8.02.2016

Tangent66: THE DEATH OF JAMES T. KIRK

Two years after James Kirk died in STAR TREK: GENERATIONS, I recall finding a book on the shelves at my local Barnes & Noble called "The Return" - written by William Shatner and Judith & Garfield Reeves-Stevens. The cover showed a reprise of the GENERATIONS movie poster with the tagline "Legends never die..." I picked up the book reflexively and considered for a moment what I was holding. Placing it back on the shelf, I realized that the damage done by the movie was too significant to erase with some make-good, non-canon fanfic.
"If this doesn't go well, I'm sure they'll find a way to write me back in after the fact."
STAR TREK: GENERATIONS didn't just kill off Captain James T. Kirk, it carved him into a hollow, depressing figure who resented being the savior of the Federation. In trying to reveal some new insight into the nature of this iconic hero, the film's writers, Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, ended up contradicting the soul of Kirk.