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Star Trek: The Review, Finally

I went to see the movie again last night.

I am still full of squee, though now I am finally capable of writing a critical review of a movie that was both very awesome and very problematic.

I'm putting the whole thing behind a cut, because I'm going to intertwining scenes from the movie and history of TOS and some of the other Star Trek shows.

Enjoy the spoilers.

I apologize in advance if this seems a bot mish mashed. It all makes perfect sense in my head.

The techno and medical babble are my favourite things that remained very hokey and utter gibberish which makes the Star Trek Universe so lovable(1).
Plot and other structural points that I think are worthy of noting are also in this spoilerific critique.

The whole movie, of course, was one big cool reference mania!

That was an Orion girl in a bikini!
In TOS the Orions were regularly regaled to scantily clad status and it was nice to that again in the movie and it was particularly funny to have major galactic play boy ask he just how many guys she'd had in her room - easily the Stud/Slut double standard - which peeved me coming from Kirk(2).
However, one could view it as his ego not really enabling him to see his sex interests as wanting anybody other than him (hence his continuous flirt with Uhura who continues to reject him - smart woman!).

Sulu's fencing scene was freakin' awesome! A folding Katana. Very exciting.
Peeve, martial artsy Asian guy. *Sigh*, yes I know, it is in the original show... but still... not the 60's anymore.

I loved Checkov, what a lovely interpretation to the character, he was so cute and so much responsibility... I was particularly enamored with his exasperated "ay ya yai" which is something I say myself (as do many others 'round these parts).
Peeve, the Russian Wiz-Kid... I nearly expected him to crack open the 3D chess, luckily we only got he mad Gaming skills.

Scotty was absolutely brilliant, he didn't have many lines, but every line was a gem! He was very charming and talking about the ship in the female pronoun is something I always loved about Scotty.
AND
"She's givin' me all she's got"
Yeah!
Peeve

The red shirt died... keeping with tradition is always good.

Bones... okay, I have an issue with Bones. He was very good. Hilarious interplay between him and Kirk when they get aboard the "Enterprise".
"You call this a favour?!".
But his accent was a bit eh (where is that lovely Georgian drawl?) as were his lines, I thought they were a bit forced.
"Bones" is a common nickname given to doctors, it really shouldn't have anything to do with his divorce.
Just a bit of a pet peeve.

Uhura... god she rocked. She absolutely rocked my socks! Not only do they actually establish her job as Important, but she herself is scary smart, talented, gorgeous and she Gets The Hot Guy... who isn't Kirk!

Oh Kirk and Spock... how much do we love them. Specifically the movie was much more of a double act than the Troika we see in TOS. I hope we get to see more of than interaction in the next movie (or New Show?).
I'll admit, despite my Slash Goggles I could never see them as anything other than best-friends-cum-brothers-in-arms which at times can be just as intimate without the erotica.
I'll admit though, there was tension in this movie and none of that Bromance bullshit - there was definitely something Rom-Com(3) in their interaction.

Talking about romance.
Spock and Uhura.
Talk about coming out of the left field, but I lapped up every minute.
Let me explain.
In TOS, Uhura was a pioneer of black characters. As such, the network didn't want to push her too much into the foreground (that and they didn't want to pay her for more lines/screen time), as such she didn't get that much character development in the series itself.
In TOS Spock gets a hell of a lot of development. He even gets to have his own love affairs on the ship most of them utterly disastrous!

I always wanted Spock to be with someone and not have it utterly fail.
Kirk, by default, could never establish a proper relationship, despite his great capacity for love, the man does have a wondering eye(4).

Having Spock and Uhura together creates a new and very interesting dynamic in the movie and for the characters to develop into.

Not to mention that on the political front, it's always great to see interracial relationships on screen (which are still rare and remarked upon, dude!), with this one being even more special due to Spock's (white) dual heritage and the genocide of Vulcan - I'm very interested to see where it goes.
Also, it was totally an established before the events on the "Enterprise", what with the preferential treatment comment, the natural way they hugged in the turbo lift and the public kiss in front of Kirk (which was very funny and nicely done... could have been skeezy, but wasn't).

I liked the interplay between those three characters.

The story, beyond it being an action adventure with beautiful people and shiny toys, it is a story of becoming. Specifically for Spock and Kirk.
We do not see the past of Uhura or Bones or Scotty.
Which is fine.
Obviously, this is the alternate story of the relationship between Spock and Jim.

