Why is Kirk's middle initial wrong in series 1 episode 3 of Star Trek?
In the third episode of the original series of Star Trek, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", a powerful psychic makes a grave for Kirk as part of an elaborate attempt to kill him.
The grave has a headstone engraved with Kirk's name. But on the stone his middle initial is "R". I thought that his middle name was Tiberius. Why is it different in this episode?
Best Answer
It was a mistake.
Out of universe, just a production goof. In universe, Gary Mitchell made a human error.
From Memory Alpha:
The gravestone Mitchell creates for Kirk says "James R. Kirk". According to D.C. Fontana in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, when the mistake was discovered, Gene Roddenberry decided that if pressed for an answer on the discrepancy, the response was to be "Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was Human. He made a mistake."
Additionally, from IMDb's trivia page:
According to the Starfleet Access commentary on the Blu-Ray, the remastering crew debated over whether or not to change the middle initial on the "James R. Kirk" tombstone to the proper T. While some members of the crew were for it and some against it, they ultimately decided not to, due to the ridiculous amount of rotoscope work it would have required.
Pictures about "Why is Kirk's middle initial wrong in series 1 episode 3 of Star Trek?"
Is it James R Kirk or James T Kirk?
James R Kirk is in fact James T Kirk. The out of universe explanation is that in that episode, there was a production goof. The in universe explanation is that the man who created that tombstone, Gary Mitchell, must have misremembered Kirk's middle initial.Where did Captain Kirk get his middle name?
The answers explain that Kirk was given the name after his grandfather (Tiberius Kirk) and that his grandfather had an interest in the Roman emperors. The name might also possibly have been influenced by the maverick Roman politician Tiberius Gracchus.What does the T mean in James T Kirk from Star Trek?
James Tiberius Kirk is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise.The One You Love (feat. Brandon Lake, Dante Bowe \u0026 Chandler Moore) | Mav City x Kirk Franklin
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