The male duo of Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock is famous; not only for being the most enduring on-screen bromance of all time, but also for birthing an entire subgenre of fan fiction. But Kirk…Kirk was not Spock’s first. What about Pike/Spock? How did Spock’s long relationship with Captain Pike prepare him, or guide him, or shape him into being Kirk’s best friend in the original Star Trek?
The second season of Star Trek: Discovery is answering that question right now, and actors Anson Mount (Pike) and Ethan Peck (Spock) both have very specific insights as to how their versions of Pike and Spock are creating the dynamic duo the original series.
Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Discovery, season 2, specifically, episode 8, “If Memory Serves.”
A casual fan might glance at Captain Pike in Discovery and confuse him for a slightly more chilled-out version of Captain Kirk, and in some ways, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. From a linear creative standpoint, Captain Pike is literally the first draft of Captain Kirk. When Gene Roddenberry pitched “The Cage” as the pilot episode of Star Trek, he had no idea he’d end up scrapping the character of Pike and replacing him with Captain Kirk. Roddenberry and the other producers and writers of Star Trek managed to sneak Pike back into the show via “The Menagerie“, which uses the scrapped pilot as backstory for Spock, but this diminished the relationship between Pike and Spock from something an entire television series was meant to explore…to a segment of about 90 minutes or so.
In its current season, Discovery is actually expanding that segment of story back out again. And part of that story is witnessing why Spock is so loyal to Pike and what makes their friendship tick.
“The relationship wasn’t explored in the original series,” Ethan Peck told me earlier this year. “I imagined that Pike wasn’t paternal, but maybe like an older brother for Spock.” Peck revealed that he also “looks up” to Mount in real life, meaning it was an “easy link to Spock,” in terms of how he played the relationship on the show. “I shared that with Anson and he told that made a lot of sense.”
In the same way that the Spock we see in Discovery is not the Spock from the original series, Captain Pike is not the same kind of commanding officer as Kirk. Though, Anson Mount certainly thinks there are very obvious similarities. At the start of the new season, Mount told me that ” I think they’re both red-blooded American men. If they were in the same fraternity, Kirk was the social chairman and Pike was the house manager. You know?”
Thus far, Discovery has made it very clear that Captain Pike is a more by-the-book officer than Kirk. Mount says, “Pike sees himself as an extension of Starfleet code.” From the episode “New Eden” to “If Memory Serves” (the most recent episode as of this writing) we see Pike quoting and enforcing Starfleet rules and regulations to what is often a totally unruly crew. From lecturing Commander Saru about allowing fights in the cafeteria (dude!) to telling Tyler exactly what he can and can’t say on the bridge, Pike’s approach to management—in contrast with Kirk’s anyway—is much more controlled and measured. We think of Pike as a warm and charismatic guy, but relative to Kirk, he’s much sterner, cooler and stoic. Which is probably why Spock respects Pike, and maybe, deep-down, totally loves him. With Pike, Spock found a human who had emotions, but maintained an efficient control over them. Pike certainly wasn’t as cocky or hot-headed as some humans he’d meet later.
“I think, at this point, Spock has compartmentalized his human side,” Peck said. “And I think Pike was, as a human, a good emotional example for him. I don’t know that Pike necessarily knows that. I think Spock admires him from afar.”
In “The Menagerie” we know that Spock served with Pike for at least 11 years, though clearly not all of that time as on the Enterprise. By the time Kirk takes command of the Enterprise sometime before 2265, the ship and its crew will change dramatically from what we saw in both “The Cage” and this season of Discovery. But Spock will remain, and in Pike’s place will be a very different captain. One who is different from Pike in a very, very specific way. Mount thinks the biggest difference between Kirk and Pike isn’t actually a good or a bad thing, but simply a different philosophy in starship management.
“Kirk follows his gut. That’s his go-to,” Mount told me. “Pike follows Starfleet Code. The funny thing is that the result is somewhat the same. They’re both two of the most highly decorated captains. If Pike has one advantage over Kirk it’s that his ego is more in check. And that he is able to admit when he is wrong or when he needs help. His gift is using his bridge crew as a larger brain. And the best idea wins. I think if Kirk were to have an advantage, it’s that there is no lag time in his decision-making. He’s quicker on the draw!”
In all the years that Spock serves with Kirk, he’ll have to cope with that “quicker-on-the-draw” co-worker over and over again. Although now that we’re starting to see Pike and Spock in action, we have to wonder: Did Spock miss working with Pike in all his years with Kirk? Perhaps, since Pike was a little more stoic than Kirk yet still very emotional, that experience eased Spock into dealing with truly hot-headed humans. Meaning, by the time Spock gets to Kirk in the original series, his long history with Pike has him craving a different human relationship. Spock didn’t necessarily want a big brother anymore. He was ready for a best friend.
