Kirk: Dammit, Bones, you’re supposed to do the karate hands, while I hold my gun up!
Star Trek: Start to Finish
“Captain, why do you get to wear your vomit-colored v-neck whenever you want when the rest of us are stuck in our uniforms?”
That Kirk is so hot right now. Kirk.
I need six volunteers for a dangerous mission. Which of you are with me?
When cornered, Starfleet officers can always fall back on the use of their razor-sharp sideburns.
With no women available, Kirk seduces a statue.
Key to the prosecution was Kirk’s love of fruity umbrella drinks.
Kirk versus Spock on Retaliation
Arena sees another in the long-running dialogs between Kirk, who jumps immediately to a “Kill ‘em all” stance, and Spock, who wants to show all sentient creatures compassion. This is an undercurrent with particular implications on this episode, but it’s been present in a lot of episodes and it’s something I don’t remember from my occasional viewings before this.
Which is a shame, really. This is a smart argument for these two characters to make because of who they are. Kirk, the thinking but emotional human, is driven by revenge and impetuous desires. Spock, the logical and sometimes cold half-Vulcan, is instead weighing reactions and repercussions.
But what’s really interesting is that when McCoy makes an appearance in this back-and-forth, it’s usually as a stand-in, but he switches between the sides. He frames his argument for compassion in terms of our ability to aid suffering, and his argument for vengeance in the shared burden that suffering inflicts upon us.
It’s this sort of discussion that makes Trek interesting, and I’m kind of surprised that I don’t remember this particular thread. Does it fade out as time goes on?
Assume the position, gentlemen.
Sometimes, a short nap is just what the captain needs to clear his head.
