By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Star Trek celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Part of why that is so impressive is that this franchise has been able to maintain the same continuity for so many years. Of course, the Kelvinverse rebooted everything in a few movies, and occasionally we get glimpses of other universes with their own twisted histories. But the main Trek timeline, since The Original Series by using Starfleet Academyit hasn’t changed, which is an amazing creative achievement. But it also leads to something as annoying as it is unavoidable: plot holes!
There are many holes that seem to be plot holes throughout the franchise. Heck, Starfleet Academy has delivered more than its fair share in just one season. However, the first plothole goes back to William Shatner’s first episode, “When No One Went Ahead.” This episode features a mock grave of James Tiberius Kirk as “James R. Kirk.” This strange act has inspired decades of efforts by fans and creators to explain what happened. However, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry had a simple explanation from the beginning. That is, the god-like character who created the tombstone was still at fault, meaning this could be a generalization of the universe rather than a manufacturing error.
Ghoulish Plot Hole
“Where No Man Went Ahead” was actually the second pilot episode Star Trek: The Original Series. It’s the episode that sold NBC on this new show, which isn’t surprising, because big hour of television. A strange force from the galactic barrier gives one of Captain Kirk’s best friends, Gary Mitchell, god-like powers. That power is getting stronger by the minute, so Kirk finally has to make the difficult decision to kill his friend in the name of keeping the entire ship (and possibly the entire galaxy) safe.
At one point, Mitchell uses his powers to summon a tombstone that reads “James R. Kirk.” It makes for a great threat, but there’s one problem: the character’s name is James Tiberius Kirk. After all, Gene Roddenberry seems to know Kirk’s middle name early on, even if it’s not officially revealed (except Animated series) until The Undiscovered World. In the introduction Star Trek: The Standard Episodes 1, The Original Series writer DC Fontana said that once Roddenberry realized the mistake, he came up with a quick and easy explanation. “Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but he was actually human.
Power Like God, Mind Like Man
Unfortunately, Roddenberry kept this plot hole explanation to himself. I say “unfortunately” because this error sent fans scrambling to explain the difference. In addition, various Star Trek writers have tried their hand at providing explanations. One such explanation appears in Michael Jan Friedman’s non-biblical series My Brother’s Keeper. In these books, when the future captain meets Gary Mitchell, he says his middle name is “Racquetball.” Later, when Kirk continues the conversation, Mitchell says that the man’s middle name should be “Rhinoceros.” Therefore, Friedman explained that “James R. Kirk” on the tombstone is just a joke between former friends.
Additionally, the late, great Star Trek writer Peter David tried his hand at interpretation. In his novel IQ-squaredthe events of “Where No Man Has Gone Before” take place in the same reality where Kirk’s middle initial is “R.” In this non-canonical book, we also find out that Mitchell’s power comes from being a temporary Q, who had to put himself together at all times and places. A quick side note: while Marvel has really played with the idea of multiverses, IQ-squared is wonderful novel, and every Trek fan should read it at least once.
These writers did everything they could to explain where “James R. Kirk” came from. On top of this, fans have been debating on this matter, all trying to come together to come up with the right explanation for this plot. However, as it turns out, none of these contradictions and assumptions were necessary because Gene Roddenberry complete the description is ready. That is, having the power of a god is not the same as having unlimited knowledge about a god. It’s short, simple, and effective. Above all, it does what Star Trek has always done best: keep sci-fi storytelling focused on humanity.
