Summary

• William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk exemplified courage, loyalty, and originality, leading to significant and memorable Star Trek moments.
• Kirk's adaptability, quick thinking, sacrifice, and moral com are clearly seen through iconic episodes like "Arena" and "Amok Time."
• Shatner's nuanced portrayal of Kirk showcases the character's remarkable dedication, strategic genius, and deep bonds with the crew.

William Shatner, who plays the iconic Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series, celebrates turning 93 on March 22, 2024. The actor behind the franchise’s most famous captain, William Shatner, was born in Montreal on March 22, 1931. A classically trained Shakespearean actor, Shatner enjoyed a number of small stage, movie, and television roles before being cast as the comionate, intrepid Captain of the USS Enterprise. Shatner’s Kirk led audiences on a five-year mission of adventure, amity, and collaboration to push the boundaries of scientific and academic accomplishment and boldly go among the stars.

Captain Kirk’s complex character exhibited courage, daring, ion, measure, loyalty, verve, and heart. Leading the cast of Star Trek: The Original Series alongside Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk’s USS Enterprise command triumvirate was a significant and positive force of power, logic, and morality that – literally – saved worlds. Airing 3 seasons between 1966 and 1969, Star Trek: The Original Series showcased many significant moments and paved the way for multiple movies and subsequent Star Trek series. In celebration of William Shatner’s 93rd birthday, here’s a look at the legendary actor’s greatest Star Trek moments.

Among other franchise credits, William Shatner starred in 3 seasons of Star Trek: The Original Series, 1 season of Star Trek: The Animated Series, and 7 feature film Star Trek movies.

10 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2, Episode 20 - "A Piece Of The Action"

Captain James T. Kirk invents the game "Fizzbin" to escape capture.

Captain Kirk and a small away team visit Sigma Iotia II, a remote planet affected by accidental cultural contamination one hundred years earlier. Assigned by Starfleet to collect the offending artifact – a book on Earth’s 1920s Chicago mobsters – the Enterprise landing party quickly learns that the planet has developed a gangster-style culture with warring families. Tossed between the opposing factions, Kirk finds himself a pawn in the deadly competitive rivalry.

Captured to extort a supply of phasers from Captain Kirk's Enterprise, Kirk demonstrates originality, creativity, and quick thinking to stage an escape. As their guards time with card games, Kirk subtly diverts them with Fizzbin, a card game with complex, meandering rules to bamboozle and confound. Kirk and his friends are quickly able to overcome the distracted guards and escape. Though amusing and somewhat incidental, Kirk’s Fizzbin is an excellent example of the Captain’s adaptable and innovative nature and a delightfully memorable, original, and quirky character highlight.

9 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2, Episode 13 - "The Trouble With Tribbles"

On Space Station K-7, Captain Kirk becomes buried in a pile of Tribbles.

In this fun Star Trek classic episode, Captain Kirk faces challenges from multiple directions with the USS Enterprise assigned to aid in a diplomatic project over claim of a disputed planet. With tensions high between the Klingon and Enterprise crews attending shore leave on space station K-7, demanding Federation bureaucrats making threats and misusing priority communications, and Tribbles multiplying at a fantastic rate across the ship and space station, Captain Kirk becomes increasingly fraught and frustrated.

William Shatner effortlessly communicates Kirk's professionalism, curiosity, gentility, and exasperation.

Realizing that the Tribbles are in the ventilation ducts, Kirk and Spock rush to protect the Federation’s quadrotriticale. When Kirk opens K-7’s access hatch, he is quickly buried in a huge heap of Tribbles – all engorged on the grain. This absurd image is simultaneously adorable and entertaining yet increasingly disturbing and revealing of Kirk’s patience, self-control, and level-headedness. William Shatner effortlessly communicates Kirk's professionalism, curiosity, gentility, and exasperation. The episode is a favorite among fans, and the image of Kirk in Tribbles is weird, warm, informative, and memorable.

8 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2, Episode 6 - "The Doomsday Machine"

Captain Kirk risks his life to destroy the planet killer.

When Captain Kirk and the crew of the Enterprise find a distress signal from the USS Constellation in the wake of a trail of ruined worlds, they embark on a deadly quest of sacrifice and survival. Commodore Matt Decker (William Windom), Kirk’s friend, alone on the wrecked starship, is the sole survivor of an encounter with a planet-destroying ancient doomsday device.

