The titular quote comes from the climax scene of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” While this aired on September 22, 1966 as the third episode of the first season, “Where No Man Has Gone Before” was produced in 1965 as the second pilot for the seminal series. It sets the stage for all that is Captain Kirk.
Briefly, (spoiler alerts here, but if you haven’t watched it yet, that’s another issue), Captain Kirk’s good friend Gary Mitchell (played by actor Gary Lockwood), gains God-like powers when the starship Enterprise becomes the first vessel to go beyond the barrier at the edge of the galaxy (hence, “Where No Man Has Gone Before”). In a fight to the death, Kirk (with a little help) prevails. Despite his near-fatal confrontation, Kirk says Mitchell died in the line of duty because “He didn’t ask for what happened to him.”
“Where No Man Has Gone Before” stands out as a story of the bonds of friendship and its undying importance to Captain Kirk. Of all his friendships, it’s the one between Kirk and Spock that has come to define the story arc of The Original Series. As the characters develop, by the penultimate 28th episode of the first season (“The City on the Edge of Forever”) we hear Edith Keeler define what we’re seeing. When Spock asks her where she believes he and Kirk belong, she says, “You? At his side.”
The first episode of the second season (“Amok Time”) emphatically shows the depths of the friendship between these two characters. Kirk defies orders potentially sacrificing his career to help Spock. In the process, he must “die” to save Spock. Spock nearly cracks a smile when he realizes Kirk isn’t dead.
It isn’t until midway through the third and final season (episode 14, “Whom Gods Destroy”) that we see both Kirk and Spock agree their connection transcends their military rank. Kirk tells the deranged leader who captured a Federation prison he and Spock are brothers. When asked if this was true, Spock says, “Captain Kirk speaks somewhat figuratively and with undue emotion. However, what he says is logical and I do, in fact, agree with it.”
The culmination of this relationship occurs in the second movie for the original cast (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn). As Spock lies dying after saving the ship and its crew, he tells Kirk, “I have been …and always shall be …your friend. …Live long …and prosper.”
Unlike Kirk in “Amok Time,” Spock’s Wrath of Kahn death wasn’t fake. It took a bit of plausible creativity to bring him back to life in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Nothing like a spoiler alert in the title. In either case, the original crew remained intact for another three feature-length films. Some of the actors came back to reprise their characters in later iterations of the franchise, if only to reveal their deaths.
Kirk’s was the first and, of course, the most glamorous. He met his demise in Star Trek: Generations, but only after saving the universe as we know it. Presumed dead after disappearing into a mysterious phenomenon known as the Nexus, Captain Picard convinces Captain Kirk to return from the Eden of the Nexus. Kirk meets his fate at the hands of a crazed scientist, Dr. Tolian Soran. Most fans thought the on-screen death a bit superfluous. Many felt it was the only way to get William Shatner to play Captain Kirk one more time. It did not sit well.
Spock’s death occurred off-screen in between the second and third Kelvin-timeline reboot movies (the ones with Chris Pine as Captain Kirk). Unfortunately, Leonard Nimoy passed away before filing for the third movie. His character’s death was noted in that movie.
For all the magnificence of friendship, neither Kirk nor Spock were present at the actual deaths of the other. We’re not counting the scene in The Wrath of Khan, nor are we counting its mirror image in the later Kelvin version, Star Trek Into Darkness.
More poignantly, scheduling conflicts required William Shatner to miss Leonard Nimoy’s funeral. Shatner’s daughters attended and their father wrote of his friend Nimoy, “I loved him like a brother…”
There’s that word again: “brother.”
Life—or, at least, computer-generated graphics combined with great acting—has a way of evening things out in the end. A few weeks ago, in collaboration with the estate of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, the family of Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner, the universe became right again. In commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Trek: Generations, OTOY, Inc. released a short film enigmatically titled “765874 – Unification” (see, https://home.otoy.com/unification/). Even if you’re not a Star Trek fan, you need to watch it right now to understand what I’m about to say.
This 8-minute video opens with the apparition of a God-like Gary Mitchell. Actor Gary Lockwood simultaneously summons his Star Trek role in “Where No Man Has Gone Before” as well as his Frank Poole character in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey.
After a series of scenes beginning with Kirk’s burial plot from Star Trek: Generations, we return to the Nexus paradise where Picard convinced his predecessor to join him. The camera pans up from the classic Beatle boots (with the requisite tucked-in pants) to a somewhat confused but curious face. It’s Kirk as he looked on the day of his death.
Our classic hero then walks through a futuristic garden party where a few recognizable faces send him on his journey. Perhaps as a nod to the ending of 2001, we’re taken through a psychedelic frenzy where a young Captain Kirk meets a middle-aged Admiral Kirk before these two evaporate in front of the eyes of the elder Kirk. It is this Kirk who takes that ultimate walk into an obelisk of bright white light into what can only be anticipated as an undiscovered country.
The last scene stands out as the most striking, the most heart-warming, and the most meaningful. Kirk emerges from the light into what can best be described as a 24th-century hospice room. An old man lies prostrate on a bed in front of a large panoramic window. Kirk approaches with solemn purpose and leans on the bed beside the man. The man’s hand knowingly senses Kirk’s presence and silently moves to grasp the Captain’s hand.
The dying man’s eyes open. The shimmer in them tells you he instantly recognizes his old friend. In that moment, