"He didn't ask for what happened to him"

[Wingsley]

When Kirk gave his log entry after leaving Delta Vega, he spoke of Gary Mitchell to Spock: "I want his record to end that way. He didn't ask for what happened to him." Even though Kirk had to kill Mitchell to save his own life (and the lives of others), he still mourned Mitchell's loss.

I remember in Allan Asherman's "Star Trek Compendium", Asherman speculated that Mitchell etched "James R. Kirk" onto the tombstone because maybe Mitchell didn't really know Kirk that well and vice versa, and maybe they weren't as close as they had thought. I just watched that ep again, and I'm not so sure. Maybe Mitchell's attitude showed just how much his transformation had changed his personality.

Another reaction: the uniforms and some of the cast may have been different, but this seems very much to be a TOS ep, in some ways even moreso than other early-first-year outings.

 

[Jackson_Roykirk]

I agree --

There is really no evidence that Kirk and Mitchell were "best friends" -- although I'm sure they were at least friendly.

All we know about the Kirk/Mitchell relationship was that Kirk (as a Lieutenant) was cadet Mitchell's instructor at the Academy, and Mitchell set Kirk up with a blonde lab technician. Besides that, and the fact that they acted friendly at the beginning of the episode, there is no other reason to believe that Kirk and Mitchell were ever "best friends".

Although the "R/T" discussion is meaningless...the explanation for that is simply that Kirk's middle name began with an "R" when WNMHGB was made, but somewhere along the way the creators/producers/writers of Star Trek changed it to a "T". It's not the first or last inconsistency within TOS.

 

[A beaker full of death]

Asherman's being a little silly, foisting a post-hoc spin onto what was clearly a production mistake.
As for what was intended to be in the episode, it always reminds me of The Day The Earth Stood Still -- man becomes too powerful, so, regardless of his not having actually done anything terrible with that power (yet), he must be disarmed or destroyed. I'm not even sure what the philosophical roots of that theory are. Marxism? Anyone? Any other examples in science fiction of the time?

 

[Sir Rhosis]

Where in the "Compendium" does Asherman say this? I just glanced through my copy, and can't find anything of that nature. He does note that the tombstone says "James R. Kirk," but that is the extent to which it is mentioned. Not saying he doesn't but I can't find it ( alater section, maybe, but again, where?), and would dislike anybody being brought to ridicule over something they never said.

Sir Rhosis

 

[Maurice]

Where in the "Compendium" does Asherman say this? I just glanced through my copy, and can't find anything of that nature. He does note that the tombstone says "James R. Kirk," but that is the extent to which it is mentioned. Not saying he doesn't but I can't find it ( alater section, maybe, but again, where?), and would dislike anybody being brought to ridicule over something they never said.

Sir Rhosis

I don't see that, either, in either the 1981 or the 1986 editions. I kept both because the "Completely Revised and Updated!" 1986 version was updated and rewritten, sometimes at the cost of information what was in the original. For instance, the entire first chapter, "A Capsule History of Star Trek," of the original edition was excised from the 1986 version.

 

[Timo]

Asherman's being a little silly, foisting a post-hoc spin onto what was clearly a production mistake.

...Not that there should be anything objectionable about post-hoc interpretation when it comes to art. The viewing experience is at least as important as the creative effort, right?

It is indicated that Kirk and Mitchell had camaderie, and that Kirk had a soft spot for the younger officer in the sense of wanting him aboard his first command (and either succeeding or failing, we don't yet know). Doesn't necessarily mean Mitchell would know all the details of Kirk's life, though. But a middle initial? The issue does call for some sort of an explanation if we are to interpret the individual episodes of Trek as depicting one and the same fictional universe.

The idea that it's an in-joke between the two friends is an appealing one. The idea that it indicates Mitchell's still non-divine fallibility is an interesting one as well, and might be a plot point in explaining why Kirk even bothers to go on with the fight against a god. That it would indicate societal, emotional or other such distance between Mitchell and Kirk, though... Probably not my first pick.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[prometheuspan]

The explanation for this which i have seen which makes the most sense is that this was simply an inside joke between them.

The "R" could have represented "retard" or "renegade" or who knows what else.

Kind of makes sense... like putting a nickname in the middle of the name.

 

[Outpost4]

The explanation that makes the most sense to me is that when WNMHGB was being shot, Star Trek was still being invented and nobody had even considered the issue of James Kirk's middle name.

 

[Timo]

We're not really in need of an explanation, though. That's something external to the fictional universe of Star Trek and as such not very interesting - we don't need an explanation to why Kirk's starship was made of plywood, either.

What we need is something that works within the Trek universe. And that almost inevitably means it has to be something utterly fictional...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Outpost4]

Plywood!!!

 

[T'Bonz]

We're not really in need of an explanation, though. That's something external to the fictional universe of Star Trek and as such not very interesting - we don't need an explanation to why Kirk's starship was made of plywood, either.

What we need is something that works within the Trek universe. And that almost inevitably means it has to be something utterly fictional...

Timo Saloniemi

But you really DON'T need an explanation. It's just a TV show. We know the real reason why, because details and such were still in flux. There is no reason to have to make up a pretend/fictional reason for the middle name because it doesn't exactly match what came later.

It doesn't matter. Sometimes I think we just need to enjoy the show without over-analyzing it to death or getting so wrapped up in canon and continuity that we argue over what is trivial.

