Paul Wesley's incarnation of James T. Kirk

[valden]

Wesley kirk just cannot catch a break. i see a lot of negative reactions to his kirk on social media this week. Laan is getting praise though.

TBH I feel a lot of this could have been forgiven if he was not so skinny and lanky. I wish he buffed his build more like ben affleck did for his batman. if he had that kind of physique a lot of fans will have ignored a lot of his other shortcoming like his acting, lack of charisma and screen presence.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

@valden

Watch the changing room scene again, then check the dictionary definition of ‘skinny’ and ‘lanky’.

 

[Supervisor 194]

The uniform doesn't do Wesley any favors.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Wesley kirk just cannot catch a break. .

That's simply because he's not Shatner. That explains 99% of the Wesley hate.

It's like Jellico. Most fans who hate him, hate him because he isn't Picard. If TNG had always had him, there'd be a lot less hate.

 

[Mudd]

Wesley kirk just cannot catch a break. i see a lot of negative reactions to his kirk on social media this week. Laan is getting praise though.

TBH I feel a lot of this could have been forgiven if he was not so skinny and lanky. I wish he buffed his build more like ben affleck did for his batman. if he had that kind of physique a lot of fans will have ignored a lot of his other shortcoming like his acting, lack of charisma and screen presence.

There's nothing to be "forgiven" here.

 

[cooleddie74]

Eh. Kirk's 27 here and in an alternate timeline. Young, fit people serving in a military(sorry, Nerds, Starfleet or the United Earth Space Force are a military force even if they don't boast about their capacities to blow things up and make things go BOOM) tend to be kind of thin and don't really fill out a loose shirt. I can live with Wesley and the uniform's adherence to him.

 

[fireproof78]

Just them out it an unexplored area finding something new. The original series didnt have great effects and sets all the time but it did feel like they were out there just exploring.

Ok.

This isn't TOS and TOS is not all of Star Trek. I prefer much more variety of stories than the one or two variations on themes. This week was time travel and La'an's episode. Next week will be different and the week after different still.

Variety.

People are so nice around here

Used to be such a nice neighborhood.

 

[AntonyF]

That's simply because he's not Shatner. That explains 99% of the Wesley hate.

It's like Jellico. Most fans who hate him, hate him because he isn't Picard. If TNG had always had him, there'd be a lot less hate.

Jellico I think was deliberately meant to be contrast, and to upset the regulars. So a bit like with Data and Pulaski, people get protective over their favourites. I never thought of him as a Picard alternative. I really liked him... but only for a bit. I don't feel he would work for an ensemble show.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Jellico kicked ASS. If Legacy ever becomes a thing, I hope he's still the admiral of the fleet.

 

[JamesRye]

This whole thread is really unsurprising. You recast an iconic role and you'll never match the original. Because it's a hiding to nothing. Case in point, James Bond.

Bond is Connery and Connery is Bond.

Everything else, no matter how great cannot match up to the original.

Another analogy would be cover bands.

 

[fireproof78]

I don't ever go in to a recast expecting the original. That's inviting disappointment.

 

[Noname Given]

Oh you again. You're quite exhausting.

You know full well the intention of my message. Stop explaining to me. I've watched Star Trek for almost 40 years and for decades wrote about it professionally. Star Trek is whatever I fucking want it to be.

When you've watched Star Trek first run for 54 years, get back to me.

 

[Ovation]

This whole thread is really unsurprising. You recast an iconic role and you'll never match the original. Because it's a hiding to nothing. Case in point, James Bond.

Bond is Connery and Connery is Bond.

Everything else, no matter how great cannot match up to the original.

Another analogy would be cover bands.

If this is correct (and it isn’t), then we should cease putting on plays, disband all symphony orchestras, require all bands to retire once one member leaves, discontinue all comics once the original team of writer/artist moves on to other projects…and so on.

Of course this would be patently absurd (the fact your position would have prevented Jimi Hendrix from covering All Along the Watchtower alone is sufficient to demonstrate the error of your position).

