William Shatner Is Laughably Wrong About Star Trek
A couple of years ago, William Shatner attended San Diego Comic-Con and set the internet on fire when he claimed that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry would be “turning in his grave” at modern Star Trek.
Recently, he clarified that he meant “Roddenberry was very strict about military protocol” and would have been offended by modern Trek having “sexual relations” and “relationships going on between the people” serving on these ships.
The fact that Shatner doesn’t even watch modern Trek is bad enough, but here’s the thing: Star Trek: The Original Series was filled with the kinds of relationships the Kirk actor claimed Roddenberry would have hated.
Chekhov And Martha On Original Series
For example, in The Original Series episode “The Apple,” young Pavel Chekhov is in a relationship with Yeoman Martha Landon, and it’s clear this relationship has been going on for a bit.
William Shatner’s Kirk even has to get onto these two lovebirds for wanting to sneak off, ostensibly to get some private cuddle time.
It’s perfectly natural for these two young hotties to want to “boldly go” with one another, and we can’t help but wonder if Shatner just forgot about plot points like this when claiming Roddenberry hated shipboard romances in the franchise.
McCoy And Tonia
Sometimes, the kind of romances between shipmates in The Original Series had some admittedly strange circumstances.
For example, the bizarre episode “Shore Leave” has Dr. McCoy and Yeoman Tonia romantically involved, but it’s because they are on a planet that transforms fantasies into reality.
William Shatner may or may not have considered episodes where the crew’s minds are affected, but the way the episode is shot, Dr. McCoy’s lust at seeing the Yeoman in something more revealing than her usual uniform was all him.
Even Spock And Chapel
On Star Trek: The Original Series, even Spock wasn’t immune to romantic attention from his colleagues.
It wasn’t uncommon for Uhura to flirt with Spock, which is what led to an open relationship between the two in Star Trek (2009) and its sequels.
Nurse Chapel also had an unrequited love for the handsome Vulcan, something that Strange New Worlds has (with the help of some major retcons) been exploring.
Captain Kirk And Uhura
While they involved more of those pesky extenuating circumstances, William Shatner’s Captain Kirk also had a few romances with his shipmates.
In “Dagger of the Mind,” he and Dr. Helen Noel seem to be hitting it off, but the intervention of a creepy alien mind probe kept them from exploring further romantic possibilities.
In “Plato’s Stepchildren,” aliens with telekinetic powers force Kirk and Uhura to kiss in a moment that is often (and erroneously) reported as the first onscreen interracial kiss.
Other Love Interests
William Shatner’s onscreen ladies’ man has several other arguable examples, including in “Mirror, Mirror” when he romances the evil doppelgänger of Marlena Moreau in order to get info about the strange universe he is accidentally visiting.
There is also circumstantial evidence of Kirk having other shipboard romances, including when he encounters former girlfriend and fellow Starfleet officer Areel Shaw in “Court Martial” (it is implied they once served together, facilitating the romance).
William Shatner Is Completely Wrong
Speaking of implications, many fans think that Carol Marcus (mother of Kirk’s only child) was the “little blonde lab technician” that Kirk’s friend Gary Mitchell sent his way when Kirk was an instructor at Starfleet Academy (presumably, professor/student relationships are at least as bad at captain/subordinate ones).
I could go on, but the point is clear: William Shatner is completely wrong about Gene Roddenberry hating shipboard romances because The Original Series is full of them, including incidents with Kirk himself. Granted, there are plenty of problems with NuTrek worth debating, but the fact that the hot characters periodically hook up isn’t one of them. In closing, I’d like to make a suggestion to Shatner: maybe what really makes Gene Roddenberry turn in his grave is his best actor forgetting everything about the show that made him famous while firing off incorrect criticisms of shows he has never watched?
Source: Cinemablend