More on that at a later date though as there really too much to write about in this little post.
But in short:
Kirk is shown to be a self-destructive geek without a cause - Sabotage!.
Spock is shown to be a geek seeking meaning - Feeling as though you belong nowhere and being a Mama's boy can't be easy on a world which both constructs and confirms you identity as anomaly.

Obviously, they get along just fine.

And now, the very big peeves:

Why are all mothers gone?!

It really irked me that Winona Kirk was there to give birth to him and then disappeared!
Amanda Grayson didn't have to die in order for us to glean her importance. Seriously, we got it when those obnoxious Vulcan kids called her a whore and Spock went berserk, not to mention the fact that Spock is a huge Mama's boy, as I've mentioned.
The loss of an entire planet wouldn't have been enough of a trauma for the poor boy, he had to lose his mother too?!
In short, the mothers are there to give birth to the Kings, nothing more.
And other than Kirk's conquests and flirts, the only woman of any worth is Uhura - now, she rocks, I love what she's become - as I said, still, being a strong black woman who isn't completely objectified is rare, and it was good to see.
In addition she didn't need to be saved at any point! Talk about novelty! She wasn't a princess trapped with the scary bad guys that needed to be saved by the Heroes.
Yes, there is a rivalry between Jim and Spock, but she isn't the prize and they end up co-operating, which is again refreshing.

Still, she doesn't do much other than talk and again, the mothers... all I can say to that is: BAH!

One of the things I love about Captain Jack Harkness is the fact that he is so obviously based on Captain James T. Kirk. Intergalactic playboys the both of them. Both are cocky, great leaders, have special relationships with their austere Right Hand Men... *ahem*.
The big difference?
Jack is the ultimate Queer.
Jim is very much not.
Putting the Slash Goggles aside, textually, there is no same-sex attraction to speak of.
Friends, it is the 23rd century... why is Jim not banging the alien boys?! Would his manhood somehow be put into question? I remind you, again, of Captain Jack, the manly man who likes other men (and women, and other assorted genders and aliens!).
I know it seems a bit blasphemous to compare these two sci-fi universes, different sides of the pond, different commercial structure, all that.

Still, within Geekdom, there are many, many queers who want to see some bloody open-mindedness that the future is bright and beautiful.

I didn't really expect them to make Jim be overt in his attractions, but he's a major flirt... would he not be flirty with boys as well? As usual, all the men spoke with their fists before being able to actually communicate beyond competition and crap like that.

To conclude, I'd like to refer you to this lovely post by

liviapenn.
Maybe one day, soon, we'll see stuff like this on teevee and the movies and it won't be "special", simply "variety".

IDIC as the pointy eared green blooded devils say... sorta.

Notes:
(1) One of the things I love about Doctor Who and Torchwood as well, just by the way.
(2) Interestingly there was no moral judgement per say about the sexual promiscuity of Gaila the Orion Girl, only Kirk's bruised ego, which was refreshing. Uhura was more irritated with having her dormitory taken over by Gaila's sexcapades than the sexcapades themselves.
(3)Romantic Comedy - beginning with dislike, turning to affection.
(4)And dick.

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My replies to some of your nits:

In TOS the Orions were regularly regaled to scantily clad status

There were only two Orion women in the original series. Their pop-culture significance is overblown.

Peeve, the Russian Wiz-Kid

Much like Sulu's fencing skills, this is sticking with the source material as Chekov was Spock's understudy.

where is that lovely Kentucky drawl?

Both Kelly and McCoy were Georgian.

..the network didn't want to push her too much into the foreground (that and they didn't want to pay her for more lines/screen time), as such she didn't get that much character development in the series itself.

You're reading way too much into the network pushing her into the background. I've read Nichols' autobiography and even in that, I don't remember anything indicating she was supposed to be more than a token character like Sulu or Chekov. Star Trek was very much the Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and sometimes Scotty show.

As to the meat of your entry, I agree that the marginalization of Winona and Amanda was something of a disgrace, and the loss of over 99% of his species should have been enough of a tragedy without stuffing Amanda in a refrigerator, but I disagree that Kirk should suddenly be non-heteronormative. There is absolutely no evidence of Kirk being anything other than straight, and suddenly making him queer, bi, or pansexual is nothing more than pandering.