 

[Shatmandu]

In the first draft of the script, it says Mitchell put 'R' there because they used to dress as pirates during sexplay.

Joe, noted Trek historian

 

[GilmourD]

I read a non-canon explaination somewhere... But I can't remember where. It was supposed to be a joke between Mitchell and Kirk where Mitchell used to say that Kirk's middle name was "Racquetball".

 

[Ssosmcin]

As far as to the issue of their friendship, I think the implication was that both men were quite close. Would Kirk have been as friendly with Kelso as he was with Mitchell in the turbo lift? I don't think so, personally.

Consider the evidence:

1. Kirk and Gary banter like friends in the elevator.

2. Kirk has known Gary for 15 years and asked for him when Kirk attained his first command. Granted, this could happen if you just respect a person's abilities, but let's plug it in there. Anyway, a guy would get his buddy a job when he has the authority to do so.

3. At the academy, they had a "fraternity" type friendship. If Kirk asked for Gary specifically to work in a key position, odds are they were buddies when Gary set him up with the blonde lab tech.

4. And this is key: Gary saved Kirk's life on Demorus when one of those rodent things threw a poison dark at Kirk. Gary took the dart and almost died. At this point, whatever friendship they had would have become much stronger. It wasn't a brothers-in-arms relationship, they were close, genuine friends.

And strictly from a writer's point of view, Gary would have to be one of Kirk's closest friends for the ordeal to be as painful and meaningful as possible. If Gary were actually Mr. Alden, Kirk would merely be going off to kill some dude. Instead, he has to kill his close friend, which effects him so much that Kirk pauses before braining him with the rock to beg his forgiveness.

So, yeah, instead of Kirk saying something obvious like "Gary, you're my bestest buddy" the devil's in the details. Or, to quote the old writer's adage, "show don't tell." I prefer it when TV doesn't treat me like a simpleton and spell out every single detail in dialog. A good writer will lay it all out in the course of the story for the viewer to put together. And with that in mind, Kirk fudges the log enough to make his friend's life end without controversy or shame.

 

[Green Shirt]

It doesn't matter. Sometimes I think we just need to enjoy the show without over-analyzing it to death or getting so wrapped up in canon and continuity that we argue over what is trivial.

Blasphemy!!!!


Life has no purpose, now. You've raped my adulthood!!!!

 

[Therin of Andor]

I read a non-canon explaination somewhere... But I can't remember where. It was supposed to be a joke between Mitchell and Kirk where Mitchell used to say that Kirk's middle name was "Racquetball".

The trilogy of novels, "My Brother's Keeper" has a running gag, whereby both Kirk and Gary add words beginning with "R" to their full names, depending on what situation has just happened. "Racquetball" is just one of them.

 

[GilmourD]

I read a non-canon explaination somewhere... But I can't remember where. It was supposed to be a joke between Mitchell and Kirk where Mitchell used to say that Kirk's middle name was "Racquetball".

The trilogy of novels, "My Brother's Keeper" has a running gag, whereby both Kirk and Gary add words beginning with "R" to their full names, depending on what situation has just happened. "Racquetball" is just one of them.

You know, I think that was it. I think it was also mentioned in the first Vanguard novel.

 

[M'Sharak]

In the first draft of the script, it says Mitchell put 'R' there because they used to dress as pirates during sexplay.

Joe, noted Trek historian

Some time, all of these morsels are going to have to be collected and archived.

 

[gastrof]

...Although the "R/T" discussion is meaningless...the explanation for that is simply that Kirk's middle name began with an "R" when WNMHGB was made, but somewhere along the way the creators/producers/writers of Star Trek changed it to a "T". It's not the first or last inconsistency within TOS.

Ummm...

I think we all know what the real world reasons could have been.

Any time this is brought up, it's fans speculating on a "why" having to do with the in-story continuity. That's not meaningless. It's a mental exercise involving something we enjoy.

It's sort of like discussing the motivations of characters in a classic novel. Sorry, but characters in novels don't have motivations. They do what the writer makes them do. Still, that doesn't mean we can't discuss why a character MIGHT have done what they did. It's a bit of fun.

Much the same with Star Trek and the WNMHGB tombstone. WHY did Gary put in the middle initial R, in light of what we later hear Kirk's middle initial to be? Personally, I think he might have just been getting in another dig in what he thought were Kirk's last moments. Maybe a leftover from an old joke or an old nickname Kirk was known by.

Don't stifle "playing with Trek". People enjoy it and have the right to!

 

[Ssosmcin]

It's sort of like discussing the motivations of characters in a classic novel. Sorry, but characters in novels don't have motivations. They do what the writer makes them do.

Characters in books and other media absolutely have motivation. Writers create and establish the motivation of each character for the reader (or viewer) to follow. This is the basic beginnings of plot. Without motivation, characters just exist randomly. You probably meant to say something like "characters don't exist, they are creations of the author." Obviously, there is no fun in that. And it's a bad example anyway, since it's not the same thing. Fans aren't really trying to figure out why a character did something, they're trying to cover a continuity change with a logical explanation in order to make the fictional universe make more sense. Because, obviously, Gary Mitchell used an "R" because that was Kirk's middle initial.

However, you guys are looking at it backward. The question isn't "why did Gary put down the wrong inintial?" The question should be "why did Kirk decide to change his middle initial was T?" I mean, Where No Man was shot before any other Kirk episode. So, what's first should be accurate and what comes later is the screw up. Just sayin'.