue from the final draft script of TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ", Kirk complained to McCoy, " I wish you'd make up your mind. One minute a bleeding humanitarian, the next a cynic... "

During the original five-year mission, Kirk recorded a tape of last orders Commander Spock and Chief Medical Officer McCoy were to play upon his death. He urged Spock and McCoy to give each other the same trust and loyalty they had each shown him. ( TOS : " The Tholian Web ")

Kirk implores McCoy to rejoin the crew of the Enterprise

McCoy's retirement from Starfleet in 2270 ended abruptly when Kirk, through Admiral Nogura , reactivated McCoy's commission for the Enterprise 's emergency deployment for the V'Ger crisis. Kirk's plea," "Damn it, Bones, I need you-- BADLY," ended McCoy's objection to the unwelcome "draft" and he returned to his frequent duty station, hovering just behind the captain's chair. ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

McCoy advises Kirk on the bridge

In 2285 , McCoy advised a melancholic Kirk, while both were surrounded by Kirk's collection of genuine and simulated antiques, on his (Kirk's) birthday, "Get back your command. Get it back before you turn into part of this collection." He gestured to the collection and finished, "Before you really do grow old." ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Kirk holds McCoy in Spock's quarters

Kirk's drastic action taken to save Spock's katra was also an effort to save McCoy from the anguishing burden of bearing Spock's "marbles". After his moonlight requisition of the Enterprise resulted in the ship's destruction, burning through the Genesis planet's atmosphere, Kirk asked, " My God, Bones... what have I done? " McCoy replied, " What you had to do, what you always do: turn death into a fighting chance to live. " ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

Kirk and McCoy in 2287

After the assassination of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon , Kirk and McCoy were imprisoned together on Rura Penthe . With the "help" of a shapeshifter named Martia, they were able to escape together and return to the Enterprise . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Montgomery Scott

Montgomery Scott , the oldest of the Enterprise senior officers, was also the most consistently deferential to Kirk. While not included in Kirk's innermost circle with Spock and McCoy, Kirk had evident faith in Scotty's capabilities as an engineer. Kirk pushed the Enterprise past her known limits many times, and the technical genius of his devoutly loyal "miracle worker" was regularly the key to success.

He later admitted that a big part of his reputation was his exaggeration of repair estimates, so that Kirk could be pleasantly surprised when Scott has them done quicker than he had expected. It became a running joke of sorts between the two later on. Scott and Kirk shared a passion for the Enterprise , but Scotty's was a simpler, less complicated love for his " bairns ". ( TNG : " Relics "; TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " The Naked Time ", " The Changeling ", " The Paradise Syndrome ", " Elaan of Troyius "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture ; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock )

As the ship's second officer , commanding the Enterprise while Kirk led a landing party, Scott's personal loyalty to Kirk served as a bulwark against various ambassadors or potentates who threatened mission success. Usually, Scott refrained from taking the captain's chair and hovered around the conn when left in command, as he always felt more comfortable in engineering than on the bridge in command of the ship. He took the center seat only when the situation was critical: scaring a Klingon ship away from Capella IV , or defiantly facing down three Romulan battle cruisers and demanding his captain's return. ( TOS : " A Taste of Armageddon ", " Bread and Circuses ", " Friday's Child ", " The Enterprise Incident ")

" Aye, captain. " (2267)

When escape from the mirror universe via the transporter meant one of the Enterprise party had to stay behind to operate the controls, Scott stoically volunteered. After Kirk overrode him, Scott's one-word plea " Jim! " was one of the few times he familiarly addressed Kirk. ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

Scott kept his temper throughout Korax 's barrage of taunts and insults thrown at Kirk, but a cross word about the Enterprise led Scott to throw the first punch in the K-7 bar-fight of 2267. When Kirk, a little incredulous that his engineer had failed to defend his honor, confined Scott to quarters as punishment, the engineer beamed at the chance to catch up on technical manuals. ( TOS : " The Trouble with Tribbles ")

Kirk observed Scott's infatuation with two young and attractive lieutenants, Carolyn Palamas and Mira Romaine , with bemused detachment at first, until the "stiff-necked thistle-head" abandoned his usual solid professionalism and required Kirk's stern, but affectionate, scolding. ( TOS : " Who Mourns for Adonais? ", " The Lights of Zetar ")

Kirk with Scott during a power drain crisis in 2269

Kirk's socialization with Scott outside of the call of duty was rare. One exception, a visit to the flesh-pots of Argelius II , was a morale-boosting effort by Kirk on Scott's behalf. If Scott noticed the motivation, he didn't seem to care. Even after the horrific encounter with the Redjac entity, the "old Aberdeen pub-crawler" was eager to join Kirk on a second expedition to the planet. By 2285, Kirk knew enough about Scott's off-duty habits to detect the residue of a "wee bout" of shore leave at first glance. ( TOS : " Wolf in the Fold "; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

" …she'll be ready. " (2270s)

When the V'Ger threat forced the newly refitted Enterprise into duty, Scott protested with a litany of complaints about the rush and unready state of the starship. After Kirk revealed he had convinced Admiral Nogura to return his command, Scott responded, " Any man, who could manage such a feat... I would'na dare disappoint. She'll launch on time, sir, and she'll be ready. " ( Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

In 2293 , Scott accompanied Kirk, along with Chekov, to the christening ceremony of the Enterprise -B. Kirk expressed to Scott his surprise over Sulu finding the time to make a family after encountering his daughter Demora . Scott reminded Kirk of a saying he always said, " If something's important, you make the time. " Scott also commented on Kirk's seeming restlessness, asking him if he found retirement to be a little lonely. " You know, I'm glad you're an engineer . With tact like that, you'd make a lousy psychiatrist ", Kirk replied to him. Later, Kirk was believed to be lost in a hull breach in deflector control caused by an energy tendril from the Nexus . Making his way to the heavily damaged area, Scott mourned the loss of his former commanding officer. ( Star Trek Generations )

Upon being rematerialized in 2369 after spending 75 years in the USS Jenolan 's transporter buffer , by the Enterprise -D, to Scott's surprise that he was found by the Enterprise , Scott's immediate response was, " The Enterprise! I should have known! I bet Jim Kirk himself hauled the old girl out of mothballs to come looking for me. " ( TNG : " Relics ")

Hikaru Sulu

Sulu, together with Kirk on the Shore Leave Planet

Though Hikaru Sulu was briefly an Enterprise physicist , he was transferred to the command division under Kirk's command, where Sulu became the ship's senior helmsman throughout the historic five-year mission. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " The Corbomite Maneuver ") Kirk relied on Sulu as a capable officer he could trust with the Enterprise conn in battle situations ( TOS : " Arena ", " Errand of Mercy ", " The Savage Curtain ") and on away missions as delicate as the timeline-risky visit to the US 498th Airbase Group in Omaha , Nebraska , on Earth in 1969 . ( TOS : " Tomorrow is Yesterday ")

Sulu with Kirk in the 2270s

Sulu risked his career for Kirk on two occasions. Conspiring with his friends, he assaulted a security guard to liberate Dr. McCoy, and piloted the stolen Enterprise out of Earth Spacedock to the Genesis planet in 2285. ( Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ) As captain of the Excelsior in 2293, he penetrated the Azure Nebula in Klingon territory in an effort to rescue his former captain before he was forced to turn back, ( VOY : " Flashback ") and he later joined Kirk in halting the Khitomer conspiracy . ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Outside of their careers, however, the friendship between Kirk and Sulu was not especially close. Kirk was surprised to discover Sulu had a daughter, Demora , on the maiden voyage of the Enterprise -B. Chekov had to remind him that he had actually met her before, twelve years prior. ( Star Trek Generations )

In a deleted scene from "The Corbomite Maneuver", Kirk asked Sulu, " Has it ever occurred to you you're not a very inscrutable Oriental, Mr. Sulu? " ("Inside the Roddenberry Vault, Part I", Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault special features)

Janice Rand

Kirk holds Janice close (2266)

Starfleet assigned Janice Rand as Kirk's personal yeoman in 2266. Initially, he complained about the idea of a female yeoman, leading McCoy to ask flatly, "What's the matter, Jim? Don't you trust yourself?" Kirk said he already had a female to worry about, and that the Enterprise was that female. Kirk warmed to Rand, but an undercurrent of sexual attraction between the two became obvious in stressful situations. Suffering from polywater intoxication in 2266, Kirk confided his attraction for Rand to Spock, shouting that he had "a beautiful yeoman!" Kirk later reached out to her hesitantly, longing for her, but he could not approach her on account of his duty. ( TOS : " The Corbomite Maneuver ", " The Naked Time ")

A transporter malfunction created a duplicate of the captain that contained his negative qualities, such as hostility, lust, and violence. That version of Kirk was consumed with lust and desire for Rand and went "on the prowl" to find her. Eventually, when they both were alone in her quarters, he slowly approached her. Besides being a little startled by his presence, it looked and felt normal for her, until she noticed the captain drinking from a bottle of Saurian brandy.

Obviously drunk, he started telling her that she was "too beautiful to ignore" and "too much woman." As he stalked closer to her, he claimed that they'd both been "pretending too long." Then, he suddenly grabbed her and began kissing her fiercely. The Kirk duplicate tried to pin her to the floor to rape her. But Rand defended herself, leaving a large scratch on her attacker's face, which helped the crew differentiate between the two Kirk "halves." After the situation was resolved, Rand continued as Kirk's yeoman until a reassignment in 2267. She returned to the Enterprise as transporter chief in the 2270s . ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ", " The Conscience of the King "; Star Trek: The Motion Picture )

Kirk and Rand repeatedly felt an attraction for one another, but resisted discussing or acting on their feelings openly. During one mission, Rand, Kirk and other members of a landing party were trapped on a planet where only children survived; adults quickly developed a deadly virus which had been accidentally created by a life prolongation project on the planet. When Rand became upset, Kirk held her close in his arms and comforted her. Miri , a teenage girl whom the team had befriended, witnessed this and became jealous.

She felt that Rand was her "competition" and briefly betrayed the landing party by letting the other children abduct Rand. The captain's love for Rand became obvious when he was under stress from the disease, as he became distraught and obsessed in finding "his Janice," even grabbing Miri and shouting, "Where is she, Miri? Where is she, Miri? Where's Janice? Has something happened to her? Where is she? I've got to find Janice!"

Back aboard the Main Bridge, Kirk admitted, acknowledging that Miri's true age was far older than it appeared to be, " I never get involved with older women, Yeoman. " Rand threw him an "Oh, really?" look in response. ( TOS : " Miri ")

In a deleted scene from " The Conscience of the King ", Kirk told Lenore Karidian that his relationship with Yeoman Rand was "strictly business," but Lenore thought otherwise, believing that Kirk was naive about women and was unaware of Rand's true feelings for him. ("Swept Up: Snippets from the Cutting Room Floor," Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault special features) In the version of the scene from the episode's final revised draft script, Kirk accepted Lenore saying Rand was "quite lovely," adding "and very efficient."

When Kirk was a midshipman , he befriended Academy instructor Lieutenant Ben Finney. Some time later, Ensign Kirk and Finney served together aboard the USS Republic . The two became so close that Finney named his daughter, Jame , after Kirk.

A rift developed between the two friends while aboard the Republic when Kirk logged a mistake that Finney had made which could have caused the destruction of the ship. Because of this, Finney was put on reprimand and his name was sent to the bottom of the promotion list. Finney blamed Kirk for his subsequent inability to gain a command of his own.

Though their friendship was effectively over, Lieutenant Commander Finney served aboard the Enterprise in 2267, as records officer. Kirk was unaware that Finney's old grudge had been growing larger over the years, and Finney had passed into madness. To take his revenge, he staged his own death and manufactured evidence of Kirk's negligence. Finney was successful to a point, and Kirk became the first Federation Starfleet starship commander brought before a court martial . With the help of the eccentric lawyer Samuel T. Cogley and Spock, Finney's deception was revealed and charges against Kirk were lifted. Finney was arrested and faced trial, represented by Cogley. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

Jean-Luc Picard

Kirk's body buried by Picard

Although their association was brief, James T. Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard had profound personal effects on one another. Very much like Spock and Leonard McCoy, Picard was instrumental in helping Kirk find meaning in his life after his greatest adventures were essentially over. In fact, it could be argued that Picard was one of the most significant persons in Kirk's entire life, as he embarked on his final adventure with him and passed away knowing that he had "made a difference." Picard laid Kirk to rest on that obscure planet and was his lone mourner. ( Star Trek Generations )

Often described as a ladies' man , Kirk was notably successful in attracting women, and enthusiastic in their pursuit, yet notoriously unsuccessful in establishing any lasting relationships with women – a fact his brother Sam tended to warn women about. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ") By design or coincidence, his most significant affairs were with women fundamentally incompatible with his life in Starfleet. In weighing the balance of starship versus a settled home life, the gross tonnage of the Enterprise usually tipped the scale. ( TOS : " The Naked Time ", " Elaan of Troyius ")

As Kirk became more and more well-known, these exploits became the stuff of legend; when Jadzia Dax , upon seeing Kirk while aboard the Enterprise during the Defiant crew's trip over a hundred years into their past, mentioned how much more handsome "he" was in person, Captain Sisko responded that Kirk had "quite the reputation" in terms of his dealing with women – though Dax then admitted that the "he" to whom she had referred was actually Spock. ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

While attending the Academy, Kirk was romantically involved with at least two women.

Ruth, as she appeared in 2252

In 2252 , another lover was a woman named Ruth . In 2267, he was greeted by a replica of Ruth that the Shore Leave Planet, in the Omicron Delta region, created. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ")

In an ultimately unused line of dialogue from the script of "Shore Leave", the details of how Kirk's relationship with Ruth ended were specified, as the replica of her reminded him that, after his graduation and "first star cruise," he thought he'd "lost" her.

Janice Lester

Kirk had a year-long relationship with Janice Lester while she also was at the Academy. He professed loving her, but the romance ended badly after " the intense hatred of her own womanhood made life with her impossible. " The two were reunited in a truly bizarre manner in 2269, when Lester, extremely jealous of Kirk's successful career, traded her consciousness with that of Kirk's to take his place as captain of the Enterprise and then exact a double revenge by killing both Kirk and her womanhood. ( TOS : " Shore Leave ", " Turnabout Intruder ")

In the late 2250s , as an instructor at the Academy, Lieutenant Kirk was romantically involved with a " blonde lab technician " whom Gary Mitchell had introduced him to. His relationship with her grew serious, as he almost married her. ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ")

La'an Noonien-Singh

Kirk and La'an in 2259

Kirk first met La'an Noonien-Singh in 2259 when Singh contacted Kirk on the pretense of confirming his brother's place of birth, after her adventures with another alternate timeline version of Kirk. He later invited her for drinks if they were ever to meet at starbase. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

They officially met later on when Kirk transported aboard the Enterprise . Kirk revealed to her details of his childhood and reminded La'an that she still owed him a drink. ( SNW : " Lost in Translation ")

After they worked together trying to eliminate the subspace fold, La'an confessed to Kirk that she had fallen in love with an alternate version of him. She told him that she also liked the way Kirk looked at her now, but he said that while he felt a connection with her as well, he was presently in a relationship with Carol Marcus. ( SNW : " Subspace Rhapsody ")

Carol Marcus

Carol Marcus in 2285

Kirk was involved with Dr. Carol Marcus in the late 2250s . She was stationed at Starbase 1 in 2259 and was pregnant at the time. ( SNW : " Subspace Rhapsody ") She bore his son, David Marcus , but the relationship dissolved as their careers drove them apart. In 2285, the fractured family unit was briefly reunited. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ;)

It has been suggested (such as in the Star Trek Chronology , 1st ed., p. 151 & 2nd ed., p. 268) that the " little blonde lab technician " mentioned in " Where No Man Has Gone Before " may, in fact, have been Carol Marcus.

Janet Wallace

janet Wallace

Kirk was involved with the future Janet Wallace in 2261 ; this relationship was also called off due to their difference in careers. ( TOS : " The Deadly Years ")

In 2263 , Kirk broke off a relationship with Areel Shaw . Kirk was reunited with Shaw four years later, when she was assigned as the prosecutor in his court martial, though Shaw was pleased when she lost the case and Kirk was exonerated of any wrongdoing. ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

In an ultimately excised scene extension from the script of "Court Martial", Kirk retorted to Shaw wishing him "good luck" in finding Benjamin Finney that her comment "[wasn't] very professional" and that he had been under the impression that she "wanted [his] neck." When Shaw replied, " In one piece. Be careful, " Kirk merely smiled.

Noel's falsely implanted recollection

During an Enterprise lab's Christmas party in 2265, Kirk met Dr. Helen Noel and danced with her. He used her first name to address her and engaged in brief flirtation with Noel that ended unsatisfactorily for Kirk. He later exhibited irritation when McCoy assigned her to help Kirk investigate Tantalus Penal Colony , and Kirk insisted on using her surname while working with her. Testing the neural neutralizer , Noel conditioned Kirk to believe that their previous encounter had been a sweeping romance. The colony's mad doctor, Tristan Adams , used the suggestion of love and loss of Noel to torture Kirk. ( TOS : " Dagger of the Mind ")

The final draft script of "Dagger of the Mind" made it clear that, at the party, Kirk presumed Noel was one of the ship's passengers, which led to "something" between them "that night." Specifically, Kirk was interested in her but, because so many of his crewmembers were present, he couldn't act on those feelings.

The "evil" Captain Kirk and Yeoman Rand

In 2266, the evil side of Kirk tried to assault and seduce Yeoman Rand. ( TOS : " The Enemy Within ")

Also in 2266, Kirk met a girl called Miri , who was soon about to enter puberty , despite being about 300 years old chronologically speaking. Kirk piqued her interest by calling her "pretty" when they first met, and they went on to develop a close friendship. When the Enterprise left Miri (where Miri lived) shortly thereafter, Janice Rand told Kirk that Miri had really loved him. He accepted that, but said that he never got involved with older women. ( TOS : " Miri ")

In ultimately unused dialogue from the final draft script of "Miri", Kirk concluded that Miri was " a very nice kid... even if she was old enough to be my great-grandmother ten times removed. "

Lenore Karidian

Later the same year, while on Planet Q , Kirk met Lenore Karidian at a party and entered into a brief romance with the then-nineteen-year-old blonde girl. As with many of Kirk's love affairs, the two fell in "love at first sight." Kirk was clearly enamored with Lenore, but the true depth of his feelings – and the importance of those feelings relative to his duties as a captain – were conveyed only through insinuation.

When Leonard McCoy directly asked Kirk whether he really cared for the hopelessly insane Lenore, the captain paused pensively, then evaded the question with a navigational order: " Ahead warp factor one, Mr. Leslie . " McCoy's reply, " That's an answer, " presumably indicated that he understood Kirk's unstated position: as captain, Kirk's priority was always the ship, despite his personal feelings for women such as Lenore. ( TOS : " The Conscience of the King ")

Kirk was featured with Lenore in a deleted scene from "The Conscience of the King". At one point, he complimented her on being "a very unusual woman." Later in the same scene, they shared a small kiss. Kirk responded by asking Lenore if that had been "a rehearsal," to which she called it "a performance, dear captain," and they then embraced in a more passionate kiss. ("Swept Up: Snippets from the Cutting Room Floor", Star Trek: The Original Series - The Roddenberry Vault special features) In the final version of the episode, only the second of the two kisses is shown. Kirk's interaction with Lenore in this scene was much the same in the version of the scene from the final revised draft script of "The Conscience of the King", though that version featured slightly more dialogue between them. In the script, when Lenore asked Kirk if he was like the Enterprise (containing a lot of power, surging and throbbing, yet under control), he replied, " I hope I impress you more as a man than a machine, " to which Lenore concluded he was an "intriguing combination of both."

Edith Keeler

Edith Keeler in 1930

In 2267 , Kirk and Spock traveled back to the 1930s to repair damage to the timeline Leonard McCoy accidentally caused. While searching for McCoy, Kirk met and fell in love with the compassionate and far-seeing social worker Edith Keeler . Keeler's death was found to be the focal point in history needing repair. As she crossed a street to meet Kirk, he was forced to hold McCoy back while an automobile struck and killed her, thus restoring the timeline. ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ")

In 2267, the alien Sylvia tried to seduce Kirk into giving her the transmuter . ( TOS : " Catspaw ")

Marlena Moreau

After 2267, Kirk had a near romance with Marlena Moreau . ( TOS : " Mirror, Mirror ")

In 2268, while Kirk, Spock, and McCoy were held captive in a 20th century Roman Empire , a slave woman named Drusilla "seduced" Kirk. ( TOS : " Bread and Circuses ") In The Autobiography of James T. Kirk , Drusilla had a son named Eugenio ( β ), whom McCoy believed to be Kirk's son from their intimate time together.}}

In the line of duty, to recover the Enterprise hijacked by Kelvans in 2268 , Kirk seduced Kelinda , in order to arouse jealously in her commander, Rojan . Kelinda recognized Kirk's attempt at seduction, but welcomed his continued efforts. ( TOS : " By Any Other Name ")

Kirk kissing Elaan

On a peace mission to the war-torn Tellun system in 2268, the Enterprise transported Elaan , Dohlman of Elas , to her diplomatically-arranged wedding on Troyius . Kirk's antagonistic relationship with the arrogant and spoiled Dohlman changed sharply after her Elasian tears infected him. Under their powerful biochemical influence, Kirk became instantly and deeply infatuated with Elaan. He ultimately resisted the more compelling effects of the tears and fulfilled his duties, but both Elaan and Kirk experienced a tangible sense of loss at their melancholy final parting. ( TOS : " Elaan of Troyius ")

Miramanee in 2268

In 2268, on the surface of the Amerind planet, an accident induced amnesia in Kirk and separated him from the Enterprise landing party.

