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James T. Kirk



 
 
James Tiberius Kirk is a character in the fictional Star Trek
Star Trek

Star Trek is an American Science fiction on television entertainment series and media franchise. The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek: The Original Series, in addition to ten feature films with Star Trek to be released on May 8,...
 media franchise. First portrayed by William Shatner
William Shatner

William Alan Shatner is a Canadian double Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Saturn Award-winning actor and novelist. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T....
 as the principal lead character
Protagonist

A protagonist is the main Character of a drama or Narrative. The word "protagonist" derives from the Greek language p??ta????st?? , "one who plays the first part, chief actor." In the theatre of Ancient Greece, three actors played all of the main dramatic roles in a tragedy; the leading role was played by the protagonist, while the othe...
 in the original Star Trek series
Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 to September 2, 1969. Though the original series was titled simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish it from the spinoffs that followed, and from the Star Trek fi...
, Kirk also appears in the animated Star Trek series
Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series is an Daytime Emmy Award winning animation science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe and a continuation of Star Trek: The Original Series....
, the first seven Star Trek movies, and in numerous books, comics, and video games. Chris Pine
Chris Pine

Christopher Whitelaw Pine is an United Statesn actor. He has appeared in romantic comedies The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Just My Luck ....
 will assume the role of the character in the 2009 Star Trek film. Kirk has also been portrayed by numerous actors, including James Cawley
James Cawley

James Cawley is an United States show runner and actor, known for his role as Captain Kirk in the Fan Film originally known as Star Trek: New Voyages, now titled Star Trek: Phase II ....
, in non-studio Star Trek fan productions.






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Encyclopedia


James Tiberius Kirk is a character in the fictional Star Trek
Star Trek

Star Trek is an American Science fiction on television entertainment series and media franchise. The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek: The Original Series, in addition to ten feature films with Star Trek to be released on May 8,...
 media franchise. First portrayed by William Shatner
William Shatner

William Alan Shatner is a Canadian double Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Saturn Award-winning actor and novelist. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T....
 as the principal lead character
Protagonist

A protagonist is the main Character of a drama or Narrative. The word "protagonist" derives from the Greek language p??ta????st?? , "one who plays the first part, chief actor." In the theatre of Ancient Greece, three actors played all of the main dramatic roles in a tragedy; the leading role was played by the protagonist, while the othe...
 in the original Star Trek series
Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek is a science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that aired from September 8, 1966 to September 2, 1969. Though the original series was titled simply Star Trek, it has acquired the retronym Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish it from the spinoffs that followed, and from the Star Trek fi...
, Kirk also appears in the animated Star Trek series
Star Trek: The Animated Series

Star Trek: The Animated Series is an Daytime Emmy Award winning animation science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe and a continuation of Star Trek: The Original Series....
, the first seven Star Trek movies, and in numerous books, comics, and video games. Chris Pine
Chris Pine

Christopher Whitelaw Pine is an United Statesn actor. He has appeared in romantic comedies The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and Just My Luck ....
 will assume the role of the character in the 2009 Star Trek film. Kirk has also been portrayed by numerous actors, including James Cawley
James Cawley

James Cawley is an United States show runner and actor, known for his role as Captain Kirk in the Fan Film originally known as Star Trek: New Voyages, now titled Star Trek: Phase II ....
, in non-studio Star Trek fan productions. Kirk has been called "the quintessential officer, a man among men and a hero for the ages".

Development and portrayals

Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter

Jeffrey Hunter was a film and television actor....
 portrayed Captain Christopher Pike
Christopher Pike (Star Trek)

Christopher Pike, played first by Jeffrey Hunter and then by Sean Kenney, is a character in the fictional Star Trek fictional universe. Hunter portrayed him in the original Star Trek: The Original Series television pilot, "The Cage ", as captain of the USS Enterprise ....
, second commanding officer of the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The USS Enterprise is a starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The program depicts its crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James T....
, in the initial (and rejected) Star Trek television pilot
Television pilot

A television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. It is an early step in the development of a television series, much like pilot lights or pilot serve as precursors to the start of larger activity, or pilot holes prepare the way for larger holes....
, "The Cage" (1964). In developing the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before
Where no man has gone before

"Where no man has gone before" is a phrase used in the title sequence of most episodes of the Star Trek: The Original Series science fiction television series....
" (1966), series creator Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry

Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an United States screenwriter and Television producer. He is arguably best known as the creator of Star Trek, an American sci-fi series known for its immense influence on popular culture....
 changed the captain's name to James T. Kirk "after considering other options like Hannibal, Timber, Flagg, and Raintree". The character is in part based on C. S. Forester
C. S. Forester

Cecil Scott Forester was the pen name of Cecil Louis Troughton Smith , an England novelist who rose to fame with tales of adventure and military crusades....
's Horatio Hornblower
Horatio Hornblower

Admiral of the Fleet Horatio Hornblower, 1st Baron Hornblower, Order of the Bath, is a fictional protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester, and later the subject of films and television programs....
 hero, and NBC wanted the show to emphasize the captain's "rugged individualism". Jack Lord
Jack Lord

John Joseph Patrick Ryan , best known by his stage name Jack Lord, was an American television, film, and Broadway theatre actor. He was best known for his starring role as Steve McGarrett in the United States television program Hawaii Five-O from 1968 to 1980....
 was the studio's original choice to play Kirk, but his demand for fifty-percent ownership of the show led to him not being hired.

William Shatner tried to imbue the character with "awe and wonder" absent from "The Cage". A comedy veteran, Shatner suggested making the show's characters comfortable working in space as they would at sea, and having Kirk be a humorous "good-pal-the-captain, who in time of need would snap to and become the warrior". Changing the character to be "a man with very human emotions" also allowed for the development of the Spock
Spock

Spock is a character in the fictional Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by Leonard Nimoy in the Star Trek: The Original Series, Spock also appears in the Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek movies, two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books, comics, video games....
 character, played by Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. He is best known for playing the character of Spock on Star Trek: The Original Series, an American television series that ran for three seasons from 1966 to 1969, in addition to reprising the role in several movie sequels....
. Shatner wrote:

Shatner drew upon his experiences as a Shakespearean
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 actor to invigorate the character, whose dialogue at times was laden with jargon. Not only did he take inspiration from Roddenberry's suggestion of Hornblower, but Shatner also based Kirk on Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great , also known as Alexander III of Macedon was an ancient Greeks King of Macedon . He was one of the most successful military commanders of all time and is presumed undefeated in battle....
 – "the athlete and the intellectual of his time", whom he portrayed for an unsold television pilot two years earlier – and himself because "the fatigue factor [after weeks of daily filming] is such that you try to be as honest about yourself as possible".

When Star Trek was canceled in 1969, Shatner assumed it would be the end of his association with the show – however, Shatner went on to portray Kirk in the animated Star Trek, the first seven Star Trek movies, and several games. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise....
 (1982) director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
 and writer Nicholas Meyer
Nicholas Meyer

Nicholas Meyer graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in theater and filmmaking, & is a film writer, Film producer, film director and novelist best known for his involvement in the Star Trek films....
, who had never seen an episode of Star Trek before he was assigned to direct, focused on the "Hornblower in outer space" atmosphere, unaware it was an influence on the show. Meyer also emphasized parallels to Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional character of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He is the creation of Scotland-born author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle....
 in that both characters waste away in the absence of their stimuli; new cases for Holmes, and starship adventures in Kirk's.

Meyer's The Wrath of Khan script focused on Kirk's age – with Leonard McCoy
Leonard McCoy

Leonard H. McCoy is a character in the fictional Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the Star Trek: The Original Series, McCoy also appears in the Star Trek: The Animated Series, the first six Star Trek movies, the television pilot of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books, comics, and video g...
 (DeForest Kelly) giving Kirk a pair of glasses as a birthday present. The script stated that Kirk was 49, but Shatner was unsure about being specific about Kirk's age, because he was hesitant about portraying a middle-aged version of himself. Shatner changed his mind when producer Harve Bennett
Harve Bennett

Harve Bennett is an United States television producer and film producer and screenwriter. He is best known for producing and writing or co-writing the second through fifth films in the Star Trek film series....
 convinced Shatner that he could age gracefully like Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy

Spencer Tracy was a two-time Academy Award winning actor of theatre and film, who appeared in 74 films from 1930 in film to 1967 in film. He is generally regarded as one of the finest actors in motion picture history....
.Kobayashi Maru
Kobayashi Maru

Kobayashi Maru is the name of a spaceship in a training exercise in the Star Trek fictional universe. In the exercise, the "Kobayashi Maru" is the precipitating element in a simulated no-win situation....
 test forces its participants to confront an unwinnable situation that serves as a test of character, but Kirk reveals that he won the test by cheating; Saavik responds that Kirk has never faced death. Spock's own solution to the no-win scenario, that of self-sacrifice, forces Kirk to confront death after continually cheating it, and to grow as a character.