Ryan Britt is the author of Luke Skywalker Can’t Read and an editor at Fatherly. He is a longtime contributor to Tor.com.
Um, wasnt Captain Kirk very much a serious and by the book Captain? At least till Star Trek III. Or part II I guess where they show him cheating on kobyshi maru test. Other then that he was pretty by the book except when circumstances out in the frontier forced him to improvise.
This makes me wonder if Mount has ever watched TOS, or only The Wrath of Khan.
TOS Kirk always followed orders. He apologised for mistakes and occasionally doubted himself. He often came to decisions by talking to Spock and McCoy first, or after a staff meeting in the briefing room. He wasn’t particularly hot-headed, he had his ego in check, and he happens to be my favourite fictional character.
Why are these misconceptions so persistent?
Because everybody knows the movies these days not the TOS series.
Kirk is a very by the book officer. The “Kirk is a cowboy” is something that was added in the movies, and relative to the era the show was made. Kirk also consults his officers, perhaps more Spock and McCoy than, say, Sulu and Chekhov, but still.
Bless you, fellow commenters. I came to the comments with a full head of steam about Kirk’s character, and was pleased to see that you beat me to it.
Just to jump on the bandwagon, TOS Kirk is quite serious and thoughtful. He also doubts himself plenty of times. He just takes pains not to let it show to anyone but his closest friends, because he feels that he needs to project confidence to inspire the crew. Take this line from Balance of Terror:
Finally, Kirk is no more lax with Starfleet regs than Pike– which is to say that yes, his own moral considerations can override them, but not without serious cause. Note that Pike establishes himself as a character on Discovery partially by deciding that Spock’s safety is significantly more important than respecting the “classified” distinction on his medical records. Pike and Kirk would have gotten along rather well, I think.
Sorry for the rant, I’m just really sick of Kirk Drift (term coined by the following article, which is, in my opinion, the definitive thesis on the subject: http://strangehorizons.com/non-fiction/columns/freshly-rememberd-kirk-drift/).
A little bit of playing devil’s advocate, here. Yes, Kirk was “by the book” in that he didn’t go around flagrantly breaking rules as much as some people seem to think he did, or as much as the JJ Abrams conception of Kirk does. But I don’t think Mount is wrong to say Kirk followed his gut more than Pike did.
Do you think Kirk would’ve fallen for the trap on Rigel VII, for instance? By Pike’s own admission, “I should have smelled trouble when I saw the swords and the armor; instead, I let myself get trapped.” Pike didn’t trust his gut. Contrast that with the beginning of “The Man Trap,” when Kirk refuses to just give the Craters their salt and go because he trusts his gut: “I don’t like mysteries. They give me a bellyache, and I’ve got a beauty right now.” Kirk may not be the rash hothead popular legend paints him as, but he does check his gut more than Pike did (at least in “The Cage” — and. caveat, I haven’t seen Mount’s portrayal of him yet).
@7 Ok, I agree on that point, yes. Kirk’s use of his instincts in order to make decisions when short on time (and in order to read people’s motives) seems pretty well-supported by canon.
In general Kirk just seems closer to his emotions than Pike. He’s more prone to getting quite passionate and arguing for his beliefs, and also prone to nursing his own pain silently. Pike seems harder to rile up, and slower to get emotionally attached to ideas and people. Each has some benefits and some downsides. But IMO this results in more of a difference in interpersonal style than in ethical code, ego, or quality of decision-making.
(Disclaimer, I’m still catching up on Discovery– only part way through season 2.)
@7/writermpoteet: Hmm. Kirk tended to trust his gut, but I wouldn’t say (as Mount did) that “Kirk follows his gut. That’s his go-to”. That sounds as if Kirk never stopped to think, and he did that a lot.
Would he have fallen for the trap on Rigel VII? I think he would. He fell for Lenore Karidian posing as an impressionable young woman, and for Garth posing as Cory, and for Janice Lester pretending that she was ill. It didn’t occur to him that Balok was only testing them. In “The Man Trap”, he only got suspicious after Darnell had died of salt depletion, and nobody knew why.
But I don’t think he would have concentrated on hate, of all emotions, to keep the Talosians at bay. Anger, probably, but not hate. And I think in the end he would have convinced Vina to come with them. He would have told her the same thing he told Alexander: “Size, shape, or colour makes no difference.”
It’s true Kirk in TOS was serious and by-the-book. And that’s a pity, because — maybe a hot take here — I don’t think his character became interesting until he became the person we saw in the movies. Nobody rocked middle-aged crises and ennui like Jim Kirk, baby!
