Say what you like about the laughable
paunch, the unique brand of diction or
the frankly odd, cultish appeal of the
actor, because James T Kirk defines
what it is to be a sci-fi hero.
Facing unknown worlds with only
a sweat of nerves, he was never too
afraid to sex up the aliens, get into a
fist fight or even suffer the wrath of a
gender change on his adventures (see
‘Turnabout Intruder’).
Although his place in the show
began to sag as time went on, Kirk is
undeniably the most iconic Star Trek
captain and TV sci-fi hero that we can
think of. Sometimes, the original really
is the best.