For several months, Kirk lived among the Native American inhabitants, worshiped as a god called " Kirok ". His mind at ease from the pressures of command, he took a wife, Miramanee , who became pregnant with his child.

When the tribal worship of Kirok was dispelled, he and Miramanee were stoned – fatally injuring both the young woman and their unborn child. ( TOS : " The Paradise Syndrome ")

Kirk "helps" Shahna

In 2268, when captured for the gladiatorial combats of Triskelion , Kirk was assigned to the tutelage of the drill-thrall Shahna . Kirk introduced Shahna to the wider universe around her, and the Human concept of love. ( TOS : " The Gamesters of Triskelion ")

Queen Deela

Deela was queen of the (infertile) male Scalosians who hijacked the Enterprise in 2268. They planned to use the male members of the ship's crew as a gene pool so her species could continue. Deela choose Kirk as her consort, who, along with the help of Spock, was able to stop her plan. ( TOS : " Wink of an Eye ")

In 2269, the criminally-insane, pathologically-lying Orion inmate of the Elba II penal colony , Marta , became infatuated with Kirk while tending to him after torture . The fact that she loved him meant she had to kill him, but she failed in the attempt. Garth of Izar's jealousy led him to use Marta as a demonstration of a new explosive, killing her. ( TOS : " Whom Gods Destroy ")

Kirk and Odona kissing

Prime Minister Hodin of Gideon , a world greatly suffering from overpopulation, abducted Kirk and forced him to spend time isolated with his daughter, Odona , in 2269. As a carrier of Vegan choriomeningitis , it was hoped Kirk would infect Odona, and the rest of the population. The couple became quite affectionate in their time spent together, though Odona said Kirk "behaved like a perfect gentleman." ( TOS : " The Mark of Gideon ")

Rayna Kapec

Rayna Kapec in 2269

In 2269, Kirk's encounter with the near-immortal Flint led to their competition for the love of the android Rayna Kapec , and resulted in her destruction. Kirk was heartbroken. Spock took an extraordinary liberty with his grieving friend, melding with Kirk without his consent, whispering the word "forget". ( TOS : " Requiem for Methuselah ")

Kirk fell in love with Antonia after his first retirement from Starfleet in 2281 . The two lived together for some time before Kirk decided to rejoin Starfleet. Later in life, he regretted not having proposed to her. He would later be reunited with a life like illusion of Antonia during his 75 years in the Nexus, which was, from a chronological standpoint, his longest-lasting romance. ( Star Trek Generations )

Kirk kissing Martia on Rura Penthe

In 2293 , Martia had a brief romance with Kirk to put him off his guard so he and McCoy could be killed trying to escape. When he expressed his disgust over having kissed her, she, while in his form, quipped, " Must have been your lifelong ambition! " (However, it turned out to be Martia who was ultimately double-crossed and killed.) ( Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country )

Khan Noonien Singh

Khan and Kirk on the Enterprise in 2267

One of the most violent rivalries of Kirk's life was the bitter feud between himself and 20th century Augment dictator Khan Noonien Singh .

In 2267 , the Enterprise discovered Singh and his followers aboard the SS Botany Bay in cryogenic stasis, and awakened them. Unaware of Khan's true identity, Khan took advantage of Kirk's hospitality to familiarize himself with the Enterprise and its systems. After identifying Khan, Kirk had him restricted to quarters, prompting Khan to implement his plan to seize control of the Enterprise .

With the help of Lieutenant Marla McGivers , Khan assumed control of the Enterprise . The Augments were eventually subdued with anaesthetic gas, and Kirk and Khan engaged in hand-to-hand combat in the engine room. Realizing he was no match for Khan's Augment strength, Kirk subdued him with a heavy flow-control rod. After defeating Khan and his followers, Kirk exiled them to the then-habitable world of Ceti Alpha V . ( TOS : " Space Seed ")

Khan later sought revenge against Kirk after McGivers had died in exile. By that time, Ceti Alpha V had lost its ability to support much of the life it had once sustained, as a result of the explosion of Ceti Alpha VI . To exact his revenge, Khan hijacked the USS Reliant and stole the Genesis Device , whose research and development team included Kirk's old flame Carol Marcus and their son, David Marcus . The ensuing battle inside the Mutara Nebula crippled the Reliant , leading Khan to detonate Genesis in the hopes of taking Kirk and the Enterprise with him. Only the self-sacrifice of Captain Spock allowed the Enterprise to escape the blast radius at warp speed. ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

Kirk would more than once cross paths with the Klingon officer Kor. They first encountered each other on Organia during the 2267 Federation-Klingon War. Kirk was posing as a native of the planet when Kor declared himself its military governor. Kor was immediately drawn to Kirk, admiring his spirit compared to the passive Organians, and appointed him as his liaison. He would not learn Kirk's real identity until after Kirk and Spock had destroyed his supply depot. Kor noted he would have liked to face Kirk in battle and, even though he planned to have him executed and to use the mind scanner on him, joined him for a drink, where he noted his admiration for Starfleet and claimed they were alike despite their ideological differences.

After Kirk had been freed by the Organians, he again confronted Kor in his office. Kor managed to surreptitiously summon his guards but it was at that point that the Organians intervened, preventing combat between both the troops on the surface and the fleets in orbit. Kirk and Kor found themselves temporarily united in protest against the Organians' interference but Kirk accepted the situation quicker than Kor, restraining him from attempting to attack the non-corporeal beings. ( TOS : " Errand of Mercy ")

They would meet again in 2269, when Kor's ship the IKS Klothos exchanged fire with the Enterprise in the Delta Triangle shortly before both ships were pulled into the alternate dimension known as Elysia . Again, their battle was halted by an outside agency, this time by the ruling council who had forbidden violence in the area. Kirk convinced Kor that their two ships should work together in an attempt to escape the region but Kor planned to destroy the Enterprise afterwards, planting a bomb to detonate when the Enterprise went to warp eight. The attempt failed and Kor quickly left the scene, taking credit for the escape with the Klingons. ( TAS : " The Time Trap ")

Time travel

Several of Kirk's voyages involved travel through time, either personally through time portals or along with the entire starship Enterprise via acceleration through gravity wells . According to the Federation's Department of Temporal Investigations , Kirk, who sometimes ignored regulations when he felt it was for the greater good, amassed seventeen separate temporal violations during his career, more than any other person on file as of 2373 .

His time-travel exploits were well-known enough that, when Sisko, after he and his crew returned to the 24th century, told Dulmur and Lucsly that the vessel they had encountered in the past was the first Enterprise , the two DTI investigators shrugged at the realization that it was "his" ship, which Sisko proudly confirmed. Kirk was regarded by DTI as a "menace". ( DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations ")

Earth's 20th century

Kirk and crew visited 20th century Earth on multiple occasions during his captaincy.

The Guardian of Forever

In 2267, after experiencing violent time distortions, the Enterprise discovered the source, the Guardian of Forever . McCoy, delusional from an accidental cordrazine overdose, entered the time portal, altering history to the extent that the Federation and the Enterprise no longer existed. Kirk and Spock followed McCoy, appearing in 1930 New York City on Earth . Kirk found himself and Spock shelter in exchange for work, falling in love with a beautiful, idealistic benefactor, Edith Keeler . After Spock discovered that McCoy had prevented history's recorded death of Keeler, he was forced to restrain the doctor from saving her life again while Kirk watched Keeler die and himself avoid doing anything to save her life, the price for restoring the timeline. ( TOS : " The City on the Edge of Forever ")

When the Enterprise traveled back in time from 2267 to Earth of 1969 but was accidentally observed by the United States Air Force , Kirk, with Sulu, beamed down to a military base in Omaha , Nebraska , to destroy photographic evidence of the Enterprise 's appearance. By warping around the sun 's gravity well in a slingshot maneuver , Kirk and his crew managed to rectify the situation, cause the incident to "unhappen," and return to their own time aboard the Enterprise . ( TOS : " Tomorrow is Yesterday ") While formulating a means of escaping an alternate timeline created by Q 's manipulations of the past, Admiral Jean-Luc Picard referenced Kirk's intentional time travels, using this maneuver, prior to attempting it themselves aboard the CSS La Sirena in visiting the past from 2401 . ( PIC : " Penance ")

Kirk, with Spock in 1968

In 2268 , Kirk was ordered to repeat the recently proven slingshot maneuver, taking the Enterprise back to 1968 on a mission of historical observation. Intercepting enigmatic agent Gary Seven , Kirk attempted to stop his interference but eventually cooperated with Seven's effort to avert a nuclear exchange between the United States of America and the Soviet Union . ( TOS : " Assignment: Earth ") After arriving in 2024 , using the slingshot maneuver, Picard recalled Kirk's encounter with Seven after learning of Tallinns similar credentials as a watcher . ( PIC : " Fly Me to the Moon ")

Other temporal events

A visit to the planet Sarpeidon , doomed by its sun's impending nova , revealed that the Sarpeidans had escaped en masse into their own planet's past via their Atavachron time portal . The harried and ubiquitous Atoz mistook Kirk, Spock, and McCoy for tardy natives, and he thrust them into the planet's past. ( TOS : " All Our Yesterdays ")

In 2269 , Kirk and Spock used the Guardian of Forever a second time, on a mission of historical observation to the dawn of Orion civilization. Upon their return, no-one but Kirk recognized Spock as the Enterprise first officer. Supposedly killed in his childhood, Spock returned to the Vulcan of his youth, playing the role of a nearly forgotten cousin who had saved his life during the kahs-wan , a Vulcan coming-of-age ordeal. ( TAS : " Yesteryear ")

Alternate timelines

Captain of the uef enterprise.

United Earth Fleet Captain James T. Kirk in an alternate 2259

In the alternate timeline created where Khan Noonien Singh was killed by the Romulan Sera , Kirk was born on the USS Iowa , and was (still) the brother of George Samuel Kirk, who had died sometime prior to 2259.

Kirk once claimed he spent six months in a Denobulan prison with a Vulcan cellmate. He learned the Vulcan neck pinch from this person, as well as how to make Plomeek soup in a toilet .

Kirk dying of a gunshot wound in 2022

He joined the United Earth Fleet and by 2259, was captain of the UEF Enterprise . After La'an Noonien-Singh was transported aboard his ship from the prime timeline, Kirk was inadvertently brought back in time with her to 2022 Toronto , the point of divergence between their two timelines. Although initially skeptical of her intention to restore her timeline, he was persuaded to help her when he learned that not only was Earth a paradise, but that Sam was still alive. As they attempted to prevent history from being changed, Kirk was killed by the Romulan temporal agent Sera, before La'an succeeded in restoring the original timeline. ( SNW : " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow ")

Captain of the USS Farragut

Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Farragut in an alternate 2266

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 .

James T. Kirk in an alternate 2266.

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 , including Kirk. After Pike negotiated a ceasefire, Kirk piloted a shuttlecraft for reinforcements, returning with a fleet of drone ships to bluff the Romulan armada that had appeared.

When the Romulans attacked the Enterprise , Kirk used his drone fleet to cover the Enterprise until its engines could be repaired, beaming back aboard moments before the Enterprise jumped to warp. Pike was impressed by Kirk and told the young captain that he would make a good captain for the Enterprise . Pike got to know Kirk briefly before using a time crystal to return to his own time where he changed the events that led to this timeline. However, the encounter led to Pike taking an interest in Kirk in his own timeline. ( SNW : " A Quality of Mercy ")

Thelin's commanding officer

In an alternate timeline created where Spock was killed in 2237 when he was seven years old, Kirk had assumed command of the USS Enterprise by 2265 and chosen the Andorian Thelin as his first officer. ( TAS : " Yesteryear ")

Awards and honors

Kirk in dress uniform 2267

• 2233 : Born to George and Winona Kirk in Riverside , Iowa on March 22nd.
• 2246 : On Tarsus IV , he was one of nine witnesses to a massacre ordered by Governor Kodos .
• 2250 : Began a fifteen-year friendship with Gary Mitchell .
• 2252 : Entered Starfleet Academy as a cadet . Was romantically involved with Ruth and bullied by Finnegan . During his time at the Academy, participated in the Axanar Peace Mission .
• 2252 to 2255 : Befriends Lieutenant Benjamin Finney . Promoted to ensign and was assigned aboard USS Republic , along with Lieutenant Benjamin Finney.
• Promoted to lieutenant. Was on his first planetary survey mission at Neural .
• Graduated from Academy after defeating the "no-win" Kobayashi Maru scenario . Assigned to the USS Farragut under the command of Captain Garrovick
• 2257 : Encounters dikironium cloud creature while serving aboard the Farragut .
• 2259 : Appointed First officer of the Farragut
• Late 2250s/Early 2260s: An instructor at the Academy. Gary Mitchell was one of his students. Relationship with Carol Marcus ends; their son, David Marcus , is born.
• 2261 : Breaks off relationship with Janet Wallace .
• 2263 : Breaks off relationship with Areel Shaw .
• 2265 – 2270 : He assumed command of the USS Enterprise for a historic five-year mission . Specific accomplishments include:
• 2265 : Takes the USS Enterprise to the galactic barrier , the first Earth ship to do so in two hundred years. During the mission, is forced to kill close friend Gary Mitchell .
• 2266 : Achieved first contact with the First Federation . Later that year, repels a Romulan incursion and destroys a Romulan Bird-of-Prey.
• 2267 : Became the first Starfleet captain ever to stand court martial, charged with negligent homicide in the death of Benjamin Finney ; charges dismissed.
• 2268 : Responsible for stealing a Romulan cloaking device during a covert Starfleet intelligence mission. Experiences amnesia and lived among the American Indians on Amerind where he wedded Miramanee .
• 2269 : Diverts the asteroid-ship Yonada from destroying Daran V . Nearly killed by Dr. Janice Lester with whom he'd had a year-long relationship years before. Trapped in a planet's past along with Spock and McCoy on a planet about to go supernova
• 2270 : Promoted to Rear Admiral and assigned as Chief of Starfleet Operations .
• Mid- 2270s : Accepted temporary grade reduction to Captain and assumed command of USS Enterprise to intercept V'ger .
• 2281 : Retires from Starfleet.
• 2282 : Meets Antonia and enjoys a romantic relationship with her until choosing to resume his Starfleet career instead of marrying her – a decision he later regrets.
• 2284 : Returns to Starfleet as an instructor at Starfleet Academy.
• 2285 : Assumes temporary command of the Enterprise during a routine training mission, engages Khan Noonien Singh in the Battle of the Mutara Nebula . Deserts from Starfleet later that year to retrieve body of Captain Spock from the Genesis Planet.
• 2286 : Returns to Earth to face court martial charges. Subsequently, saves the planet in the Whale Probe incident. Demoted to captain for disobeying orders of Starfleet Commander Morrow and assigned to command the USS Enterprise -A.
• 2287 : Takes the Enterprise -A to the center of the galaxy after Vulcan renegade Sybok hijacked the ship.
• 2293 : Along with Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS Excelsior , was responsible for saving the Khitomer Conference : retired from Starfleet and was presumed killed later that year during the maiden voyage of the USS Enterprise -B.
• 2371 : Jean-Luc Picard finds Kirk alive inside the Nexus . Killed while defeating Tolian Soran 's plans and saving planet Veridian IV .

Memorable quotes

The wit and wisdom of Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk.

Existential Kirk

" Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before. "

"Above all else, a god needs COMPASSION!"

" I wanna live! I wanna live! "

" This vessel... I give, she takes. She won't permit me my life, I've got to live hers. "

" No beach to walk on. "

"Don't tell me that again, Science Officer! It's a theory; it's possible! We may go up in the biggest ball of fire since the last sun in these parts exploded, but we've got to take that one-in-ten-thousand chance!"

" Why me? I look around that bridge, and I see the men waiting for me to make the next move. And Bones...what if I'm wrong? "

" ...Nothing is more important than my ship. "

" You said you wanted freedom. It's time you learned that freedom is never a gift; it has to be earned."

"Death, destruction, disease, horror--that's what war is all about! 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. And you've had it for over five hundred years. Since it seems to be the only way I can save my crew and my ship, I'm gonna end it for you, one way or another."

" All right. [War is] instinctive. But the instinct can be fought. 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! "

"It's a true Eden, Jim. There's belonging and love. " "No wants...no needs...we weren't meant for that. None of us. Man stagnates if he has no ambition, no desire to be more than he is. "

" Well, that's the second time man's been thrown out of paradise. " "No, no, Bones. This time we walked out on our own. Maybe we weren't meant for paradise. Maybe we were meant to fight our way through...struggle, claw our way up, scratch for every inch of the way. Maybe we can't stroll to the music of the lute--we must march to the sound of drums."

" Excuse me, Gentlemen... I'm a soldier, not a diplomat. I can only tell you the truth. "

" Mankind has no need for gods. We find the one quite adequate. "

" Human flesh against Human flesh. We're the same. We share the same history, the same heritage, the same lives. We're tied together beyond any untying. Man or woman, it makes no difference... We're Human. We couldn't escape from each other even if we wanted to. That's how you do it, lieutenant. By remembering who and what you are. A bit of flesh and blood afloat in a universe without end. The only thing that's truly yours is the rest of Humanity. That's where our duty lies. "

" In every revolution, there's one man with a vision... "

"What is a man but that lofty spirit, that sense of-- enterprise? That devotion to something that cannot be sensed, cannot be realized, but only dreamed, the highest reality?"

" War isn't a good life, but it's life. "

" Do you know the one, 'all I ask is a tall ship...?' " " It's very old. " " 20th century Earth. '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."

" I... am... KIROK! " ( TOS : " The Paradise Syndrome ")

" You could serve as Human sacrifice. " " No I wouldn't enjoy that at all. Besides you seem to need me alive. "

" I don't believe in the no-win scenario. "

" We learn by doing. "

" The needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many. "

" Double dumbass on you! "

"Don't tell me--you're from outer space." "No, I'm from Iowa; I only work in outer space."

"Damn it, Bones, you're a doctor! 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!!!"

" You have restored my father's faith. " " And you have restored my son's. "

"I was out saving the galaxy while your grandfather was in diapers!"

