* To know better the changes in timeline, how Kirk turned captain in original, pré-startrek 11, TOS? There are any official info?
How Kirk assumed command of the Enterprise in original timeline?
- Thread starter CaptainHarlock
- Start date
Not really. In "The Menagerie," all Kirk said was that he briefly met Pike when he assumed command of the Enterprise. That Pike is now something of Kirk's mentor in the film would seem to be a change in and of itself.
He murdered Christopher Pike and they all moved up in rank.
I've worked for a couple of Federal contractors that operated the same way.
I've worked for a couple of Federal contractors that operated the same way.
So I guess The Menagerie was Star Trek's Weekend at Bernies?
I think that would be the last couple of TOS-based movies. I understand that the Henson people were involved in puppeteering some of the regulars.
^
^^He was stationed on the Farragut sometime before The Enterprise, but we don't know if there was an "in-between" period. Maybe he became a Starfleet Academy instructor after the Farragut and the cloud-creature incident.
^^He was stationed on the Farragut sometime before The Enterprise, but we don't know if there was an "in-between" period. Maybe he became a Starfleet Academy instructor after the Farragut and the cloud-creature incident.
For me one thing that I will have a hard time accepting is any failure to mention Tarsus IV. For me this event is integral to making Kirk the man he becomes. He said as much in Conscience of the King. So I am hoping that this kid stealing a car in the trailer and becoming a bit of rebel is the result his experience on Tarsus IV and Starfleet Failure to solve that situation leading to Kirk despising Starfleet.
In reality, I think abrams will probably change the timeline, by having George Kirk Snr killed by Nero resulting in Kirk becoming who he is.
Look I'm all for a reboot, but I think Tarsus IV could have been incorporated into the storyline easily keeping canon in tact.
The rest of what you are all talking about regarding Kirk's service on the Republic and the Farragut, I don't think this will be dealt with in this movie, as Kirk will not be a captain in this movie at any point. Even at the end.
In reality, I think abrams will probably change the timeline, by having George Kirk Snr killed by Nero resulting in Kirk becoming who he is.
Look I'm all for a reboot, but I think Tarsus IV could have been incorporated into the storyline easily keeping canon in tact.
The rest of what you are all talking about regarding Kirk's service on the Republic and the Farragut, I don't think this will be dealt with in this movie, as Kirk will not be a captain in this movie at any point. Even at the end.
There's a novel, Enterprise: The First Adventure by Vonda N. McIntyre, who also did the wonderful novelizations of TWOK and TSFS. Her novel The Entropy Effect is among the best Trek novels.
Enterprise: THe First Adventure is, sadly, entirely forgettable.
Enterprise: THe First Adventure is, sadly, entirely forgettable.
As to the actual events/ceremony of how he got command of the Enterprise, I don't believe it's ever been established. Maybe this movie will finally address it.
Though various comments in TOS episodes, and movies, this is what has been pieced together on Kirk's Starfleet back story.
" At Starfleet Academy, Kirk became the first person to beat the Kobayashi Maru simulation by rewriting the program to make it possible to survive the "no-win" scenario. He received a field commission as an ensign and posted to the USS Republic, then was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and returned to Starfleet Academy as a student instructor. Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), then one of Kirk's students, remarks in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" that one could either "think or sink" in Kirk's course. Upon graduation in the top five percent of his class, Kirk was promoted to lieutenant and served aboard the USS Farragut. Having risen rapidly through the ranks after leaving the Academy, Kirk received his first command while still quite young.
At the age of 31, Kirk received command of the USS Enterprise…………"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_T_Kirk)
Hopefully some elements of this back story will be kept/alluded to in the new movie.
Though various comments in TOS episodes, and movies, this is what has been pieced together on Kirk's Starfleet back story.
" At Starfleet Academy, Kirk became the first person to beat the Kobayashi Maru simulation by rewriting the program to make it possible to survive the "no-win" scenario. He received a field commission as an ensign and posted to the USS Republic, then was promoted to lieutenant junior grade and returned to Starfleet Academy as a student instructor. Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), then one of Kirk's students, remarks in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" that one could either "think or sink" in Kirk's course. Upon graduation in the top five percent of his class, Kirk was promoted to lieutenant and served aboard the USS Farragut. Having risen rapidly through the ranks after leaving the Academy, Kirk received his first command while still quite young.
At the age of 31, Kirk received command of the USS Enterprise…………"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_T_Kirk)
Hopefully some elements of this back story will be kept/alluded to in the new movie.
The Tarsus IV incident makes for a pretty good backstory I guess, but to be honest I've never really made much of it. For being such a life-changing and "pivotal" moment in his life, it's never alluded to or explored again (unlike Spock's childhood, which is continually referenced throughout the series), and I just have a hard time seeing it as a defining part of his character.
In fact the overriding impression I get of the TOS Kirk is pretty close to what Abrams is doing-- a bit of a jock and rebel at one time (as seen in his defiance of authority and constant flirting with the ladies
), who eventually becomes a serious and brilliant commanding officer.No event in Kirk's backstory has anything to do with "making him the man he becomes."
Backstories are not elements of the conception of these characters. They are throwaway plot bits, invented to address a story concern on a given week.
The only character in TOS who was even possibly conceived with a backstory that influenced the character's development and portrayal was Spock. All of the backstory elements introduced for the others - most notably, Kirk - were ad hoc additions to particular scripts intended to make the weekly plot work. Those characters were entirely defined on-screen by the choices the actors made in performing the actions and dialogue called for on a given week.
By the time the Tarsus backstory was invented in order to give Kirk specific motivation for his response to an old friend and his own importance to Kodos' daughter (as a witness) twelve episodes of "Star Trek" had been produced and the character defined - essentially half a season (a little less in those days). That character would be elaborated upon for decades, but that was the result of the performance and the stories told, not things that were alleged to have happened to the character but never actually did nor were taken into account in casting or writing the character.
That fans have become wrapped up in constructing life stories for the characters and claim to perceive such elements as being projected by the actors or woven into the narrative doesn't make that so, and it isn't.
You know when we finally found out as "canon" where Kirk supposedly comes from? 1986. 
You know when we finally found out as "canon" where Kirk supposedly comes from? 1986.
And it was a great punchline!
Last edited:
True. And TOS said nothing about the precise circumstances of why Kirk was chosen, although non-canon softcover novels have tackled the issue over the years with different theories. We know the Mirror Kirk assassinated HIS Christopher Pike to take over the ISS Enterprise. But that's all.
That's why the AU Kirk is a bit different as are the others. They events that shaped their lives changed, and they became different people because of it.
As for how he got command of the Enterprise, we don't know. He came over from another command. Exactly where is not known.
Similar threads
