Star Trek fans have pointed out a glaring error in the original series.
The iconic sci-fi show, following the space adventures of the crew on board the Starship Enterprise, first aired on this day in 1966 – meaning it’s Star Trek Day. The ship is captained by William Shatner’s iconic character, Captain James Kirk.
These days, Captain Kirk is a household name and one of the most famous sci-fi icons ever. So it’s safe to say fans of the franchise were scratching their heads when they noticed the series appeared to get his name wrong in one of the very first episodes of the show.
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In the third episode, titled Where No Man Has Gone Before, Kirk is forced to fight against an Enterprise crew member who gains telekinetic abilities and goes mad with power. Commander Gary Mitchell taunts Kirk by showing him a grave for his “old friend”.
He says Kirk deserved a decent burial and forces Kirk to pray to him as a god and for an easy death. But the grave reads James “R” Kirk, which is odd considering Kirk’s middle name is Tiberius, meaning there should be a T on the tombstone.
Viewers on Star Trek forums have pointed out the error. One on Reddit asked: “Why didn’t they fix that? Obviously there has been enough times where it has been established that Kirk’s middle initial begins with a T.”
(Image: Getty Images)
Another asked: “When did James R Kirk become James T Kirk?” with the post getting 15 upvotes by fans presumably wanting answers. However, it seems the apparent name error occurred as it was a pilot episode, so its creators may have assigned a random initial and changed Kirk’s name later on in the series.
One fan wrote: “It’s a production goof. It should read T.” Another said: “It might have something to do with it being a pilot episode.”
(Image: CBS via Getty Images)
Another joked it was down to faulty typing by the Starship Enterprise crew. “The person who signed Kirk up for Starfleet was a rubbish touch typist, repeatedly missing keys,” they quipped. “Every day Kirk had to manually correct documents and redo tests. That’s the real reason he had to resit the Kobayashi Maru so many times.”
According to DC Fontana in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, when the blunder was discovered, Gene Roddenberry decided that if asked about the mistake, he’d reply: “Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was Human. He made a mistake.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
