| James T. Kirk | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek character | |
 William Shatner as Kirk in a publicity photograph forStar Trek: The Original Series | |
| First appearance |
|
| Created by | Gene Roddenberry |
| Portrayed by |
Other:
|
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | James Tiberius Kirk |
| Nickname | Jim |
| Title |
|
| Position |
|
| Affiliation | United Federation of Planets Starfleet |
| Family |
|
| Children | David Marcus |
| Origin | Riverside, Iowa,United States |
James Tiberius Kirk, often known asCaptain Kirk, is a fictional character in theStar Trek media franchise. Originally played by Canadian actorWilliam Shatner, Kirk is best known as the captain of the starshipUSSEnterprise in theoriginalStar Trek series (1966–1969). Kirk leads his crew as they explore new worlds and "boldly gowhere no man has gone before". Often, the characters ofSpock andLeonard "Bones" McCoy act as his logical and emotional sounding boards, respectively.
Kirk first appears in theStar Trek episode "The Man Trap", broadcast on September 8, 1966, although the first episode recorded featuring Shatner was "Where No Man Has Gone Before". Shatner continued in the role for the show's three seasons, and he later provided the voice of the animated version of Kirk inStar Trek: The Animated Series (1973–1974). Shatner returned to the role forStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and six subsequent films. Kirk has also been portrayed in numerous films, books, comics, webisodes, and video games. The character has also been the subject of multiplespoofs and satires.
American actorChris Pine portrays a young version of the character in the 2009Star Trek film and its two sequels.Paul Wesley portrays Kirk on theParamount+ seriesStar Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022–present), set prior to Kirk's captaincy of the Enterprise.[1]
James Tiberius Kirk was born inRiverside, Iowa, on March 22, 2233,[2] where he was raised by his parents, George and Winona Kirk.[3] Although born on Earth, Kirk lived for a time onTarsus IV, where he was one of nine surviving witnesses to the massacre of 4,000 colonists byKodos the Executioner. James Kirk's brother, George Samuel Kirk, is first mentioned in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" and introduced and killed in "Operation – Annihilate!", leaving behind three children.[4][5]
Kirk became the first and only student atStarfleet Academy to defeat theKobayashi Maru test, garnering a commendation for original thinking after he reprogrammed the computer to make the "no-win scenario" winnable. Kirk was granted a field commission as an ensign and posted to advanced training aboard the USSRepublic. He was then promoted to lieutenant junior grade and returned to Starfleet Academy as a student instructor.[4] According to a friend, students could either "think or sink" in his class, and Kirk himself was "a stack of books with legs".[6] Upon graduating in the top five percent, Kirk was promoted to lieutenant and served aboard the USSFarragut.[4] While assigned to theFarragut, Kirk commanded his first planetary survey and survived a deadly attack by a bizarre cloud-like creature that killed a large portion of theFarragut's crew,[4] including his commanding officer, Captain Garrovick. Kirk blamed himself for years for hesitating to fire his assigned weapons upon seeing the threat until a later encounter with the creature showed that firing immediately with conventional weapons would have been useless.
Kirk becameStarfleet's youngest starship captain after receiving command of theUSS Enterprise for a five-year mission,[4] three years of which are depicted in the originalStar Trek series (1966–1969).[7] Kirk's most significant relationships in the television series are with first officerSpock and chief medical officerDr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy.[8] McCoy is someone to whom Kirk unburdens himself and is afoil toSpock.[9] Robert Jewett andJohn Shelton Lawrence'sThe Myth of the American Superhero describes Kirk as "a hard-driving leader who pushes himself and his crew beyond human limits".[10] Terry J. Erdman and Paula M. Block, in theirStar Trek 101primer, note that while "cunning, courageous and confident", Kirk also has a "tendency to ignore Starfleet regulations when he feels the end justifies the means"; he is "the quintessential officer, a man among men and a hero for the ages".[11] Although Kirk throughout the series becomes romantically involved with various women, when confronted with a choice between a woman and theEnterprise, "his ship always won".[12]
Roddenberry wrote in a production memo that Kirk is not afraid of being fallible, but rather is afraid of the consequences to his ship and crew should he make an error in judgment.[13] Roddenberry wrote:
[Kirk] has any normal man's insecurities and doubts, but he knows he cannot ever show them—except occasionally in private with ship's surgeon McCoy or in subsequent moments with Mr. Spock whose opinions Kirk has learned to value so highly.[13]
