Paul Wesley's incarnation of James T. Kirk

Charlie x

 

Paul Wesley? In the days of yesteryear, a "Classy" Freddie Blassie would've rudely referred to him as a "pencil-neck geek." Say what you will about Secret Hideout, but they've been generally OK at casting, and Wesley as Kirk is such a whiff that it almost seems intentional, like let's "subvert" and be as anti-Shatnerian as possible. I mean, they did make Sammy Kirk a colossal schmuck, so...

 

There's probably a fitting Emperor Palpatine quote that should go here, something about ones Hate overflowing, but it would just be a waste of breath for all the good it would do.

 

Outside the characterization of Kirk, I'd agree that the way Kirk in Quality of Mercy conducted himself tactically was top-notch and almost identical to what he did in Balance of Terror. He took the same approach and used the same methods that we know were successful in BoT. At least in terms of strategy and tactics, he's clearly at the same level as the Kirk who did take command of the Enterprise.

I suppose you could make the case that there are other potential differences, such as leadership skills that don't get exercised as much on the Farragut.

 

Nope.

 

He top-notched lost the Farragut??

 

At least it wasn’t to the Ferengi or ancient Bird of Prey.

 

Better a giant cloud of blood-drinking gases than a Bird-of-Prey not even most Klingons feel comfortable aboard.

 

William Shatner must be doing something right because you don't get to 90 plus years old without maintaining some sort of healthy regimen over the years unless you're extremely lucky.

 

I'm barely half his age and he's in better shape and has more energy than I. He may not have been beefcake and six-pack in the 1960s but like you said he's been doing something right.

 

Hell, Robert Conrad in the 1970s played a fitness gym guru in an episode of COLUMBO, and was in fantastic shape for it!

I’m at SDCC and I wanted to go to that, but it was additional credits! Having met Shatner face-to-face a few times already, didn’t feel the need to shell out for this separate event.

 

Robert Conrad could break a steel rod with those legs. But Peter Falk broke him.

 

Yeah, because Pike hesitated. Kirk's first words after the destruction to Pike . . .

Kirk: Captain Pike. We need to talk. Now. You flinched. You deliberated and we lost.

And that's exactly what we saw onscreen.

The whole point of the episode was the Pike wasn't the right Captain for that mission. And we saw it play out.

Now, I think it was a flawed premise that forced Pike to look bad. Unhobbled by the premise, I'm sure Pike would've adapted.

 

Kirk made huge tactical mistake when he ordered (what is effectively) an Immelmann when being tailed. He exposed the largest part of the Farragut's silhouette, and he lessened the distance between the ship and the Romulan's. That maneuver made the plasma weapon more effective, pissing away the 2 to 1 advantage the Federation had.

It was a rookie mistake unbecoming a ship's captain.

 

I've not seen the episode yet, but this thread made me curious so I spoiled myself a scene on Youtube. The one where Kirk and Pike first talk on the Enterprise viewscreen.

It seems I'm in a minority but in that short scene he nailed it for me. He has Shatner's rhythm down, without veering that into parodic territory and he looks the part too. For me, of course, I get that some aren't impressed and that's fair, but for me it works.

 

We discussed that before. It was displayed that way to look cool on the screen. It makes visual sense to Earth bound humans living in an atmosphere and have seen aircraft do that maneuver. It's similar to how all the starships have a clear up/down orientation that they maintain. That is, they look like they have a top and bottom and those are (with rare exceptions) maintained to avoid viewer disorientation. For example, ships meet other ships with their topsides all at the top of our screens.

 

Planes in an atmosphere wouldn't do Immelmann's when tailed. They slow down and expose the largest part of their silhouette to the pursuing fighter. It makes them a bigger target. In such a situation, a plane would drop down to gain speed and attempt other maneuvers. A plane would do an Immelmann to rejoins combat and gain altitude, not in pursuit. If a plane were significantly faster than its pursuer, it would flyoff, gain distance, and turn back around to do a hit and run attack.

No, it doesn't make sense.