If you insist on making a character GLBQTA, then it make sense to do it with one without a well-established sexual identity, which is most of the rest. Sulu is an obvious choice, and though I don't really care for the idea of that for similar reasons, I would be perfectly okay with it.

There were only two Orion women in the original series. Their pop-culture significance is overblown.
Two is more than one and they appeared again in the latter shows, though I do not remember which ones.

Both Kelly and McCoy were Georgian.
*gasps> Mea Culpa! Goes to fix!

I disagree with the idea that making Kirk non-hetero would be pandering. I'm not asking that he and Spock start snogging on the bridge. I was thinking more subtle - in the scene sick bay he is drugged out of his mind and is still flirty.
As I said, this is the 23rd century as made in the 21st century envisioned in the 60's.
It would be so far fetched.

Kirk is well-established as a womanizer, so suddenly making him bisexual or queer to make a statement is, in my view, ridiculous and the argument that it's okay because it's the 23rd Century doesn't fly with me anymore than a casually racist Englishman from an 18th century novel having a black lover in a 21st Century adaptation of the same.

There's a slight (see, big!) difference between speculative fiction (which is what Star Trek is) and historical fiction (which the example that you use).

This Star Trek was a imagining. Being a Stud/Slut doesn't mean that this Kirk had to remain completely straight. It wouldn't have changed the essence of the character, imo, because Kirk wouldn't commit to anyone in any event... in the end it's zero-sum.

But representation is still important.

It would be nice to see other characters get their thing on, but I doubt that will happen, the focus will always be on Kirk and Spock (maybe Bones... but it's not a troika yet... looks to be Uhura this time around).

Then make it 19th Century speculative fiction. I'm sure at least one of Jules Verne's protagonists weren't enamored with the British Empire's darker subjects, and giving him a Moorish wife, or a Persian fiancee would be just as bizarre.

As to this being a reimagining, it's really not. The biggest difference between Shatner's Kirk and Pine's is that the latter lost his dad, and was acting out as a result. Making him GLBTQA on top of that actually feeds more into current stereotypes than making a positive statement.

I'm all for minority representation, but diversity for the sake of it comes off fake, and retconning an already well-established character for the same purpose is actively irritating. Again, if you want a gay character in the new continuity, what's wrong with Sulu? I don't remember him ever having an on-screen love interest, and even Demora can be easily explained as being adopted or the result of artificial insemination.

It is a reimagining in many ways. The film acknowledges its alternate status, but regardless, it would have been nice to see (if not in Kirk, which would have been easiest and perhaps, hehe, most logical choice then in someone else) a queer gaze of some kind.
Sulu would be great, I dunno if in these new movies there will be room for more ensemble interaction rather that dynamic duo action.

What's diversity for the sake off, exactly? There are different kinds of people, in sci-fi many are erased, be it women, poc and/or queer (and others). I don't think it's too horrible to ask for a current film of an old franchise to update itself in that manner.

In any event, I'm looking forward to more of these characters, hopefully none of the actors decide to bale in the near future :)

Diversity for the sake of it is best exemplified by Captain Planet, or pretty much any eighties cartoon or sitcom with a conscience.

Kirk would have been easiest only insofar as he's one of only three characters that are given any kind of sexual identity in the movie, but, again, it would have been out of character when Pine's Kirk, in most ways, was just like Shatner's.

As this was an action movie, and I expect the rest of the movies to play the same way, making someone one of the supporting characters GLBTQA is pretty easy, and doesn't even require any dialogue or missed time. Simply have him roll out of the bunk he's sharing with another guy when the ship goes to red alert or is otherwise attacked and you have what you're looking for without changing a core personality trait of a character.

You're talking to a big Captain Planet fan... :P

I liked it, too. Kwame was my favorite.

Linka, I dressed up as her one year for Purim.

The name of the show is Captain Planet for a reason.

:)

Friends, it is the 23rd century... why is Jim not banging the alien boys?! Would his manhood somehow be put into question? I remind you, again, of Captain Jack, the manly man who likes other men (and women, and other assorted genders and aliens!).

I couldn't agree more. It's a bit like all those shows and movies which have vampires and people who live forever, but are straight, straight, super-straight - and I'm like 'please, get with it' it seems a little homophobic.

Of course, the fact that all the alien species seem to be binary gender also seems a bit weird, but heh. This is Hollywood ;)

Haha, so true!

Indeed... Hollywood. Gotta love the mainstream.

