Star Trek: Strange New Worlds must take advantage of the opportunity to introduce important characters from James T. Kirk’s (Paul Wesley) past. Although Star Trek: The Original Series never fully dove into the history of Captain Kirk (William Shatner), the show did reveal elements of his past throughout its three seasons. Paul Wesley has already brought new life to Lieutenant James T. Kirk onStrange New Worlds, and the show now has the chance to introduce more figures from Kirk’s past.
In its two seasons so far, Strange New Worlds has done an excellent job recasting classic characters from Star Trek: The Original Series. Set a few years before the events of TOS, Strange New Worlds has already added to Kirk’s backstory, filling in some of the gaps in his history. For example, TOS established that Kirk had a brother, but killed him off before viewers got to meet him. Strange New Worlds has turned Jim’s brother, Lt. Sam Kirk (Dan Jeannotte), into a fully realized character, who serves in the science division on the USS Enterprise of Captain Christoper Pike (Anson Mount).
Here are a half-dozen more faces from James T. Kirk’s past that Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can reintroduce.
6
Gary Mitchell
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 3 — “Where No Man Has Gone Before”
In Star Trek: The Original Series‘ second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” Lt. Commander Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) served as one of the helmsmen on the USS Enterprise. Kirk and Mitchell met sometime in the 2250s and became friends when Lt. Kirk was an instructor at Starfleet Academy. Mitchell remembered Kirk as “a stack of books with legs,”and Mitchell once set Kirk up with a “little blonde lab technician” whom Kirk almost married (who may or may not be Carol Marcus). By the time of Strange New Worlds, Kirk and Mitchell should already be friends, and it’s possible Kirk could help Mitchell land a position on the USS Farragut.
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The Starship Enterprise passing through the Galactic Barrier in 2265 irrevocably transforms Gary Mitchell. Strange energies pass through the ship, killing nine crewmembers and knocking Mitchell unconscious. Soon after Mitchell awakens, he begins to develop powerful telepathic and telekinetic abilities and grows progressively crueler. Kirk sees how dangerous Mitchell is becoming and tries to maroon him on Delta Vega. In the end, Kirk is forced to kill his old friend to save the Enterprise and the rest of its crew.
5
Benjamin Finney
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 20 — “Court Martial”
As seen in Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “Court Martial,” Lt. Commander Benjamin Finney (Richard Webb) served as the ship’s record officer aboard Captain Kirk’s Enterprise. Finney had ambitions to become a starship captain one day, but he spent an unusually long period as a Starfleet Academy instructor before being assigned to a ship. Finney met Kirk as a young midshipman in 2252, and the two became good friends, so much so that Finney named his daughter after Kirk. Finney and Ensign Kirk were both assigned to the USS Republic, where they served alongside one another in engineering for a time.
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At one point, Kirk noticed that Finney had left a circuit open that could have destroyed the Republic. Kirk closed the circuit but was duty-bound to report the incident, which led Finney to be reprimanded and sent to the bottom of the promotions list. Unbeknownst to Kirk, Finney continued to hold a grudge for years and eventually put his plan for revenge into action in “Court Martial,” setting up Kirk to take the fall for a crime he didn’t commit. Kirk and Finney’s service aboard the Republic has already taken place by the time of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, but the show could offer a glimpse of their friendship (or lack thereof) after the incident.
4
Carol Marcus
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
James Kirk had numerous romances throughout his life, but few were as serious as his relationship with Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch). Kirk was a junior Starfleet officer when he and Carol first became involved, and by 2259, she was stationed at Starbase 1 while he was the First Officer on the USS Farragut. Lt. Kirk mentioned Carol in Strange New Worlds’ musical episode, saying that they had a complicated on-and-off-again relationship and revealing that she was pregnant with their son, David (Merritt Butrick). Carol and David were introduced in Star Trek II: TheWrath of Khan as the creators of the Genesis Device.
James T. Kirk has a reputation as a ladies’ man, and the Captain of the Enterprise had a lot of romances throughout Star Trek: The Original Series.
