Why is Kirk so revered???
- Thread starter Dar70
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See, TOS knew the trick to that, which later shows have forgotten: mix familiar and unfamiliar names so the audience gets it from context. "The same old promises made by Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar, Hitler, Ferris, Maltuvis." "He made the duotronic breakthrough that won him the Nobel and Zee-Magnees Prizes." That sort of thing.
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Honestly I don't know, beyond him being the original Star Trek captain. I am not a fan; I'd rank Picard, Sisko, Janeway, and Archer higher.
Partially. Though I think he was presented as a hero in the best sense of the word. I think there was something there that many fans really connected with. Most everybody wanted to be Captain Kirk.
And, honestly IMO, outside of Patrick Stewart, none of the other actors really brought gravitas to the captain role the way Shatner did.
Like I said, unless people stay objective, it just boils down to which Captain someone is a “fan of.”
Up until 2020, Star Trek was only doing prequels and reboots for about two decades. These last two years have been the first time we've really been able to regularly see Star Trek set after Nemesis. So it was hard to tell how revered Picard, Sisko, or Janeway became because nothing took place after their stories. We're only beginning to see how they fare now.
I think it's more a matter of Kirk just did whatever the other Captains did better. I don't recall anyone ever saying in Star Trek that what Kirk did was unique, just that he stood out. Famously as well as infamously, depending on who you'd ask.
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Nothing, but my comment wasn't about personal favorite captains, but just how the current flavor of the day seems to be the best. In comparison, Kirk could be increasingly nothing all that special, IMO.
I just think it's worth distinguishing between the idea that he was a famous captain and the idea that he was the most famous one. I don't think the latter has been proven. In "Trials and Tribble-ations," Dax said Kirk was one of the most famous men in Starfleet history, so there are implicitly others. Certainly the Lower Decks characters talk about Kirk and Spock a lot, but I don't recall them overtly saying "Kirk was better than everyone else." At most, it's implied by omission.
As I said before, the original idea in TOS was that the Constitution-class ships were the biggest, most important ships in the fleet, so anyone assigned to command one would already be one of the greats, otherwise they wouldn't have earned the posting. So Kirk may have stood out in relation to the rank and file of Starfleet captains, but that doesn't necessarily mean he was unique among the top dozen captains who got to command the capital ships -- despite Roddenberry's rather silly claim in the TMP novelization that Kirk was the only Constitution-class captain to bring his ship and crew back from a 5-year mission largely intact.
I find that hard to believe. But, fair enough. It was more a joke than anything else
Nature of the beast in anything, really. The more there is of something, the less special individual pieces that comprise it will feel.
Not exactly sure why this is silly? But you do you.
That's it in a nutshell. As to be expected, the bar has been continually raised since TOS to the point where saving Earth or the entire Federation many times over is expected of every new series captain. I would argue that the exploits of Janeway have long since surpassed that of Kirk's. And per current events in DIS, Burnham is likely considered more of a hero than Kirk ever was. In that regard, it shouldn't be too surprising that someone would ask "What's so special about Kirk?" especially if the captains of newer shows have done the same kind of things, if not more often.
Kirk is the best. Hands down, no jokes. I like other captains well enough, and maybe Pike or Sisko would be in that category, but the idea of "saving Earth"= "greatest captain" is silly to me.
Why would it be silly?
Because it's a one note bar. Pass/fail. Ignores nuance, capability and individual accomplishment.
I beg to differ: sisko could bring gravitas.
ah, that’s were I read it!
It’s not that far-fetched, though: if the connies are only a dozen it’s not impossible they get destroyed or severely damaged in a very dangerous galaxy.
agreed. However saving earth could do wonder to gain fame, especially if it happens multiple times.
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