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Paul Wesley's incarnation of James T. Kirk

Paul Wesley more closely resembles Jim Carrey's portrayal of Kirk in appearance, a very poor casting choice.

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Actually, I'd prefer the caricature, as it's at least more Shatner-esque.

This particular canard get's parroted a lot. It isn't the case at all.

I've rewatched the finale a few times now. I like Wesley more every time.
 
I'm wondering if anyone on youtube will deepfake TOS Shatner onto Paul Wesley, then we can see if it's really the performance people hate or just his looks.
 
I wont say Wesley is a leading man. there is a reason why in vampire diaries, Ian who played damon his older brother, rose to prominence more on the show and became a fan favorite to paul's stefan.

shatner is a leading man and was so Pine. Peck , I dont think is as good as Quinto , Quinto acted more natural in the role and could do the Vulcan humor better than Peck.

one thing the kelvin timline got right was the perfect casting of Quinto and Pine and how they fed off each other as the legendary kirk and spock we know. Wesley and Peck have a high bar to overcome compared to those two.
I think Peck's Spock is better than Quinto's but that may be down more to the writing. All I can ever remember of Quinto is the seemingly obligatory "emotional outburst" scenes.
As for Wesley I don't find him very charming which I expect from Kirk. I get the alternate universe argument but it's not for me.
Nothing at all got to do with Wesley I hope we don't see Kirk too much again or see any more TOS crew.
 
I do agree on this point about Kirk. Uhura, and Spock kind sorta are part of the cast already though...:whistle:
I meant any more as in any we haven't seen yet being introduced. I have no interest is seeing young Scotty, Sulu, Bones etc.

Even with Uhura I would prefer if that actor was playing that persona with a different name rather than one tied to a legacy character.
 
Even with Uhura I would prefer if that actor was playing that persona with a different name rather than one tied to a legacy character.
Spock: I suggest we mind meld.

Uhura: Why?

Spock: In the unlikely but entirely possible event of your mind being wiped by a malevolent space probe, I can then easily restore your memories after such a traumatic event.

Uhura: That's a strangely specific possibility you're preparing for, but ok.
 
It would interesting to know if they tested any other actors for Kirk. Count me in the camp that is not too impressed by his portrayal. Too vanilla for me. No screen presence. But it is based on 1 episode. My instincs tell me his ceiling is a "decent " Kirk. I'm open to be proven wrong with more screen time as the "real" Kirk in S2.
 
I think Peck's Spock is better than Quinto's but that may be down more to the writing. All I can ever remember of Quinto is the seemingly obligatory "emotional outburst" scenes.
I didn't care for the outbursts either, but I thought Quinto did a fine job as Spock. Same goes for everyone else that was cast. Those actors did a great job nailing those characters without lampooning them.

As for Wesley I don't find him very charming which I expect from Kirk. I get the alternate universe argument but it's not for me.
For me the alternate universe is a weak argument. Kirk's command presence and demeanor should shine through regardless of time or setting. It was a bad casting choice no matter how you look at it.
Nothing at all got to do with Wesley I hope we don't see Kirk too much again or see any more TOS crew.
I agree. My only negative with this series is the show's clumsy attempts to shoe horn in legacy characters. I understand Spock being here as that was already established, but there was no need to add Chapel and Uhura. You could have given those actresses different names and no one would have know the difference. Bringing Chapel aboard made no sense as Amok Time clearly shows that she had no idea of Tpring's existence. If they bring more characters aboard it will only compound those type of problems. Create new characters and develop them properly. We still don't know much about Erica Ortega even after 10 episodes. I'd rather the producers spend time developing her along with the rest of the cast. I'd rather she be given episodic time and not become the new Harry Kim or Travis Mayweather.
 
For me the alternate universe is a weak argument. Kirk's command presence and demeanor should shine through regardless of time or setting. It was a bad casting choice no matter how you look at it.
Has it occurred to anyone that maybe Kirk hasn't become a charismatic presence yet or this is something he needs to develop before TOS and which hasn't happened as of Strange New Worlds?