" 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. "

Kirk on death

" Look, I could tell you some comforting fairy tale, but we both know the truth. Our job puts us up against death more than is fair. And we might not like it, but we do have to face it. And right now, death is winning. It claimed your family, it claimed your friend. It convinced you to forget them, because it's less painful than holding on to their memories. Now, you can let death win...or you can fight back. Hold on to them. "

" I'm used to the idea of dying. But I have no desire to die for the likes of you. "

" Poor Matt... He gave his life in an attempt to save others... Not the worst way to go "

" What a terrible way to die. " " There are no good ways, Sulu. "

" How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life... "

" Lieutenant Saavik was right... You never have faced death. " " No, not like this. I haven't faced death. I've cheated death. I tricked my way out of death... and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity. I know nothing. "

" My God, Bones... What have I done? " " What you had to do. What you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live. "

" I've always known... I'll die alone. "

In Harm's Way

" This is the captain of the Enterprise . Our respect for other lifeforms requires that we give you this... warning. There is one critical item of information that has never been incorporated into the memory banks of any Earth ship. Since the early years of space exploration, Earth vessels have had incorporated into them, a substance known as... corbomite. It is a material and a device which prevents... attack... on us. If any destructive energy touches our vessel, a reverse reaction of equal strength is created, destroying... " " You now have two minutes. " " ...DESTROYING the attacker. It may interest you to know... that since the initial use of corbomite more than two of our centuries ago, no attacking vessel has survived the attempt. Death has... little meaning to us. If it has none to you... then attack us now. We grow annoyed at your foolishness. "

" They used to say if man could fly, he'd have wings... but he did fly. He discovered he had to. Do you wish that the first Apollo mission hadn't reached the moon, or that we hadn't gone on to Mars or the nearest star? That's like saying you wish that you still operated with scalpels and sewed your patients up with catgut like your great-great-great-great-grandfather used to. I'm in command. I could order this. But I'm not... because... Dr. McCoy is right in pointing out the enormous danger potential in any contact with life and intelligence as fantastically advanced as this. But I must point out that the possibilities, the potential for knowledge and advancement is equally great. Risk... risk is our business! That's what this starship is all about... that's why we're aboard her! "

" Khan. How do we know you'll keep your word? " " Oh, I've given you no word to keep, admiral. In my judgment you simply have no alternative. " " I see your point... stand by to receive our transmission... (whispers) Mr. Sulu, lock phasers on target... " " Time's up admiral! " " Here it comes. Now, Mr. Spock. "

" Sir, you did it! " " I did nothing! Except get caught with my britches down. I must be getting senile. "

" Kirk... you're still alive, my old friend. " " Still. Old. Friend! You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman, you KEEP MISSING the TARGET! "

" KHAAAAAAN!!! " ( Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan )

" We tried it once your way Khan, now are you game for a rematch? Khan... I'm LAUGHING at the superior... intellect. "

" Sorry about your crew, but as we say on, Earth, c'est la vie . "

" I... have had... enough of you! "

" SHOOT HIM!!! "

" Excuse me... but what does God need with a starship? "

" Don't believe them! Don't trust them! " " They are dying... " " Let them die. "

" Risk is part of the game, if you want to sit in that chair. "

Kirk on women

" When I get my hands on the headquarters genius who gave me a female yeoman... " " What's the matter Jim, don't you trust yourself? "

" You're too beautiful to ignore. Too much woman. "

" Uh, there are things you can do with a lady, uh, Charlie, that you... Uh, there's no right way to hit a woman. I mean, man to man is one thing, but, um, man and woman, uh, it's, ah... is, uh... Well, it's, ah, another thing. Do you understand? "

" Worlds may change, galaxies disintegrate, but a woman... always remains a woman. "

" You'll learn something about men and women... the way they're supposed to be. Caring for each other, being happy with each other, being good to each other. That's what we call... love. You'll like that too. A lot. "

" Mr. Spock, the women on your planet are logical. That is the only planet in this galaxy that can make that claim. "

" You sleep lightly, captain. " " Yes, duty is a good teacher. I see you've changed your dress-maker. " " Release me! " " So you could attack me again? That would be foolish. " " Call the guards if you're afraid, captain. " " I'm not afraid. In fact... I find this rather enjoyable. "

Kirk and Spock

" Will you try for one moment to feel? At least act like you've got a heart? "

" Spock, I think I'm in love with Edith Keeler. " " Jim, Edith Keeler, must die."

" Alright, you mutinous, disloyal, computerized half-breed, we'll see about you deserting my ship... You're an overgrown jackrabbit. An elf with a hyperactive thyroid... What else would you expect from a simpering devil eared freak whose father was a computer and whose mother was an encyclopedia... Your father was a computer, like his son... from a planet of traitors. A Vulcan never lived who had an ounce of integrity... You're a traitor from a race of traitors. Disloyal to the core; rotten like the rest of your sub-Human race, and you've got the GALL to make love to that girl. Does she know what she's getting, Spock? A carcass full of memory banks who should be squatting on a mushroom, instead of passing himself off as a man. You belong in a circus, Spock, not a starship. RIGHT NEXT TO THE DOG-FACED BOY!

" Mind your own business, Mr. Spock! I'm sick of your half-breed interference, do you hear me? "

" Analysis, Mr. Spock? " " Very bad poetry, captain. "

" No, it was a calculated risk. Still, the Eminians keep a very orderly society and actual war is very messy business. Very, very messy business. I had a feeling they would do anything to avoid it, even talk peace. " " Feeling is not much to go on. " " Sometimes a feeling, Mr. Spock, is all we Humans have to go on. " " Captain, you almost make me believe in luck. " " Why, Mr. Spock, you almost make me believe in miracles. "

" Kill Spock? That's not what we came to Vulcan for. "

" Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... Human. "

" Oh him? He's harmless. Back in the sixties, he was part of the free speech movement at Berkeley. I think he did a little too much LDS. "

" ... either you're with me or you're not! " " I am here, captain. " " That's a little vague, Spock... "

" I lost a brother once... I was lucky... I got him back. "

" You're a great one for logic. I'm a great one for rushing in where angels fear to tread. We're both extremists. Reality is probably somewhere in between. "

" You know, if Spock were here, he'd say I was an irrational, illogical Human being for taking on a mission like that... Sounds like fun! "

Opinions of Kirk

" This officer's record shows him to be an insubordinate, unprincipled, career-minded opportunist with a history of violating the chain of command whenever it suited him. "

Appearances

• " Where No Man Has Gone Before "
• " The Corbomite Maneuver "
• " Mudd's Women "
• " The Enemy Within "
• " The Man Trap "
• " The Naked Time "
• " Charlie X "
• " Balance of Terror "
• " What Are Little Girls Made Of? "
• " Dagger of the Mind "
• " The Conscience of the King "
• " The Galileo Seven "
• " Court Martial "
• " The Menagerie, Part I "
• " The Menagerie, Part II "
• " Shore Leave "
• " The Squire of Gothos "
• " The Alternative Factor "
• " Tomorrow is Yesterday "
• " The Return of the Archons "
• " A Taste of Armageddon "
• " Space Seed "
• " This Side of Paradise "
• " The Devil in the Dark "
• " Errand of Mercy "
• " The City on the Edge of Forever "
• " Operation -- Annihilate! "
• " Catspaw "
• " Metamorphosis "
• " Friday's Child "
• " Who Mourns for Adonais? "
• " Amok Time "
• " The Doomsday Machine "
• " Wolf in the Fold "
• " The Changeling "
• " The Apple "
• " Mirror, Mirror "
• " The Deadly Years "
• " I, Mudd "
• " The Trouble with Tribbles "
• " Bread and Circuses "
• " Journey to Babel "
• " A Private Little War "
• " The Gamesters of Triskelion "
• " Obsession "
• " The Immunity Syndrome "
• " A Piece of the Action "
• " By Any Other Name "
• " Return to Tomorrow "
• " Patterns of Force "
• " The Ultimate Computer "
• " The Omega Glory "
• " Assignment: Earth "
• " Spectre of the Gun "
• " Elaan of Troyius "
• " The Paradise Syndrome "
• " The Enterprise Incident "
• " And the Children Shall Lead "
• " Spock's Brain "
• " Is There in Truth No Beauty? "
• " The Empath "
• " The Tholian Web "
• " For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky "
• " Day of the Dove "
• " Plato's Stepchildren "
• " Wink of an Eye "
• " That Which Survives "
• " Let That Be Your Last Battlefield "
• " Whom Gods Destroy "
• " The Mark of Gideon "
• " The Lights of Zetar "
• " The Cloud Minders "
• " The Way to Eden "
• " Requiem for Methuselah "
• " The Savage Curtain "
• " All Our Yesterdays "
• " Turnabout Intruder "
• " Beyond the Farthest Star "
• " Yesteryear "
• " One of Our Planets Is Missing "
• " The Lorelei Signal "
• " More Tribbles, More Troubles "
• " The Survivor "
• " The Infinite Vulcan "
• " The Magicks of Megas-Tu "
• " Once Upon a Planet "
• " Mudd's Passion "
• " The Terratin Incident "
• " The Time Trap "
• " The Ambergris Element "
• " The Eye of the Beholder "
• " The Jihad "
• " The Pirates of Orion "
• " The Practical Joker "
• " Albatross "
• " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth "
• " The Counter-Clock Incident "
• 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 Beyond (picture only)
• DS9 : " Trials and Tribble-ations " (archive footage)
• ENT : " These Are the Voyages... " (archive audio)
• ST : " Ephraim and Dot " (archive audio)
• PIC : " The Bounty " (scan of remains)
• " No Small Parts " (picture only)
• " An Embarrassment Of Dooplers " (picture only)
• " A Quality of Mercy "
• " Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow "
• " Lost in Translation "
• " Subspace Rhapsody "
• VST : " Walk, Don't Run " (archive footage)

Background information

Casting kirk.

Kirk was played by William Shatner .

Don Eitner served as body double for Shatner as the pair of Kirks in " The Enemy Within ". Actress Sandra Smith also "played" Captain Kirk in Janice Lester 's body in " Turnabout Intruder ", while Shatner "played" Lester in Kirk's body.

Following his introduction in the second pilot, the only non-appearance of Kirk was in the animated episode " The Slaver Weapon ". Archive footage of Shatner was used in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Trials and Tribble-ations ", and archive audio of his voice was used in the Star Trek: Enterprise finale, " These Are the Voyages... " and the Star Trek: Short Treks episode " Ephraim and Dot ".

William Shatner was not the first choice to play Kirk. The producers first approached actors Lloyd Bridges and Jack Lord for the role; both turned it down. [5] [6] (X) [7] (X) Both Bridges and Lord have since passed away.

In order to play Kirk, William Shatner attempted to stay physically fit. " I've tried to stay limber, and I've tried to keep myself in shape, " he related. " Not for a little reason. For a great reason, because I'm playing Captain Kirk, and I wanted to be ready for each movie and not act my age. " ("Strange New Worlds: The Valley of Fire", Star Trek Generations (Special Edition) DVD / Blu-ray )

Naming Kirk

The name for Kirk wasn't decided until 1965 . In a memo written by Gene Roddenberry to researcher Kellam de Forest on 18 May 1965 , sixteen names were under consideration. These names were:

• Christopher

This memo was reprinted in The Making of Star Trek [ page number? • edit ] and Inside Star Trek: The Real Story [ page number? • edit ] .

"James Tiberius Kirk" was the final choice of name chosen to adorn the new TV show's hero.

Originally, according to Gene Roddenberry 's novel Star Trek: The Motion Picture , Kirk was named "James" after his mother's "first love instructor" as well as "an uncle" (his "father's beloved brother"), and "Tiberius" because the Roman emperor fascinated his grandfather Samuel.

Gary Mitchell's tombstone for "James R. Kirk"

Kirk's middle name came later, as can be ascertained by the "James R. Kirk" tombstone, created by Gary Mitchell in " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", Kirk's middle initial was R, not T. According to D.C. Fontana in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1 , when the mistake over the middle initial was discovered, Gene Roddenberry decided that if pressed for an answer on the discrepancy, the response was to be " Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was Human. He made a mistake. "

The origin of Kirk's established middle name has several possible, if not potentially conflicting, origins, including the "official" claim that David Gerrold spontaneously blurted out the name in response to a question regarding what Kirk's middle initial stood for at a 1973 Star Trek convention , and subsequently conferred with D.C. Fontana and Gene Roddenberry , who approved the name, and it became forever part of Star Trek lore. ( [8] Maximum PC , November 2010, p. 94; Star Trek: The Official Guide to the Animated Series , 129) In another instance, the name was referenced by Fontana in a Q&A with her and Majel Barrett , in an audio recording dated from a 1972 convention, which suggests that Fontana may have been the first to mention the name to the public. [9] Whereas a third case can be made, and consequently has been by various reference works, that Roddenberry himself was responsible for the name, as his "fondness" for "Tiberius" predates Star Trek , having had already used it in his prior series, The Lieutenant , for that lead character: "Willam Tiberius Rice". ( Star Trek Chronology , 1st ed., p. 40; The Encyclopedia Shatnerica , p. 90; Star Trek Magazine Special 2016 , pp. 23-24)

Character development

Gene Roddenberry , in his original pitch to television producers, described the character (originally named Robert April , then Christopher Pike) that later came to be known, eventually, as Captain Kirk:

The 'skipper' , about thirty-four, Academy graduate, rank of Captain... a shorthand sketch of Robert April might be 'A space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower ', lean and capable both mentally and physically. A colorfully complex personality, he is capable of action and decision that can verge on the heroic – and at the same time lives a continual battle with self-doubt and the loneliness of command. As with similar men in the past (Drake, Cook, Bougainville, and Scott), his primary weakness is a predilection to action over administration, a temptation to take the greatest risks onto himself. But, unlike most early explorers, he has an almost compulsive compassion for the plight of others, alien as well as Human, [and] must continually fight the temptation to risk many to save one.

NBC 's early- 1966 sales brochure (reprinted in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story ) described Kirk thus:

A Space Academy graduate, Captain James Kirk has learned to accept the loneliness of command as he has rapidly climbed the ladder of promotion, although he never will learn to like the loneliness his post brings. Starship command is the most important position a man in the Space Service can hold, since he alone can and must make decisions in his contact with the other worlds that can affect the future course of civilization throughout the Universe. So far, James Kirk has proven himself equal to this awesome responsibility. A strong, capable, highly intelligent man in his mid-thirties, Kirk is a born leader, who has trained himself to walk the tightrope between friendship and authority without losing his sense of humor or compassion for others.

William Shatner was to have reprised his role as Captain Kirk on Star Trek: Phase II . The writers/directors guide for that series, written, among others, by Gene Roddenberry and Jon Povill between May and August 1977 , described Kirk as follows:

A shorthand sketch of Kirk might be 'a space-age Captain Horatio Hornblower,' constantly on trial with himself, a strong, complex personality. With the Starship out of communication with Earth and Starfleet bases for long periods of time, a Starship captain has unusual broad powers over both the lives and welfare of his crew, as well as over Earth people and activities encountered during these voyages. He also has broad power as an Earth Ambassador may discover. Kirk feels these responsibilities strongly and is fully capable of letting the worry and frustration lead him into error. He is also capable of fatigue and inclined to push himself beyond Human limits, then condemn himself because he is not superhuman. The crew respects him, some almost to the point of adoration. At the same time, no senior officer aboard is fearful of using his own intelligence in questioning Kirk's orders and can themselves be strongly articulate up to the point where Kirk signifies his decision has been made. Kirk is a veteran of hundreds of planet landings and space emergencies. He has a broad and highly mature perspective on command, fellow crewmen, and even on alien life customs, however strange or repugnant they seem when reassessed against Earth standards. On the other hand, don't play Kirk like the captain of an 1812 frigate in which nothing or no one moves without his command. The Enterprise crew is a finely-trained team, well able to anticipate information and action Kirk needs. Aboard ship, Captain Kirk has only a few opportunities for anything approaching friendship. One exception is with ship's surgeon Dr. McCoy, who has a legitimate professional need to constantly be aware of the state of the Captain's mind and emotions. But on a 'shore leave' away from the confines of self-imposed discipline, Jim Kirk is likely to play pretty hard, almost compulsively so. It is not impossible he will let this drag him at one time or another into an unwise romantic liaison which he will have great difficulty disentangling. He is, in short, a strong man forced by the requirements of his ship and career into the often lonely role of command, even lonelier because Starship command is the most difficult and demanding task of his century.

Kirk's demise

Regarding the death of Kirk, Ronald D. Moore , co-writer of the script in which Kirk died, wrote:

Years later, Moore added:

William Shatner personally found portraying the final appearance of Kirk, in Star Trek Generations , was "kind of strange and sad." ("Uniting Two Legends", Star Trek Generations (Special Edition) DVD / Blu-ray )

Star Trek 's writers, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman , intended the alternate reality Spock to be given a hologram of Kirk Prime by Spock Prime to convince him of their friendship. His message would have bookended the young Kirk's promotion to captain and explained Spock's offer to become his first officer. However, the filmmakers opted to drop the idea without proposing it to Shatner, as the actor was vocal about having a substantial role in the film and not a cameo. Kirk's lines were as follows:

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you... (stops, grins) I know I know, it's illogical to celebrate something you had nothing to do with, but I haven't had the chance to congratulate you on your appointment to the ambassadorship so I thought I'd seize the occasion... Bravo, Spock – they tell me your first mission may take you away for awhile, so I'll be the first to wish you luck... and to say... I miss you, old friend. I suppose I'd always imagined us... outgrowing Starfleet together. Watching life swing us into our Emeritus years... I look around at the new cadets now and can't help thinking... has it really been so long? Wasn't it only yesterday we stepped onto the Enterprise as boys? That I had to prove to the crew I deserved command... and their respect? I know what you'd say – 'It's their turn now, Jim...' And of course you're right... but it got me thinking: Who's to say we can't go one more round? By the last tally, only twenty five percent of the galaxy's been chartered... I'd call that negligent. Criminal even – an invitation. You once said being a starship captain was my first, best destiny... if that's true, then yours is to be by my side. If there's any true logic to the universe... we'll end up on that bridge again someday. Admit it, Spock. For people like us, the journey itself... is home. [11]

Ambiguities

Accepted canon regarding Kirk's early life before the Enterprise , and gaps between events portrayed in films, are scarce and ambiguous. The following notes attempt to reconcile the "mysteries" of Kirk and canon, but these questions may never be satisfactorily answered.

One of the ambiguities was when Lieutenant Kirk was an instructor at the Academy. According to " Coming of Age ", there was an age requirement of 16 years for cadets. Assuming that Gary Mitchell was born in 2242 , the earliest that he could have entered the Academy was in 2258 . Of course, this raised the probability that the blonde lab technician might be Carol Marcus. Speaking of his time at the Academy as an instructor, he said in a line of dialogue from the script of "Where No Man Has Gone Before" that, " I sort of leaned on cadets I liked. "

The producers of Star Trek have stated – including on the audio commentary – that many of the events of the alternate reality could have taken place in the original timeline. Some possible events include:

• a rebellious youth in Iowa
• disciplinary actions for cheating on the Kobayashi Maru
• meeting Spock for the first time because he cheated on his test

Roberto Orci , co-writer of Star Trek , had said that in an early draft of that film, dialogue confirmed that in the prime reality, Kirk was born in Iowa and not aboard the USS Kelvin : " If not for the attack from the Narada , the Kelvin would've reached Earth and Kirk would've been born in Iowa. The attack made Winona Kirk go into labor early. " [12] The dialogue in question was likely Prime Spock's line in which he tells the alternate James T. Kirk that he was born on a farm in Iowa, to which Kirk corrected him, stating he (the alternate Kirk) was born on a starship. This line appears in the novelization of the film , which used an early draft of the screenplay as a basis.

In March 1985, when the town was looking for a theme for its annual town festival, Steve Miller, a member of the Riverside City Council who had read The Making of Star Trek – a book that lists Kirk's year of birth as 2228 rather than the more firmly established 2233 – suggested to the council that Riverside should proclaim itself to be the future birthplace of Kirk. Miller's motion passed unanimously. The council later wrote to Roddenberry for his permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk, and with Roddenberry's consent, the town developed a tourist industry around the idea. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home then established on screen that Kirk was from Iowa.

Reiteration

In 2022 , Paul Wesley appeared in the role of James T. Kirk during the first season finale of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , serving as the captain of the USS Farragut in an alternate timeline. His casting was announced on 15 March 2022 . He reprised the role in Season 2 of Strange New Worlds . [13]

Outside of filmed canon productions, the character of Kirk had appeared in many novels , comics , games , and collectibles . While Kirk was the hero of nearly every TOS novel, he was notably the star of a series of novels by William Shatner (with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens ) which starred Kirk, reborn after his 24th century death when the Borg -Romulan alliance resurrected and brainwashed him, intending to use Kirk to kill Picard.

However, surgery performed by Doctor Julian Bashir , aided by Admiral McCoy, removed the implant controlling Kirk's actions, and the residual 'programming' was removed thanks to a mind meld with Spock. After his condition was stabilized and the Borg-Romulan alliance was destroyed, as well as a fatal blow delivered to the Borg Collective , Kirk went on to form a close, albeit sometimes strained, friendship with Picard, as well as once again encounter the mirror universe as his other self returned to kill him. He even goes on to have a child with Teilani, a genetically-engineered Romulan/Klingon hybrid.

According to Star Trek II: Biographies , Kirk was born on July 28th, 2182 on Farside Base, Luna to parents Eugene Claudius Kirk and Marjorie Wimpole. He had a sister named Michele Suzanne Kirk.

According to several novels (such as Final Frontier and Best Destiny , both by Diane Carey ) Kirk's father "George Samuel Kirk, Senior" was a Starfleet commander who was a close friend of Robert April and briefly the Enterprise 's executive officer on its first mission. The novel Collision Course by William Shatner gave James Kirk's father's name as "George Joseph Kirk". The name of Kirk's mother was said to be "Winona Kirk". Crisis on Centaurus stated George died on the planet Hellspawn in 2250, but this was overruled canonically in the 2009 film with Spock stating George Kirk saw James taking command of the Enterprise .

The DS9 novel Original Sin features an Akira -class starship named the USS James T. Kirk (NCC-63719) in honor of Kirk. It had an illustrious service history which included exploration and defensive missions.

Kirk's gravestone

In the third and fourth issues of the IDW Publishing comic Star Trek: Spock: Reflections , Picard sent a message to Spock after the events of Star Trek Generations explaining how Kirk did not die on the Enterprise -B, but was pulled into the Nexus and how he left it to help Picard defeat Soran from killing 200 million people in order to re-enter the Nexus and in the process, Kirk was killed while saving Picard and millions of others. Since Kirk was already thought dead, and explaining the nature of the Nexus to Starfleet would be difficult, Picard decided to bury Kirk on Veridian III where he gave his life to save millions. Nonetheless, Picard felt Spock should know of Kirk's fate. Eventually, Spock traveled to Veridian III and retrieved Kirk's body where he brought him back home to Earth to be reburied at the Kirk family farm in Iowa. Spock explains to Picard how Kirk did the same for him, at a terrible cost , and says he needed to be equal to Kirk's sacrifice.

