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I like how in SNW they're making an effort to bring these aspects of the character back. They are also simultaneously playing with the pop-culture version as a kind of a wrong first impression that people sometimes get, and confuse with the real thing.

I absolutely love this approach to tackling Kirk Drift.

That is exactly how Roddenberry wrote Kirk in the TMP novel. He was written as a person that many talked about due to his reputation via his career, but only a handful genuinely knew him personally. The rumours often preceded the person, and Starfleet wasn't always necessarily kind to Jim. There was a lot of contention there.

It is implied in the novel that there are many rumours about Jim, a lot of old blood who were resentful that such a young man speed-ran by them through hard work and ambition to the flagship.

As we see in SNW, even his older brother exemplifies the sentiment of the older crowd who resent Jim for hustling so hard and succeeding so young.

We also get to see how vulnerable this makes Jim at times in TOS, and he will fret with McCoy or Spock privately about the pressures he feels; he is a young captain trying to live up to the magnitude of what he fought to get.

They beautifully worked in similar moments throughout SNW to showcase this:

He feels isolated and lonely, and he is aware that there are people just banking on him to fail so that they can have their shot at the flagship. His own brother has even voiced resentment toward him, and teases him about the fact that he got a posting on the Enterprise while Jim was assigned the Farragut.

The Enterprise isn't just Jim's dream, it is the dream of countless people enlisted at Starfleet during that time.

His intelligence carried him there, but he often self reflects and worries -- sort of haunted by the things people say behind his back, and occasionally to his face.

He isn't actually unflappable -- we learn that in private conversations with Spock and/or Bones when he goes to pieces and then puts himself back together before facing the crew in TOS.

He has deep insecurities, and valid ones, because people he has worked alongside of and even looked up to started side-eyeing him for his ambition.

His reputation/the Starfleet-Jim hate train also gets him blacklisted on a number of occasions, and it is mentioned to Spock multiple times that sticking with Jim and his shenanigans could potentially hurt his reputation in the fleet.

In Lower Decks, it is revealed that Spock gets invited to a Fleet party to be accoladed, and Jim isn't even invited. In fact, they won't let Spock in if Jim is his plus one.

Spock ends up having to choose between going to the party, or leaving at the front door with Jim.

Spock chooses to bail on the party to go to a dive bar with Jim, and it turns into their regular place.

There were times when Spock and the crew were the only friends Jim had in his corner at his own workplace.

It just goes to show that despite his self confidence, Jim was actually bullied and hazed quite a bit by Starfleet alumni. He was routinely bullied by Finnegan. And he continues to be undermined and talked down to for his youth throughout TOS by high ranking officials. It even continues into the movies.

When the crew is reprimanded for their actions in ST III, Spock is not accused of any wrongdoing. But when the rest of the Enterprise crew comes out to hear their charges, Spock walks down and stands with them explaining: "I stand with my ship mates."

We have always known that Jim was a cheerleader of Spock's, and how he would defend him when others said terrible things about him. But honestly, it also worked both ways. The fleet and people Jim worked for would frequently undermine or talk down to him. Spock would go out of his way to support Jim, and vice versa.

In a way, together, they tackled one another's demons. They had each other's back when nobody else did.

For all of Jim's hang ups, he still manages to show up for himself and his team.

**With them**, he feels like the best version of himself. They help him realize his potential. We see that in the SNW pep talk that Spock gives Jim during his first stint in the chair. I think the show has nailed that, and tied together a number of facets about Kirk threaded throughout the canon nicely.

SNW has an incredible opportunity to re-introduce him as he was in TOS, as opposed to the Kirk-Drift Zapp Brannigan take that folks seem to think TOS Jim was.

It isn't just a great opportunity to correct false ideas about Jim, but it is an awesome platform to let us get to know other characters such as Nyota Uhura better. I love her so much, and I'm glad we are getting better acquainted with who she was. Much later in life she apparently goes on to lend a hand in training a young Jean-Luc Picard -- I've always wished we could have seen that in a show, too. Obviously not SNW as it's a completely different time period, but spinoff series? DELULU FANTASTIES

Anyway, I digress.