InStar Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), Admiral Kirk is Chief of Starfleet Operations, and he takes command of theEnterprise from CaptainWillard Decker.[4]Star Trek creatorGene Roddenberry's novelization ofThe Motion Picture depicts Kirk married to a Starfleet officer killed during a transporter accident.[14][15] At the beginning ofStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Kirk takes command of theEnterprise from Captain Spock to pursue his enemy from "Space Seed",Khan Noonien Singh. The movie introduces Kirk's former lover Carol and his son,David Marcus. Spock, who notes that "commanding a starship is [Kirk's] first, best destiny", dies at the end ofStar Trek II. InStar Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), Admiral Kirk leads his surviving officers in a successful mission to rescue Spock from a planet on which he is reborn. Although Kirk is demoted to Captain inStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) for disobeying Starfleet orders, he also receives command of the new starship namedEnterprise.[4]
InStar Trek Generations (1994), Kirk is lost and presumed killed when a new USSEnterprise is damaged by an energy ribbon. Instead, the ribbon is an entry to the timeless Nexus, whereCaptain Jean-Luc Picard finds Kirk alive. Picard persuades Kirk to return to Picard's present to help stop the villain Soran from destroying Veridian III's sun. Although Kirk initially refuses, he agrees after realizing the Nexus is not a place where he can make a difference. The two leave the Nexus and stop Soran. However, Kirk is mortally wounded; as he dies, Picard assures him that he helped to "make a difference". Picard buries Kirk on the planet. InStar Trek: Picard's third season (2023), Kirk’s body is revealed to be stored in stasis at the Daystrom Institute bySection 31.[16]
Kirk appears in several episode ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022-present) as an officer assigned to theFarragut. Throughout his appearances, he is introduced to officers who will serve with him when he becomes captain of theEnterprise:Nyota Uhura,Montgomery Scott, and Spock. The series also depicts his relationship with his brother Sam and other members of theEnterprise crew under the command ofChristopher Pike.
The alternate "Kelvin Timeline"[17] reveal different origins for Kirk, the formation of his association with Spock, and how they came to serve together on theEnterprise.[18][19] In this timeline, Kirk is born on a shuttle escaping the starship USSKelvin as it is attacked by a Romulan ship from the future.[18] His father is killed in the attack. George and Winona Kirk name their sonJames Tiberius after his maternal and paternal grandfathers, respectively.[20]
Although the film treats specific details from Star Trek as mutable, characterizations are meant to "remain the same."[21] Kirk is initially portrayed as "a reckless, bar-fighting rebel"[22] who eventually matures.[23] According to Pine, the character is "a 25-year-old [who acts like a] 15-year-old" and who is "angry at the world"[24] until he enrolls in Starfleet Academy after being challenged to by Captain Christopher Pike. Kirk and Spock clash at Starfleet Academy, but, over the course of the first film, Kirk focuses his "passion and obstinance and the spectrum of emotions" and becomes captain of theEnterprise.[18][24] He is also aided by a meeting with the time-displaced Spock of the original timeline, who inspires Kirk to live up to his full potential after learning about the parallel version of himself and his accomplishments as Captain in the elder Spock's timeline.
Jeffrey Hunter played the commanding officer of the USSEnterprise, CaptainChristopher Pike, in the rejectedStar Trektelevision pilot "The Cage".[4] In developing a new pilot episode, called "Where No Man Has Gone Before", series creatorGene Roddenberry changed the captain's name to "James Kirk" after rejecting other options like Hannibal, Timber, Flagg and Raintree.[25] The episode title may have been inspired by CaptainJames Cook,[citation needed] whose journal entry "ambition leads me ... farther than any other man has been before me" inspired the episode title,[26] and became the series catch-phrase in the opening voice-over. The character is in part based onC. S. Forester'sHoratio Hornblower hero,[27] andNBC wanted the show to emphasize the captain's "rugged individualism".[28] Roddenberry had previously used the middle name of Tiberius for the leading character in his earlier television series,The Lieutenant, which was to feature several actors who would later go on to be part of the production ofStar Trek.
Jack Lord wasDesilu Productions' original choice to play Kirk, but his demand for fifty-percent ownership of the show led to him not being hired.[29] The second pilot episode was successful, and "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was broadcast as the third episode ofStar Trek on September 22, 1966.