It's a bit like all those shows and movies which have vampires and people who live forever, but are straight, straight, super-straight - and I'm like 'please, get with it' it seems a little homophobic.

Since when does making a character straight equate to being homophobic? And as far as all those immortal vampires - you are, I trust, talking about the lineage popularized by Anne Rice and, subsequently, White Wolf? The material where you can't turn around without seeing vampires who are so far past hetero that they can't even see it in the rear-view mirror?

As far as Kirk goes - this is an established character who is very, very hetero in Old Universe, and his characterization in New Universe only strengthened that. In the absence of a favorable father figure, he goes to extremes to demonstrate his macho cred. You know, things like picking fights with four Academy guys at once, or behaving like God's Gift To Women?

Furthermore, in case it's not obvious: having Kirk flirt (or more) with a guy would have driven a stake right through this reboot's heart. The community at large would no more accept that than they would accept making Scotty a teetotaling Viking, McCoy an officious Brit, or Spock a swingin' party animal. It's just not part of their characters.

Since when does making a character straight equate to being homophobic?

Never, I meant, when they have shows like Highlander or all the various Vampire shows, with characters who live hundreds of years, if not thousands, and all of them are super-straight. It's a little unrealistic don't you think? You'd think after a couple of hundred years a person would start to branch out, if only because of boredom.

And it's also unrealistic for characters who were born thousands of years ago, who come from a time when the binary gay or straight wasn't even the social norm, like in Alexandra the Great's time, when a lot of men were casually bisexual, but it really wasn't a term they would recognise. Who are now living in the modern world (immortals) being straight as an arrow.

It's homophobic for TPTB to keep on creating these characters (like vampires or immortals), like this, because they are clearly trying to stick to the norm* and not offend those who have an objection to homosexuality.

And we will have to disagree a great deal on Kirk. Because I'm really not up for having a debate on this subject.

ETA: *And by norm, what the current world considers to be the norm, as in straight. When humans are clearly more complex then that, but that's modern culture for you.

Edited 2009-05-26 09:20 (UTC)

Star Trek has always had problems with GLBT characters, and it seems it's still that way, despite a perfect opportunity to get with the times. I wouldn't want to see Kirk as the bi character, though, because he's a rampaging sex machine - and that's such a stereotype for bi people! Anyone else - no problem. (Though I wouldn't mind a bit of Kirk/Sulu, I have to say).

I don't agree about Sulu being the martial arts Asian guy, though - he's trained in fencing, which is not Asian, and it was a totally awesome moment. Also, I must admit that I love Sulu and will defend him to the death at any given moment, so I might not be totally fair about this!

And yay for an Orion woman in uniform, to make up for not just Orion women in bikinis, but all the other sexy guest stars who are just there for Kirk to romance.

You contradict yourself! Ahhhhh!

But yes, I get it. It may just be fannish fantasy, but I always wondered why Kirk (much like Bond) didn't seem to get it on with the fellas as well as the ladies.
I mean, as you say, Kirk is a sex machine, why would he discriminate.
Anyway.

It was an awesome Sulu moment, the sword was great! But it wasn't a regular fencing sword it was a Katana and they did make him more martial arty that mere fencer, which was great, but there was a moment of grating too, I felt I needed to acknowledge that.

Orions rock! As do other sexy people with subjectivity!

Yes, this movie makes me contradict myself. A lot.

I've only seen it once, but I remember thinking that it didn't look like a fencing blade! Still, Sulu's not a Japanese name and this Sulu is not played by an ethnically-Japanese actor. So when I'm feeling optimistic I'll say "Yay for various cultures on screen," and when I'm feeling pessimistic I'll say "Dammit! All Asian cultures are not the same!"

Me too... *sigh*.

"Sulu" is Tagalog, isn't it? Hikaru is very much Japanese and John Cho himself is Korean.
A bit of a mish-mash, but then again, it could be that Sulu himself is multiracial :)

There was an entire thread about this somewhere, but the consensus was that he was Japanese/Philipino.

Hikaru is definitely Japanese (and a good choice for a futuristic name, as it's been in use since at least the 10th century), Sulu is Tagalog AFAIK. Multi-racial for the win, Asians-are-all-the-same for the lose.

That's after the fact rationalization. As nice as it would be for Sulu to intentionally be multi-ethnic, it was definitely a case of Rodennbery and crew just picking an Asian name at random, and the fan community picking a name from a different culture that eventually became canon.