TOS was never just "the Jim Kirk show". Of course it focused on the triumvirate, but it was always the story of the Enterprise crew, and how that group of people who as individuals felt like they belonged nowhere -- and they came together to build a home and place to belong. It reminds us time and again that Jim would not be the Captain he was known to be without that crew. It's so evident at the beginning of TMP when he doesn't have Spock and how things keep going awry. What a change in dynamic and efficiency there is when Spock returns.

I love that they are showing the incredible impact that these specific people had on Jim, as well as their hand in helping to shape the type of Captain that he will later become. It's a cornerstone to the TOS story which was never just a Jim Kirk story, but a story about how him and his found family made a home for themselves on the Enterprise.

Funny enough, this concept is explored in The Motion Picture novelisation by Gene Roddenberry.

It is very, very rare for Vulcans to have a mind link, or bond, with another individual that can be achieved without some form of physical contact -- thought to be unheard of between a Vulcan and a human.

That is what a lot of Vulcans aspire to achieve in their relationships and connections. Roddenberry coined that as a*T'hy'la* bond in Vulcan culture.

Spock is basically outed as having that type of bond with Jim Kirk in TMP novel when he is attempting to complete Kolinhar. He fails it because when the Vulcan elder melds with Spock's mind, she can actually hear Jim Kirk's worried ruminations in Spock's mind -- on Vulcan -- all the way from Earth.

Anyway, that is particularly scandalous, and largely unheard of, in Vulcan culture. The elder instructs Spock to take leave of Vulcan and answer this call, as "his place is elsewhere".

This post summarizes that moment in the film beautifully while conveying more of the emotion of TMP novel -- that it was the connection to Jim that Spock could not sever or let go of in order to complete Kolinahr.

Shout out to @kristascoffee-blog1 for creating these gorgeous gifs and the OP which articulates this moment so well.

In the movie version, Spock's summoning is depicted as solely being about sensing V'Ger.

In the novel, it is because he is essentially caught having a T'hy'la bond with Jim Kirk that is strong enough for them to hear each other *on other planets*.

In TMP novel, Roddenberry describes Spock and Jim's mind link as a very unique, rare and much sought after type of bond that is revered in Vulcan culture.

Roddenberry wrote: "For Spock, theirs had been the touching of two minds which the old poets of Spock's home planet had proclaimed as superior even to the wild physical love which affected Vulcans every seventh year during pon farr." I mean . . . That's pretty major. LOL

I thought they were intentionally nodding to that quote about poets and the T'hy'la bond from the novel when Pelia referred to Kirk and Spock's connection as "poetic", a reference to how Spock himself thinks of their bond in TMP novel.

I always felt the film version lacked a great deal of that incredible humanity and affection found in the novel because they were so late getting Nimoy involved. They didn't have enough time filming with him to deeply explore some of the more meaningful moments with Spock on screen outside of what we did get.

In the novel you get to hear all of his pained, desperate, and insecure thoughts. How much his heart is bursting when he first comes aboard the Enterprise. But we see little of that inner turmoil displayed in the film, sadly.

I know given the opportunity and time, Nimoy would have done a wonderful job with fleshing out Spock's story, because honestly, TMP is about Spock. V'Ger simply mirrors what he is going through and helps him realize where he belongs.

They just took so long getting Nimoy involved, they barely had time to film with him. So the story feels very cold on screen, and that's too bad, because the book actually made me weep when I read it growing up because it moved me so much. It has so much heart, and it is at its core a beautiful story of self acceptance -- a willingness to be vulnerable and accept love.

Spock starts the book like V'Ger -- cold, broken, and desperately seeking answers to the meaning of his existence.

He attempts Kolinahr and is refused by Vulcan when they realize he has a T'hy'la bond. They tell him to seek out the voice calling him, as that is where he belongs.