William Shatner tried to imbue the character with qualities of "awe and wonder" absent from "The Cage".[25] He also drew upon his experiences as aShakespearean actor to invigorate the character, whose dialogue at times is laden with jargon.[29] Not only did Shatner take inspiration from Roddenberry's suggestion of Hornblower, but also fromAlexander the Great – "the athlete and the intellectual of his time" – whom Shatner had played for an unsold television pilot two years earlier. In addition, the actor based Kirk partly on himself because "the fatigue factor [after weeks of daily filming] is such that you try to be as honest about yourself as possible".[30] A comedy veteran, Shatner suggested making the show's characters as comfortable working in space as they would be at sea, thus having Kirk be a humorous "good-pal-the-captain, who in time of need would snap to and become the warrior".[31] Changing the character to be "a man with very human emotions" also allowed for the development of the Spock character.[25] Shatner wrote: "Kirk was a man who marveled and greatly appreciated the endless surprises presented to him by the universe ... He didn't take things for granted and, more than anything else, respected life in every one of its weird weekly adventure forms."[25]
Shatner did not expectStar Trek to be successful,[32] so when it was cancelled in 1969, he assumed it would be the end of his association with the franchise.[33] FollowingStar Trek's popularity after its cancelation, Shatner went on to voice Kirk in the animatedStar Trek series,[7] star in the first sevenStar Trek films,[4] and provide voice acting for several games.[34][35]Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khandirector and writerNicholas Meyer, who had never seen an episode ofStar Trek before he was assigned to direct,[36] conceived a "Hornblower in outer space" atmosphere, unaware that those books had been an influence on the show.[37][38] Meyer also emphasized parallels toSherlock Holmes, in that both characters waste away in the absence of stimuli: new cases for Holmes; starship adventures for Kirk.[39]
Meyer'sThe Wrath of Khan script focuses on Kirk's age, with McCoy giving him a pair of glasses as a birthday present. The script states that Kirk is 49, but Shatner was unsure about being specific about Kirk's age[39] because he was hesitant to portray a middle-aged version of himself.[40] Shatner changed his mind when producerHarve Bennett convinced Shatner that he could age gracefully likeSpencer Tracy.[40] Spock's sacrifice at the end of the film allows for Kirk's spiritual rebirth; after commenting earlier that he feels old and worn out, Kirk states in the final scene that he feels "young."[41] Additionally, Spock's self-sacrificing solution to the no-winKobayashi Maru scenario, which Kirk had cheated his way through, forces Kirk to confront death and to grow as a character.[42]
Both Shatner and test audiences were dissatisfied that Kirk was fatally shot in the back in the original ending of the filmStar Trek Generations.[43] An addendum inserted while Shatner'sStar Trek Movie Memoriesmemoir was being printed expresses his enthusiasm at being called back to film a rewritten ending.[44] Despite the rewrite,Generations co-writerRonald D. Moore said that Kirk's death, which was intended to "resonate throughout the Star Trek franchise",[45] failed to "pay off the themes [of death and mortality] in the way we wanted".[46]Malcolm McDowell, whose character kills Kirk, was dissatisfied with both versions of Kirk's death: he believed Kirk should have been killed "in a big way".[47] McDowell claims to have received death threats afterGenerations was released.[48]
InStar Trek (2009),screenwritersAlex Kurtzman andRoberto Orci focused their story on Kirk and Spock in the movie's alternative timeline while attempting to preserve key character traits from the previous depictions.[49] Kurtzman said casting someone whose portrayal of Kirk would show that the character "is being honored and protected" was "tricky", but that the "spirit of Kirk is very much alive and well" in Pine's depiction.[50] Due to his belief that he could not take himself seriously as a leader, Pine recalled having difficulty with his audition, which required him "to bark'Trek jargon'", but his charisma impresseddirectorJ. J. Abrams.[51] Pine's chemistry withZachary Quinto, playing Spock, led Abrams to offer Pine the role.[51]Jimmy Bennett played Kirk in scenes depicting the character's childhood.[52] The writers turned to material from the novelBest Destiny for inspiration as to Kirk's childhood.[53]
In preparing to play Kirk, Pine decided to embrace the character's key traits – "charming, funny, leader of men" – rather than try to fit the "predigested image" of Shatner's portrayal.[54] Pine specifically did not try to mirror Shatner's cadence, believing that doing so would become "an impersonation".[55] Pine said he wanted his portrayal of Kirk to most resembleHarrison Ford'sIndiana Jones orHan Solo characters, highlighting their humor and "accidental hero" traits.[56]
A misunderstanding arose during the film's production about the possibility of Shatner making acameo appearance.[22] According to Abrams, the production team considered ways to resurrect Shatner's deceased Kirk character, but could not devise a way that was not "lame".[22] However, Abrams believed Shatner misinterpreted language about trying to get "him" into the movie as a reference to Shatner, and not his character. Shatner released aYouTube video expressing disappointment at not being approached for a cameo.[22] Although Shatner questioned the wisdom of not including him in the film, he predicted the movie would be "wonderful"[57] and that he was "kidding" about Abrams not offering him a cameo.[58]
Kirk also appears inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds, which is set six years before the events ofthe original series. He first appears in the final episode of Season 1, portrayed byPaul Wesley, and appeared as a recurring guest in Season 2. In this series, theEnterprise has another captain, Kirk's predecessorChristopher Pike, who first appeared in "The Cage".