Remember, this is the same franchise that has a French guy with a British accent, and the only français he speaks are words like "merde".

IIRC, the origional Sulu was the first oriental character to "not be" oriental on screen. In other words, the Star Trek universe was blind to Sulu's (and Uhura's) background because people weren't racist anymore and Sulu's ethnicity was not relevant.

Why would Kirk want to get it on with the fellas?

Re-imaging a straight sex-machine as being omni-sexual makes as much sense as re-imagining a genius in a specific field as a genius in many more fields.

For example, would you start expecting the new Uhura to know more about engineering, because she's been "updated"?
If not, why would you expect Kirk to be interested in men, just because he's been "updated"?

My working assumption is that sexuality isn't binary.
I always viewed Kirk as a sexual connoisseur. Because all the aliens were also obviously gender-binary there wasn't much of a question as to who he would be attracted or sleep with.
Sexuality isn't the same as intellect much to our misfortune and continuing to portray sexuality as binary in sci-fi is a disservice to the fans and the genre.
As I said, I would never expect Kirk to be overt in a Hollywood blockbuster if he indeed had any kind of same-sex desire - which textually, he doesn't - but some kind of acknowledgment that we have evolved a bit over the next 200 years would have been nice.
Attitudes towards sex is the difference, not so much orientation of which there is debate today whether it is organic or not.

I always viewed Kirk as a sexual connoisseur.

Really? A connoisseur, someone who chooses carefully and selects only the finest of options? James T. Kirk?!

I always saw him as a rabid skirt-chaser, and I dare say that's the prevailing opinion. If there's an available woman to be found, he'll inevitably find her, woo her, and sleep with her or at least sway her to his side as an ally. As Bones said on Rura Penthe in ST6, "What is it with you?" It's a noteworthy trait.

Now, it certainly may be true that Kirk, like James Bond, is a Guy Hero Of The Sixties, and that archetype includes certain traits: resourcefulness, hand-to-hand fighting skill, natural leadership, and being a ladies' man. "Women want them, men want to be them." If you take any of those traits away from either character, you've destroyed the concept and, with it, the character.

By contrast, some Star Trek works have introduced non-hetero characters, and I applaud them for it. I'm all about introducing diversity. I just disagree - rather strongly - with the notion that existing characters who have been around for over four decades should be fundamentally changed to make them more diverse. Kirk doesn't mack on guys because he's all about the women. That's how he's always been, and there's no reason to change it. It's not because being gay or bi is "bad" - just that it's way, way out of character for him.

Like Chekov's sudden transporter expertise? And Spock who has to be awesome at piloting, hand-to-hand combat, science, linguistics, music, telepathy...

Personally, I don't want to see a bisexual Kirk, but *any* other main character, sure.

Edited 2009-05-26 09:37 (UTC)

Spock was *always* awesome at everything he put his hand to.

Except understanding humans...

I predict that McCoy will be the guy who's shoulder Uhura goes to when she and Spock have relationship troubles.

Now THAT would be an interesting dynamic.

Chekov was Spock's understudy in the original series, and is 17 years old in this continuity. He needs to be incredibly gifted to even be on the ship, and it's better that it's something as small as being a transporter whiz, than being another polymath like Wesley.

Star Trek has always had problems with GLBT characters

I've always found that aspect so disappointing. Once I read a really disturbing but well written fanfiction story which posits that the reason there is no gay characters in that universe is because they have developed a way to correct the 'disability' through eugenics, it was very creepy. But in the Trek shiny vision of the future, where everything sometimes seems a bit perfect, I've never been able to get that story out of my head. *cue twilight zone music*

Oh, that is extremely creepy. I can see it being even more likely with the destruction of most of Vulcan's population and the sudden imperative to make more Vulcans.

I really hope nobody goes there in canon... that would be very creepy indeed.

The Vulcans as Jews stereotype got much stronger with this movie.

Holocaust survivors, Mother-Son relationship...

Meaning Spock is going to dump Uhura the Shiksa for a nice Vulcan girl?

Edited 2009-05-26 16:05 (UTC)

Not at all.

Uhura will say to Spock "Your ways are my way", they'll get married and their grandson will be the King/Messiah of the Vulcans.

(Book of Ruth for whomever doesn't get the reference)

Hopefully the Vulcan Elders will see the logic of strengthening the genes with outsiders and not go isolationist.

Or that JJ Abrams doesn't decide to screw up what looks to be a very well established romance (yay for Kirk as mediator!)