Both Shatner and test audiences were dissatisfied that Kirk was fatally shot in the back in the original ending of Star Trek Generations (1994); an addendum inserted while Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories
Star Trek Movie Memories

Star Trek Movie Memories is the second of two volumes of autobiography dictated by William Shatner and transcribed by MTV editorial director Chris Kreski....
 (1994) memoir
Memoir

As a literature genre, a memoir , or a reminiscence, forms a subclass of autobiography ? although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are today almost interchangeable....
 was being printed expresses his enthusiasm at being called back to film a rewritten ending. Despite the rewrite, Generations co-writer Ronald D. Moore
Ronald D. Moore

Ronald Dowl Moore is a two-time Emmy Award-nominated United States screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on Star Trek and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica Battlestar Galactica and Battlestar Galactica , for which he serves as developer, writer and executive producer....
 said Kirk's death, intended to "resonate throughout the Star Trek franchise", was "flawed" and failed to "pay off the themes [of death and mortality] in the way we wanted".

For Star Trek (2009) screenwriter
Screenwriter

Screenwriters or scenarists are scriptwriters who write the screenplays from which films and television programs are made.Most screenwriters start their careers writing on speculation....
s Alex Kurtzman
Alex Kurtzman

Alex Kurtzman is an United States film and television screenwriter and producer....
 and Roberto Orci
Roberto Orci

Roberto Gaston Orci is a Mexico Film producer and television producer and screenwriter. His credits include The Legend of Zorro, Mission: Impossible III, the 2007 Transformers feature film, and the upcoming 2009 Star Trek and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen feature film....
, the story "was always about Kirk and Spock". 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 Chris Pine"'s performance. Pine recalled having difficulty with his audition, which required him "to bark Trek jargon'", but his charisma impressed director
Film director

A film director, or filmmaker, is a person who directs the making of a film. A film director visualizes the Screenplay, controlling a film's artistic and dramatic aspects, while guiding the technical crew and actors in the fulfillment of his or her vision....
 J. J. Abrams
J. J. Abrams

Jeffrey Jacob "J.J." Abrams is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning United States film producer and television producer, writer, actor, composer, director, and founder of Bad Robot Productions....
. Pine's chemistry with Zachary Quinto
Zachary Quinto

Zachary John Quinto is an United States television actor known for his roles as Recurring and minor characters in 24#24: Season 3 on 24 , Sasan on So NoTORIous, and Sylar on Heroes ....
, playing Spock, led Abrams to offer Pine the role. Jimmy Bennett
Jimmy Bennett

James "Jimmy" Bennett is an United States child actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films Daddy Day Care, Hostage , Firewall , Poseidon , and Evan Almighty....
 portrayed Kirk in scenes depicting the character's childhood.

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. Pine specifically did not try to mirror Shatner's cadence, believing that trying to do so would become "an impersonation". Pine said he wanted his portrayal of Kirk to most resemble Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford

Harrison Ford is an United Statesn actor. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy, and as the Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones franchise#Films film series....
's Indiana Jones
Indiana Jones

Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr. is a fictional character adventurer, soldier, professor of archaeology, and the main protagonist of the Indiana Jones franchise....
 or Han Solo
Han solo

Han solo, the sole member of genus Han, is a species of agnostid trilobite known only from fossils found in the Ordovician Zitai Formation of southern China....
 characters, highlighting their humor and "accidental hero" traits.

A "misunderstanding" arose during the film's production about whether Shatner would make a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance

A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television....
. 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". However, Abrams believed Shatner misinterpreted language about "tr[ying] to get him into the movie" as a reference to Shatner, and not his character; Shatner released a YouTube
YouTube

YouTube is a Video hosting service website where users can upload, view and share video clips. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005....
 video expressing disappointment at not being approached for a cameo. Although Shatner questioned the wisdom of not including him in the film, he predicted the movie would be "wonderful" and that he was "kidding" Abrams about not offering him a cameo.