Kirk and The Doctor

In the third issue of the Doctor Who crossover comic Assimilation² , Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scott investigate a Federation archaeological team on the planet Aprilia III on Stardate 3368.5, which had lost contact with Starfleet. Upon landing in the shuttlecraft Galileo , they are greeted by project manager Jefferson Whitmore, who assures them that all is well and gives them a tour of the facility, but Kirk finds the staff suspiciously calm. His team later return to the facility after dark where they meet the Fourth Doctor , assuming he's a member of the research team and he helps them break the electronic lock and together, they infiltrated the facility. There, they find the researchers standing catatonically, with small cybernetic devices in their ears. It is discovered they were under the control of the Doctor's enemies, the Cybermen . A battle ensues and Kirk fights the Cyber-Controller , but is proved no match for the cybernetic being. The Doctor then asks Kirk if he has any gold on him as he's had experience with the Cybermen and Kirk hands him his communicator. Kirk distracts the Cyber-Controller while the Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to disintegrate the communicator's gold cover into dust and use it to clog up the Controller's respiration and allowing Spock to destroy it with his phaser. After the Cybermen are defeated and the Doctor slips quietly away, Kirk arranges for a permanent garrison of Starfleet Security personnel to protect the researchers against further Cyberman incursions.

In Star Trek Cats , Kirk is depicted as an orange tabby cat .

External links

• James T. Kirk at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• James T. Kirk at the Star Trek Online Wiki
• James T. Kirk at Wikipedia
• 1 USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-G)
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

36 Iconic Captain Kirk Quotes For Star Trek Fans

James T Kirk is one of the most iconic characters from the 'Star Trek' media franchise, he first appeared in 'Star Trek: The Original Series', serving as captain of USS Enterprise.

He leads his team on a mission to explore new worlds and planets as he says, "boldly go where no man has gone before." He leads his team from the front and sometimes takes risks to get what he set out for.

Captain James T Kirk and 'Star Trek' became a cultural phenomenon through the decades. It inspired many fans to create spin-offs too.

The 'Star Trek' franchise and the series, movies, several spins off, and animated series have a cult following. When the original Captain James T Kirk breathes his last, he says, “Oh my,” an expression which says how he feels about passing away from this world to another.

After William Shatner, the role was recently reprised by Chris Pine from 2009 to the present. Pine’s portrayal could be seen as a bit reckless, but he is a go-getter and plays the role with aplomb.

If you like this article of Captain Kirk quotes, you could also read Captain Picard quotes and Spock quotes .   

Famous Captain Kirk Quotes from Star Trek

When he talks about getting into the Warp speed, Captain James T Kirk sometimes said, "Ahead warp factor one". Many such Captain James T Kirk quotes are spread across the Star Trek Franchise and have become a part of the people’s everyday language.

Let’s read some of the best Captain Kirk quotes to Scotty and some other 'Star Trek' quotes.

1. “How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life.”

- Captain James T Kirk.

2. “They used to say that if man was meant to fly, he’d have wings. But he did fly. He discovered he had to.”

3. “Genius doesn’t work on an assembly line basis.”

4. “Without freedom of choice there is no creativity. The body dies.”

5. “You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown — only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.”

6. “Intuition, however illogical, Mr. Spock, is recognized as a command prerogative.”

7. “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!”

8. “It’s a mystery. And I don’t like mysteries. They give me a bellyache, and I got a beauty right now.”

- Star Trek, Season One: The Man Trap.

9. Captain James T. Kirk: “You suspect some danger?”

Mr. Spock: “Insufficient facts always invites danger, Captain.”

Captain James T. Kirk: “Well, I’d better get some facts.”

- Star Trek, Season One: Space Seed.

10. Capt. Kirk: “Bones, you ever hear of a doomsday machine?”

Dr. McCoy: “No, I’m a doctor, not a mechanic.”

- Star Trek, Season Two: The Apple.

11. James T Kirk: “If Spock were here and I were there... what would he do?”

McCoy: “He’d let you die.”

- 'Star Trek'.

12. “Let me explain what’s happening here. You are a criminal. I watched you murder innocent men and women. I was authorised to end you, and the only reason why you are still alive is because I am allowing it...So shut your mouth!”

13. “There will always be those who mean to do us harm. To stop them, we risk awakening the same evil within ourselves. Our first instinct is to seek revenge when those we love are taken from us. But that’s not who we are."

14. "We are here today to re-christen the USS Enterprise and to honour those who lost their lives nearly one year ago. When Christopher Pike first gave me his ship, he had me recite the Captain’s Oath.

Words I didn’t appreciate at the time. Now I see them as a call for us to remember who we once were and who we must be again. And those words?

Space... the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, her five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.”

15. James T Kirk: “Vice Admirals don’t fly, do they?”

Commodore Paris: “No. They don’t.”

James T Kirk: “No offence Ma’am, but... where’s the fun in that?”

16. “Conquest is easy. Control is not.”

17. “Love sometimes expresses itself in sacrifice.”

18. “There’s another way to survive — mutual trust and help.”

19. “I haven’t faced death. I’ve cheated death. I’ve tricked my way out of death and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity; I know nothing.”

 - 'Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan '.

20. “... the prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other.”

- 'Elaan Of Troyius'.

21. “Perhaps man wasn’t meant for paradise. Maybe he was meant to claw, to scratch all the way.”

- 'This Side Of Paradise'.

22. “Leave bigotry in your quarters; there’s no room for it on the bridge.”

-  'Balance of Terror'.

23. “Our species can only survive if we have obstacles to overcome. You remove those obstacles. Without them to strengthen us, we will weaken and die.”  

24. “What is a man but that lofty spirit, that sense of enterprise, that devotion for something that cannot be sensed, cannot be realized but only dreamed, the highest reality?”

25. “We prefer to help ourselves. We make mistakes, but we’re human–and maybe that’s the word that best explains us.”

26. “One of the advantages of being a captain, Doctor, is being able to ask for advice without necessarily having to take it.”

Funny Captain Kirk Quotes

There are many discussions about Captain Kirk’s leadership style. It is said that Captain James T Kirk was a hands-on leader who made sure his team was safe and always won against the bad guys.

He understood how to lead by example. In a spin of the series 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', Jean Luc Picard was the USS Enterprise captain from 1987. Let’s read some more quotes by Captain Kirk.

27. “Risk is our business. That’s what this starship is all about. That’s why we’re aboard her.” - Captain James T Kirk.

28. “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 sounds 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.”

29. “Worlds may change, galaxies disintegrate, but a woman always remains a woman.”

30. “I don’t believe in no-win scenarios.”

31. “The odds are against us and the situation is grim.”

32. “A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.”

33. Mirror Spock: “One man cannot summon the future.”

Captain James T. Kirk: “But one man can change the present.”

34. “We’re a most promising species, Mr. Spock, as predators go. Did you know that?

I don’t. Not anymore. And maybe in a thousand years or so, we’ll be able to prove it.”

35. “I have to take him back inside myself. I can’t survive without him. I don’t want to take him back. He’s like an animal. a thoughtless, brutal animal. And yet it’s me. Me!”

36. Captain James T. Kirk: “You’d make a splendid computer, Mr. Spock.”

Spock: [taken aback] “That is very kind of you, Captain!”

Here at Kidadl , we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for [Captain Kirk quotes for Star Trek Fans], then why not take a look at Battlestar Galactica quotes or [ Babylon 5 quotes ].

main image credit: berni0004 / Shutterstock.com second image credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

We Want Your Photos!

More for you, 22 best 2001: a space odyssey quotes, 80+ john williams quotes, 50+ mel brooks quotes.

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English and Drama, Master of Arts specializing in Performance: Design and Practice

Luca Demetriou Bachelor of Arts specializing in English and Drama, Master of Arts specializing in Performance: Design and Practice

Experienced in writing and sub-editing, Luca holds a Bachelor's in English Literature and Drama from the University of Birmingham, where he served as the culture editor at Redbrick Paper. He is currently pursuing a Master's in Performance: Design and Practice at the University of the Arts in London, showcasing his passion for the arts, performance, and history. With a keen interest in traveling, Luca enjoys exploring new cultures and experiencing diverse perspectives.

1) Kidadl is independent and to make our service free to you the reader we are supported by advertising. We hope you love our recommendations for products and services! What we suggest is selected independently by the Kidadl team. If you purchase using the Buy Now button we may earn a small commission. This does not influence our choices. Prices are correct and items are available at the time the article was published but we cannot guarantee that on the time of reading. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. We also link to other websites, but are not responsible for their content.

2) At Kidadl, we strive to recommend the very best activities and events. We will always aim to give you accurate information at the date of publication - however, information does change, so it’s important you do your own research, double-check and make the decision that is right for your family. We recognise that not all activities and ideas are appropriate for all children and families or in all circumstances. Our recommended activities are based on age but these are a guide. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. Kidadl cannot accept liability for the execution of these ideas, and parental supervision is advised at all times, as safety is paramount. Anyone using the information provided by Kidadl does so at their own risk and we can not accept liability if things go wrong.

3) Because we are an educational resource, we have quotes and facts about a range of historical and modern figures. We do not endorse the actions of or rhetoric of all the people included in these collections, but we think they are important for growing minds to learn about under the guidance of parents or guardians.

google form TBD

Kidadl is supported by you, the reader. When you buy through the links on our site we may earn a commission.

As an Amazon Associate, Kidadl earns from qualifying purchases.

Star Trek: Captain Kirk's 15 Best Quotes, Ranked

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

When Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek: The Original Series launched into the 23rd Century back in 1966 aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, Starfleet Captain James Tiberius Kirk was at the helm. Tagged as the youngest starship captain in Starfleet history, Kirk took command of the Enterprise for a five-year mission, three of which were broadcast in TOS . Kirk's youth and arrogance made him more daring than the majority of his Starfleet colleagues, pushing him to take risks and chances others wouldn't dare.

Originally portrayed by William Shatner , the actor breathed an unforgettable amount of life into Captain Kirk. As charismatic as he was willful, there wasn't a man or alien alive who could tell Kirk what to do, and though this often got him into trouble, his strong moral compass was generally enough to get him out of it. Shatner played Kirk for 28 years, appearing in all 79 episodes of TOS , all but one of Star Trek: The Animated Series ' 22 episodes, and the first seven Star Trek films. He even went on to write dozens of Star Trek novels over the years, which saw the resurrection of Kirk's character and return to active duty.

Captain Kirk's hold over the Star Trek universe still has power to this day. With the franchise launching the three-movie reboot known as the Kelvin Timeline in 2009, Chris Pine took over as James Kirk. While many agree he did a stellar job filling some pretty big shoes, others worried he didn't possess the same amount of maturity Shatner's Kirk displayed. In 2022, Paul Wesley stepped into the role in the Paramount+ series, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , and so far he seems to have found a unique balance between Shatner and Pine that will definitely be remembered.

Along his journeys through the stars, Captain Kirk met challenges head-on, rarely backing down from anyone or anything that dared to stand in his way. He had a reputation as a ladies' man, looking for romance wherever he went, but above all other things he loved his ship and his crew. Given the length of his career, it's no surprise that Kirk left fans with a lot of wisdom that will linger on for centuries to come.

15 "Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on."

When Kirk and the crew encounter a planet embroiled in a centuries' long war in Season 1, Episode 23, "A Taste of Armageddon," he discovers the people have lost sight of what war truly is. With outcomes dictated by a computer, people seem to accept things as the computer plans them. Kirk determines that the best way to end the cycle is to destroy the computer.

It's a risky maneuver, but Kirk is a man of risk. After destroying it and stopping the war, Spock is surprised that his hunch panned out. Kirk isn't ashamed to admit to being led by his intuition. After all, sometimes gut feeling is all a human can rely on.

14 "A species that enslaves others is hardly superior -- mentally, or otherwise."

When Kirk, Uhura and Chekov find themselves thrust into a gladiator arena on Triskelion, the Grand Master Thrall informs them they will be trained to entertain the Providers. As Kirk gets to the bottom of who the Providers are, he discovers they are actually three disembodied brains who believe themselves superior. Kirk offers the Providers a deal, stating that if he and his officers defeat an equal number of thralls, they must release all the thralls and teach them to govern themselves.

Intrigued, the Providers agree, but only if Kirk will fight three thralls on his own. There was a lot on the table in this episode, including powerful thoughts about self-governance, the right to freedom from oppression and slavery and the audacity of anyone believing themselves superior enough to enslave others.

13 "Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does."

When the Enterprise encounters a 17-year-old boy named Charlie who'd been left alone to survive on an abandoned planet, they take him aboard. They soon discover that Charlie was augmented by aliens before he was left there, and struggles to control his supernatural abilities. Kirk mentors Charlie to the best of his ability, but the best advice he offered the boy was to hang on tight and survive.

Even in the darkest of days, there are only two options: give up or keep going. Captain Kirk is not a man who would give up, no matter the odds. It's only natural this would be his advice.

12 "If I can have honesty, it's easier to overlook than mistakes."

Everyone makes mistakes. Even Captain Kirk knows perfection is an impossibility. Still, it's human nature to fear the repercussions of mistakes. That fear often leads to lying or trying to cover up a mistake, rather than owning up to it. It's far easier to overlook a mistake than a lie. Lies lead to distrust, which can sometimes never be corrected, but mistakes are fixable.

11 "Conquest is easy. Control is not."

In the Season 2, Episode 4 episode "Mirror, Mirror," Kirk, Uhura, and Scott find themselves trapped in a parallel universe much darker than their own. At odds with this parallel version of Spock, Kirk must consider his actions carefully to avoid disaster or exposure. When Spock pushes him to consider killing Chekhov in the agony booth, he backs up his recommendation with the fact that in order to maintain the stability of the Empire, they must continue to exhibit a certain amount of terror.

Kirk's observation about conquest and control actually elicits a sly death threat from Spock, who reminds him he would make for a most dangerous adversary. But Kirk makes a good point. It's all too easy to conquer, but holding onto that which has been taken is no easy task.

RELATED: Star Trek Voyager: Captain Janeway's 10 Best Quotes, Ranked

10 "I don't believe in the no-win scenario."

One of the most memorable Kirk quotes from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, remains the iconic "KHAAAAAAN!" However, there were a lot of poignant moments from the captain, including his refusal to believe in no-win scenarios. The odds he constantly faced out there among the stars put him up against so many challenges, but his quick-thinking and wit almost always got him out of those dangerous situations. Adopting Kirk's philosophy on the no-win scenario is incredibly inspiring, and applicable in pretty much every situation.

9 "Leave bigotry in your quarters; there's no room for it on the bridge."

When it came to the Romulans and the Klingons, the people of Kirk's time harbored a lot of enmity and mistrust, and with good reason. But when Lieutenant Stiles insinuates that Spock could be a Romulan spy in Season 1, Episode 8, "Balance of Power," Kirk isn't having it. He's worked along Spock long enough by this point that despite his quirks, he trusts the Vulcan officer implicitly. Those unprofessional enough to bring bigotry onto his bridge won't be tolerated.

8 "They used to say that if man was meant to fly, he'd have wings."

Each time the world advances, there are those who cling firmly to the past because people don't like change. But Captain Kirk knows well how necessary change is to the continued evolution of humanity and technology. Maybe man wasn't born with wings, but as Kirk pointed out, "But he did fly. He discovered he had to." Man made his own wings, and those wings took humanity into the skies and then straight to the stars.

Coming from a different angle, it's easy to see how that old quote can be thwarted. Man did have wings, after he made them for himself. So long as there are challenges to overcome, humanity will face them with aplomb.

7 "Intuition, however illogical, Mr. Spock, is recognized as a command prerogative."

The balance between Spock's logic and Kirk's intuition built the framework for their friendship as they came to understand and accept each other's differences. That didn't always stop Spock from pointing out the foolishness in Kirk's belief in things like gut feelings, intuition, and luck. Kirk understood perfectly well there was no logic in relying on his gut, but it all too often led him to the right place or conclusion. He was the captain, after all, which made it his prerogative to follow his gut wherever it might lead.

6 "There is no such thing as the unknown, only things temporarily hidden."

Fear of the unknown has long been one of humanity's greatest driving forces. Fear prohibits people from taking chances, from moving forward, from making changes. It's impossible to see what might lie ahead, so the tendency to cling to the familiar sometimes overpowers the necessity to take chances. If the perspective is shifted from the unknown to things temporarily hidden, the concept loses some of its terror. Sure, monsters could be temporarily hidden, but so could opportunities and treasures. It's impossible to tell until we leap forward and take a look.

RELATED: Star Trek: Captain Picard's 15 Best Quotes, Ranked

5 "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life."

During his tenure as captain, Kirk faced innumerable life-and-death situations. He recognized the importance of both life and death. That each should be approached with respect and care is a given, but it goes so much deeper than that for Kirk. It is human nature to grieve in the face of death, but as a Starship Captain, he didn't always have that luxury. He felt the responsibility for those who died on his watch very deeply, but he also knew it was essential to respect their sacrifice.

4 "Love sometimes expresses itself in sacrifice."

When a mysterious entity known as "The Companion" attempted to trap Kirk and his crew on an abandoned planet to be playmates with the warp drive's lost inventor Zephram Cochrane, the captain finds himself in a philosophical conversation with the entity on the nature of love. It cannot understand love because it has no physical body or means to share loving expression and intimacy.

While trying to reason with it to let Cochrane go, the Companion claims it can't because it loves him. Much to McCoy's annoyance, Kirk explains that sometimes sacrifice is the best way to show love, but the still entity doesn't quite understand the age-old adage: "If you love something, set it free." In the end, she finds a way to experience love by taking over the body of a dying woman to keep her alive. That way, they can both learn about love together.

3 "Without freedom of choice there is no creativity. The body dies."

The necessity for freedom of choice has been an ongoing topic of debate for centuries. Captain Kirk's thoughts on the matter may seem dramatic on reflection, but there is definite merit in his observation. When facing a society that thrives on obedience, he recognizes the lacking creativity as people simply go through the motions being dictated to them. Are they even alive anymore? Empowering oneself by taking power away from another is one of the most awful forms of oppression, and one James Kirk won't put up with, no matter where he finds it.

2 "To boldly go where no man has gone before."

These days, the Star Trek franchise has corrected this famous quote in order to be gender-neutral. Back in the 1960s, however, it was more about traveling taking a risk to travel among the stars. Even now, the end of Kirk's famous speech about "Space: The Final Frontier," is often heard in speeches celebrating the bravery of those preparing to set out on a new life path. Promotions, graduations, and any situation that requires taking a chance is an opportunity to put one of Captain Kirk's most famous lines to use.

1 "The prejudices people feel about each other disappear..."

Perhaps one of the most important things Captain Kirk ever said, "The prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other," remains relevant across time. Traveling the stars, and interacting with other species, there are bound to be fears and prejudices around those interactions. Getting to know one another peels away layers of prejudice until all we see standing before us is life, and all life is deserving of respect. Our preconceived notions about others who are different from what we know should be cast aside and forgotten.

Of course, Kirk is from the future, where humanity has allegedly evolved. But there were many instances where he and his crew encountered other races and species that provoked prejudice. Even now, just hearing the word Romulan is enough to make fans crinkle their noses in distaste, but in the end, Romulans are people too. They're different, and their opinions may not coincide with the other views, but they are still living beings, and that makes them complicated.

• William Shatner

Things you buy through our links may earn  Vox Media  a commission.

Which Star Trek Captain Has the Best Managerial Technique?

It’s impossible to be objective when selecting your favorite Star Trek captain. It requires making a call wrapped up in sentiment and timing. Which captain did you first encounter? Which one best reflected back to you the person you wanted to be? It’s easier to try to attempt a clear-eyed consideration of which one would be the best boss. Sure, there are captains sure to take you on wild adventures, but would you enjoy the ride if your life depended on their decision-making? On the flip side, there are captains that could get the job done without really inspiring that much enthusiasm, the Starfleet equivalent of a decent boss who clearly spends the back half of every shift with an eye on the clock.

It’s a worthwhile thought exercise, and one at the heart of Star Trek: Discovery , which focuses not on a captain but Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), a science officer struggling to work her way back from a snap judgment that ended with her in disgrace. Burnham has so far served under several captains, and the series has depicted the effect this has had on both her and the officers around her. (And, thus, has more entries below than any other version of Trek .) We considered the captains featured in various film and TV branches of the Star Trek universe, including Star Trek: Lower Decks ’ animated captain, and tried to rank them based on who would provide the best work experience — and who would be most likely to bring you back home in one piece.

