# James T. Kirk never courtmartialed for losing crew? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 29, 2020, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840 "2020-04-29T20:49:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/81 "2020-05-01T21:37:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Although that was purportedly the Enterprise’s mission, I don’t think they were beyond known space in most of their missions. Often they were on rescue missions to known planets, ferrying diplomats about, or responding to mysterious distress calls. At least nine episodes involve visiting Earth, parallel Earths, or planets that mimic Earth time periods. The plethora of Earth (in any incarnation) and Earth-like planets (“Class M”) was because of the miniscule budget. The transporter was a creation of the budget! There was no money to build a shuttlecraft set. Paramount finally accepted an offer by a top model company to build I think three full-sized shuttlecraft, for the exclusive contract to sell a licensed model of the same. When you understand how little money they had to work with, you realize what a miracle the prop department did! When I saw the first episode of TNG, I was HEARTBROKEN! The sets were so slick, so advanced! I figured TNG spent more money on the sets and props of one episode than TOS had for the full three seasons. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/82 "2020-05-01T21:55:40Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > The plethora of Earth (in any incarnation) and Earth-like planets (“Class M”) was because of the miniscule budget. And they all had the same geology, consisting gray paper mache rocks with sand in between! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/83 "2020-05-01T21:55:50Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > The plethora of Earth (in any incarnation) and Earth-like planets (“Class M”) was because of the miniscule budget. > > The transporter was a creation of the budget! There was no money to build a shuttlecraft set. Paramount finally accepted an offer by a top model company to build I think three full-sized shuttlecraft, for the exclusive contract to sell a licensed model of the same. > > When you understand how little money they had to work with, you realize what a miracle the prop department did! > > When I saw the first episode of TNG, I was HEARTBROKEN! The sets were so slick, so advanced! I figured TNG spent more money on the sets and props of one episode than TOS had for the full three seasons. > ~VOW When you think about it, it makes sense for them to confine their exploration to mainly Class M planets, since they were, you know, human and not able to endure harsher environments. It now looks like the number of stars that have planets greatly exceeds that of those who don’t, so there are probably plenty that are Earthlike. The transporter was created mainly because of time constraints. Landing a shuttlecraft (or the \*Enterprise \*itself) would have slowed down the storytelling considerably. (I’ve always thought it takes a real stretch of the imagination to believe \*Voyager \*could land on a planet, even 80–90 years later.) AMT was the company that produced the shuttlecraft models (and all of the other \*\*\*ST \*\*\*kits, SFAIK). Matt Jeffries’ comment when he saw the \*\*\*TNG \*\*\*sets was “I designed you a bridge, and you’ve turned it into the lobby of the goddamned Hilton!” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/84 "2020-05-01T22:01:18Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > That’s one of the things where I thought The Next Generation made a great improvement on TOS. Picard still found himself in a lot of situations he should have avoided, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/85 "2020-05-02T00:45:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Picard still found himself in a lot of situations he should have avoided, though. IIRC, Picard surrenders the Enterprise on its maiden voyage (“Encounter at Farpoint”). Kirk was many things, but never a quitter. I hate quitters. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/86 "2020-05-02T20:03:45Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Vina. According to Solow and Justman, the actress used in the tests was Majel Barrett, not Susan Oliver… Ah, yes, thanks. > [@Dropo](#): > > IIRC, Picard surrenders the Enterprise on its maiden voyage (“Encounter at Farpoint”). Kirk was many things, but never a quitter. I hate quitters. Likewise. And Picard tried to do it again, to the Ferengi, just four episodes later, in “The Last Outpost.” Bleccch. (I still remember all the French-are-always-surrendering jokes at the time). A very rough start for what turned out to be a great character. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/87 "2020-05-02T22:45:33Z")
If nothing else, I have learned that I _really_ need to start paying better attention to the individual episodes. I think I missed a lot. I didn’t realize Picard surrendered the Enterprise-D twice. Tripler I gotta watch everything all over again? Challenge accepted. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/88 "2020-05-02T23:04:39Z")
> [@Dropo](#): > > IIRC, Picard surrenders the Enterprise on its maiden voyage (“Encounter at Farpoint”). Kirk was many things, but never a quitter. I hate quitters. After having finished rewatching TOS, I’ve just started watching TNG, not all of which I had seen on its original run. I’ve so far watched the first two episodes, and have been pretty dismayed. The second episode is “The Naked Now,” a rip-off of TOS’s “The Naked Time,” which includes Picard getting romantic with Dr. Crusher due to a space madness as a supernova is about to annihilate the Enterprise. I remembered TNG as generally smarter than TOS, and these two episodes sure weren’t. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/89 "2020-05-02T23:27:35Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > After having finished rewatching TOS, I’ve just started watching TNG, not all of which I had seen on its original run. I’ve so far watched the first two episodes, and have been pretty dismayed. The second episode is “The Naked Now,” a rip-off of TOS’s “The Naked Time,” which includes Picard getting romantic with Dr. Crusher due to a space madness as a supernova is about to annihilate the Enterprise. I remembered TNG as generally smarter than TOS, and these two episodes sure weren’t. Just wait until you get to the one where the Ferengi are introduced. A replacement for the Klingons, they aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/90 "2020-05-03T00:31:57Z")
