As the leading man and central hero of Star Trek: The Original Series, it was in the show’s best interests to make William Shatner’s Captain Kirk look good. And, 99% of the time, it did exactly that. Kirk was reliably courageous, firm but fair with crew members, sharp-witted against enemies, suave with the ladies, and formidable in a fist fight.
Very rarely did Star Trek deliberately make Captain Kirk look like anything less than a stellar Starfleet officer during the original series, but it did happen, especially after season 1. Star Trek season 2’s “Obsession” saw Kirk’s judgment clouded, quite literally, due to a traumatic incident he experienced on the Farragut. Curiously, another regrettable Kirk incident happened in an episode that also contained a shining example of his genius.
Star Trek’s “The Deadly Years” Brings Out The Worst Of Captain Kirk
“The Deadly Years” sees the Enterprise’s landing party afflicted by radiation poisoning that causes them to rapidly age. Within hours, the likes of Kirk, McCoy, Spock, and Scotty all begin growing gray hair and developing ailments. For most of them, this isn’t a huge problem. Scotty just needs to lay down, McCoy gets slower and grumpier, and Spock’s aging is limited by his Vulcan biology.
For Kirk, things get complicated. As age grips him, Kirk begins forgetting commands he already gave and almost cedes vital information to the Romulans because he can’t remember the correct coding sequence for Starfleet transmissions. Instead of accepting the radiation sickness is taking its toll, Kirk refuses to see the truth. Stubbornly, he continues to deny weakness or error, insisting his affliction is limited to just a few gray hairs.
This doesn’t happen to the other increasingly wrinkly members of the landing party. Scotty, McCoy, and Spock understand they’re growing older and are having problems as a result, but Kirk’s refusal to do the same puts him at odds with the rest of the crew, leading to a competency hearing that Kirk loses after making a show of himself.
We know from episodes like “Obsession” that Captain Kirk’s immense sense of duty can be his weakness. Whether by endangering the Enterprise crew to avenge the Farragut’s, or refusing to step down as captain after being struck by an alien illness that hinders his mental faculties, Kirk’s determination to be a worthy leader occasionally blinds his ability to see the greater good.
The aging illness in “The Deadly Years” accentuates that flaw in Kirk’s DNA, drawing out the more stubborn flecks of his personality.
“The Deadly Years” Also Shows Why Captain Kirk Is A Starfleet Legend
After the mystery condition is reversed by a hefty dose of adrenaline, Captain Kirk – now back to his 30s – returns to the bridge only to find the Enterprise under heavy Romulan attack. Without missing a beat, he orchestrates a bogus message to Starfleet that he knows the Romulans will intercept, then maneuvers the Enterprise to make a rapid escape.
Given that he was gray-haired only minutes beforehand and wouldn’t have known the full situation until arriving on the bridge, Kirk must have formulated this plan on the fly, mentally plotting out his next move during the short trip from sickbay to bridge. The way Kirk so effortlessly resolves the crisis scenario is reminiscent of his famed exploits with the Kobayashi Maru – an ingenious bit of maverick thinking that no other Starfleet officer could conjure up.
Kirk’s feat is enhanced by the complete and utter failure of his replacement, Commodore Stocker. Taking the Enterprise’s main chair, Stocker freezes completely when faced with the Romulans, running out of ideas after they refuse to answer hails. The stark comparison between Stocker and Kirk only makes the latter’s dashing heroics more impressive. Being captain looks so easy with Kirk, it’s often forgotten how hard the role really is.
In a sense, Kirk’s greatest strength in Star Trek comes from the same source as his greatest weakness. The unshakable self-belief that allows Kirk to so audaciously evade the Romulans is the same unshakable self-belief that compels him forward on the rare occasion he takes the wrong course of action.
- Release Date
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1966 – 1969-00-00
- Showrunner
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Gene Roddenberry
- Directors
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Marc Daniels, Joseph Pevney, Ralph Senensky, Vincent McEveety, Herb Wallerstein, Jud Taylor, Marvin J. Chomsky, David Alexander, Gerd Oswald, Herschel Daugherty, James Goldstone, Robert Butler, Anton Leader, Gene Nelson, Harvey Hart, Herbert Kenwith, James Komack, John Erman, John Newland, Joseph Sargent, Lawrence Dobkin, Leo Penn, Michael O’Herlihy, Murray Golden
- Writers
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D.C. Fontana, Jerome Bixby, Arthur Heinemann, David Gerrold, Jerry Sohl, Oliver Crawford, Robert Bloch, David P. Harmon, Don Ingalls, Paul Schneider, Shimon Wincelberg, Steven W. Carabatsos, Theodore Sturgeon, Jean Lisette Aroeste, Art Wallace, Adrian Spies, Barry Trivers, Don Mankiewicz, Edward J. Lakso, Fredric Brown, George Clayton Johnson, George F. Slavin, Gilbert Ralston, Harlan Ellison