12. Captain Philippa Georgiou, Mirror Universe (Michelle Yeoh)

Seen in: star trek: discovery.

Managerial style: Imperious and unforgiving, though that description is complicated by the fact that being imperious and unforgiving is baked into her main mirror universe job as emperor of the Terran Empire. (Or, more accurately, her job as Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominos of Qo’noS, Regina Andor, Philippa Goergiou Augustus Iaponius Centarius.) There, she fought for and won the top spot in a kill-or-be-killed system in which might makes right, and deception and backstabbing are the norm; to that end, she expects those working under her to understand the rules of the game. In other words, she’s awful. But, on the other hand, she really seems to enjoy being awful, not to mention the fringe benefits of having clawed her way to the top (fine food, sex slaves, etc.). Those who can get on her murderous wavelength might also have a good time — for as long as it lasts.

Key career moment: When the always adaptive Emperor Georgiou made her way from the mirror universe to the prime Star Trek universe she used the opportunity to save the day after getting thrown into a battle between the Federation and the Klingons. But this wasn’t a simple heel-face turn; as always, it was more a matter of calculation than altruism. The move won her freedom from those who knew her true origins and earned her a spot in the Federation’s super-secretive deep-state operation Section 31. What could possibly go wrong?

Would she be a good boss? Put simply, working for this Philippa Georgiou, at least in the mirror universe that made her, would mean constantly fearing for your life as part of a pitiless, fascist organization hell-bent on conquering the universe with little regard for its employees’ quality of life. (Actually, when it’s all spelled out like that, it sounds like a pretty easy transition from corporate America.)

11. Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Isaacs)

Managerial style: In a word, cryptic. After she’s accepted aboard the Discovery following her mutinous turn against her mentor Captain Georgiou (the prime universe one, not the evil dictator; more below), Michael Burnham spends much of Discovery ’s first season trying to figure out what’s up with her new captain, a man fond of fortune cookies and averse to bright lights and chairs. Pro: Lorca took a chance on her when no one else would. Con: He also seems kind of evil. That likelihood aside — and it’s eventually revealed that, spoiler ahead, he made his way to the prime universe from the mirror universe after somehow taking the original Lorca’s place — he commanded the Discovery with curiosity, a sure hand, and an apparent sense of fairness. Shame about all the murder and scheming.

Key career moment: The season one episode “Into the Forest I Go” captures every side of Captain Lorca as he bravely goes into battle against Klingons, questionably decides to risk the health of a crew member (and with him, the whole crew) to win the battle, then takes everyone into the mirror universe to further his scheme of galactic conquest. It’s quite a journey, and one that reveals his true self at the end.

Would he be a good boss? No, but serving under Lorca would never be boring.

10. Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter)

Seen in: star trek: the original series.

Managerial style: Glum as hell. Some behind-the-scenes info: Jeffrey Hunter’s Captain Pike was supposed to be the protagonist of the original Star Trek series. NBC passed, but gave Gene Roddenberry the unusual opportunity to make a second pilot, this one featuring the now-familiar classic series cast (with only Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock sticking around). But Roddenberry wasn’t done with Pike or the original pilot. It became central to the two-part episode “The Menagerie,” which recounts Pike and the Enterprise ’s adventures on Talos IV, home to the Talosians and their reality-bending psychic powers. Hunter’s a fine actor, but it’s not hard to see why NBC was reluctant to green-light a series focusing on Pike, who’s introduced complaining about the burden of command. “You bet I’m tired,” he tells the ship’s doctor. “Tired of being responsible for 203 lives. Tired of deciding which mission is too risky and which isn’t and who’s going on the landing party and who doesn’t. And who lives … and who dies.” He sounds ready to boldly curl up in a fetal position.

Key career moment: The signature moment for this incarnation of Pike comes at the end of the episode when, having been burned and disfigured beyond recognition, he’s allowed to return to Talos IV and live out his days in the unreal paradise he rejected years before, even though he already seemed pretty much over reality as we know it from the start.

Would he be a good boss? Spock and the others seem to respect him, so perhaps his doubts don’t interfere with his ability to command, even if working under him seems like it would make for a pretty weary trudge through the cosmos.

9. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula)

Seen in: star trek: enterprise.

Managerial style: Archer’s chill, which is both his greatest strength as a leader and occasionally his greatest weakness. A former Boy Scout, lifelong water-polo enthusiast, and caring dog owner, Archer sometimes seems like he’s happy enough to be exploring the stars but might be even happier if he was just hanging out and shooting the breeze with some pals. This might be more impression than reality; Star Trek lore has him going on to become a decorated admiral and to be regarded as one of the greatest explorers in the early days of Starfleet and he certainly does a lot of exploring during the show’s four-season run. But Scott Bakula rarely plays him as a man who has greatness in his future. Archer usually seems a little annoyed that the Enterprise ’s adventures have cut into his downtime. He’s not as melancholy as Jeffrey Hunter’s Captain Pike, but he occasionally seems just as checked out. Nonetheless, he was always good in a crisis, and could be a surprisingly shrewd diplomatic. It just always seemed to take a major event to stir his interest.

Key career moment: In the second-season episode “A Night in Sickbay,” Archer hangs out with his ailing dog Porthos when he should be tending to his diplomatic duties. It borders on dereliction of duty, even if it is pretty endearing. It’s also a pretty good encapsulation of how Archer’s mind works.

Would he be a good boss? Sure. Probably. Why not? He’d be okay enough.

8. Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine)

Seen in: star trek , star trek into darkness , star trek beyond.

Managerial style: If you like predictability, order, rules, regulations, and military precision, the last place you’d want to be is the Kelvin Universe Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk. Chris Pine’s just-getting-started Kirk is young, impetuous, and brilliant — but mostly young and impetuous. It’s smart work, playing like the Kirk we know from the original Star Trek run before any of the rough edges had gotten sanded off. Pine’s Kirk is a lot of fun to watch, but it also seems like serving under him would be terrifying most of the time.

Key career moment: Forced to choose between rescuing an alien race and violating the Prime Directive in the opening scenes of Star Trek Into Darkness , Kirk barely seems to consider it a choice at all. It’s just the first of many times he breaks the rules over the course of the film (plus its predecessor and successor). Sure, it all works out (even if Kirk does briefly wind up dead later in the movie), but it could have gone horribly wrong. This Kirk commands from the gut, occasionally while listening to Beastie Boys. He’s cool and fun, but…

Would he be a good boss? … Do you really want to work for a Starfleet captain best described as “cool” and “fun” while exploring the furthest reaches of a dangerous universe?

7. Captain Carol Freeman (Dawnn Lewis)

Seen in: star trek: lower decks.

Managerial style: Directness defines Captain Freeman’s command style. She knows exactly what she wants and she’s not afraid to ask for it, sometimes forcefully. She’s no-nonsense but not in a power trip–y way. She just wants things to run smoothly even if experience has taught her that it never does. (Or, at least it never does onboard the second-tier U.S.S. Cerritos , the California class starship she commands.)

Key career moment: Commanding a ship on which her gifted-but-rebellious daughter, Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), is serving as an ensign has been a continual challenge for Captain Freeman, forcing her to balance her duties as captain against her concerns as a mother. She’s mostly opted to model good behavior for her daughter by following the rules of Starfleet. In Lower Decks ’ third-season premiere, Mariner and her pals take desperate, and illegal, measures to clear Captain Freeman of a crime she’s been wrongly accused of. Ultimately, the system works, making Mariner’s misadventures unnecessary. Mother/Starfleet knows best.

Would she be a good boss? Probably. She’s terse but fair and clearly knows what she’s doing. But as the head of a ship prone to animated high jinks, it’s tough to judge Captain Freeman against other Star Trek captains. Her informed, steady-handed command doesn’t always work in her favor when dealing with some of the cartoonish absurdity the Cerritos keeps encountering. On the other hand, nothing truly terrible ever happens to those under her command, so serving on the Cerritos would likely be one of Starfleet’s safer assignments.

6. Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner)

Seen in: star trek: the original series , star trek: the motion picture, star trek: generations.

Managerial style: You’re probably better off working for the slightly older Kirk played by William Shatner in Original Series and its accompanying film series. (Okay, he’s significantly older in the film series.) This Kirk hasn’t lost the spirit evident in the younger Kirk, only it’s now tempered — at least a bit — by experience. Working for this Kirk isn’t without dangers of its own, particularly if you’re wearing a red uniform. He’s perfectly willing to send an away team into danger. Just as often, however, he’s the one leading the team, and it’s hard to underestimate the esprit de corps created by a leader willing to put himself in harm’s way mission after mission. Prepare to work hard, and maybe die, but feel like you’re part of a mission that could change the universe for the better.

Key career moment: Prepare also to listen to speeches. Kirk is a man of action and a man of romance, but above all, he’s a man of ideals who’s willing to go to great lengths to protect those ideals. But first, he’ll try to persuade his opponents with words. In “The Omega Glory,” for instance, Shatner’s Kirk lectures the primitive residents of a planet whose development paralleled Earth until it took a wrong turn on the glories of the U.S. Constitution, and he does it one emphatic syllable at a time: “We. The People …” Etc.

Would he be a good boss? Chances are you’d love working for Kirk up to the moment he got you killed.

5. Captain Philippa Georgiou, Prime Universe (Michelle Yeoh)

Managerial style: Collegial but firm, the prime universe Georgiou might rank even higher on this list if we had a large sample of what she was like as a captain. In the early episodes of Discovery she appears to be competent, respected, quick on her feet and close to her crew, especially Michael Burnham.

Key career moment: But not apparently close enough to stop Burnham from committing a mutinous act that she deems necessary to prevent a war with the Klingons. Whether this is a failure on Georgiou’s part — a missed chance to take a key suggestion from a subordinate — or overzealousness on Burnham’s remains a question left open by Georgiou’s subsequent death.

Would she be a good boss? It seems like she would, especially since her death continues to haunt Burnham throughout the series. On the other hand, maybe listen to your trusted shipmate when she says she knows what she’s talking about?

4. Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks)

Seen in: star trek: deep space nine.

Managerial style: Firm, fair, and perpetually distracted. Burned out on Starfleet life after losing his wife in the Battle of Wolf 359, Sisko only reluctantly takes command of Deep Space Nine, a space station located close to a galactic hot spot near a wormhole and, until shortly before he assumed command, ruled by the Cardassians. But Sisko soon finds himself drawn into the leadership of the station and the politics of the region when the spiritual leader of nearby Bajor names him the Emissary of the Prophets. It’s all a lot to balance, even before new adversaries start to show up from the Gamma Quadrant — and on top of it all, Sisko has to serve as a single father to a teenage son. Maybe that’s why he sometimes seems so overworked. He’s a fine, inspiring leader, but he also has a lot on his plate, running a space station while also acting as the first line of defense against enemies known and unknown — and maybe serving as messiah to a whole race of people. Many Deep Space Nine stories require Sisko to be reactive rather than proactive, whether dealing with a tavern keeper running a black market under his nose or the outbreak of a full-scale war. Strong and competent, Sisko could handle anything, but the series made him handle an awful lot.

Key career moment: Deep Space Nine introduced shades of moral grayness to Star Trek only suggested by its predecessors, never more than in the course of the protracted Dominion War arc, a dangerous conflict in which Sisko sometimes had to cheat and bend the truth for the greater good. Brooks’s performance always suggested that Sisko did a lot of soul-searching before making any decision, but once made he never looked back, the mark of a strong leader if ever there was one.

Would he be a good boss? Chances are that, apart from the occasional curt acknowledgment, you might only talk to him once or twice as he moved from one crisis to another. Still, you’d end up respecting the hell out of Sisko.

3. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart)

Seen in: star trek: the next generation, star trek: generations, star trek: nemesis, star trek: picard.

Managerial style: Picard manages like a benevolent but firm god. Speaking in an authoritative voice (the accent helps), his every directive sounds as if handed down from above. But there’s a difference between having the trappings of authority and having the record to back it up, and from his first outing on the Enterprise — in which the decision to separate the starship’s saucer section showed just how many lives were depending on him making the right choices — he makes it clear how seriously he took his job and how seriously he expects others to take theirs.

Key career moment: In some respects, the definitive Picard moment can be found in Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s final episode, “All Good Things …” in which Picard, for the first time, joined his senior staff for their regular poker game, with an expression of regret that he’d never gotten around to it before. Except in rare moments, Picard always holds himself at a distance as captain, even if Stewart’s performance always emphasizes the complex, passionate human beneath the commanding exterior. He stays remote by design and it worked, but that choice isn’t without consequences.

Would he be a good boss? Picard would be an awe-inspiring boss in every sense. You’d learn a lot working with him, even if you never felt like you truly knew him.

2. Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount)

Seen in: star trek: discovery, star trek: strange new worlds.

Managerial style: In sharp contrast to Hunter’s Pike, Anson Mount plays Christopher Pike as a man who’s just happy to be out among the stars with shipmates he considers to be more like friends than co-workers. Where on Discovery, Pike was reminiscent of a cool camp counselor who just wants everyone to have a good time — as long as they follow the rules and listen to his orders — Strange New Worlds has layers of soulfulness and empathy only glimpsed before. (Maybe learning you’re headed to a horrific fate does that?) In moments of crisis, Pike comes off as unshaken but commanding, and willing to use force against his enemies when necessary. He’s easygoing until circumstances force him to be otherwise. Then he’s not. He carries himself around his crew with authority while still radiating concern. This is a self-assured, modern captain who cooks an amazing gumbo and doesn’t worry that his subordinates will lose respect if they see him wearing an apron.

Key career moment: In Strange New Worlds ’ first-season finale, Pike believes he’s found a workaround to avoid the accident in which he’ll sacrifice his well-being to save others. Then Pike is visited by an older version of himself who confirms that, yes, he can escape maiming before taking the captain on an It’s a Wonderful Life –like tour of the future created by his attempt to escape his fate. It’s not pretty and it means others will suffer in his place. So, of course, he resigns himself to his destiny without telling anyone. Always the greater good with this guy.

Would he be a good boss? Working for Pike seems like a dream, honestly. He seems like the kind of boss who’d teach you new skills and then suggest unwinding with a game of ping-pong that he wouldn’t try all that hard to win (though he totally could if he wanted to). Two seasons into Strange New Worlds, and the series keeps revealing new layers of competence and compassion. Call him No. 2 with a bullet (or a phaser blast, if that makes more sense).

1. Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew)

Seen in: star trek: voyager.

Managerial style: Democratic, at least up to a point. Forced to navigate an unexplored quadrant of the galaxy while commanding a crew made up of enemies forced to work together in an attempt to find their way home, Janeway has the highest level of difficulty of any of the captains on this list. She rises to the occasion by hearing out all points of view, reconciling opposing stances when possible, working toward compromise, then ultimately making an informed decision after listening to her crew. Stuck in an impossible situation, she stays coolheaded and thoughtful no matter how trying the circumstances become.

Key career moment: The biggest challenge faced by Janeway and the Voyager crew comes not in the form of hostile races or dwindling supplies — though those don’t help — but from the many moments that invite them to abandon their principles. In the second season’s “Alliances,” Janeway seeks a way to sidestep conflict with the Kazon (sort of the Gamma Quadrant’s dollar-store version of the Klingons). She considers first an alliance with a Kazon faction, then teaming up with the Trabe, a seemingly much more civilized race. Then, despite the wishes of a faction of her officers, she ultimately rejects both choices when she learns the Kazon can’t be trusted and that the Trabe are just as bad in their own way. It might mean taking longer to get back home, or maybe never getting home at all, but she remains determined that her crew hang on to their best selves no matter what.

Would she be a good boss? Yes. Janeway would be the sort of boss you might have to complain about behind her back, but she’s also the sort of boss you’d end up naming your first child after.

• vulture lists
• vulture picks
• star trek: discovery
• star trek: lower decks
• star trek: strange new worlds

Most Viewed Stories

• Cinematrix No. 169: September 11, 2024
• The 2024 MTV Video Music Award Winners
• Which All-Starrs Did Ringo Have to Fire?
• Hugh Grant Was Born to Play the Villain
• Why Is Taylor Swift Hugging Brittany Mahomes Such a Big Deal?
• Um, Is NewJeans Okay?
• Chappell Roan and the ‘Ungrateful’ Pop Stars Before Her

Editor’s Picks

Most Popular

What is your email.

This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive email correspondence from us.

Sign In To Continue Reading

Create your free account.

Password must be at least 8 characters and contain:

• Lower case letters (a-z)
• Upper case letters (A-Z)
• Numbers (0-9)
• Special Characters (!@#$%^&*)

As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York , which you can opt out of anytime.

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes

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.

Related Articles

Star Trek: Best Captain Kirk Quotes, Ranked

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

This Beloved The Walking Dead Character Is Much Darker Than Fans Realize

The vampire diaries' final episode had a hidden callback to season 1 that most fans missed, this 14-year-old episode of doctor who still breaks fans’ hearts.

Being a captain can't be easy. There are hundreds of people counting on them to make the right decisions that will keep them alive. Being the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise – the flagship of the United Federation of Planets – must come with even more stress. But fans of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek would rarely see that pressure get to him.

Along with his decisive thinking, strategic planning, and sense of humor, Captain Kirk often kept his ship and his crew alive with nothing more than his words. The boy from Iowa lived by the ideals of the future, using his beliefs not only to navigate the universe but to deal with the dangers he and the crew faced. With his confidence and words, Captain Kirk showed us all just how great humanity could be.

Updated on September 13, 2023 by Joshua M. Patton: William Shatner is the iconic originator of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, the first captain of the USS Enterprise that Star Trek fans fell in love with. However, in the nearly 60 years of history behind Gene Roddenberry's created universe, he's not the only actor to portray the character. With Chris Pine donning the signature gold shirt in the film trilogy set in "the Kelvin Timeline," and Paul Welsey taking on the role in Strange New Worlds, Kirk's wit and wisdom continues to expand.

RELATED: A Complete Guide to Scotty From Star Trek

20 “Hang On Tight And Survive. Everybody Does.”

[T]here are a million things in this universe you can have and a million things you can't have. It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are.... Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.

The first season episode "Charlie X" saw the Enterprise welcome a young man named Charlie aboard the ship who had spent years surviving alone. Charlie had been modified by aliens to survive their harsh planet, which gave him incredible abilities like telepathy that he used to force the crew into uncomfortable situations.

Charlie struggled with acclimating to his new way of life onboard the Enterprise where he didn't get everything he wanted, and despaired about going on with his life. Kirk was able to make him see that he could push through, surviving one day at a time like the rest of humanity.

19 "Either We're Going Down or They Are"

Attention crew of the Enterprise, this is James Kirk. Mr. Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to acting captain. I know you are all expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments at battle stations and ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down... or they are. Kirk out.

The mission of Starfleet is one of peaceful exploration and curiosity, but no matter which actor is playing Captain James T. Kirk, he's always read to fight when its necessary. In 2009's Star Trek when Earth is threatened by the time-traveling Romulan villain Nero, he takes command of the USS Enterprise to save the planet.

The version of Kirk in this film is much different than the one fans know, yet even after living a life of loss and aimlessness, once Kirk ended up where he belonged -- in the Captain's chair -- he became the man fans know and love. He will avoid a fight whenever he can, but if he can't? No one can stop him from saving the day.

18 "Don't Skip Good Hot Dogs"

My advice? Don't skip good hot dogs when you can get them.

Strange New Worlds Season 2 featured another time-travel romp, this time offering an alternate future version of James T. Kirk who wasn't part of Starfleet or the Federation, but rather the United Earth Fleet. His timeline was one of devastation and war. While La'an Noonien Singh, Khan's descendant , and the Enterprise Chief of Security, is trying to puzzle out their mission in the past, Kirk reminds her to take advantage of the good things that come her way.

17 “What Is a Man?"

What is a man but that lofty spirit, that sense of enterprise, that devotion for something that cannot be sensed, cannot be realized, but only dreamed, the highest reality?

The crew of the Enterprise was faced with a heavy decision when they encountered a planet full of androids that wanted to serve humanity by replacing their bodies with artificial ones and granting them eternal life in the second season's "I, Mudd."

However, Kirk was able to talk some of the curious members of his crew out of the decision by pondering exactly what it is that makes them all human – listing many of the reasons that humanity ventured into space in search of the unknown in the first place, which could never be replicated by the artificial androids.

RELATED: 15 Best Star Trek Games, Ranked According To Metacritic

16 “I Need My Pain!”

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 explored the ongoing Star Trek search for God that made a number of crew members question their faith and the surrounding reality, especially when members of the crew were "cured" of negative emotions like pain and guilt.

However, Kirk refused to undergo the same process as he felt that those feelings helped shape who we are and who we become, which ultimately allows humanity to make the right decisions. He was right, as the God-like being was later revealed to be an evil being who was trapped and manipulating others to facilitate his escape.

15 "The Prejudices People Feel..."