@10/MilesPrower: Middle-aged crises and ennui? Wasn’t that only in TWOK?
Kirk in TOS was serious and by-the-book, but also playful and creative, commanding and kind, with an obstinate streak and the ability to doubt himself. Personally, I’ve found that an intriguing mixture for more than forty years. Oh well, we can’t all like the same things.
#11. TWOK made the most of it, but we also had him in midlife crisis mode in TMP, wanting — scratch that — desperate to have the Enterprise back. Same could be said of him stealing the ship in TSFS and rock climbing in TFF. Really a big bundle of midlife cliches by that point. Then of course he settled, briefly, into his Archie Bunker chair for TUC.
Just a delightful wreck of a man, I thought.
Almost forgot about him asking a younger woman for her phone number in TVH and getting a polite no thank you. See you around, gramps.
Agreed.
Kirk asks for opinions, and takes them into account; then he decides. Ultimately, he’s the one calling the shots.
Pike is great at trusting other people’s ability; he is often told about some idea (sometimes, even in the heat of battle or in the middle of a crisis), and accepts it readily, even if it seems absurd or dangerous, because he trusts the source. He’s willing to believe his subordinates know what they’re doing. He’s not delegating his responsibility (I’m sure he’d be the one to take the heat if something bad happened), he’s outsourcing decision-making to the person most suited to know what to do at each moment.
To be fair to the series, all the commanders in Star Trek have been people of substance.
I agree with all of the points made here. One thing:
Comment 7 remarks on the common misconception that Kirk is some kind of cowboy hothead, but brings the JJverse into the argument. I’m not going to defend Mr. Abrams’ ego project -the Kelvin movies are what they are, and all we had for a decade- but THAT interpretation hinged on the fact that this was a Kirk who had grown up without a respected father figure.
@12/MilesPrower: He wanted the ship back because he wasn’t happy in his new job, he stole the Enterprise to save Spock, and he went rockclimbing because he was on a holiday and liked rockclimbing. Is it okay for younger men to do these things (Spock stole the Enterprise too, in the TV show), but when an older men does them, they’re “midlife cliches”? What was he supposed to do, sit quietly at home? And who is Archie Bunker?
#17. Yes, all those are midlife crisis cliches as well as plot points. Typically it is any time an older man goes out of his way to try to act like a young vibrant man. Kirk checked about every one of those boxes. But Shatner was able to make it work for the most part. Probably because they made the midlife crisis a feature of the stories they were telling.
Others have not fared as well. See Patrick Stewart in First Contact, or pretty much any time Picard tried to be an action hero. Some heroes really are better when sitting.
Archie Bunker was a grumpy middle-aged bigot in a sitcom called “All in the Family.”
@18/MilesPrower: But… why do you expect an older person to act differently from a young one? Why do you see something that’s normal behaviour for a thirty year old as a “midlife crisis cliche” when a fifty year old does it? I’m fifty-one and have just taken up bouldering, so does that mean I’m having a midlife crisis too?
I think that Shatner “was able to make it work” because he himself is a vibrant man, at any age. As he wrote in Star Trek Memories: “Surely the captain’s wisdom, sagacity, courage and heroic capabilities were all fictional […], but at his core, Kirk was, for the most part, me.”
clearly the article describes kelivin kirk
NOT prime kirk
For what it’s worth, I think Mount’s perception of Pike as being more by the book than Kirk is probably true. But I think that is likely more due to Shatner’s more expressive portrayal of Kirk as compared with Jeffrey Hunter’s more subdued Take on Pike than anything actually on the page.
I do think that Discovery has done a masterful job building on the foundation that Jeffrey Hunter built for the character.
Actually, the biggest difficulty I see happening is that we aren’t likely to get an in-universe explanation for why the Spock of “The Cage” is essentially a totally different character than the one he became (grinning at the singing flowers, sounding panicked when he tries and fails to get the Enterprise out of Talos IV orbit – never mind “THE WOMEN!”).
It would be a fascinating reversal to have the Spock of the Discovery era actually embracing his humanity MORE than he did during TOS or even than he did during the movies and the TNG era. After all, this Spock is closer to the rebellion against his father’s wishes than he was during “Journey to Babel … “
@24/twels: “I think Mount’s perception of Pike as being more by the book than Kirk is probably true. But I think that is likely more due to Shatner’s more expressive portrayal of Kirk as compared with Jeffrey Hunter’s more subdued Take on Pike than anything actually on the page.”
But that doesn’t mean that Kirk isn’t by-the-book, does it? It only means that people who expect TV characters to be stereotypical are likely to misread Kirk as less by-the-book than Pike.
