Did he realise what he was getting into?

[Sci]

No franchise that has put 13 movies on cinema screens can be considered niche.

I mean, yes and no? Most of those films were middle-budget movies that did middle-budget business, and a couple just bombed. I think it wasn't niche in the sense of being obscure, but it also wasn't incredibly common either. It was something in-between.

Either way, I think post-2009, Star Trek has become much more mainstream than it was.

 

[The Wormhole]

Trek is niche, yes people have heard of Star Trek, but apart from Mr Spock, Captain Kirk, maybe Scotty (as in 'Beam me up...Scotty') and for the saddest of reasons this week Uhura, ask the average British person to name other Trek characters and you will get a blank stare.

I've found back when I was in school there were a few TNG characters known among the non-Trekkie kids. Mostly Geordi and Data, who I remember the other kids referring to as "the guy from Reading Rainbow with no eyes" and "the pale skinned dude who can open his head."

 

[dupersuper]

That is shockingly misogynistic. Shame on you.

I've read some of their other posts. I'm not shocked.

 

[DEWLine]

Appalled, mind you, is entirely accurate to describe my own reaction.

 

[Noname Given]

No franchise that has put 13 movies on cinema screens can be considered niche.

You haven't seen the numerous Cannon (Golan and Globus) films of the '80s and '90s have you?

 

[Bones]

Kirk is the last character I want to see in SNW. Since I don’t have a choice, I hope Wesley gives us a unique take, which could be genuinely interesting.

 

[the G-man]

Kirk is the last character I want to see in SNW. Since I don’t have a choice, I hope Wesley gives us a unique take, which could be genuinely interesting.

I was rooting for him, but he didn't work for me. He missed the swagger and confidence. In a perfect world, they could have found a way to get Pine. Second choice, and I know this is out of the box, but Jared "Letterkenney" Keeso.

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[VKORECTU]

Yes this guy seems a bit better. Do women like him?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Yes this guy seems a bit better. Do women like him?

Nothing about that guy says "Kirk" to me. I'll take Wesley

 

[Sci]

In a perfect world, they could have found a way to get Pine.

Honestly, Chris Pine is too old to play late-2250s Kirk at this point. Remember, SNW is set in 2259 -- the same year Star Trek Into Darkness was set, and only one year after Star Trek 2009 was set. But ST09 was released thirteen years ago, and filmed fourteen years ago. Chris Pine was 28 when he was playing a 25-year-old Kirk. But Pine is 42 years old now. He's too old to play a 26-year-old.

 

[the G-man]

Honestly, Chris Pine is too old to play late-2250s Kirk at this point. Remember, SNW is set in 2259 -- the same year Star Trek Into Darkness was set, and only one year after Star Trek 2009 was set. But ST09 was released thirteen years ago, and filmed fourteen years ago. Chris Pine was 28 when he was playing a 25-year-old Kirk. But Pine is 42 years old now. He's too old to play a 26-year-old.

For an entire series? Sure. For a one-ep special appearance to hype a new show? Digitally erase some lines on his face and it’s all good.

 

[fireproof78]

Honestly, Chris Pine is too old to play late-2250s Kirk at this point. Remember, SNW is set in 2259 -- the same year Star Trek Into Darkness was set, and only one year after Star Trek 2009 was set. But ST09 was released thirteen years ago, and filmed fourteen years ago. Chris Pine was 28 when he was playing a 25-year-old Kirk. But Pine is 42 years old now. He's too old to play a 26-year-old.

Indeed. I'm loathed to see Kirk in SNW but they absolutely are smart in giving someone new a chance, like the rest of the cast.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Honestly, Chris Pine is too old to play late-2250s Kirk at this point. Remember, SNW is set in 2259 -- the same year Star Trek Into Darkness was set, and only one year after Star Trek 2009 was set. But ST09 was released thirteen years ago, and filmed fourteen years ago. Chris Pine was 28 when he was playing a 25-year-old Kirk. But Pine is 42 years old now. He's too old to play a 26-year-old.

Paul Wesley is 40!

 

[fireproof78]

Paul Wesley is 40!

Doesn't look it.

 

[Sci]

Doesn't look it.

But Chris Pine very much does.

 

[fireproof78]

But Chris Pine very much does.

Indeed. Now, Pine as Admiral Kirk in a Starfleet Academy or similar series or movie? Totally down.

 

[EnderAKH]

Doesn't look it.

Consequences of being a vampire.

 

[F. King Daniel]

I don't know, when he smiled in SNW 1.10, there were wrinkles.

Not in any way being ageist (I'm 38), but the casting choice seems very strange considering this show may last a few more years.

 

[skylark14]

I don't know, when he smiled in SNW 1.10, there were wrinkles.

Not in any way being ageist (I'm 38), but the casting choice seems very strange considering this show may last a few more years.

I'm afraid I had a similar reaction - bewilderment. To me he appeared a little haggard. I would have guessed his age at 40-44. Looking up a photo from Vampire Diaries, I could see a little Kirk in his younger version. It makes me wonder if after he was hired, he might have dealt with an illness. As I watched, something kept nagging at me, and I think it might have been the Jim Carrey resemblance that others have since pointed out. He absolutely has my best wishes going forward in the role, and I hope whatever caused my negative reaction gets turned around next season.

 

[Brainsucker]

To be fair, Paul Wesley get paid to act as captain James T. Kirk, not as William Shatner. He doesn't need to mimic Shatner's body language, way of speaking (intonation), etc. He needs only to play as a character who was played by Shatner, with his own interpretation.

Look at James Bond, Do you see that any of the later Bond mimicking Sean Connery or Roger Moore to the deepest detail? Every James Bond have their own version and style. So why Paul Wesley can't?

Oh, I actually agree with you, Shatner wasn't all ham all the time. He could be very subdued. He was very expressive at times in a rather unique and easily recognisable style, though, which then over the decades became inseparable from the character Kirk, for most fans I suppose. And that's what I was trying to say: it was inevitably Shatner's acting I saw in my imagination, that's how much I associate the two.

But speaking of his acting style, Shatner's several guest appearances in Columbo do highlight some of those same expressive acting quirks outside of the role of Kirk - for better or for worse. Me personally, I find them charming.

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Charming or not, that's William Shatner's style and the way he's speaking. It is not fair if we force Paul Wesley to act as William Shatner, when his role is playing James T. Kirk. Not the actor behind Kirk.