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.