For some interesting observations about Hunter and Shatner, I can recommend the article Minimalist Magic: The Star Trek Look. After several paragraphs about the original show’s design, it turns to Shatner’s portrayal of Kirk and compares him to Hunter’s Pike. Here’s an excerpt:
“It is not narcissism that [Shatner] projects but, like him or not, happiness, an intense delight in his role. To put it a bit crudely, it is charisma: a remarkable skill in using his face and his body, his physical presence. Without this contribution to Star Trek, the show would lose its trademark vitality. One has only to compare the original choice of actor for the role of Captain Kirk to see how vital Shatner is to the Star Trek origin. The original actor, Jeffrey Hunter, presents a total contrast to Shatner. He is stiff, his face is stiff, with piercing blue eyes very unlike the soft brown of Shatner. Hunter’s emotional range is not great, though he does anger very well […]. He has a definite hardness […]. In this he is the opposite of Shatner. […] The warmth [Shatner] exudes is at odds with the hardness of the familiar macho male action hero. This is not to say he cannot be hard, too, but this hardness is only one of a repertoire of emotions, not the default position.”
@9 – Excellent counterpoints, Jana. Maybe Kirk would’ve fallen for it just as Pike did, as your several canonical examples suggest.
I think this whole conversation is testament to the power of Hunter’s one-time portrayal of the character (!) – although, had “The Menagerie” (my all-time favorite TOS episode) never come about to cement Pike’s place in the Trek universe, who knows? (And, of course, it is testament to Star Trek’s hold on so many people’s imaginations that we want to suss out everything we can about everything in it!)
@24 – You may be right, and, again, I haven’t seen DSC Year 2 yet. Personally, I’ve never considered “The Cage” Spock a “totally different” character than the one he became. Yes, all those points you mention are un-Spockish, so to speak, but so is his smiling shrug in “Mudd’s Women,” his positively blushing half-smirk when Uhura teases him in song in “Charlie X,” his smilingly telling Kirk to take shore leave just after he’s set him up for a “walk right into it” kind of moment in “Shore Leave” — in my head, Spock got “more Vulcan” gradually during the early missions under Kirk. Besides, he was over a decade younger and less experienced in “The Cage,” and I think that alone could account for the differences (e.g., he no longer has to freak out on the job when something goes wrong like the women vanishing from the transporter platform!)
@26 said: I think this whole conversation is testament to the power of Hunter’s one-time portrayal of the character
Don’t get me wrong, William Shatner’s portrayal of Kirk is a vital part of what makes TOS work.
That said, the arguments that Hunter comes off as “stiff” by comparison don’t entirely work for me. To me, Hunter is a lot more subtle than Shatner. The conversation between him and Boyce in his quarters in “The Cage” feels very similar to one’s we see between Kirk and McCoy later on. The difference is that Pike keeps his “emotional armor” on during the conversation, and is a lot more reticent to open up – or to lash out – than Shatner would’ve been.
Even in the scenes with the Talosians, Pike comes off as a more private individual than I think Kirk would’ve – even with thei exact same dialogue.
I know Leonard Nimoy has said that the switch from Hunter to the “higher energy” Shatner is one that made the show into what it was. I can agree with that. At the same time, I do believe that there was a subtlety and quieter strength that was lost.
On paper, Pike and Kirk are the exact same character. It really is a testament to both actors’ skills that they don’t feel that way when seen on screen.
@27/twels: Shatner could be quite subtle too, in between his more expressive moments. I can’t really comment on Hunter’s performance because I’m unable to see beyond his “standard male action hero” looks and demeanor, which I personally dislike. But I agree about the actors making similar characters seem dissimilar. I recently had the same thought about Shatner and Patrick Stewart when I noticed that I could easily imagine Kirk doing the exact same things Picard does in “Encounter at Farpoint” – but somehow they would feel different.
Kirk was fairly Maverick-ish in Obsession, where he blatantly ignores orders to rendezvous with the Yorktown with perishable medical supplies urgently needed elsewhere. He even accuses his officers of conspiring against him when they remind him of his duty.
@29/fullyfunctional: “He even accuses his officers of conspiring against him when they remind him of his duty.”
True. And then he immediately adds: “Forgive me. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used the word conspire.”
The premise of the episode is that Kirk is acting out of character because he blames himself for something he did (or failed to do) eleven years ago.
It’s also one of the episodes where he expresses self-doubt: “Have I the right to jeopardise my crew, my ship for a feeling I can’t even put into words? […] Have I made a rational decision? Am I letting the horrors of the past distort my judgment of the present?”