In Defence Of James Kirk

[poliphilo]

TV executives in the 60s had yet to discover you could arc a storyline over several seasons. Every episode of a show was a stand alone drama. It needed a touch of romance, but the romance had to be done and dusted within forty minutes. James Kirk wasn't so much a Lothario, as the  victim of a TV trope. He loved all those women truly and sincerely and was devastated when circumstances beyond his control forced him to leave them behind. Then between episodes someone pushed the reset button and he forgot all about them. He wasn't unique in this. Every TV hero had a similarly bumpy love life.  What happened in an episode stayed within an episode.  Our heroes had their hearts broken, underwent trauma, did things that would scar any normal human being for life,  then popped up again next week as innocent as ever.  TV cowboys got caught up in more gunfights and killed more people than Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickcock and Billy the Kid combined yet never lost their deep-rooted aversion to violence. 

Comments

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

We are re-watching TOS, so this is timely!

What strikes me most is that Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley were much better actors than I remember them being. Shatner in particular; we mock his mannerisms, but he was charming, in-character and threw himself into the role. He really is Kirk.

I am reminded of a friend in acting school who had an assignment to record some people's voices and then learn to mimic them, and then give a monologue to the class in that voice. She asked to do my voice, and told me later that afterwards no one in class--professor included--believed that anyone could talk that way. So she played them the tape and they said, "Wow, you were spot-on. How weird."

Some people really... DO! Talk... that way! And Kirk is completely believable to me. :)

Also, the chemistry between those three actors... picture-perfect.

It was a much underrated show, acting-wise.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Shatner had the toughest job on the show. Spock and McCoy are juicy character parts- a gift to any actor- but Kirk is just the hero and heroes are bland. There's nothing in the writing to distinguish Kirk from all the other the two-fisted TV hunks, but Shatner with his quirks and hamminess succeeded in making him not only interesting, but iconic.