...That's an interpretation of TOS I've long been fond of: that Kirk is commanding a museum ship, basically a pre-dreadnought-era protected cruiser in WWII, and being all the more heroic for it.
This also explains his technophobia, and perhaps that of his predecessor as well. People who command these relics for any length of time are, or soon become, the type that is extremely uncomfortable with holographic communicators, uppity artificial intelligences and sudden changes in bridge personnel.
Timo Saloniemi