 

[Nerys Myk]

I get exactly what youre saying. One of my favorite TOS eps is The Corbomite Manuever. Eps like that are getting far and few between these days. Just a ep with them encountering something strange and terrifying in space. No politics, no time travel, no romulans, no klingons etc. Just them out it an unexplored area finding something new. The original series didnt have great effects and sets all the time but it did feel like they were out there just exploring.

What's the actual break down of mission type for each episode of TOS? I recall a lot of milk runs, diplomatic missions, military exercises and patrolling in addition to exploration. SNW is trying for that variety.

 

[ichab]

TBH I feel a lot of this could have been forgiven if he was not so skinny and lanky. I wish he buffed his build more like ben affleck did for his batman.

On this point I have no issue. If the Batman were a real person, he would look more like the recent Batman than the version Ben Affleck did. Contrary to what you see in the movies, military guys are no overly muscular as military training is more for your cardiovascular fitness. Large muscles require extra oxygen and you're not running many miles nor surviving in the wilderness or dessert for weeks on end while being built like Mr. Universe. That's pure Hollywood fantasy. Wesley is in fine physical shape and has the right physique for the role.

...if he had that kind of physique a lot of fans will have ignored a lot of his other shortcoming like his acting, lack of charisma and screen presence.

The acting, lack of charisma and screen presence is my issue. He's a fine actor, but IMO was miscast for this role.

 

[fireproof78]

On this point I have no issue. If the Batman were a real person, he would look more like the recent Batman than the version Ben Affleck did. Contrary to what you see in the movies, military guys are no overly muscular as military training is more for your cardiovascular fitness. Large muscles require extra oxygen and you're not running many miles nor surviving in the wilderness or dessert for weeks on end while being built like Mr. Universe. That's pure Hollywood fantasy. Wesley is in fine physical shape and has the right physique for the role.

The acting, lack of charisma and screen presence is my issue. He's a fine actor, but IMO was miscast for this role.

I don't know why but you quoted me with words I didn't write.

 

[WarpFactorZ]

This whole thread seems to ignore the fact that each time we have seen Wesley's Kirk, it ISN'T the TOS Kirk! Both come from a different timeline. Maybe the first one was closer to the real Kirk since he had the same upbringing, but the defining thing for him -- being captain of the Enterprise on a 5 year mission -- never happened. He's just another shmoe captain.

As for last week's episode, his background was nothing like TOS Kirk's. So why should he "act like Kirk"?

 

[TerryTrek]

Wesley has about 3 more years to grow into this role, so I wouldn't worry about it. I've seen this happen enough where people just get used to him in the role and it's less jarring over time.

This is probably not the last time we'll see him play an alternate Kirk.

I think a Mirror Universe episode will come in S3; involving Mirror Kirk planning the assassination of Christopher Pike.

 

[ichab]

I don't know why but you quoted me with words I didn't write.

I'm not sure how that happened, but it's fixed now.

 

[ichab]

This whole thread is really unsurprising. You recast an iconic role and you'll never match the original. Because it's a hiding to nothing. Case in point, James Bond.

Bond is Connery and Connery is Bond.

Everything else, no matter how great cannot match up to the original.

Another analogy would be cover bands.

I'd argue that Timothy Dalton was the best because he was most true to the Bond from the novels. But I'm sure anyone who grew up with Connery would disagree.

I wasn't even born when TOS first aired and my earliest memory of the original cast is the films, which were VASTLY different from the old show and, IMO, far more entertaining.

As for recasting of the TOS characters, I had no issues with any of the casting choices for the Kelvin movies. I thought all those actors did a great job of making those characters their own while staying true to what came before. In fact, I'd argue that the new Checkov was far better than the original. And any changes from the old show is easily explained away with it being an alternate timeline.

With this new cast on SNW, I have no issues with Peck as Spock. He does a fine job of evoking a younger Spock who hasn't quite learned to control his emotions like he does later. The new Uhura is...fine. That character along with Chapel were mostly background players on the old show, so there really isn't much to compare to. Kirk on the other hand....let's just say Wesley is no William Shatner, nor Chris Pine.