Hopefully the Vulcan Elders will see the logic of strengthening the genes with outsiders and not go isolationist.

Does it work like that? I remember, I think it was with the Klingons, that it took a lot of genetic manipulation to create a child between the two species, it didn't happen naturally at all, or very, very rarely.

I think it would be socially responsible for Spock to donate his DNA for the future of the Vulcan race, but that doesn't mean he has to dump Uhura.

Seeing as Spock himself is a Vulcan/Human hybrid, I don't think there will be too much trouble...

Funny this should come up so soon after Shavuot.

Anyway, I talk about the Vulcans = Space Jews thing on my LJ that go deeper than what happens to them but about how Vulcans themselves have some interesting parallels with Jews. Let's just say that there are some intriguing possibilities there.

I think that there are no gay characters ON SCREEN is simply because we are seeing so very little of their lives.

If you take TNG, for example:
4 Characters are paired off (Riker/Troy,Picard/Crusher)
1 Character is neuter (Data)
Worf's character is straight, and there is plot revolving around his romance with Klingon/Human hybrid & their son - which gives a reason for him to be straight.
The sexuality of the remaining characters (LaForge, Wesley Crusher) is not dealt with in canon at all.
IIRC - LaForge's sole "romance" is with a holographic recreation of a female engineer (who is superior in skill to him, which is why he recreated her).
Wesley is an adolescent, but we see no romance with others at all. Nor does his mother ever say "Why don't you go out with girls".

Both Geordi and Wesley may be non-straight, but no story says aye or nay.

IMO, Romance/Sex/Sexuality is not a central part of the story ST has to tell, which is why you don't see it.

*All of this is recollection, of course - no research has been done*

I think that there are no gay characters ON SCREEN is simply because we are seeing so very little of their lives

It's funny you say that, because I remember when TNG and DS9 was popular there were complaints about it becoming a soap opera, because suddenly all these relationships were popping up. We had the the Deanna/Riker will they won't they, then Deanna/Worf, then it was Worf/Dax, and there was obvious UST between Crusher and Picard. Obviously Crusher had a relationship with a man at one point, as the father of Wesley was her former husband. Sisko had his wife who had died. In the background we had O'Brien and Kieko?? (I forget if that name is right) burgeoning from a relationship to marriage.

On DS9 we had Odo/Kira, we had the relationship between Quark's brother and that girl...? Righ. And then there were all kinds of romantic shenanigans in Voyager etc. Strangely, ALL OF THEM STRAIGHT. The only queering we sortave, maybe had, was with Garak (the simple tailer, hahahah) and his interest in Dr Bashir. Both actors were playing that up, but went away soon enough. And we Dax...at one stage, what with the host, complication thingy and a previous flame.

So, I think it's safe to say, we have a very different look at the entire series. For a show that always prided itself on diversity, it really didn't have much of it when it came to a person's sexual orientation.

Edited 2009-05-26 09:54 (UTC)

Odo bugged me a lot because his sex was a total fabrication, and though he did link with Laas, another "male" Changeling once, the other two relationships that I remember were with the "female" Founder and the biologically female Nerys. If any character should have been pansexual, omnisexual, or even asexual, it was Odo, but he was depicted as heteronormative as the rest of them

I think that there are no gay characters ON SCREEN is simply because we are seeing so very little of their lives.

And yet everything we do see ON SCREEN is hetero.

Romance/Sex/Sexuality have always been big on the TOS, brother, Kirk the playboy (and great capacity for love), Spock's serial monogomy, need I remind you of the dancing Orion girls and episode Plato's Stepchildren (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_Stepchildren)... it's a part of the world there as it is in ours - represntation is lacking.
Maybe focusing on Kirk is has irked so many people here, but Kirk, to me, because of his appetite would seem the best candidate, to me.
It really could be anyone of the mains... I'd just like to see it!

Focusing on Kirk is what irked me, and continuing to want him to be the queer one bothers me because it's playing into the negative stereotypes of hypersexual bisexuals and queer men without strong father figures.

Personally, if they're going to make someone gay, I'd prefer it be a very average relationship or an unremarkable fling like Kirk had every week, and have it be no more relevant to the plot than any of the other original series relationships, of which there was only the unrequited one between Spock and Chapel.

I agree with you wholeheartedly!

I love it when we work out in the end :D

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Star Trek: The Review, Finally

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