According to Shatner, earlyStar Trek reviewers described his performance as "wooden", with most of the show's acting praise and media interest going to Nimoy.[33] However, Shatner's mannerisms when portraying Kirk have become "instantly recognizable"[54] and Shatner won aSaturn Award for Best Actor in 1982 forThe Wrath of Khan.[59]Star Trek II directorNicholas Meyer said Shatner "gives the best performance of his life" inThe Wrath of Khan.[60]The Guardian called Pine's performance of Kirk an "unqualified success",[61] andThe Boston Globe said Pine is "a fine, brash boy Kirk".[62]Slate, which called Pine "a jewel", described his performance as "channel[ing]" Shatner without being an impersonation.[63]
Slate described Shatner's depiction of Kirk as an "expansive, randy, faintly ridiculous, and yet supremely capable leader of men,Falstaffian in his love of life and largeness of spirit".[63]The Myth of the American Superhero refers to Kirk as a "superhuman redeemer" who "like a truesuperhero ... regularly escapes after risking battle with monsters or enemy spaceships".[10][64] Although some episodes question Kirk's position as a hero,Star Trek "never left the viewer in doubt for long".[65] Others have commented that Kirk's exaggerated "strength, intelligence, charm, and adventurousness" make him unrealistic.[66] Kirk is described as able to find ways "through unanticipated problems to reach [his] goals" and his leadership style is most "appropriate in a tight, geographically identical team with a culture of strong leadership."[67] Although Roddenberry conceived the character as being "in a very real sense ... 'married' " to theEnterprise,[68] Kirk has been noted for "his sexual exploits with gorgeous females of every size, shape and type";[12] he has been called "promiscuous"[69] and labeled a "womanizer".[70][71]The Last Lecture authorRandy Pausch believed he became a better teacher, colleague, and husband because he watched Kirk run theEnterprise; Pausch wrote that "for ambitious boys with a scientific bent, there could be no greater role model than James T. Kirk".[72]David A. Goodman commented that Kirk "has as much reality as possible for a fictional character."[73]
In 2012,IGN ranked the character Captain Kirk, as depicted in the original series, films, and the new Kirk in 2009 filmStar Trek, as the number one top character of theStar Trek universe.[74] In 2016, Kirk was ranked as the #1 most important character ofStarfleet within theStar Trek science fiction universe byWired magazine, out of 100 characters of the franchise.[75]
In 2018,CBR ranked Kirk the bestStarfleet character ofStar Trek, including later television series.[76]
In July 2019,Screen Rant ranked Kirk the 8th smartest character ofStar Trek.[77]
In 1985,Riverside, Iowa petitioned Roddenberry andParamount Pictures for permission to "adopt" Kirk as their town's "Future Son".[78] Shatner and Roddenberry approved the proposal.[79] Paramount wanted $40,000 for a license to reproduce abust of Kirk, but the city instead set a plaque and built a replica of theEnterprise (named the "USSRiverside"), and the Riverside Area Community Club holds an annual "Trek Fest" in anticipation of Kirk's birthday.[80]
Kirk has been the subject of a wide range of television spoofs that aired in many countries, includingThe Carol Burnett Show andKI.KA'sBernd das Brot.John Belushi's impression of Kirk forSaturday Night Live, which he described as his favorite role,[81][82] was "dead-on".[83]Jim Carrey has been praised for his satire of the character in a 1992 episode ofIn Living Color.[84][85] ComedianKevin Pollak is well known for his impressions of Shatner as Kirk.[86]
Kirk's memorable scream of "Khan!" in the 1982 movieStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan has become a pop culture icon in its own right, spawning internet memes and is widely parodied and paid tribute to.[87]
Kirk has been referenced in the lyrics of manypop songs. Early examples include the 1979 song "Where's Captain Kirk?" bySpizzenergi, the 1982 rap song "Tough" byKurtis Blow, and 1983's "99 Luftballons" byNena (both German and English versions).[88][89] More recently, in the 2003 remix of 1998’s "That Don't Impress Me Much",Shania Twain puts forth Captain Kirk as one of the unattainable ideals to whom her unappealingly haughty suitor apparently thinks himself equal.