He comes full circle in the sickbay scene when he takes Jim's hand and admits that V'Ger is what he had aspired to, and he doesn't like what he sees -- he realizes the incredible value in the simplicity of love, trust, and loyalty.

TMP is actually supposed to be about Spock and how his journey from shame about his connection to Jim to unabashed pride mirrors V'Ger's experience.

V'Ger also goes from being cold and barren to discovering the potential and value of human love. Sadly, they took so long to get Nimoy signed on for TMP that the end result was a story that really wasn't about Spock or his journey, even though the novel almost entirely focuses on what Spock and Jim went through and how that parallels V'Ger.

Spock tries Kolinahr, Jim tries admiralty, and they both end up miserable pursuing what they *think* the next step naturally should be, not what they actually want. The conclusion is them actually accepting that they are far, far better together than they are separate.

Their T'hy'la bond, this form of Vulcan bonding thought to be so rare it is often considered a myth on their planet it is considered so unattainable -- this bond is shared between a human and half-human Vulcan.

It solidifies that Vulcans actually stifle themselves and their potential when they get too hung up on being pragmatic, stop at logic, and don't explore beyond logic as a meaning to life. As Spock says many years later, logic is only the beginning of that exploration, not the end. Spock has grown by not permitting himself to have such limitations.

So in summary, you are absolutely right -- this kind of mental bond or connection is extremely rare in Vulcan culture, and seldom seen without there being a physical connection to establish a link.

The absolute irony is, a rare Vulcan T'hy'la bond is shared between a human and half-human Vulcan, while many full Vulcans will live out their long lifetimes without ever knowing what that is like.

Sexism in TOS: Worst Offender, or Progressive in Retrospect in Comparison?

I see a lot of folks claim that TOS was the most sexist of the Star Trek shows by a landslide -- and while I agree that it definitely suffered from the sexism of the times, I also have other perspectives to share to give some food for thought.

I am of course not insinuating that TOS isn't sexist -- it is, but I have to ask folks to consider the breadth and depth of Berman's sexism in his run and ask yourself: Was Gene Roddenberry genuinely more sexist in his storytelling and delivery than Rick Berman?

I'm not telling you to feel one way or the other, but all I ask is that you hear me out and consider some perspectives and make your own balanced assessments. Nobody is obligated to share my opinion, but it means a lot just to have folks hear it and see their thoughts on the subject. So here is what I was originally responding to:

Someone's response to this photo:

"Devil's advocate. This was a part of the popular form of cardio during the production time of TNG. Yes, it was heavily sexualised by men, but so is literally every other way women work out. Men have been caught taking pictures of women while trying to do dead lifts, running on tracks and working on sled machines. They post them online to share too. The fact is, there is no way a woman can be shown working out without it going there. And yeah,t hat includes the combat forms of workout they do in Star Trek. Just look at how Dax dresses when she spars with Worf. Yes, they're dating, but still, same goes when 7 does and any other female.

Aerobics routines like this were made dirty and cringy. This was what women wore then by and large. This is how the workout was done. We make it cringy."

My response to them:

"I respect your take, but I disagree on a few fronts.

The miniskirt was chosen by the TOS female cast, not the male cast, specifically requested by Grace LW and affirmed by Nichelle and Majel who would go on to vehemently defend the miniskirt over the years as comfortable and embraced by them.

Grace said it was comfortable and seen as a symbol of female sexual empowerment during the 60s and thought it would be a progressive garment (and turns out that it was, as it was later adapted and worn by male crew as a skant on TNG) -- FYI those were designed by a gay man and Gene approved them.

This was also supposed to be Spock's TMP outfit:

Literally lingerie.

We saw both Uhura (who saves Kirk in from Marlena Mirror Mirror) and Yeoman Landon (the first to initiate combat with a classic Kirk-esque kick to help the Captain being attacked in The Apple) carry out their combat training in their Starfleet uniforms without ever being made to change into any ridiculous workout gear.

In fact, I'd argue Jim Kirk was sexualized even more than the ladies of the week on the show and I saw his naked body more than anyone else's on a fairly regular basis. He wore red yoga tights while topless in Charlie X while the women wore full length gymnastic suits that covered their entire body. If anything, it went out of its way to avoid sexualizing women practicing fitness in those scenes and instead focused on Kirk.

Gene confessed that he asked to have Shatner filmed in suggestive/provocative ways to "give something to the ladies", so he -- as he said -- liked to "film him walking away" or have him conveniently busting out of his shirts in just about every episode as it were, because Shatner apparently had great assets. LOL

Gene made an effort to at least sexualize both if he was going to sexualize one, and he carried that attitude forward in wanting the m/m and f/f scenes in the background on Risa for TNG. He also insisted that the men and women wear skimpy outfits on THAT TNG planet. You know the one. LOL I mean the dudes even had on less than the women:

Gene also gave permission to K/S shippers to have their conventions back in the 70s when he was asked for permission. Gene and Nimoy felt with all the skimpy outfits they had the ladies wear, why not let the ladies and gay men have their fun, too? It's how we ended up with moments like this:

Yes, those are two people dressed up as Kirk and Spock's penises doing interpretive dance. Gene didn't give two damns. LOL

In my eyes, that was a very progressive take on Gene's part for the 60s. It was actually PARAMOUNT STUDIOS who had the big problem with K/S stories and vehemently tried to shut them down. Gene literally hired slash authors on his payroll and even had several slash stories/writers published in his official Star Trek books (The New Voyages & The New Voyages II).

I feel I saw Uhura and women in TOS engaged in more physical combat/altercations defending themselves that Troi or Bev were shown holding their own.

In fact, Kirk used to get furious when someone would "dress up" his female crew members without their consent (Trelane episode, Shore Leave episode) because like his male crew members, he wanted them to be treated professionally and to also have his male crew act professionally.

Berman brought some of his own personal biases into Star Trek that in some ways regressed it. While TOS had blatant sexism and was called on it time and again, that show was made in the 60s -- a solid 21 years before TNG. We as a modern audience understood why some of it was cringe/sexist due to the time period -- look at any other media coming out in the 60s and Star Trek was miles ahead of what other shows were doing.

Compare that to Berman who was churning sexist stuff out when women like Starbuck and Scully were simultaneously on screen on other programs airing, and we had already had Sigourney Weaver and other strong women in Holywood playing respectful roles.

In my eyes, there was no need of the sexism seen in TNG but especially VOY and ENT. There was no excuse for it when other shows were writing women far better and a number of those weren't even set in the future like Trek was, making it age even faster due to having those dated perspectives frequently highlighted.

In the Center Seat documentary as well as "The Fifty Year Mission" book you will find cast members, writers and other studio alumni who attest to this. Some discussions from "The Fifty Year Mission":

"First, Berman was supposed to have been a real sleaze ball . . . According to Terry Farrel, he would go on constantly about how her breasts weren't big enough, how she should do something about it, and how his secretary was a good example to follow as she had huge breasts. She even had to have fittings to get larger bras, and that was all done at his behest.

Later Berman and Braga developed a name for Jeri Ryan's character prior Seven of Nine. They originally called the character "perineum" which if you look it up it is the area between the anus and the scrotum. Later they floated the name "6 of 9". I mean, what does it tell you about where these two were coming from in the development of this character if they had names like that put forward in all seriousness for her?"

Gene Roddenberry also had some of his own more progressive ideas for TNG cut or watered down by Berman. Roddenberry agreed TNG should have homosexual relationships and representation at a con in the 80s and insisted on it in a meeting with his writers -- something Berman later would not honor. Gene wanted the AIDS episode, showing m/m and f/f in the Riza scenes -- these were some of Roddenberry's requests to include in TNG that Berman later stonewalled.

Berman's era was sadly dated by his own misogynist bias, IMO, to the point that it can somewhat hurt the shows he worked on through his cringe egoism and blatant disrespect toward his female cast.