Other actors have portrayed the character in fan-created media. According to James Cawley, cast as Kirk in the Star Trek: Phase II web series, the web continuation is well-known enough that a group of Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise

Enterprise, retitled Star Trek: Enterprise at the start of its third season, was a science fiction television program created by Brannon Braga and Rick Berman and set in the Star Trek universe created by Gene Roddenberry....
 writers called out for Cawley's attention by shouting "Hey, Kirk!" at him. Wired
Wired (magazine)

Wired is a full-color monthly United States magazine and on-line periodical, published since March 1993, that reports on how technology affects culture, the economy, and politics....
 observed that while "Cawley lacks Shatner's vulnerability", the actor has enough swagger "to be passable in the role of Captain Kirk".

Depiction

The character, as it was originally developed and has since evolved, was raised in Riverside, Iowa
Riverside, Iowa

Riverside is a city located in rural Washington County, Iowa, Iowa, United States, along the English River on Iowa Highway 22. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City metropolitan area....
. Diane Carey
Diane Carey

Diane Carey is an author of historical fiction and science fiction who is perhaps best known for her work in the Star Trek franchise. She is the co-creator, with John J....
's novel Best Destiny (1993) identifies Kirk's parents as George and Winona Kirk; Best Destiny and her Final Frontier novel (1988) describe George Kirk's adventures aboard the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Robert April. James Kirk's brother, Sam, and his sister-in-law are introduced and killed in "Operation: Annihilate!" (1967), leaving behind three children. Although born on Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
, Kirk for a time lived on Tarsus IV, where he was one of only nine surviving witnesses to the massacre of 4,000 colonists by Kodos the Executioner (Arnold Moss
Arnold Moss

Arnold Moss was an American character actor often playing sly or sinister foreigners. He is the father of songwriter Jeff Moss.Moss made two memorable appearances in Bob Hope films, as Hope's Casablanca contact in the espionage spoof My Favorite Spy and as a conniving Venetian doge in Casanova's Big Night....
).

At Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy

In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future members of Starfleet are trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded....
, Kirk became the first student to defeat the Kobayashi Maru "no-win" scenario, garnering a commendation for original thinking. Kirk was granted a field commission as an ensign and posted to advanced training aboard the USS Republic. He then was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and returned to Starfleet Academy as a student instructor. Students could either "think or sink" in his class, and Kirk himself was "a stack of books with legs". Upon graduating in the top five percent, Kirk was promoted to lieutenant and served aboard the USS Farragut. While assigned to the Farragut, Kirk commanded his first planetary survey and survived a deadly attack that killed a large portion of the Farraguts crew. He received his first command, the equivalent of a destroyer-class spaceship, while still quite young.

Kirk became Starfleet
Starfleet

In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet is the defense , research, diplomacy, and exploration force of the United Federation of Planets ....
's youngest captain when he received command of the USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

The USS Enterprise is a starship in the Star Trek media franchise. The program depicts its crew's mission "to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before" under the command of Captain James T....
 for a five-year mission, three years of which are depicted in the original Star Trek series. Kirk's most significant relationships in the television series are with first officer Spock and chief medical officer Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy. Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence
John Shelton Lawrence

John Shelton Lawrence is an emeritus professor of philosophy at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, United States. His initial major publication, The American Monomyth, written with Robert Jewett, was published in 1977....
's The Myth of the American Superhero
The Myth of the American Superhero

The Myth of the American Superhero is a scholarly nonfiction book by Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence.It describes the idealized, fantasy violence so distinctive for American pop culture....
 describes Kirk as "a hard-driving leader who pushes himself and his crew beyond human limits". Terry J. Erdman and Paula M. Block, in their Star Trek 101 primer
Primer

Primer can refer to:*Primer , a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth*Primer , a device on some gasoline engines used to prime the engine with gasoline before starting it...
, note that while "cunning, courageous and confident", Kirk also has a "tendency to ignore Starfleet regulations when he feels the end justifies the means". Although Kirk throughout the series becomes romantically involved with various women, when confronted with a choice between a woman and the Enterprise, "his ship always won".