The prejudices people feel about each other disappear when they get to know each other.

Tasked with ensuring that the arranged marriage of the leaders of two warring planets takes place without interference, Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise find themselves dealing with an angry bride, a nervous groom, and a group of Klingons who plan to sabotage the event.

Kirk's words come from a more mature and evolved version of mankind that has worked past its biases based on skin color, religion, or gender. He knows as all humans in Star Trek do, that the only way to move forward is to work together. To see the things we have in common and celebrate the things that make us different.

14 "Sometimes A Feeling Is All We Humans Have"

Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.

When the Enterprise finds itself caught up in a centuries-long planetary war where the casualties are decided by a computer program, Captain Kirk knows that the only way to bring about peace is to remind the people of the planet what war really is. By leaving the outcomes of battles to a computer, the people have done away with the lasting scars of war and come to accept the ritual deaths as something of a sacrifice that must be done.

Kirk risks everything by destroying the war computer, forcing the leaders of the world to decide if it is better to continue their war with actual destruction and devastation or if the time has come to talk peace. In his gut, Kirk knows they will make the right choice.

RELATED: The 25 Most Powerful Star Trek Species, Ranked

13 "His Was The Most... Human"

"We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human."

In all fiction, there are few friendships as iconic as that of Captain Kirk and Mister Spock. It is impossible not to think of one when you think of the other. These two men, one an emotional human the other a rational Vulcan, will always be the greatest duo in Star Trek .

When Spock gave his life for the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan , Kirk was left to write a eulogy not only for his Science Officer but his closest friend in all the universe. His words ensured that there wasn't a dry eye in the theater.

12 "Believe In Yourself"

You either believe in yourself, or you don’t.

A captain needs confidence, and that's something Kirk has in spades. He knows that if he doesn't believe in the mission, then his crew won't believe in it either, and if he doesn't believe in himself, they won't be comfortable following him.

Even more important is the knowledge that without believing in oneself, there is no hope for improvement. And if a person can not improve, then what is the purpose of existence? To Captain Kirk, there is no more important thing for a person to have than faith in themself.

RELATED: Star Trek Uses Shields and Deflector Screens Better Than Any Other Sci-Fi Property

11 "If Man Was Meant To Fly, He'd Have Wings..."

They used to say that if man was meant to fly, he’d have wings. But he did fly. He discovered he had to.

From the story of Icarus to the stories of superheroes today, mankind has always been inspired by the idea of flight. The idea of a man soaring through the skies seemed like an impossible task, but in less than 60 decades, humanity went from a 12-second 120-foot flight to sending the first man into space.

What Captain Kirk is saying here is that humanity has always stepped up to the challenge, and we always will. It won't be easy, and we'll fall down often, but in the end, we will succeed because we must.

10 "There's No Such Thing As The Unknown..."

There's no such thing as the unknown, only things temporarily hidden.

The unknown can be scary. The idea that just out of sight, hiding in the darkness is something that can hurt us is what most horror is built around, and for good reason. Be it the monster in the closet or the alien from Venus, we fear that which we do not know.

But if we think like Captain Kirk, the unknown isn't something to be frightened by. The unknown becomes something exciting to discover. The unknown is out there, just waiting to be found. Suddenly, that fear becomes a feeling of optimism.

9 "Genius Doesn’t Work On An Assembly Line Basis."

Genius doesn't work on an assembly line basis. Did Einstein, Kazanga, or Sitar of Vulcan produce new and revolutionary theories on a regular schedule? You can't simply say, today I will be brilliant.

When Captain Kirk and the crew are sent to evaluate a supercomputer that could make their jobs redundant, he quickly sees the flaw in the plan. A computer may be able to react faster than a person, but it can never invent or show discretion.

It can never create or devise a plan that isn't preprogrammed, leaving it open to failure by a lack of improvisation. As Kirk sees it, all great things are created by those who think beyond what is and see what may be. It is the living being who can do this and no computer, no matter how great, will be able to replicate that.

RELATED: Star Trek Fleet Command Celebrates 5 Years With an In-Game Special Event

8 "We're Human, And ... That Best Explains Us."

We prefer to help ourselves. We make mistakes, but we're human, and maybe that's the word that best explains us.

Star Trek captures the strength of the human race better than most other shows. As Kirk says, we make mistakes, but we don't just lay down and give up. We move forward even as we stumble, working to make things better. To make ourselves better, and in turn, make the world better.

Captain Kirk is no stranger to making mistakes, but he knows that each mistake must be learned from, and what was learned must be used to make improvements, all so new mistakes can be made, and new lessons learned.

7 "How We Deal With Life"

How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life.

As the captain of the Enterprise, Kirk knows that he, and any other captain that is to follow him, will be forced to make life and death decisions on a regular basis. In his time, Kirk has seen more death than he would have preferred, and many of those deaths he holds himself responsible for. Still, Kirk knows that he can not let those deaths keep him from moving forward. He knows that if he and his crew were to give in, all those who died for them would have died in vain.

6 "That's What I Was Born Into"

Better to die saving lives... than to live with taking them. That's what I was born into.

This moment from Star Trek: Beyond was something of a full-circle moment for the Kelvin Timeline Captain Kirk. His father died saving his life and the lives of an entire starship crew. When facing off with Balthazar M. Edison, who was trying to destory a massive starbase, he truly became the kind of hero his father was.

Star Trek is about hope and optimism. The big-budget blockbuster needs of the 21st Century movies may have gotten in the way of that message, but in Star Trek: Beyond the audience finally gets to hear a Jim Kirk who sounds familiar.

5 "Sometimes You Can't Avoid a Fight"

Did it ever occur to you that sometimes you can't avoid a fight?

The Season 1 finale of Strange New Worlds was a time-travel adventure showcasing what would happen if Captain Pike stayed on the USS Enterprise. In trying to avoid a fight with the Romulan Star Empire, he ended up starting a devastating war.

This message from Kirk, played by Paul Wesley, shows that even the Prime Timeline version of the character knows when to seek peace and when to give villains the fight they are looking for. It's better to face an enemy than to leave them to harm others because one didn't.

RELATED: Why This Redshirt Was Fine and the Redshirt Myth Is a Lie

4 “I Don't Believe In The No-Win Scenario.”

I don't believe in the no-win scenario.... I don't like to lose.

One of the best movies in the long-running franchise, 1982's Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan introduced a number of oft-repeated quotes and inspired an altered take on the story in the modern reboot franchise. Kirk's ability to see every angle and find a way to win against all odds was best displayed by his quote about no-win scenarios, as well as the reveal that he was able to beat the training exercise known as the Kobayashi Maru – which was designed to be unbeatable in order to make cadets face their potential death in service to the Federation..

3 "You Can Let Death Win, Or You Can Fight Back"

Our job puts up against death more than is fair, and we may not like it, but we do have to face it. And right now, death is winning. It claimed your family. It claimed your friend. It convinced you to forget them because it is less painful than holding onto their memories. Now you can you let death win, or you can fight back. Hold onto them.

Another Season 2 episode of Strange New Worlds featured an adventure with James T. Kirk and Nyota Uhura , where the latter was experience visions and mental distress. He was the first person to believe what was happening to her was real.

When Uhura began to lose hope, because of the loss of her family a few years earlier, Kirk inspires her the way only the future captain could. Echoing Shatner's "I need my pain," line, he tells her that the memories of those we've lost are not burdens but blessings.

2 "Khaaaaaan!"

Khan, you have Genesis, but you don't have me! You were going to kill me, Khan, it was your sole purpose. You'll have to come down here to do it!

While it isn't the longest or most profound line that Captain Kirk ever delivered, his scream of rage and frustration in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is easily one of the character's most quoted and spoofed lines from Star Trek .

The line comes after Khan successfully takes the Genesis Device while also stranding Kirk and his crew inside a planetoid as revenge for Kirk doing the same to Khan and his crew. Kirk's protest is filled with such raw emotion that it quickly became one of the most memorable scenes from the Star Trek movie franchise and was even reimagined for the reboot trilogy.

1 "To Boldly Go"

This is the final cruise of the Starship Enterprise under my command. This ship and her history will shortly become the care of another crew. To them and their posterity will we commit our future. They will continue the voyages we have begun, and journey to all the undiscovered countries, boldly going where no man... where no one has gone before.

These words have been said by many a Star Trek captain, but Captain Kirk was the first. And while the exact words have changed over the years to be more inclusive, what Kirk said in the opening of every episode of Star Trek over fifty years ago still captures the hearts, minds, and imaginations of millions today.

The idea that humanity will one day travel among the stars, discovering new life and new civilizations, boldly going where no one has gone before is a concept that fills the world with the hope of a better tomorrow. The kind of tomorrow that Captain Kirk was a part of. The final time he said these words, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country he changed things around, ditching both the gendered language and the idea that the Enterprise crew was Starfleet's only explorers.

Star Trek (film)

Star Trek ( Paramount Pictures , 2009 ) is the eleventh feature film based on the popular science fiction television series , Star Trek: The Original Series . The film takes place in an alternate time line and explores the backstories of James T. Kirk and Spock , before they unite aboard the USS Enterprise to combat Nero, a Romulan from the future (thus creating the alternate timeline) who threatens the United Federation of Planets .

• 2 Spock Prime
• 4 Capt. Christopher Pike
• 8 External links
• Acting Captain's Log, Stardate 2258.42. We have had no word from Captain Pike. I've therefore classified him a hostage of the war criminal known as Nero. Nero, who has destroyed my home planet and most of its six billion inhabitants. While the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon this ship, I estimate no more than 10,000 have survived. I am now a member of an endangered species .

Spock Prime

• [final lines] Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise . Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life-forms and new civilizations; to boldly go where no one has gone... before.
• James T. Kirk was considered to be a great man. He went on to captain the USS Enterprise ... but that was another life. A life I will deprive you of, just like I did your father!

Capt. Christopher Pike

• Your father was captain of a starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's. And yours. I dare you to do better . [parting words to James Kirk, the night before he decides to enlist in Starfleet]
• The Future Begins.
• Prepare For The Beginning.
• This is not your father's Star Trek .

External links

• Star Trek quotes at the Internet Movie Database
• Star Trek on Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

• Star Trek films
• 2000s American films
• Films based on television series
• Time travel films
• Reboot films
• Films directed by J.J. Abrams
• Alternate timeline films

Navigation menu

Captain Kirk's Entire Backstory Explained

He's the captain against which every other  Star Trek  captain will always judged — Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) of the USS  Enterprise . For three seasons of  Star Trek: The Original Series ( TOS ), two seasons of  Star Trek: The Animated Series , and seven films, Captain Kirk went where no one had gone before. Even though technically he wasn't the first captain to command  Enterprise —  Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) was the ship's captain in the series' pilot —   James Kirk will always be seen as the original and, to many fans, the best.

Kirk left a huge mark on the Trek  franchise. With the warring voices of Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) guiding him, Kirk's exploration built the foundation for  Trek 's continuing narrative. He fought wars, he stopped wars, and for better or worse, the distant worlds he visited were forever changed because of his appearance. His legacy will be remembered for as long as the  Trek  franchise keeps going. If you're curious about how this pioneer lived and died, here's Captain James T. Kirk's entire backstory explained.  

Kirk was the only cadet to defeat the Kobayashi Maru

Kirk's Starfleet Academy days are mentioned a few times during  TOS . For example, in "Shore Leave," we learn Kirk had to deal with a merciless bully named Finnegan (Bruce Mars). In "Court Martial," we find out Kirk did more than just study during his academy days. The future captain actually participated in a journey to the planet Axanar while still a cadet, and he was awarded a commendation unique to the historic peace mission. 

But without a doubt, Kirk's most infamous exploit at the academy involved the unbeatable Kobayashi Maru. In this simulation, a student acts a ship's captain and receives a distress call from within the Klingon neutral zone. If the order is given to enter the forbidden zone to rescue the ship, the crew finds Klingon battlecruisers waiting to blow them to smithereens. The point is to evaluate how a cadet deals with a no-win scenario. 

We get to see this simulation in practice in 1982's  Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan  (during one of the best opening scenes in sci-fi ), with the half-Romulan, half-Vulcan Saavik (Kirstie Alley) in command. After the simulation ends and Saavik complains to Kirk that "there was no way to win," he lectures her on the importance of a captain facing a no-win situation. Later in the film, we learn Kirk was the only cadet in Starfleet history to defeat the Kobayashi Maru. After trying and failing twice to survive the simulation, Kirk reprogrammed it to make victory possible, and he tells Saavik, "I don't believe in the no-win scenario."

Captain Kirk of the Enterprise

Before coming aboard the ship that would make him famous, Kirk already had an impressive career. He served as an ensign aboard the USS  Republic  and later as a lieutenant on the USS  Farragut . In the intervening years, he instructed cadets at Starfleet Academy, where he met Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) who would later be transformed into a powerful villain in "Where No Man Has Gone Before."

Eventually, Kirk succeeded Christopher Pike as captain of the Enterprise , and he was tasked with the five-year mission to find new life and new civilizations. To list all of Kirk's heroic actions during those first five years would take more time and space than we have, but we'd be remiss in not mentioning some of his most legendary exploits. In the time travel episode "The City on the Edge of Forever," Kirk saves history from being catastrophically altered by doing the unthinkable ... by standing by and doing nothing as a woman he's fallen in love with is killed. In "Amok Time," he's wrangled into a life-or-death duel with Spock, temporarily faking his death for the benefit of his science officer. In "A Piece of the Action," the  Enterprise  visits Sigma Iotia II, where the people have based their culture on the roaring '20s of Chicago . Kirk, Spock, and McCoy all play-act at being gun-toting mobsters.

In those memorable missions and more, the  Enterprise  and her crew proved themselves as some of the most capable and heroic souls in the galaxy.

Romans and Klingons and Gorn ... oh My!

Among his many space adventures, Kirk has had quite a few memorable and historic clashes with powerful alien races. 

Perhaps the most historically relevant example of this comes in "Balance of Terror," when Kirk and his crew become the first humans to see Romulans . The Vulcan off-shoots waged war on the Federation over a century earlier, but no humans had ever actually seen them before. Later in "The Enterprise Incident," Kirk takes part in an elaborate plot to sneak aboard a Romulan ship and steal its cloaking device. Kirk has also faced off multiple times with the warlike Klingons. For example, things get violent in the Klingons' first appearance, "Errand of Mercy," and later, Kirk and his enemies share a tense standoff that erupts into a barroom brawl in "The Trouble with Tribbles." However, Kirk's various confrontations with the Klingons eventually earn him the warriors' respects. Centuries later, Klingons like  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's Worf (Michael Dorn) would speak of Kirk with reverence and awe.

Of course, there's Kirk's famous one-on-one clash with the unnamed reptilian Gorn captain. In "Arena," the  Enterprise  pursues a Gorn ship after it assaults a Federation outpost on Cestus III. The pursuit is halted by a group of aliens called the Metrons who transport Kirk and the Gorn captain to the surface of a planet to settle their differences with a one-on-one duel. Kirk defeats the Gorn captain but refuses to kill him. 

The man who changed the Mirror Universe

In "Mirror, Mirror," Kirk, Bones, Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), and Scotty (James Doohan) are unexpectedly transported to the so-called "Mirror" Universe while their counterparts from that universe wind up in  Trek "s prime reality. In the Mirror Universe, the Federation is replaced by the ruthless Terran Empire, and all of the  Enterprise 's heroes are replaced by more brutal counterparts. Kirk and his comrades do their best to fool the Imperial crew, but Kirk's more tolerant attitude has suspicions running high. Eventually, the Mirror Spock discovers who they really are, but before he returns to his own universe, Kirk urges Mirror Spock to help begin a rebellion against the Empire.

Years later on  Deep Space Nine , we learn Kirk's words to the Mirror Spock had huge and unintentionally disastrous consequences. When two of DS9 's crew find themselves in the Mirror Universe in "Crossover," it's revealed that the Mirror Spock took Kirk's words to heart. He effected great change throughout the Terran Empire, leading to many social reforms. Unfortunately, the Empire's weakened focus on its military might made it easy pickings for the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance. The Terrans soon became the Alliance's slaves, forced to wear Earth-shaped badges to identify themselves in public. But by the end of "Crossover," a Terran rebellion begins against the Alliance, and occasionally, members of the Terran Resistance cross over to  Trek 's prime reality looking for help.  

Becoming Admiral Kirk

After the end of his five-year mission, Kirk is rewarded with the rank of admiral and made Starfleet chief of operations. We see him for the first time as an admiral in 1979's  Star Trek: The Motion Picture when Kirk temporarily reassumes command of the  Enterprise. Then in the beginning of The Wrath of Khan ,   Spock is the one in charge of the  Enterprise , but when what's supposed to be a training cruise turns serious after they receive a distress call from Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) of the secret Genesis Project, Kirk once again takes command. Just before he takes over, Spock tells his old friend that it was a mistake for Kirk to ever accept a promotion and that commanding a starship is his "first, best destiny." 

A few movies later, the choice is taken out of Kirk's hands. In 1984's  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Kirk goes rogue. After being denied command of a starship or the permission to return to the Genesis planet, Kirk and most of the  Enterprise  senior crew steal their old ship. Reassigned against his wishes to the USS  Excelsior , Scotty uses the opportunity to sabotage the newer ship to secure the  Enterprise 's escape. And at the end of 1986's  Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , the combo of Kirk's crimes and heroic deeds earn him a demotion to captain, freeing him to do exactly what he's wanted for years — command a starship. 

The death and return of Spock

The Wrath of Khan  ends with Kirk's dearest friend, Spock, sacrificing himself to save Enterprise . In the final battle against the vengeful Khan (Ricardo Montalban), the Enterprise 's main reactor is damaged. Spock willingly endures lethal levels of radiation to repair the ship so it can escape the powerful Genesis Wave that Khan activates in his final moments. Spock's corpse is then placed in a torpedo tube, and after a memorial ceremony, is fired from the Enterprise and lands on Genesis planet. As you might expect, Spock's death rocks Kirk as nothing else could. 

With the arrival of Spock's dad Sarek (Mark Lenard) on Earth in The Search for Spock , Kirk learns that shortly before his passing, Spock placed his katra — his living spirit — within Dr. McCoy. Hoping to resurrect his old friend, Kirk tries to go through official channels for permission to bring McCoy to Genesis, but his superiors deny him. As a result, Kirk and his comrades overpower Starfleet guards and break an imprisoned McCoy out of his holding cell. They steal the  Enterprise and head for Genesis, fully expecting to lose their Starfleet careers in the process.  

On Genesis, the planet's unstable energies not only revive Spock but rapidly age him from a young boy to a man. Kirk is able to rescue his old friend from the dying planet and bring him back to Vulcan where his katra is rejoined with his body. It takes some time, however, for Spock to return to his normal self. 

Captain Kirk destroys the Enterprise

After decades of service and surviving almost unimaginable perils, the  Enterprise  finally meets its end in  Star Trek III: The Search for Spock . And it isn't destroyed by Klingons, Romulans, or any merciless space gods.  Star Trek 's first flagship is destroyed by her captain. 

When Kirk and the  Enterprise 's command crew go to Genesis in hopes of finding Spock, the ship isn't ready for combat. She has  less  than a skeleton crew, and Scotty isn't expecting their mission to include a space battle. Above the planet, they're attacked by a Klingon Bird-of-Prey, commanded by the ruthless Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) who's learned of the Genesis Project and wants to use it as a doomsday weapon. After a brief exchange of fire, both ships are in bad shape, and Kirk can do nothing but pretend the  Enterprise  isn't crippled. Kruge isn't fooled by Kirk's bluff, and to drive the point home, he has a hostage murdered. Kirk is floored when he learns the victim is his son David (Merritt Butrick).

Kirk plays at surrendering to the Klingons, but instead, he sets the  Enterprise  for self-destruct. Kruge sends most of his crew to the  Enterprise  to secure the ship, but when they transport over, Kirk and his comrades beam down to the planet. The ship is rocked with multiple explosions, killing the Klingons on board, and it eventually drifts into the Genesis atmosphere where its remains are consumed by the heat of entry. 

The voyage home

In 1986's  Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home , for the first and only time, the majority of a  Trek  film takes place without a functioning  Enterprise . After the ship's destruction in  The Search for Spock , Kirk captures the Klingon Bird-of-Prey and renames it the HMS  Bounty . It's the  Bounty  that the crew takes back in time to save Earth from a destructive alien probe. And in spite of his crew growing rogue in  The Search for Spock , at the end of Part IV , they're rewarded with the new  Enterprise -A.  

It's the  Enterprise -A that carries the heroes in their final two films in the  Trek  franchise . In 1989's  Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , the ship is commandeered by Spock's eccentric brother Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) who believes that God has been in contact with him, summoning Sybok to where he resides in the center of the galaxy. And in 1991's  Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , it's the  Enterprise -A that carries Kirk and the crew on their final historic mission.