Kirk has been merchandised in a variety of ways, including collectible busts,[90]action figures,[91]mugs,[92]t-shirts,[92] andChristmas tree ornaments.[93] A Kirk Halloween mask was altered and used as the mask worn by the characterMichael Myers in theHalloween film franchise.[94] In 2002, Kirk's captain's chair from the originalStar Trek was auctioned for $304,000.[95]
In a 2010Space Foundation survey, Kirk tied with cosmonautYuri Gagarin as the No. 6 most popular space hero.[96]
Captain Kirk has also been portrayed in feline form. First, anthropomorphically, in two episodes of the 1975Filmation Saturday morning animated children’s seriesThe Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty. The cartoon is based around the title character’s fantasies about being various heroic felines based on popular culture icons. Later came scientific illustratorJenny Parks' 2017 bookStar Trek Cats, in which Kirk is depicted as an orangetabby cat.[97][98]
TheKirk crater onPluto's moon,Charon, is named after the character.[99]
In addition to television, feature films, books, and parodies, Kirk has also been portrayed innon-canonfan fiction.
TheStar Trek: New Voyagesfan production, known from 2008 until 2015 asStar Trek: Phase II, portrays the further voyages of the originalEnterprise crew. The series' creators feel that "Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest should be treated as 'classic' characters likeWilly Loman fromDeath of a Salesman,Gandalf fromThe Lord of the Rings or evenHamlet,Othello orRomeo. Many actors have and can play the roles, each offering a different interpretation of said character."[100]
James Cawley played Kirk in most of the ten episodePhase II series from its beginning in 2004 before replacing himself with actor Brian Gross.Wired observes that while Cawley's depiction "lacks Shatner's vulnerability", the actor has enough swagger "to be passable in the role".[101] Cawley's portrayal was well-known enough at Paramount that a group ofStar Trek: Enterprise writers called for Cawley's attention at a science fiction convention by shouting "Hey, Kirk!" at him while Shatner sat nearby.[101]
.jpg)
First produced in 2013, the 11 episode seriesStar Trek Continues also looked to chronicle the "lost seasons" ofStar Trek: The Original Series. The series developer and producer is anime voice actorVic Mignogna, who also plays the role of Kirk. Rounding out the core cast is fellow voice actorTodd Haberkorn as Spock,Chris Doohan (son of the original Scotty actorJames Doohan) as Scotty, and as McCoy first author-producerLarry Nemecek, followed by voice actorChuck Huber. It also co-starredGrant Imahara (MythBusters) as Sulu.
The first episode, "Pilgrim of Eternity" (withMichael Forest reprising his role as Apollo from the original series episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?") was released in 2013. The second episode, "Lolani" (featuring guest starLou Ferrigno), was released in February 2014, and a third episode, "Fairest of Them All" was released in June 2014 and won aBurbank International Film Festival award for "Best New Media – Drama".[102][103][104]Star Trek Continues also won a Geekie Award for "Best Web Series".[105] On June 19, 2015, Episode 4 of the series was posted and titled "White Iris". All eleven full episodes have been released as of December, 2017.
In October 2021, Kirk's actor fromThe Original Series William Shatnerflew to space aboard aBlue Origin sub-orbital capsule. At age 90, he became the oldest person to fly to space and one of the first 600 to do so.[106][107]
George and Winona Kirk, and their boys, George Samuel, Junior, and James Tiberius
She had beenperfection--lover, friend, wife...
...what was Lori doing up here? She was dying....and then they were gone. The chamber was empty...."Enterprise, what we got back...didn't live long. Fortunately."
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Winona: We could name him after your father.George:Tiberius? You kidding me? No, that's the worst. Let's name him after your dad; let's call himJim.
His Captain Kirk impersonation is the best yet
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