J. M. Dillard's novel The Lost Years (1989) describes Kirk's promotion to rear admiral and unfulfilling duties as a diplomatic troubleshooter after the Enterprises five-year mission. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 in film science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first motion picture based on the Star Trek: The Original Series television series....
 (1979), Kirk is chief of Starfleet operations, and he takes command of the Enterprise from Captain Willard Decker (Stephen Collins
Stephen Collins

Stephen Weaver Collins is an United States actor and writer....
). Roddenberry's novelization of The Motion Picture (1979) depicts Kirk married to a Starfleet officer killed during a transporter accident. At the beginning of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Kirk takes command of the Enterprise from Captain Spock to pursue his enemy from "Space Seed" (1967), Khan Noonien Singh
Khan Noonien Singh

Khan Noonien Singh, commonly shortened to Khan, is a villain in the fictional Star Trek universe. According to backstory given in the character's first appearance, the Star Trek: The Original Series original series episode "Space Seed", Khan is a superhuman tyrant who once controlled more than a quarter of the Earth during the E...
 (Ricardo Montalbán
Ricardo Montalbán

Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalb?n y Merino was a Mexico-born United States radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning seven decades and multiple notable roles....
). The movie introduces Kirk's son, David Marcus
List of Star Trek characters: G-M

This article lists characters in the various canonical incarnations of Star Trek. This includes fictional major characters and fictional minor characters created for Star Trek, fictional characters not originally created for Star Trek, and real-life persons appearing in a fictional manner, such as holodeck recreations....
 (Merritt Butrick
Merritt Butrick

Merritt R. Butrick was an United States actor who was known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk's son David Marcus in the movies Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock....
). Spock, who notes that "commanding a starship is [Kirk's] first, best destiny", dies at the end of Star Trek II; in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock is a 1984 in film motion picture released by Paramount Pictures. The film is the third feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise....
 (1984), Kirk leads his surviving officers in a successful mission to revive Spock. Although Kirk is demoted to captain in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series. It completes the loose story trilogy started in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock....
 (1986) for disobeying Starfleet orders in the pursuit, he also receives command of a new USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-A)

The USS Enterprise, NCC-1701-A is a fictional starship in the fourth, fifth, and sixth Star Trek films....
. Shatner directed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is the fifth feature film based on the Star Trek: The Original Series science fiction television series....
 (1989), in which Spock's half-brother, Sybok
Sybok

Sybok, played by Laurence Luckinbill, is the antagonist in the Star Trek film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier....
 (Laurence Luckinbill
Laurence Luckinbill

Laurence Manny Luckinbill is an United States film and television actor. He was graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1956 and The Catholic University of America in 1958....
), hijacks the Enterprise. The ship is ordered decommissioned at the end of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It was released in 1991 in film by Paramount Pictures, and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire core cast of the 1960s Star Trek: The Original Series....
 (1991). Kirk is lost and presumed dead when the USS Enterprise-B
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-B)

The USS Enterprise is a fictional starship in the Star Trek science fiction franchise. It is an Excelsior class starship Starfleet vessel that appears under the command of Captain John Harriman in the film Star Trek Generations....
 is damaged at the beginning of Star Trek Generations; however, Kirk instead enters the timeless Nexus, where he exists until USS Enterprise-D
USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series....
 captain Jean-Luc Picard
Jean-Luc Picard

Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a fictional Star Trek character primarily portrayed by English actor Patrick Stewart. He appears in Star Trek: The Next Generation as the captain of the United Federation of Planets starship USS Enterprise ....
 (Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart

Patrick Hewes Stewart, Order of the British Empire is an English film, television and Stage actor. He is also Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield....
) convinces him to leave to help prevent Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell

Malcolm McDowell is a UK actor. McDowell's career has spanned five decades and includes notable roles in if...., A Clockwork Orange , O Lucky Man!, Caligula , Star Trek Generations, Heroes , Metalocalypse, and the 2007 horror remake of Halloween ....
) from destroying a star. At the film's climax, Kirk falls to his death after making it possible for Picard to stop Soran. Shatner, with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens are a prolific husband and wife writing team, known mainly for their involvement with the Star Trek franchise....
, later wrote a series of novels that depict Kirk's resurrection and ongoing adventures.

The 2009 film Star Trek will reveal the origins of Kirk's and Spock's friendship and explain how they came to serve together on the Enterprise. Although the movie will treat specific details from Star Trek as mutable, "characterizations remain the same". Kirk begins as "a reckless, bar-fighting rebel" who, over the course of the movie, reaches "maturity".