Making peace with the Klingons

In his final official mission for Starfleet, James Kirk does something he never wanted to do. He helps to stop the conflict with the Klingons. When the Klingon Empire reaches out to make peace with the Federation — a peace that would mean disarmament on both sides of their shared neutral zone — Spock volunteers the  Enterprise -A   to escort the Klingon chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) to negotiations. Still angry at Klingons for the death of his son, Kirk is furious at Spock for volunteering him without talking to him first. However, their escort mission is interrupted when, without warning, the  Enterprise -A   inexplicably seems to fire on the chancellor's ship, and two assassins in Starfleet uniforms board the ship and murder Gorkon. 

Kirk and Bones are arrested and put on trial, where they're defended by Colonel Worf, grandfather of the Starfleet officer of the same name from Star Trek: The Next Generation ( TNG ). Nevertheless, they're sentenced to life imprisonment in Rura Penthe, a brutal penal colony known as the Alien's Graveyard. But they're soon rescued by the Enterprise , and the assassination is ultimately revealed to be a plot between militant elements of Starfleet, the Klingon Empire, and even the Romulans who want to make sure the conflict between the Klingons and the Federation stays alive. Peace is made on the planet Khitomer, where Kirk and his crew unveil the plot. 

Disappearing on the Enterprise-B

While it was the first Trek  film to feature the  TNG  crew, Kirk was there to pass the torch in 1994's  Star Trek: Generations . The film opens on the inaugural voyage of the  Enterprise -B, commanded by Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck). As part of the publicity surrounding the event, Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov (Walter Koenig) are invited on board. 

Unfortunately, Captain Harriman learns that anyone commanding the  Enterprise  needs to expect the unexpected. While they aren't yet equipped for a serious mission, they receive a call from El-Aurian refugee ships caught in some kind of massive energy ribbon. While he's initially hesitant to get involved, Harriman yields to the pressure of the cameras and heads to the ships in distress. They're able to beam some of the refugees onto the  Enterprise , but the ships are soon destroyed, and the  Enterprise  is caught in the ribbon. 

Yearning to take the captain's chair for himself, Kirk at first seizes the opportunity when Harriman heads out to make modifications to the deflector necessary to free the ship. But Kirk soon changes his mind, insisting that he go instead of Harriman because the captain's place is the bridge. So Kirk rushes to deflector control and makes the changes himself. However, after the  Enterprise  is freed, the crew learns there was a hull breach in the section Kirk was in. Scotty and Chekov rush to deflector control, but Kirk is gone. History initially records this as the death of James Kirk, but history is wrong. 

Captain Kirk's final sacrifice

A century after the presumed death of James Kirk on the Enterprise -B, the TNG  crew encounters one of the long-living El-Aurian survivors, Soran (Malcolm McDowell). This guy is obsessed with reuniting with the energy ribbon because it's the doorway to what the El-Aurian people call the Nexus, a timeless paradise. Soran develops a weapon capable of destroying stars, thereby changing the trajectory of the ribbon so that he can re-enter it from the planet of Veridian III.

Separated from his ship, Captain Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) faces Soran alone. And in spite of Picard's best efforts, Soran succeeds, and the Veridian star is destroyed, which sends the energy ribbon to Veridian III, where Soran and Picard enter the Nexus. Inside, Picard learns time doesn't work in a linear fashion here. Because of this, he's able to find James Kirk, who also "just" entered the Nexus, even though both their entries took place a century apart. It takes some doing as Kirk believes the Nexus will give him a second chance to live his life, but eventually, Picard convinces Kirk to exit the Nexus to help him stop Soran.

They leave the Nexus before Soran destroys the Veridian star, and Kirk distracts the El-Aurian long enough for Picard to set his rocket-launching device on self-destruct, which destroys the rocket and kills Soran. But during the conflict, Kirk is caught on a metal bridge as it's knocked free of its moorings and falls to the ground. Picard finds Kirk pinned under the bridge, already dying. Kirk's last words to Picard are "It was ...  fun ." Then, as he feels death approach, Kirk says, "Oh my," and he embarks on his final voyage.

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Published Jun 12, 2023

In Defense of Captain James T. Kirk

We're going back to the beginning to take a second look at Star Trek's classic captain.

StarTrek.com

While the new Star Trek series are being celebrated (and rightly so) for their inclusion and progressive ideas, this is, as many old-school fans are happy to point out, nothing new. But often the praise for the new shows has come with a side order of derision towards The Original Series and, in particular, its lead character, Captain James T. Kirk . I’m here to tell you that Star Trek ’s first captain was a lot more progressive than he gets credit for.

Let’s start with some of James T. Kirk’s origin story, for those who only see him as the king of swagger:

• He grew up with horrific tragedy; he lived through a food crisis on Tarsus IV, where Governor Kodos executed 4000 colonists to “save” the rest. Kirk, 13 at the time, was an eyewitness to the massacre.
• He was described by close pal Gary Mitchell as a “stack of books with legs.” Mitchell added that, at Starfleet Academy , “The first thing I ever heard from an upperclassman was, ‘Watch out for Lieutenant Kirk. In his class, you either think or sink.’”
• Also at the Academy, Kirk was relentlessly hazed by a bully named Finnegan.

Is that the guy you think of when you hear “James T. Kirk”?

While Kirk definitely had his fair share of backwards moments — as an adolescent girl, I cringed every time he addressed his entire crew as “gentlemen” — he also proved, over and over again, that he was able to transcend them.

He Didn’t Stand for Bigotry

A famous line still quoted all over social media happened right in Star Trek ’s first season, when the crew saw what Romulans looked like for the very first time. Startled by their striking similarity to Vulcans, navigator Lt. Stiles immediately became suspicious of Mr. Spock . When he suggested they ask Spock to decode Romulan messages, instead of the cryptography team that was already on the case, Kirk put his foot down.

KIRK: I assume you're complimenting Mister Spock on his ability to decode. STILES: I'm not sure, sir. KIRK: 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. Do I make myself clear? STILES: You do, sir.

He Knew That 'No' Meant 'No'

One of Star Trek ’s earliest episodes, “ Charlie X ,” was about the discovery of an orphan who’d been given extraordinary powers and was struggling to handle them as he went through a turbulent adolescence and exposure to other humans for the first time. It was left to Kirk to teach him about how to behave around women. Granted, there were some clunky moments like this one, where the message was good, but the delivery was a failure —

“There's no right way to hit a woman.I mean, man to man is one thing,but, er, man and woman, er, it's, er, it's, er.Well it's, er, another thing. Do you understand?”

Charlie didn’t really, and Kirk’s mistake was — as someone who had to act like a parent but wasn’t one yet — that he didn’t see how deeply Charlie was struggling until too late. But when Kirk tells Charlie to stop pursuing Yeoman Janice Rand, he’s 100% clear.

“You go slow. You be gentle.I mean, it's not a one-way street,you know, how you feel and that's all.It's how the girl feels, too.Don't press, Charlie.If the girl feels anything for you at all, you'll know it.”

He’s talking about consent. He hammers the point home with this —

“Charlie, there are a million things in this universeyou can have and there are a million things you can't have.It's no fun facing that, but that's the way things are,” advising the lovesick superteen to, “Hang on tight and survive. Everybody does.”

He Put Himself in His Enemy’s Shoes

Unlike too many of the loudest voices today, Kirk wasn’t a dig-his-heels-in kind of guy; he had the ability to see himself through his enemy’s eyes and change his way of thinking — even when threatened.

In “ The Devil in the Dark ,” it’s Kirk who discovers that the creature who’s been killing the miners on Janus VI isn’t a marauding murderer. When he comes face-to-face with the creature Spock describes as a “proven killer,” he ignores Spock’s urging to shoot it. While it’s Spock who connects the dots and realizes the miners have been destroying the Horta’s eggs, it’s Kirk who stopped the killing cycle and connected with the creature before anyone else.

Many viewers think of “ Arena ” as the episode where Kirk builds a gun and fights the Gorn, but what the episode is really about is Kirk listening to the Gorn. When the Gorn captain describes a Federation colony as invaders in Gorn territory, Kirk hears it, loud and clear. As he’s about to win the battle to the death, he stops. “No, I won’t kill you,” he says, “Maybe you thought you were protecting yourself when you attacked the outpost.” (Bonus points to McCoy and Spock, who also consider the Gorn’s perspective even when their captain is threatened.)

In “ By Any Other Name ,” as soon as Kirk conquers the aliens who’ve taken over his ship and are steering it towards another galaxy, his first offer is one of help. Even as they’re physically wrestling and he knows he’s won, he tells the Kelvan (no relation to Kelvin) commander Rojan to bring the problem to the Federation, who can help the Kelvans find a place to live. Rojan is shocked, “You would really do that? You would extend welcome to invaders?” They stop fighting, and Kirk says, “No. But we would welcome friends.”

And in “ Day of the Dove ,” when an alien sets Klingons up against the Enterprise crew in an endless battle, Kirk determines they’re being manipulated and makes peace. “What's happening to us? We've been trained to think in other terms than war. We've been trained to fight its causes, if necessary. Then why are we behaving like a group of savages? Look at me. Look at me. Two forces aboard this ship, each of them equally armed. Has a war been staged for us, complete with weapons and ideology and patriotic drum beating? Even — Spock. Even race hatred?”

He Could Always See A Better Future

In “ Mirror, Mirror ,” Kirk, Uhura , Scotty , and McCoy are thrown into the Mirror Universe — a savage world where officers are promoted by assassinating their superiors and planets are conquered. When they finally figure out how to get back, Kirk stalls his return. He’s not just racing back to safe home territory; he wants the Mirror Universe to be safer, too.

With two minutes and ten seconds left, he decides it’s time to have a one-to-one with Mirror Spock. He appeals to Spock’s logic, calling him out as illogical for going along with the brutality of the Empire. “If change is inevitable, predictable, beneficial, doesn't logic demand that you be a part of it?” he asks, urging Spock to find a logical reason to spare the Halkans (who are about to be destroyed). We learn many years later, on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , that his speech worked, and the Empire fell. (It’s not his fault that the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance took over.)

His Soulmate Was the Most Progressive Person of Her Time

In “ The City on the Edge of Forever ,” Kirk meets Edith Keeler in New York City during the Great Depression. Sure, she’s played by the gorgeous Joan Collins, but he doesn’t fall for her because she’s beautiful or has a delightful accent; he’s immediately hooked by her ideas. She talks about a future with hope and unity to a largely oblivious room, and when another fella tells Kirk, “Not that she's a bad-looking broad, but if she really wanted to help out a fella in need...” Kirk tells him to shut up. Twice. “I want to hear what she has to say,” he says. You can almost hear his heart pounding.

All of Edith and Jim’s conversations as they’re dating are about her views. Her optimism and her belief in a better world are what make him fall for her. When he has to let her die to save Earth’s future, he’s utterly devastated because he knew she was right and could have changed the world, if only she’d been born at a different time. And he loved her.

He Had Humility, and Could Admit When He Was Wrong

Humility is sorely missing from today’s political and social conversations. We’re all sticking our heels in the mud, refusing to acknowledge that anyone who thinks differently from us might have any validity, and refusing to engage in conversation.

And yet Kirk, who’s often described as a macho guy who always thinks he’s right, was able to recognize when he wasn’t — after behaving like a fool for most of the episode. The Organians repeatedly tell him they don’t need his help stopping a Klingon invasion of their planet, but he doesn’t listen at first; he knows what’s what and they don’t, and if they’re not going to defend themselves, he’ll do it for them. The Organians finally put a stop to the fighting, then tell Kirk, Spock, and the Klingons to leave; they’ve put up with their shenanigans long enough. Kirk and Kor (the Klingon commander) are outraged... at first. Later, on the ship, he sings a different song.

“I'm embarrassed.I was furious with the Organiansfor stopping a war I didn't want.We think of ourselvesas the most powerful beings in the universe.It's unsettling to discover that we're wrong.”

When was the last time you heard someone say something like that — or said it yourself?

He Overcame His Own Prejudice

In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Kirk’s son David Marcus was killed by Klingons, and it hardened Kirk’s heart. He hated Klingons for it and was furious when Spock set him up (three movies later with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country ) as the escort and emissary for Klingon Chancellor Gorkon .

After Gorkon has been killed, and McCoy and Kirk imprisoned for the crime and then rescued, Kirk confesses, “Gorkon had to die before I understood how prejudiced I was,” and admits that, “people can be frightened of change.”

“Some people think the future means the end of history,” he tells the assembly after saving the Federation President and the Chancellor’s daughter. “But we haven't run out of history just yet.” The message is as relevant now as it was then, if not more so.

So Let’s Boldly Go… As We Always Did

So, next time you compare our new heroes to our old ones, take a closer look because Kirk and his crew were fighting the good fight long before they knew we’d still be talking about them 56 years later. They learned, they grew, and they set the stage for everything that came after with messages of equality, peace, and not just a better future, but a better humanity.

This article was originally published on June 13, 2022.

Get Updates By Email

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

Laurie Ulster (she/her) is a freelance writer and a TV producer who somehow survived her very confusing adolescence as the lone female Star Trek fan in middle school. She's co-author of several books about TV and was the Supervising Producer on After Trek. Laurie can be found on Twitter at @floobish.

• Cast & crew

The Holiest Thing

• Episode aired Jan 15, 2016

Captain Kirk and the Enterprise investigate the devastation of Lappa III, apparently by the terraforming efforts of Dr. Carol Marcus. Captain Kirk and the Enterprise investigate the devastation of Lappa III, apparently by the terraforming efforts of Dr. Carol Marcus. Captain Kirk and the Enterprise investigate the devastation of Lappa III, apparently by the terraforming efforts of Dr. Carol Marcus.

• Daren Dochterman
• Rick Chambers
• Brian Gross
• Brandon Stacy
• John M. Kelley

Top cast 22

• (as John Kelley)

• Dr. Carol Marcus
• Captain Scott

• Admiral Withrow

• Commander Scott

• Lieutenant Sulu

• Ensign Walking Bear

• Lieutenant Uhura
• Lieutenant Xon
• (as Patrick Cawley)
• Robert DeWitt
• (as Ron Gates)
• Alien Commander
• Next Generation Ensign

• Ensign Solgard

• Shuttle Dispatcher
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia This episode continues the familiar story of a Genesis effect taken from the original films Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan(1982) & Star Trek III: The Search for Spock(1984). Both films depicted a devastating effect of Genesis device on planetary scale.
• Connections References Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

User reviews

• January 15, 2016 (United States)
• United States
• Official YouTube Channel
• Port Henry, New York, USA
• Cawley Entertainment Company
• Retro Studios
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 56 minutes
• Dolby Digital

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• IMDb Answers: Help fill gaps in our data
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed.

• Collectibles

Hiya Toys Debuts New Star Trek (2009) Captain Pike 1/18 Figure 

Posted in: Collectibles , Hiya Toys | Tagged: hiya toys , star trek

Hiya Toys is beaming up a new 1/18 scale figure as Captain Christopher Pike is ready to take command with a new Star Trek figure 

Article Summary

• Hiya Toys releases a detailed 1/18 scale figure of Captain Pike from the 2009 Star Trek movie.
• The figure stands 3.75" tall with 17 points of articulation and features a yellow Starfleet uniform.
• Accessories include a phaser, communicator, belts, and a transporter-themed display base.
• Pre-orders are available for $24.99 with an expected release in Q1 2025.

Captain Christopher Pike, played by Bruce Greenwood , serves as a key character in the 2009 Star Trek film that was directed by J.J. Abrams . In this alternate reality and reboot of the franchise, Pike is depicted as the seasoned captain of the USS Enterprise who sees potential in the young and rebellious James T. Kirk, played by Chris Pine . In the film, Pike encourages Kirk to join Starfleet, ultimately setting him on the path to becoming the Enterprise's captain. Hiya Toys is now beaming up Captian Pike as their latest 1/18 scale action figure, standing 3.75" tall and featuring 17 points of articulation. He is showcased in his yellow Starfleet outfit and will come with a nice set of accessories with a phaser, communicator, belts, and a transporter-themed display base. It is nice to see Hiya Toys keeping their Star Trek 1/18 line alive, even if it is for the 2009 rebooted era. Pre-orders for Captian Pike are already live through Hiya Toys for $24.99 with a Q1 2025.

HIYA Exquisite Mini Series Star Trek (2009) Pike

"We are proud to announce that EXQUISITE MINI Series product of the Star Trek™ line comes from the Kelvin timeline as seen in the 2009 film, Star Trek the 1/18 scale Pike action figure.Captain Christopher Pike of U.S.S. Enterprise served as Kirk's mentor and guide, inspiring Kirk and helping him grow into an exceptional leader and warrior."

"One day, an emergency on Vulcan calls for the newly commissioned U.S.S. Enterprise to be crewed with promising new cadets. This crew will have an adventure in the final frontier where the old legend is altered and a new version begins.This brand-new Pike action figure stands at 10.5CM tall and faithfully reproduces his appearance in the 2009 film, Star Trek. He is dressed in the iconic yellow uniform representing command and strategic personnel."

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

About Tyler Roberts

Latest by Tyler Roberts

LEGO Rebuilds the Star Wars Galaxy with TIE Wings and X-Fighters

Mezco Toyz Unveils New One:12 Collective Beetlejuice Figure 

Ravensburger Debuts New Disney Lorcana TCG Set with Azurite Sea

Star Wars Gets A Haunted New Collection of Apparel from RSVLTS 

Ultimate Beetlejuice (The Bio-Exorcist) Figure Arrives from NECA

NECA Debuts New Clothed Model 3 Generative Android (M3GAN) Figure 

Latest in collectibles.

Star Trek: Discovery's Captain Pike Foreshadowed Strange New Worlds' Gorn Threat

C aptain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) made an offhand comment about the Gorn on Star Trek: Discovery , little knowing how much the hostile race of alien reptiles would impact his life on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Before Captain Pike and the USS Enterprise faced the Gorn, Chris was assigned as the temporary Captain of the USS Discovery. In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, Pike's mission was to lead an investigation of the Red Angel to learn how this time-traveling entity was tied to his Science Officer, Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck), and Section 31's malevolent, threat assessment A.I., Control.

The Gorn's first appearance was in Star Trek: The Original Series season 1's "Arena," which instantly made the humanoid reptile who fought Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) iconic. But not in positive ways, however. The Gorn was clearly a man moving awkwardly in a rubber suit, and his battle with Kirk showed the limits of Star Trek 's budget and visual effects in the 1960s. Rendered by CGI, the Gorn returned nearly 40 years later on Star Trek: Enterprise , and a Gorn skeleton was seen in Captain Gabriel Lorca's (Jason Isaacs) lab in Star Trek: Discovery season 1. This was all preamble for the significance the Gorn would play in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , and their ties to Captain Christopher Pike.

Star Trek: Discovery Foreshadowed Strange New Worlds Gorn Threat

"alligators on cestus iii".

Captain Pike unexpectedly foreshadowed his future struggles with the Gorn by cracking wise about someone else facing the reptiles in Star Trek: Discovery season 2, episode 5, "The Saints of Imperfection." When Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) came aboard the USS Discovery and revealed her affiliation with Section 31 to Pike and Commander Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), they were soon met by Captain Leland (Alan Van Sprang), Section 31's leader. Leland joked about his friend Pike's graying hair and Chris retorted, “Last I heard, you were up to your ass in alligators on Cestus III.”

Complete History Of The Gorn In Star Trek

The Gorn have become one of the Federation's most formidable foes in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Here's everything we know about them.

Captain Pike was, of course, referring to the Gorn, who took issue with the United Federation of Planets establishing a base on Cestus III. The Gorn Hegemony considered Cestus III part of their region of space and saw a Federation installation as a threat. Pike's comment reveals that a decade before Captain Kirk faced the Gorn in Star Trek: The Original Series , Starfleet was already dealing with the alien "alligators" on Cestus III. This also foreshadowed Pike's future conflict over Parnassus Beta , a planet the Gorn considered theirs, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's finale , "Hegemony."

What Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Revealed About The Gorn

Strange new worlds reinvented the gorn.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds made the Gorn the show's primary antagonists while also retconning what Star Trek previously established about the Gorn Hegemony . While Star Trek: The Original Series introduced the Gorn as humanoid reptiles capable of space travel, Strange New Worlds ' revamp borrowed heavily from Alien in redefining Gorn physiology and culture. Thanks to Strange New Worlds , Gorn now infect human hosts and lay eggs inside them. Infant Gorn are fast-moving and violent but can turn on each other. The Gorn eventually age into their humanoid forms as adults, but much of their culture is still a mystery.

Every Time The Gorn Appeared In Star Trek (So Far)

The Gorn have already been in 6 Star Trek shows since 1967, but as the villain in Strange New Worlds, they show no signs of disappearing anytime soon.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 1, episode 4, "Memento Mori," revealed that the Gorn kidnap humans for food. In her youth, Lt. La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) and her family were abducted and consumed by the Gorn, who allowed La'an to survive and escape. Most humans had never seen a Gorn, with La'an being a rare exception, before Captain Pike's USS Enterprise crew battled the Gorn on the frozen world of Valeo Beta V. The Gorn infected Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) , who sacrificed himself to save his friends from the reptiles. The Gorn then kidnapped Enterprise crew members, including La'an, in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's finale.

Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel fought and killed a Gorn in zero gravity.

Another change made by Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is that Captain Kirk's fight with the Gorn has now been predated by Spock, his best friend, and James' older brother, Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte). Spock and Sam Kirk fought the Gorn together on Valeo Beta V years before Captain James T. Kirk's fateful brawl with the Gorn. In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2's finale, Spock and Nurse Christine Chapel (Jess Bush) fought and killed a Gorn in zero gravity in the wreckage of the USS Cayuga's bridge.

Discovery Also Set Up Kirk Vs. Gorn In Star Trek: The Original Series

Cestus iii is where started one of his most famous fights.

Captain Pike joking with Captain Leland about "alligators on Cestus III" also sets up Captain Kirk's famous battle with the Gorn in Star Trek: The Original Series . A decade after Pike's comment on Star Trek: Discovery , the Starship Enterprise beamed Captain Kirk and a landing party to Cestus III, initially for a dinner with Commodore Travelers at Starfleet's Earth observation post. What Kirk, Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and their team found was the base destroyed and still under attack by the Gorn. Space gods called the Metron then forced Kirk and the Gorn Captain to fight each other .

Interestingly, Cestus III was not actually where Kirk fought the Gorn. Kirk's famous melee with the Gorn Captain took place on an unnamed planet prepared for them by the Metron. (It was filmed in California's Vasquez Rocks , a favorite Star Trek location.) Cestus III is often misidentified as the battleground of Kirk vs. the Gorn, even by Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) when he time-traveled and met Kirk in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 5.

Cutting-edge CGI allows Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to bring the Gorn to life like never before.

The Gorn have always been fascinating villains who weren't fully realized by Star Trek for decades because of the limits of television visual effects budgets. However, Star Trek on Paramount+ now boasts motion picture-quality VFX technology. Cutting-edge CGI allows Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to bring the Gorn to life like never before. Yet the interest in doing more with the Gorn was present before Strange New Worlds , with Star Trek: Enterprise dabbling with CGI Gorn and Star Trek: Discovery testing the waters with Gorn callbacks. In hindsight, Captain Pike taunting Captain Leland about the Gorn on Star Trek: Discovery has come back to plague him on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds .

Star Trek: Discovery

Cast Rekha Sharma, James Frain, Anthony Rapp, Jason Isaacs, Rainn Wilson, Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Chris Obi, Shazad Latif, Michelle Yeoh, Maulik Pancholy

Streaming Service(s) Paramount+

Franchise(s) Star Trek

Writers Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Fuller

Directors Jonathan Frakes, Olatunde Osunsanmi

Showrunner Alex Kurtzman

Where To Watch Paramount+

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

Cast Bruce Horak, Celia Rose Gooding, Jess Bush, Melissa Navia, Ethan Peck, Babs Olusanmokun, Rebecca Romijn, Christina Chong, Anson Mount

Writers Jenny Lumet, Alex Kurtzman, Akiva Goldsman

Directors Amanda Row, Chris Fisher

Showrunner Akiva Goldsman, Henry Alonso Myers

Star Trek Into Darkness' Bruce Greenwood Has An Idea To Bring Pike Back

Since 2016, "Star Trek" has seen some dramatic ups and downs. The two Kelvin-verse "Star Trek" movies made by J.J. Abrams in 2009 and 2013 were big hits, catching a mass audience's eye with their high-octane action and sexy young casts. Justin Lin's 2016 sequel "Star Trek Beyond" wasn't as big a hit as Paramount would have liked, however, and the future of the "Star Trek" film franchise was thrown into question. It didn't help that "Star Trek: Discovery" launched in 2017 (as the flagship series for the CBS All Access streaming service), bringing the Trek franchise back to the "Prime" timeline. 

"Star Trek 4," as it has been nicknamed , has ping-ponged a lot during its development. Multiple directors passed through the project, and the film was even once removed from Paramount's development slate entirely. In January 2024, however, it seemed that the project was back on. 

Captain Pike (Bruce Greenwood), previously captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise, played a notable role in Abrams' two "Star Trek" film, being a parental figure to Chris Pine's James T. Kirk. It was Pike who encouraging Kirk to apply to Starfleet Academy and become a disciplined officer. Sadly, in 2013's "Star Trek Into Darkness," Pike was lured into an unsuspected trap by Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) and assassinated. Kirk was saddened by the death of his mentor. Those who liked the character would have to wait until he reappeared on "Discovery," now played by Anson Mount.

Greenwood, however, recently expressed interest in returning to the role, despite Pike's death. In a 2013 interview with StarTrek.com , Greenwood figured there was still a tasteful way for Pike to come back from the dead. 

Flashbacks only, please

Many Trekkies were a little miffed by a plot point in "Star Trek Into Darkness" that seems to fundamentally alter the way life would function in "Star Trek." At the end of the film, Kirk dies of radiation poisoning, having entered a dangerous area of the Enterprise's engine room to repair a vital system. Despite having been dead for an extended period, his corpse is injected with genetically altered blood extracted from Khan, and he springs back to life. Khan's blood also served as a cure for a young girl's incurable disease earlier in the film. Even if Khan's blood only cured certain ailments, the fact that it can cease disease and bring people back from the dead would revolutionize medicine. The "Star Trek" movies won't ever face those consequences. 

Greenwood knew that Pike shouldn't be physically resurrected, but he did envision scenes where he would be able to mentor Kirk again, even from beyond the grave. In Greenwood's vision, Pike would essentially appear in flashbacks or fantasy sequences. He wanted Pike to be a ghostly memory, more or less. He used the term "memory lane." Greenwood said: 

"My not-so-secret wish is that somehow there's a memory lane scene where Pike gets to come back and talk to Kirk in some way. I don't think they can give me a drop of Khan's blood because that would render my death somewhat meaningless if they could reanimate me. But of course I'm hoping they'll reach into memory lane and bring me back." 

It's unclear if Greenwood would want his new scenes to take place in the past, or if he would appear in Kirk's mind as a mere piece of the younger captain's imagination. Either way, Greenwood could come back to film for a few days. 

Dying is easy, comedy is hard

Greenwood is not stranger to playing death scenes. The actor has appeared in over 100 movies and TV shows in his career, having started acting professionally in 1979. He's been shot, thrown down stairs, exploded, and killed in various ways. Playing Pike's death was easy for him, and he was grateful he had a "final words" moment opposite Spock, played by Zachary Quinto. Greenwood said:

"I've done a handful of [death scenes]. I've done some violent ones, where you get sort of yanked across the room and tumble down stairs or you get blown up or burned ... all kinds of things. This one was different because I got to have that moment with Zach. So we got a chance to go out somewhat slowly, and I really had something to play."

The fate of "Star Trek 4" is still way, way up in the air, and only time will tell if it gets made. The future of the Kelvin series is likely further in question after the recent merger between Paramount and Skydance . In recent years, Paramount has been sextupling down on "Star Trek" TV shows, to the point where the company overspent on it; of the eight shows that have launched or been announced since 2017, only two or three have survived. Greenwood may still be game to return to Pike over a decade after "Into Darkness," but his return is going to be predicated on whether or not any "Star Trek" movies get made at all. 

Time will tell, but it's not looking promising.

• The Original Series
• The Animated Series
• The Next Generation
• Deep Space Nine
• Strange New Worlds
• Lower Decks
• Star Trek Movies
• TrekCore on Twitter
• TrekCore on Facebook

Part I opens with a bleak montage of Chakotay’s (Robert Beltran) repetitive days stranded on the unforgiving planet of Ysida. Ysida itself is stark and eerily beautiful — the color pallet unique and striking, with bold reds, deep purples, and greys. Day in and day out, he takes care of his basic needs, living off of fruit and eel eggs, polishing his solar collectors and literally whittling away his time. Until today, when he captures our Protostar gang in a net trap. It’s then that we learn he’s been marooned on this planet for ten years.

Ten years. That’s longer than he was in the Delta Quadrant! And that was, of course, in infinitely better conditions. What a bold choice for Prodigy to make — as it seems like a really harsh fate for someone we know and love. But because we know him, we know Chakotay can handle anything. And this version of Chakotay is arguably the best we’ve ever seen.

He’s older and wiser, a little bit grizzled, a man determined to live out his life alone as the caretaker of the Vau N’Akat weapon, heroically giving up himself to save the Federation. He’s awesome. (And as an aside, this isn’t even the worst fate modern Trek has delivered to someone we care about. I still haven’t recovered from what Picard did to poor Icheb!)

The kids tell Chakotay the whole time-bending story, and he either doesn’t believe them — or isn’t ready to process it all — so he tells them ‘No!’ and leaves them to fend for themselves in the impending ion storm. There’s also the small matter of the protodrive and warp drive fuel being ejected… so even if he did want to help, the ship can’t fly. We get a chance to see the power of this planet during the ion storm with terrible lighting and strong wind as the kids seek shelter. Hologram Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) shames Chakotay into letting them in by invoking the memory of Adreek: “ He would have let them in”.

Seeing Holo-Janeway again is incredibly comforting, given her eventual/previous fate — and also as a relief that Chakotay wasn’t completely alone for all these years. I did have to give my youngest a temporal mechanics refresher, as she was confused how Holo-Janeway was still alive, but that wasn’t due to any lacking in the episode. The dialogue actually did a nice job of explaining just where everyone exists in the timeline, with the kids so happy to see her and her not yet knowing them.

We find out that Adreek —  Chakotay’s first officer — had a plan to try to collect some antimatter, and the crew decides they have to get both the ship and its curmudgeonly captain ready to try to get the Protostar aloft again. We are treated to a lovely montage of the crew engaged in getting the ship back into shape while Chakotay slowly melts as he witnesses them working together.

When Murf (Dee Bradley Baker) squeegees himself across the window, it becomes clear what is actually happening here: that they are the ones who get the Protostar into the pristine condition we know they find it in. That this ship has been through a lot more than we realized by the time it’s eventually found on Tars Lamora. That they have earned this ship in more ways than one. Knowing all this deepens season one and I can’t wait to rewatch “Lost and Found” in particular knowing what I know now.

Dal (Brett Gray) gets lost during the next ion storm and we know Chakotay is back to his old self as he immediately goes looking for him. He, Gwyn, Jankom, and “the blobby guy” go off in the newly-fixed Runaway. The vehicle once again delivers some really dynamic action as the Runaway zooms around the red dunes and down into the vast array of tunnels (in hovercraft mode!). They zoom around dodging some really impressive looking graboid/molduga/sandworm type creatures that fit perfectly with the aesthetic of this P-class nightmare of a planet.

They find Dal, and in an incredibly somber moment, Adreek. For how little we got to know Adreek, he loomed large over Prodigy as Chakotay’s Number One. At first it was partially due to his unique looks (It doesn’t get much cooler than a birdman!) but then when we got to meet him properly in “Who Saves the Saviors,” his wry personality and heroic attitude cemented him as a favorite.

When his skeleton came on screen, my daughter gasped. We all felt his loss. Robert Beltran’s heartfelt performance made us feel the depth of Chakotay’s loss too. We soon find out that Adreek died as he lived: a Starfleet hero. He managed to rig up some kind of lightning rod and was able to harness the energy of the storms to collect antimatter. Way to go, feathered friend.

Chakotay is fully on board now and ready to try to get the Protostar to fly again. Part 1 ends with the best setup line, that Adreek knew “before this ship could fly, first it has to sail.” My jaw dropped at that reveal of what has to come next to get the Protostar off of Ysida. I was surprised when Part I ended after that most intriguing statement because it absolutely flew by. The entire episode was riveting and I was completely captivated by the emotional payoffs and setbacks finally finding Chakotay introduced to the season.

Composer Nami Melumad just absolutely out does herself in this two-parter. The music ebbs and flows along with the emotional highs and lows — like so many waves on the vapor sea — making the character moments feel even more intimate and the action moments even more epic. A beautiful companion and guide on this journey.

Part II finds our heroes modifying the Protostar into a sailing ship worthy of sailing through the high density vapor ocean of Ysida. Their destination is the eye of a gigantic storm where Holo-Janeway has detected a large concentration of the deuterium they need for the matter/antimatter reaction that powers the warp drive.

I. Love. This. Plan! What a cool and different adventure for a Star Trek crew and their ship to embark on. Such a romantic notion to turn the Protostar from a starship into, as Dal puts it, “a ship-ship,” while Chakotay declares it the HMS Protostar in a nice touch.

After a quick lesson on simple machines (“Give me a lever and a place to stand and I can move the world!”), she is in the vapor and they are sailing. Just wonderful nautical language and imagery as Captain Chakotay gives everyone orders while they navigate the sea. I could watch the Protostar floating on this sea of clouds with its rigging and gorgeous solar collector forward sail forever. What an absolute delight!

Dal makes a mistake and gets demoted from the jib to rope coiling duties. This leads to what might possibly be my favorite scene in all of Prodigy . Dal and Chakotay sit on the edge of the ship and have a moving heart-to-heart chat. Chakotay talks about his history, familiar to us, about how he felt the same way when he was Dal’s age and he joined the Maquis — but he never felt like he truly belonged until Voyager .

He gives him some great advice: “Whenever you’re feeling lost, it’s best to find where you’re needed most.” This quiet little moment of connection — this poignant conversation between two characters we love — is the best sort of reason to bring back these legacy characters. And Prodigy has done some of the best work of all the newer shows in making their returns worthwhile and meaningful.

And then? Back to the action, as the ship has reached the storm. It’s too much to fight and they get caught circling the eye. The rudder is stuck and, luckily, Gwyn (Ella Purnell) was paying attention when we learned about levers earlier so she has the idea that they operate it manually just long enough for the Bussard collectors to do their thing and collect the deuterium they need.

They all go up to the rudder with their levers, and the plan works. Listen to those Bussard collectors hum! But Jankom’s (Jason Mantzoukas) joy of having gas as the deuterium tanks fill is short lived as Chakotay falls overboard. There’s no hesitation from Dal as he grabs the rope and jumps in after him, with a few tense moments until Dal’s quick thinking gets them back onboard via hitching a ride from an eel — and then it’s just sheer joy as everyone is ok and warp and impulse drives are online.

I felt caught up in their excitement watching as Dal calls it our ship and relays Chakotay’s advice back to him: “we just went where we were needed most.” Could I be any more proud of him? Of Chakotay? Of the rest of the gang? Could I love this two-parter any more?

The Protostar is back in space. Unfortunately, the Voyager -A is 3,000 light years away. But no biggie, as they vow to get the protodrive working. The confidence on Dal here is earned this time, as he gives a great closing line: “We just rebuilt a starship, so let’s go build a star.” It’s such a great setup for what’s next on the agenda, and I can’t wait to find out the “how” of this part.

I haven’t even mentioned the fantastic and surprising Gates McFadden cameo! It certainly looks like we are definitely going down the path of intersection with what we learned about the Crusher family in Picard . It’s a lovely conversation between two wonderful women. The emphasis on Janeway being like a mother to the Protostar crew adds depth to Chakotay becoming somewhat of a fatherly figure, as in his “father-son” heart-to-heart chat with Dal. The idea of them “co-parenting” in that way is one I’d really like to explore more.

“The Last Flight of the Protostar ” feels like an emotional interlude in the middle of the season but it’s more than just that. It’s integral in advancing the plot to get both Chakotay and the Protostar back into action. It’s unique to slow it down this way, to let it breathe and to allow us the time necessary to get to know Chakotay again and — for the younger viewers and the Protostar crew — for the first time.

Giving them such a sublime adventure together in which to bond feels like Star Trek stripped down to it’s basics. A special episode that will be remembered as one of the best of the modern era.

Stay tuned for our next Star Trek: Prodigy review, covering Season 2’s “A Tribble Called Quest” and “Cracked Mirror” in the days ahead!

Star Trek: Prodigy Season 2 is available to stream now on Netflix globally (excluding-Canada, Nordics, CEE, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Belarus, and Mainland China). The show can also be viewed on SkyShowtime in the Nordics, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Central and Eastern Europe.

• PRO Season 2
• Star Trek: Prodigy
• The Last Flight of the Protostar

Related Stories

Star trek: prodigy season 2 canon connections, part ii, review — hallmark’s 2024 star trek ornaments: ‘the keeper’ and ‘nexus damaged’ uss enterprise-b, star trek: prodigy 209/210 review — “the devourer of all things”, search news archives, new & upcoming releases, featured stories, star trek: starfleet academy begins production in toronto, video preview: factory entertainment’s upcoming star trek phaser and medical tricorder prop replicas, interview — exploring star trek: prodigy season 2 with creators kevin & dan hageman (spoiler alert).

TrekCore.com is not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated with Paramount, CBS Studios, or the Star Trek franchise. All Star Trek images, trademarks and logos are owned by CBS Studios Inc. and/or Paramount. All original TrekCore.com content and the WeeklyTrek podcast (c) 2024 Trapezoid Media, LLC. · Terms & Conditions

Screen Rant

Remember captain sisko's sister because star trek: ds9 forgot.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast & Character Guide

Recasting star trek: ds9 for a movie reboot, is star trek’s scotty really a miracle worker how uss enterprise’s engineer got his famous nickname.

Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) had a mysterious sister that Star Trek: Deep Space Nine mostly forgot about. Sisko commanded Deep Space Nine for seven seasons, rising from a Starfleet Commander of a space station on the edge of the United Federation of Planets' frontier to a decorated Captain and war hero. But Sisko was more than his dedication to his Starfleet duty and his destiny as the Emissary of the Prophets of Bajor. Benjamin Sisko was also a family man, although the Sisko clan was bigger than DS9 ever showed.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine broke the mold by introducing Benjamin Sisko as a widower and father to his young son, Jake Sisko (Cirroc Lofton). Ben tragically lost his wife, Jennifer (Felicia M. Bell), during Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Battle of Wolf 359 , and he raised Jake as a single parent on Deep Space Nine. But Ben and Jake had more family on Earth, and they occasionally visited their homeworld to see Joseph Sisko (Brock Peters), Ben's father and Jake's granddad. Still, more Siskos living on Earth were mentioned but never seen on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ; chief among them, Ben's half-sister Judith.

Star Trek: DS9 Forgot Captain Sisko’s Sister

Who was judith sisko.

Judith Sisko is the daughter of Joseph Sisko and the half-sister of Benjamin Sisko , which also makes her Jake's aunt. In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4's episode, "Homefront," Ben chastises his dad for not letting Judith help him out at their family's New Orleans restaurant, Sisko's Creole Kitchen. Joseph retorted, " Your sister's got her own life to worry about. " Apparently, Judith inherited her lack of culinary skills from her unnamed mother, Joseph's second wife, since mother and daughter never put enough cayenne pepper in the jambalaya, a crime that proved to Joseph they "have no business being in a kitchen."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had the biggest cast of characters of any Trek show, meaning that Captain Sisko had numerous allies in the Dominion War.

Commander Ben Sisko planned to visit Judith at her home in Portland in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3's "Past Tense" before he time-traveled to 2024 San Francisco's Bell Riots . Judith also has at least two brothers from their mother, Joseph Sisko's second wife, which makes them Ben's half-brothers, who were also never seen in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Meanwhile, Benjamin is the only son of Sarah Sisko (Deborah Lacey), who was possessed by one of the Prophets of Bajor to give birth to Ben as their Emissary. Sarah was Joseph Sisko's first wife who vanished when Ben was a child, breaking Joseph's heart.

Why Star Trek: DS9 Never Showed Captain Sisko’s Whole Family

Ds9 was a long away from earth.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine never showed the entire Sisko family since Benjamin's siblings were irrelevant to his story as a Starfleet Captain fighting the Dominion or as the Emissary of the Prophets . Still, Ben Sisko's family, as seen on-screen, was more expansive than that of other Star Trek C aptains. Along with Jake and Joseph, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced Captain Kasidy Yates (Penny Johnson), Ben Sisko's second wife. By the end of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , Ben had a new baby with Kasidy.

"The Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko" by Derek Tyler Attico filled in the blanks and told Captain Sisko's life story, but it's unfortunately not considered official Star Trek canon.

One of the most refreshing things about Captain Sisko was how Star Trek: Deep Space Nine eschewed the paradigm of the lonely Captain devoted to his starship. Captain Sisko was responsible for an entire space station and its population, plus a starship, and he was one of Bajor's religious icons. Yet Benjamin never failed to be an incredible father to Jake , a dutiful son to Joseph, or a devoted partner to Kasidy. Seeing Judith Sisko and the rest of Ben's siblings would have completed the Sisko clan on-screen, but Captain Sisko was already an exceptionally well-rounded family man on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Your rating.

Your comment has not been saved

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.