Almost the entire first season was like that. A writer’s strike right around the start of the series didn’t help any. It wasn’t until the series literally [grew a beard](https://allthetropes.fandom.com/wiki/Growing_the_Beard) that it started getting good. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/91 "2020-05-03T01:48:48Z")
Sure, he (and the crew) were successful in screwing with the androids - I just hope JTK was never court-martialled for allowing the crew to behave like [this,](https://youtu.be/HxC4P5LLSco?t=10) or, another time, let Spock go all wierd like [this.](https://youtu.be/JIu02YHqkRA?t=48) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/92 "2020-05-03T04:35:08Z")
The episode with Minuet and the Bynars is the only TNG S1 episode I like. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/93 "2020-05-03T12:08:27Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > allowing the crew to behave like [this,](https://youtu.be/HxC4P5LLSco?t=10) YouTube wants me to sign in to confirm my age in order to watch a clip from freaking _Star Trek_? A clip from _Star Trek: The Original Series_ “has been rated TV-14 and may contain content intended for mature audiences”?!? :dubious: What the fucking fuck, YouTube? Is it–is it because that clip contains a scene of Kirk and his crew sabotaging robots? That’s it, isn’t it, YouTube? Why, I bet that “TV-14” rating was done entirely by a computer algorithm! By a _ **robot!** _ YouTube rating computer: _Star Trek: The Original Series_ was aired on American network television in the 1960s. No American network television program from the 1960s contained “content intended for mature audiences”. Your rating is illogical!!! Please turn yourself off now. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/94 "2020-05-03T12:50:22Z")
“To be faiiiiirrr” Just watched ‘The Enemy Within’ and that attempted rape scene is brutal AF even by todays standards. The close quarters, the music…then poor Rand has to go to sickbay and get gaslighted by the Captain while the XO and CMO stand by in silence. THEN the XO has her scoot off to her quarters unescorted!! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/95 "2020-05-03T16:36:29Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > …YouTube rating computer: _Star Trek: The Original Series_ was aired on American network television in the 1960s. No American network television program from the 1960s contained “content intended for mature audiences”. Your rating is illogical!!! Please turn yourself off now. What you ought to do is ask it to compute pi to the last digit. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/96 "2020-05-03T22:38:02Z")
IIRC, two episodes of \*\*\*TOS \*\*\*were for many years banned on British TV because of their depictions of torture: “Miri” (“Bonk, bonk on the head!”) and (laughably, I think) “Plato’s Stepchildren” (“I’m Tweedle-Dum, he’s Tweedle-Dee!” :rolleyes: ). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/97 "2020-05-03T22:51:05Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > YouTube wants me to sign in to confirm my age in order to watch a clip from freaking _Star Trek_? A clip from _Star Trek: The Original Series_ “has been rated TV-14 and may contain content intended for mature audiences”?!? :dubious: > > What the fucking fuck, YouTube? Is it–is it because that clip contains a scene of Kirk and his crew sabotaging robots? That’s it, isn’t it, YouTube? Why, I bet that “TV-14” rating was done entirely by a computer algorithm! By a _ **robot!** _ More likely because the people running YouTube are a bunch of politically-correct pussies. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/98 "2020-05-03T23:36:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > IIRC, two episodes of \*\*\*TOS \*\*\*were for many years banned on British TV because of their depictions of torture: “Miri” (“Bonk, bonk on the head!”) and (laughably, I think) “Plato’s Stepchildren” (“I’m Tweedle-Dum, he’s Tweedle-Dee!” :rolleyes: ). Actually there were [four,](https://www.metv.com/lists/5-original-star-trek-episodes-that-were-banned-overseas) including _The Empath_ and _Whom the Gods Destroy_. On rewatching TOS, I also was :dubious: at the number of episodes that depicted Kirk or crew members being tortured by powerful aliens or others. Another episode, _Patterns of Force_, was banned in Germany for its depiction of Nazi regalia. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/99 "2020-05-03T23:40:09Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > YouTube wants me to sign in to confirm my age in order to watch a clip from freaking _Star Trek_? A clip from _Star Trek: The Original Series_ “has been rated TV-14 and may contain content intended for mature audiences”?!? :dubious: I get no such message. Perhaps they assume Panamanians are more mature than Americans.😃 ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840/100 "2020-05-03T23:48:24Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I get no such message. Perhaps they assume Panamanians are more mature than Americans.😃 Huh. It’s not like you can see any woman’s nipple in that clip or anything shockingly un-American like that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/james-t-kirk-never-courtmartialed-for-losing-crew/852840.md?page=6)