Reception

According to Shatner, early reviews called his performance "wooden", with most of Star Treks acting praise and media interest going to Nimoy. Nevertheless, Shatner's mannerisms when portraying Kirk have become "instantly recognizable". Comedian Kevin Pollack is well-known for his impressions of Shatner as Kirk, and John Belushi
John Belushi

John Adam Belushi was an United States comedian, actor and musician, notable for his work on Saturday Night Live, National Lampoon's Animal House and The Blues Brothers ....
 offered a "dead-on" impression for Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live is a weekly late-night 90-minute American sketch comedy/variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975....
. Shatner won a Saturn Award for Best Actor
Saturn Award for Best Actor

The following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Actor :...
 in 1982 for The Wrath of Khan.

The Myth of the American Superhero refers to Kirk as a "superhuman redeemer" who "like a true superhero
Superhero

A superhero is a Character "of unprecedented physical prowess dedicated to act of derring-do in the public interest". Since the debut of the prototype superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes?ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas?have dominated American comic books and crossed over into other mass...
 ... regularly escapes after risking battle with monsters or enemy spaceships". Although some episodes call into doubt Kirk's position as a hero, Star Trek "never left the viewer in doubt for long". Others have pointed out that Kirk's exaggerated "strength, intelligence, charm, and adventurousness" make him a "Mary Sue
Mary Sue

Mary Sue, sometimes shortened simply to Sue, is a pejorative term used to describe a fictional character who plays a major role in the plot and is particularly characterized by overly idealized and hackneyed mannerisms, lacking noteworthy flaws, or having too many, and primarily functioning as wish-fulfillment fantasies for their author...
". 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." Although Roddenberry conceived the character as being "in a very real sense...'married' " to the Enterprise, Kirk has been noted for "his sexual exploits with gorgeous females of every size, shape and type"; he has been called "promiscuous" and labeled a "womanizer".

The Last Lecture
The Last Lecture

The Last Lecture is a New York Times Best Seller list book written by Randy Pausch, a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction, and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States....
 deliverer Randy Pausch
Randy Pausch

Randolph Frederick Pausch was an American professor of computer science and human-computer interaction and design at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....
, who filmed a cameo for the 2009 Star Trek film, believed he became a better teacher, colleague, and husband because he watched Kirk run the Enterprise; Pausch wrote that "for ambitious boys with a scientific bent, there could be no greater role model than James T. Kirk".

The town of Riverside, Iowa
Riverside, Iowa

Riverside is a city located in rural Washington County, Iowa, Iowa, United States, along the English River on Iowa Highway 22. It is part of the Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City metropolitan area....
, petitioned Roddenberry and Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures

Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American motion picture production company and distribution company, located on Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, California....
 in 1985 for permission to "adopt" Kirk as their town's "Future Son". Paramount wanted $40,000 for a license to reproduce a bust
Bust (sculpture)

A bust is a sculpture or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders....
 of Kirk, but the city instead set a plaque and built a replica of the Enterprise (named the "USS Riverside"), and the Riverside Area Community Club holds an annual "Trek Fest" in anticipation of Kirk's birth.

Kirk has been merchandised in a variety of ways, including collectible busts, action figure
Action figure

An action figure is a posable character figurine, made of plastic or other materials, and often based upon a film, comic book, video game, or television program....
s, mug
Mug

A mug is a sturdily built type of Drinkware often used for drinking hot beverages, such as coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Mugs, by definition, have handles and often hold a larger amount of fluid than other types of cup....
s, t-shirt
T-shirt

A T-shirt is a shirt which is pulled on over the head to cover most of a person's torso. A T-shirt is usually buttonless, collarless, and pocketless, with a round neck and short sleeves....
s, and Christmas tree
Christmas tree

File:Christmas Tree.JPGThe Christmas tree is one of the most popular traditions associated with the celebration of Christmas. Normally an evergreen Pinophyta tree that is brought into a home or used in the open, a Christmas tree is decorated with Christmas lights and colourful Christmas ornaments during the days around Christmas....
 ornaments. A Kirk Halloween mask was altered and used as the mask worn by the character Michael Myers
Michael Myers (Halloween)

Michael Myers is a fictional character from the Halloween of slasher films. He first appears in John Carpenter's Halloween as a young boy who murders his older sister, then fifteen years later returns home to murder more teenagers....
 in the Halloween film franchise.

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