Captain James T. Kirk

Characterized as a charming and often daring intellectual, James T. Kirk (pictured in The Original Series on the left and in the Alternate Original Series on the right) is the hero of the show – or, to be more accurate, the moral center of the ship he captains, the U.S.S. Enterprise.   Memory Alpha claims James – better known to his colleagues and friends as simply Jim – is “arguably one of the most famous and highly decorated starship captains in the history of Starfleet.”   It’s true.  Kirk nearly always manages to save the day, but he will be the first to point out that he never does the saving alone.  His helpers, his Enterprise crew, riding right along into danger beside him, become his family over the course of the five-year mission into uncharted territory.  And, as agreed upon by many of these folks, if there is ever a person truly deserving of loyalty and trust when the stakes are at their highest, Captain Kirk is the poster boy for the role.

Commander Spock

A paradox would be the aptest description for Star Trek’s Commander Spock (depicted in The Original Series on the left and in the Alternate Original Series on the right).  Born of a Vulcan father and a human mother, Spock is the quintessential child of two worlds.   He has chosen to adopt his Vulcan heritage in almost every aspect of his life, and not simply because he is genetically more Vulcan than human.  To use one of the most titular phrases associated with this character, for Mr. Spock, it is logical.  Of course, what fascinates us about Spock is that he has also decided to serve in Starfleet instead of the esteemed Vulcan Science Academy like most of his homeworld’s scientists, where he is assigned to an almost completely human-manned space vessel (you guessed it, the Enterprise!), making this half-Vulcan the odd man out.  We also come to learn over the course of the U.S.S. Enterprise’s five-year mission that, despite Spock’s stubborn insistence that logically derived-at conclusions trump all, Spock is willing to bend the rules of logic in his favor when circumstances necessitate it.  Although, we don’t recommend calling him out on his… idiosyncracies.  He would only stand firm that a highly intelligent being such as himself is not capable of that kind of illogical action.

Dr. Leonard McCoy

Oh, to be Chief Medical Officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Or, “Woe as me,” might the good Doctor say.

Space is not necessarily Dr. Leonard McCoy’s first choice for the makings of a medical career, but somehow he landed himself on a starship venturing into the virtual unknown, accompanied by over four hundred souls that require his expertise – and sometimes “best guesses” – to survive.  Luckily, this is the doctor any wise soul would want beside him during the varied deadly encounters with galactic hostiles and the often inexplicable (and frequently life-endangering) illnesses that crop up in deep space.  Leonard would say, aw shucks, he’s no saint, just an old country doctor, but without a doubt Leonard does his best to uphold his Hippocratic oath.  This McCoy is the real deal – and a man with a genuine heart of gold, despite any grumblings otherwise.

(McCoy, pictured in The Original Series on the left and in the Alternate Original Series on the right.)

If you want to hear more about these characters – any version of them – we highly recommend stopping by the glorious, fandom-powered Wiki, Memory Alpha.  Everything you could ever want to know about Star Trek is stored there!

Related Posts:

• The Vision Behind SpaceTrio – April 8, 2017
• Why We Love Them – April 8, 2017
• Which do you love more: TOS or AOS? – September 6, 2017