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Kirk gave up his right to being an active father too easily. Its the 23rd century, he would have won a custody case.
Kirk didn't want to.

The entire subtext of his character in TWOK is that he does the convenient, easy thing. What suits and serves him is the right thing.

Dump criminals on an unknown world. Never check up on them.

He doesn't like to lose...so he cheats.

He's stuck in a crisis, he calls his miracle working subordinate and tells him to pull his ass out. And when he's told " Can't be done," he...sits there.

Waits for a miracle to save everyone.

In the meantime Spock quickly assesses the facts and takes direct necessary action at personal cost.

Kirk doesn't want to be tied down. He's given an out by his girlfriend and he takes it. How lame is it for him to defensively throw up "I did what you asked" as an excuse as nearly the first thing out of his mouth.

"I cheated...tricked my way out...and patted myself on the back..."

You think this guy looked in his rear-view mirror when he left that kid behind? Really?
 
McCoy's visible recognition of Carol's name when Kirk hears it in the turbolift indicates Kirk confided in him about Carol at some point, but I don't for a minute believe that leaving her and their newborn son behind as he gallavanted across the Federation on different ships was something that constantly bothered him. He accepted it, embraced his career and eventually couldn't see past his own uniform (see his confessions to Picard in the Nexus) and didn't second guess the arrangement with Carol.
 
David also apparently remembers the "overgrown Boy Scout" so Kirk's leaving doesn't sound like it's an immediate thing.
What it indicates is that David had no close relationship with the man at all. Kirk was "just that guy you used to date." Sounds like Kirk paid little attention and never really engaged the kid on the few occasions he was in the same room with him.

"Custody battle?" Kirk didn't give a shit until he got old enough to regret his lost opportunities and isolation from people.

It's both on the page and on the screen.
 
It came too soon that ending. It should have come much later...like a glimpse of season 5, where we see what the actual problem is, and then it is never resolved.

Having most of us pounding sand...

Furthermore have hints that Picard's droidification, may have actually occurred much sooner and nobody noticed. This too is never resolved..
 
David also apparently remembers the "overgrown Boy Scout" so Kirk's leaving doesn't sound like it's an immediate thing.

David heard stories. He did not even know Kirk was his sperm donor.

For David to hear stories means Kirk made a significant impression on Carol that she spoke about him later to David. Of course, fathering her child is a significant impact. Still, not enough impact to tell David Kirk was his father.

Maybe he met Kirk early in his childhood, but Kirk definitely wasn't around much or long.
 
David heard stories. He did not even know Kirk was his sperm donor.

For David to hear stories means Kirk made a significant impression on Carol that she spoke about him later to David. Of course, fathering her child is a significant impact. Still, not enough impact to tell David Kirk was his father.

Maybe he met Kirk early in his childhood, but Kirk definitely wasn't around much or long.
Then the line would have been "that overgrown Boy Scout you used to tell me about."
And "overgrown Boy Scout" is David's impression, not Carol's (the movie is explicit about that.) There had to be some interaction for him to form it.
 
David heard stories. He did not even know Kirk was his sperm donor.

For David to hear stories means Kirk made a significant impression on Carol that she spoke about him later to David. Of course, fathering her child is a significant impact. Still, not enough impact to tell David Kirk was his father.

Maybe he met Kirk early in his childhood, but Kirk definitely wasn't around much or long.
Exactly.
 
Then the line would have been "that overgrown Boy Scout you used to tell me about."
And "overgrown Boy Scout" is David's impression, not Carol's (the movie is explicit about that.) There had to be some interaction for him to form it.
Not necessarily. Carol told him some things, but not everything, and his takeaway from that was that he was a "boy scout". There could have been plenty she purposely left out, and that gives him an inaccurate picture.
 
Not necessarily. Carol told him some things, but not everything, and his takeaway from that was that he was a "boy scout". There could have been plenty she purposely left out, and that gives him an inaccurate picture.
I just don't see her talking Kirk up at all. That could encourage curiosity and interest and she wants David in her life not his, after all.
 
He's stuck in a crisis, he calls his miracle working subordinate and tells him to pull his ass out. And when he's told " Can't be done," he...sits there.

Waits for a miracle to save everyone.
Which, to be fair, is not the character seen in the show, who would have run down to engineering himself and not sat or his hands. Something changed. "Worn out."
 
The thing that reflects less well on Geordi is that after this experience, later in the season we see Geordi condemn Barclay's behaviour rather than show any sign of understanding. Perhaps

I watched Hollow Pursuits today in light of your comment and… I think maybe you’re mistaken there.

There’s a scene in Ten Forward. Geordi says ‘he spent a few hours in the Holo Deck’ and that he knows what it’s like to get too wrapped up in it.

When he catches Barclay in the act, he sympathised and agreed to keep it private.

Then later, when they are trying to locate him, he’s on the Holo Deck natch, Geordi tries to cut Riker off at the pass so he can deal with it.

At no point does he condemn Barclay and he certainly sympathises and understands. At one point he even confesses that he fell in love with a simulation.

Riker condemns. Troi isn’t happy. Geordi goes for damage control throughout pretty much.

Not meaning to argue by the way. Just gave it another look, largely based on your comment, and I just can’t see where you’re coming from?
 
Then the line would have been "that overgrown Boy Scout you used to tell me about."
And "overgrown Boy Scout" is David's impression, not Carol's (the movie is explicit about that.) There had to be some interaction for him to form it.
David may only know that his mom had a relationship with Kirk and Kirk is probably pretty famous, a future Captain Cook, especially after the VGER crisis. David is pretty anti-starfleet so calling an admiral an overblown boyscout is probably just something he says. His peer group is probably anti-starfleet as well. They probably have long debates with others about whether starfleet is a military organization and would even bet money on it, if such a thing existed. Which it does.

I don't think if he knew Kirk was his father he would have been that quick to say "he killed everyone we left behind"
 
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I watched Hollow Pursuits today in light of your comment and… I think maybe you’re mistaken there.

There’s a scene in Ten Forward. Geordi says ‘he spent a few hours in the Holo Deck’ and that he knows what it’s like to get too wrapped up in it.

When he catches Barclay in the act, he sympathised and agreed to keep it private.

Then later, when they are trying to locate him, he’s on the Holo Deck natch, Geordi tries to cut Riker off at the pass so he can deal with it.

At no point does he condemn Barclay and he certainly sympathises and understands. At one point he even confesses that he fell in love with a simulation.

Riker condemns. Troi isn’t happy. Geordi goes for damage control throughout pretty much.

Not meaning to argue by the way. Just gave it another look, largely based on your comment, and I just can’t see where you’re coming from?
I've not seen it for years, but had the impression that Geordi is hypocritical. Probably because he does join in with the "Broccoli" stuff.

But I'm happy to admit I must have been mistaken! Thanks for clarifying. I'll have to watch it again soon.

And apologies to Geordi for the defamation of his character!
 
Maybe he met Kirk early in his childhood, but Kirk definitely wasn't around much or long.

"Is that David?" implies he knows what the kid looked like, several years earlier, and was confirming he recognized him. The implication to me is that whenever Kirk was on Earth he would visit Carol and David, but only as "Mom's old friend". How Carol reacted to him being on Earth "permanently" between TOS and TMP, is a matter for debate. David would have been about 10.
 
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