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Sometimes I sit and think about the power that is Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. It’s not an obsession – no, clearly not. I would argue it is a rite of passage for a Star Trek fan!
When I first watched TOS, I thought, this show is cute and hilarious but how can I ever take it seriously? It wasn’t until I began to pay closer attention to the way Kirk, Spock, and McCoy interacted that I realized Star Trek wasn’t just about the broad themes of social/racial/cultural equality and tolerance (the lack thereof) we often times encounter. It was about discovering the right way to live by understanding and respecting how we, at any given moment, may approach some of the biggest obstacles (like injustice) in our lives. Spock always offered the practical approach. And while McCoy’s approach may have sometimes eschewed what was practical, it was humanistic and addressed the conscience. Kirk, on the other hand, was driven towards what felt more intuitive and which, additionally, was often more daring than anything he was advised to do. So throughout the show we got to see how these different approaches worked and what their consequences ultimately were, both good and bad. And more importantly, we saw that when a balance was achieved between intuition, logic, and what was humane that our heroes could overcome nearly anything together. That is, no one approach was necessarily right or wrong but all three combined made the impossible possible.
That, for me, is why Roddenberry gave us a Triumvirate. It is why I believe in them in every universe and why I want to see them do what they do best.
So, can we all take a moment to appreciate this unique and amazing dynamic?
Related Posts:
- Triumvirate Pic Spam! – from February 8, 2014
- Yours Truly and This Day – from November 25, 2013
- Most Precious Face(s) in the Galaxy, Part 2 – from October 29, 2013
- Don’t You Just Love People? – from November 5, 2012
“When I first watched TOS, I thought, this show is cute and hilarious but how can I ever take it seriously?” Totally my reaction – I tried to watch it three separate times, and coming off of TNG could only think YIIIIKESTECHNICOLOR. But finally I got hold of Devil in the Dark, and then after that The Ultimate Computer, and saw what you speak of here. *<3 FOREVER* In every universe, they can only end up the three of them, no more and no less.
I never tire of watching this gif. It always makes me wonder where Kirk would have ended up without Spock and McCoy to balance things out. Technicolor aside, there are some great episodes in TOS. You just have to learn to look past the costumes. And happy new year!
Very, very well said. All hail the Triumvirate! :-D
Yay! Happy new year, my friend! I hope you are well.
…wait, i thought this was common knowledge? like, i thought roddenberry himself was discussing this aspect of the big 3. also lol at not being able to take it seriously – i can remember all the hullabaloo and excitement when they first announced tng and when i saw it i was WTF THIS IS NOT STAR TREK DIAF – i still have trouble taking any of the spinoffs seriously, but tos is always the most realest shit to me. XD
I think it’s known to those of us who love TOS and the Triumvirate in particular – but I can tell you that I’ve encountered many people who don’t know what Roddenberry intended by creating Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. I like to educate them. LOL. I love that TOS was the ‘real shit’ to you and TNG wasn’t, where as kcscribbler experienced the opposite.
pft, to those people i just assume they aren’t watching star trek. if they are and they don’t see it, ain’t nothin’ nobody say gon’ make em see nothin’! a lot of people my age and younger are all about the 7-year spinoffs and always thought i was out of my mind when i used to look at them like they were fools for being so easily duped, but i REMEMBER watching the lame reboot AKA season 1. XD tng didn’t become tolerable until it was almost off the air, and that’s mostly because there was a non-starship feat. a money grubbing alien and Angry Black Capt Kirk
there was a non-starship feat. a money grubbing alien and Angry Black Capt Kirk Best description ever of DS9!
A great post. I am from the older generation who grew up on ToS. So I couldn’t take the later spin offs seriously! (grin) And I LOVE technicolor (not meaning to grapple with the other comment.) I miss “color” in the newer versions and it was completely “gray” in The Motion Picture and TNG and I can’t understand why! It’s so blah-looking. The triumvirate: it’s great. I remember an old fan art piece depicting Kirk, Spock and McCoy dressed as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion from Wizard of Oz. The triumvirate is a wonderful thing!
You know, I always thought TNG came off as a little “gray” too. And that made it so much more somber for me… which is probably why I watch it a lot less frequently than good ol’ TOS. So let me guess – McCoy was the Scarecrow, Spock the Tin Man, and Kirk the Lion? Heh. I can totally see McCoy, while shedding straw, grumbling about Spock’s tin-plated heartlessness. :D
I think Kirk was the Scarecrow because Scarecrow was the leader. McCoy is the non-fighter, peaceable…not cowardly, but I am afraid he ended up as the Lion.
i’m late to this party also…but i did benefit from reading the other comments posted here… the one mentioning the wizard of oz…the scarecrow, tinman and the lion… we have had a discussion or two about my associating them with the triumvirate… I am also older and watched first run TOS…never took to the other series….it actually wasn’t until reboot trek that I bothered with anything other than the original ….. in my mind this is who was whom….the tin man i can see as spock..but the lion makes me think of bones only in that his bravery was not ‘loudly’ shown on trek…basically bones was thought of as the ‘weak’ one even though i never viewed him this way…..and I can see Kirk as the scarecrow because he has the ability to be pulled in two directions (by bones and spock’s opinions) without being permanently damaged and if he gets to careless and leaps without looking he gets burned….
I remember that conversation! That’s a very good analysis of character.