What did Gary Mitchell say about Lieutenant Kirk (the rank he's at as of Strange New Worlds as confirmed in 'Quality of Mercy')? "A stack of books on legs"

Going by the only description we have of Kirk from that time period, I say Paul Wesley plays him well.
 
As needs to be repeated, early Season 1 TOS isn't recognizable Kirk. The character didn't become "stereotype James Kirk" until sometime later in Season 1 and episodes like "The Man Trap" certainly weren't an example of the James T. Kirk people have been impersonating, lampooning and revering for the past 50 years.
 
Has it occurred to anyone that maybe Kirk hasn't become a charismatic presence yet or this is something he needs to develop before TOS and which hasn't happened as of Strange New Worlds?

That argument makes zero sense as this is was not before the TOS. We also have the original Balance of Terror episode to compare it with. Kirk had plenty of command presence and charisma in that episode.
 
That argument makes zero sense as this is was not before the TOS. We also have the original Balance of Terror episode to compare it with. Kirk had plenty of command presence and charisma in that episode.
I'm not sure what you want out of Paul then, because he channeled the same by the book seriousness as Balance of Terror Shatner in my opinion. Any scenes and lines you can point to from Quality of Mercy that you can specifically say Paul should have played differently?
 
As needs to be repeated, early Season 1 TOS isn't recognizable Kirk. The character didn't become "stereotype James Kirk" until sometime later in Season 1 and episodes like "The Man Trap" certainly weren't an example of the James T. Kirk people have been impersonating, lampooning and revering for the past 50 years.
Show me where this version of Kirk was in Strange New Worlds

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It's also a James T. Kirk who's been in command of the Farragut since 200 of its crew were killed at planet Tycho IV. This Kirk hasn't been friends with Spock, McCoy, Scotty nor any of the other TOS regulars. For all we know he might not even be a father in this altered timeline since David's birth in 2261 might not have happened in the original history where Pike sent the warning letter to the young boy.

So yeah, it's 33-year-old James T. Kirk just like "Balance of Terror(TOS)" Kirk is 33 years old...but it's not the exact same man whose life experiences between 2257 and 2266 formed him into the recognizable Captain Kirk.
 
This isn't hard to grasp. IT'S NOT THE EXACT SAME MAN. Pike's letter changed history and how people lived their lives before the events at the Neutral Zone outposts. Wesley can play Kirk differently because it's not the Shatner Kirk with Shatner Kirk's experiences since taking command of the Enterprise.
 
I'm not sure what you want out of Paul then, because he channeled the same by the book seriousness as Balance of Terror Shatner in my opinion. Any scenes and lines you can point to from Quality of Mercy that you can specifically say Paul should have played differently?
Sure. All of them.
 
Sure. All of them.
Ok, can you be more specific? I'm genuinely curious. I know George Lucas infamously said stuff like "Faster" or "More intense" but quote some Kirk lines from Quality of Mercy and describe how Paul should have said or acted them rather than how he actually did.

And at some point, you may have to admit that the director could be to blame, and Paul just acted as the director told him to and decided not to argue about it.
 
Ok, can you be more specific? I'm genuinely curious. I know George Lucas infamously said stuff like "Faster" or "More intense" but quote some Kirk lines from Quality of Mercy and describe how Paul should have said or acted them rather than how he actually did.
I've already posted clips of Kirk from Balance of Terror. If you think that's the same Kirk we saw on Strange New Worlds then we're just going to have to agree to disagree.
 
I've already posted clips of Kirk from Balance of Terror. If you think that's the same Kirk we saw on Strange New Worlds then we're just going to have to agree to disagree.
Fair enough. Paul and the director may have made the choice not to do a Sharner impression. Going by your videos and comments you seem to want Paul to channel Shatner directly, similarly to how Ewan McGregor channeled Alec Guinness or Karl Urban channeled Kelley. That's fine, but it wasn't clear from your previous comments
 
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