"The Doomsday Machine" offers an important glimpse at Kirk’s multifaceted and commendable psyche.

Decker’s foiled attempt to take the Enterprise into the machine’s maw leads to a mildly successful but self-sacrificial run with an Enterprise shuttle and prompts Kirk to make a similar attempt on a grander scale with the rigged-to-explode devastated USS Constellation. Kirk’s obvious dedication and unfaltering commitment to the safety and welfare of others in this episode reveals a courageous willingness to take great risks alongside tactical and technical acumen and a steady nerve. "The Doomsday Machine" offers an important glimpse at Kirk’s multifaceted and commendable psyche.

7 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1, Episode 19 - "Arena"

Captain Kirk fights the Gorn.

Invited to a colony on Cestus III, Captain Kirk's landing party is greeted with the revelation that the message they received had been faked and the colony destroyed. Under attack, Kirk suspects a prelude to invasion. The battle quickly moves back to the ship as the Enterprise pursues the enemy vessel at high speed into Metron space. Objecting to the conflict, the Metrons remove Kirk and the enemy captain – a Gorn – to the surface of a suitable world for them to settle their differences.

Engaged in a personal battle for survival, Kirk learns that the Gorn regarded Cestus III as their territory and were repelling invaders – that, potentially, Starfleet had been at fault. Kirk balances intellect, speed, and flexibility against the Gorn’s superior strength and stamina to triumph, ultimately refusing to meet the life-or-death of the engagement set by the Metrons. "Arena" is an instructive moment for Kirk, who demonstrates an openness befitting his role when confronted with the possibility of guilt and wrongdoing. It’s also an iconic, much-loved moment as Captain Kirk battles the ruthless Gorn captain.

6 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1, Episode 2 - "The Corbomite Maneuver" & Season 2, Episode 11 - "The Deadly Years"

Kirk saves the Enterprise with a skillful bluff.

When the USS Enterprise encounters the Fesarius in “The Corbomite Maneuver,” Kirk is locked in a pattern of escalating diversions and ruses with the clock counting down to the destruction of the Enterprise. Kirk is increasingly stymied until a chance mention of chess and bluffing leads to the realization of a large-scale poker match. Feigning impatience, Kirk raises the stakes with a bluff about a defensive corbomite device installed on the ship that results in the destruction of any attacking ships and ultimately cultivates a first and friendly exchange scheme with the Fesarius’ commander, Balok (Clint Howard).

In “The Deadly Years,” a rapidly aging Captain Kirk is removed from command, with Commodore Stocker (Charles Drake) taking over in his stead. Stocker quickly has the Enterprise violating the Neutral Zone and under attack. When the virus’ potential remedy “could cure or kill,” Kirk doesn’t hesitate to receive the first dose. Recovered, he returns to the bridge and broadcasts a bluff over a coded channel known to be broken by the Romulans, allowing for the Enterprise’s escape. These episodes highlight Kirk’s quick thinking, command experience, and dedication to the security and well-being of his crew, even in the face of emotional loss and personal suffering.

5 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1, Episode 24 - "Space Seed" & Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

Captain Kirk fought & defeated Khan Noonien Singh

Star Trek: The Original Series introduces the franchise’s greatest villain in the season 1 episode, “Space Seed.” Awoken from suspended animation, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) and his crew of genetically advanced augments scheme to take over the Enterprise through a campaign of influence, violence, and deliberate cunning. A later appearance in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan sees Khan acting on a personal vendetta against William Shatner’s multi-faceted iral Kirk.

Outmuscled and outmaneuvered, Kirk must employ originality and lateral thinking in both instances in order to defeat his greatest foe. Spanning multiple levels of emotional manipulation, control, and physical threat, the shared respect, intellectual struggle, and balance of skill between these two heavyweight characters is a thrilling and weighty ride that continues to influence the franchise’s many characters and series. A reflection of each other’s limits and vulnerabilities, Kirk and Khan are opposing characters that occupy a revealingly similar space.

4 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 2, Episode 5 - "Amok Time"

Kirk fights Spock in a battle of life and death.