There is a reason why Gene could keep female actresses working with him and Berman had a revolving door of women that he couldn't seem to keep working for him -- he was abhorrent to women, on and off set. Gene wasn't perfect at all, he had a lot of issues himself -- but Berman was a whole other level. Just look at what he did to poor Jolene Blalock, Marina Sirtis and his toxic commenting on her body weight which exacerbated her struggles with eating disorders, or how he treated and talked to Terry Farrell.

Anyway, just some food for thought. I'm not saying anyone is wrong regarding a take like that, but there are a variety of ways to look at this. Gene Roddenberry isn't a saint by any means, but it definitely bothers me how folks will tote the Berman era as if it were the lesser of two evils or the more progressive depiction of women when I felt there were far more concerning portrayals of women in his era with far less justification.

(P.S: I don't event want to go near the sheer amount of "creepy old dude/villain preys on innocent/naïve/scared young woman or little girl" stories there were in Berman's era, either. But that's a whole other can of worms I can write about in a part 2.)

Ever since I saw the Strange New Worlds episode Lost in Translation I was being driven insane by how familiar the tune playing in the background was.

To me it sounded like a jazz version of The Beatles cover of the song Till There Was You.

So I looked to see if anyone else was also stimming out over this and lo and behold:

It seems a lot of folks came to the same conclusion. Your thoughts?

Anyway, that was driving me wild for quite some time because technically, it's the song that was playing when Kirk and Spock formally met. ;)

Seems the verdict is Til There Was You. If anyone has any other info, feel free to jump in!

If you haven't heard the tune in question, here is the version I am familiar with:

It is also one of my all-time favourite love songs, and it was the first song that I learned to play on bongos as a child.❤️

Lyrics below!

Teaser fanart shenanigans for the upcoming chapter of my K/S academy fic Of Stars and Plebes!

"I'M WORKING!" | March 2026, 1shirt2shirtredshirtdeadshirt | Mixed media, traditional art (Castle Arts coloured pencils, Staedtler triplus color liners, black ink, white acrylic paint)

See below for the next chapter sneak peek:

When someone says TOS Jim and/or Spock ain't it:

Childe . . .

WIP: Updates

I will soon be dropping updates on a few of my stories, I got a great deal done over the holidays. ❤️💚

As I also do my own editing and artwork I've been a busy bee throughout January. Look forward to it! :)

In the meantime:

I am on my couch drawing art for my fanfics and my partner 110% knows what it is.

I read so much about some folks having to creep around their spouse with fanfics/fanart BC they are embarrassed or worry they might get judged or think less of them.

Meanwhile I'm as shameless as Jim Kirk like:

Yeah, they know I'm a freak.👀 They done knew. Our first conversation was in a strip club. And what.

Fast forward 15 years later:

"Oh hey babe, that art for a chapter you're posting?"

"Sure is. Ya wanna read this review from my last chapter? It made me cry!"

"Let's see it!"

Sometimes I'll get them to read segments of a chapter I'm worried about and ask "Well, does it have the essence of Spock? Did you hear McCoy's voice in your head? Does my Jim seem natural?"

And they just, they are --

So supportive.

Ugh.

In a word of endless dumpster fires and terrible experiences prior to this involving love, just ugh.

Thank you for loving my neurodivergent, queer ass exactly as it is. For authentically seeing who I am and never flinching, never turning me away, never asking me to change -- just accepting me and loving me exactly as I am.

Thanks for being my T'hy'la, and for being unapologetically weird with me.

I made the right choice when I married another Star Trek nerd.💚🖖🏾❤️

Listening to this cover of Mirrors by Boyce Avenue ft. Fifth Harmony and they hit me with the "just put your hand on the glass, I'm here trying to pull you through; you've just got to be strong.

I don't want to lose you now, I'm looking right at the other half of me":

Send help.

Yeah, that one went on the playlist so quick.

Istg I will share this playlist someday.