At some point in their relationship, Carol asked Kirk to allow her to raise David on her own. She did not want David to following Kirk around the galaxy, Carol wanted to raise her son to be a scientist. Kirk reunited with Carol and David in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,but David was tragically killed by Klingons later that same year, in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Considering Strange New Worlds has already mentioned Carol, it seems likely that she will make an appearance in Strange New Worlds seasons 3 or 4.
3
Finnegan
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 1, Episode 15 — “Shore Leave”
Finnegan (Bruce Mars) was an Irish upperclassman at Starfleet Academy during Kirk’s first year. Kirk admitted that he was overly serious at that point in his life, and Finnegan ruthlessly picked on him for it. Kirk remembered Finnegan as a practical joker who only seemed to pull pranks on Kirk. In Star Trek: The Original Series’ “Shore Leave,” Kirk encountered a robotic facsimile of Finnegan provided by the advanced computer system of the Shore Leave planet. The technology of the planet read the minds of visitors to create an artificial, but incredibly realistic “amusement park” of sorts.
Strange New Worlds could also incorporate flashbacks in future seasons to offer a look at Kirk’s time at Starfleet Academy.
Aside from the fact that he was a bully, much about Finnegan remains unknown, and it would be interesting to see what became of him after his time at the Academy. In “Shore Leave,” Kirk and Finnegan get into a brawl and Kirk knocks his former bully out cold. Kirk then remarks that it felt surprisingly good and he’d been waiting years “to beat the tar out of Finnegan.” While this implies Kirk hadn’t seen Finnegan for a long time, he could still run into him in Strange New Worlds, but would not be able to fight him while both are serving as Starfleet officers.
2
Captain Garrovick & His Son David
Star Trek: The Original Series Season 2, Episode 13 — “Obsession”
Kirk’s first deep space mission was aboard the USS Farragut under the command of Captain Garrovick. In 2257, Garrovick was killed by a dikironium cloud creature during a mission to Tycho IV along with two hundred of his crew. Kirk felt survivor’s guilt for years after the incident, and the Enterprise encounters the gaseous cloud creature again in 2268. By this time, Ensign David Garrovick (Stephen Brooks), Captain Garrovick’s son, is a security officer aboard Kirk’s Enterprise. He runs into the creature and hesitates for a second before firing, prompting Kirk to relieve him of duty (in part because Kirk himself had once hesitated to fire at the creature).
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In the end, the Enterprise crew members learn that the creature is unaffected by phaser fire and they kill it with an antimatter explosive. After the gaseous creature has been taken care of, Kirk offers to share stories about Captain Garrovick with David. Since Strange New Worlds season 3 takes place around 2259-2260, Captain Garrovick has already been killed, but he could still appear in a flashback or alternate universe. David would likely be a teenager, but it’s possible he could pay a visit to the Farragut or meet Kirk at a starbase.
1
Lt. George Kirk
Star Trek (2009)
James and Sam Kirk’s father, Lieutenant George Kirk, has yet to appear in Star Trek’s Prime timeline, although he did make an appearance in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009), portrayed by Chris Hemsworth. George joined Starfleet because he truly believed in its ideals and he eventually became the youngest first officer in Starfleet at the age of 29. James Kirk later broke this record, by becoming the first officer of the Farragut at 26. James looked up to his father and followed in his footsteps, while Sam pursued a different path and became a scientist.
Sam Kirk felt that his father’s views were somewhat old-fashioned, leading him to feel conflicted and even jealous of his younger brother’s success.
In Star Trek’s Prime timeline, George Kirk lived at least long enough to see James Kirk become Captain of the Enterprise in 2265. As George Kirk would be in his 50s during the time of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the show should not end without offering at least a glimpse of James and Sam’s father. Chris Hemsworth’s George Kirk only appeared briefly in Star Trek (2009) before his death, and it would be fascinating to see more of the man who was one of James T. Kirk’s greatest influences.
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