When Spock enters pon farr (the Vulcan time of mating), and Kirk is selected as the opposing champion for Kal-if-fee (challenge), the two close friends and crewmates must fight each other in ritual combat. Desperate to save his friend, driven crazed by blood fever, and awed by the presence of T’Pau (Celia Lovsky) – whom Kirk considered to be “all of Vulcan in one package,” Kirk is hindered by a different atmosphere, superior Vulcan strength, and limited understanding of (secretive) Vulcan customs.

With Star Trek’s two most iconic figures pitted against each other in a battle for survival, this episode – and fight scene – marks a significant moment for Captain James T. Kirk, carefully navigating a sensitive cultural ritual and now facing a personal no-win scenario. As Kirk struggles between the choice of killing Spock or being killed by Spock, it’s Dr. McCoy who ultimately saves both parties. Kirk’s willingness to defy orders and accept risk and sacrifice is again showcased here, alongside an exploration of Vulcan culture, friendship, and morality.

3 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season X, Episode X - "Balance of Terror"

Captain Kirk faces off against a formidable Romulan enemy.

A mysterious, unidentified vessel attacks multiple Starfleet outposts along the Neutral Zone. The attacker is soon identified as a Romulan ship capable of cloaking, and Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise embark on a deadly battle of nerve and tactical mastery. Identified as one of Star Trek: The Original Series and Captain Kirk's best episodes, “Balance of Terror” showcases Kirk’s ingenuity and strategic genius to great effect.

William Shatner’s performance as Kirk is skillful and measured here, allowing for an unusual insight into the character’s thinking processes, morality, and tactical genius. At all times, he’s considered, sensitive, responsible, commanding, and capable. Offering a unique perspective on the progression between Human and Romulan relations and a valuable understanding of Captain Kirk’s balance of instinct, analysis, and control, this episode absolutely deserves mention among his greatest moments.

2 Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 1, Episode 28 - "City On The Edge Of Forever"

Back in time to save Dr. McCoy, Captain Kirk embarks on a tragic love story.

When Dr. McCoy accidentally injects himself with a large dose of cordrazine, he becomes hysterical and inadvertently alters the timeline when he jumps through the Guardian of Forever and loses himself in the past. To save their friend and recover their timeline, Kirk and Spock follow McCoy on an unusual journey to America’s Depression. Kirk meets and falls in love with the community-minded and visionary Edith Keeler (Joan Collins), Captain Kirk's best known love interest, but the fate of everything pivots on her unfortunate demise.

Alongside impressive performances from the whole cast, William Shatner convincingly communicates the tender, heartfelt romance and savagery of the choice he is ultimately forced to endure. Considered one of Star Trek’s all-time best episodes for good reason, this deep and resonating story expertly weaves a multi-layered, thought-provoking, and tragic tale of friendship, selflessness, sacrifice, and love.

1 Star Trek III: The Search For Spock

Kirk steals the USS Enterprise.

Star Trek III: The Search For Spock sees Kirk returning to the now off-limits Genesis Planet to save both of his closest friends. Directed by Leonard Nimoy, this emotionally courageous and thrilling movie follows a wayward iral Kirk and the Enterprise command crew sacrificing everything they have for the sake of friendship and family. Kirk disobeys direct orders and commits multiple crimes, engineering the theft of the USS Enterprise and setting a course for Spock.

Star Trek III is raw, dramatic, and emotionally intense, with Star Trek’s iconic heroes giving up everything to save their friends. Kirk’s close bond with Spock and the ailing Dr. McCoy sets the stakes as incredibly personal and of the utmost importance, later intimately compounded by the murder of Kirk’s son David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) and the destruction of the USS Enterprise on Kirk’s command – an unthinkable act in any other circumstance. This movie vitally enhances Kirk’s established character, his raw emotions conflicting with the morality of his Starfleet vow, originating a later uncharacteristic resentment against the Klingons and fracturing a carefully cultivated façade.

Stretched to his limits, Kirk’s many sacrifices are borne of desperation and attachment – contrasting a lifetime of sacrificial moments stemming from responsibility and inner strength. Over the course of Kirk’s multi-decade adventures, many moments of significance and valor demonstrate the character’s deepest motives, fond charm, and giant heart. Shatner’s excellent and nuanced portrayal of Star Trek’s most famous captain cements a legacy of exceptional standout moments. Happy Birthday, William Shatner!

Star Trek: The Original Series is available to stream on Paramount+.

Star Trek movies I-X are available to stream on Max.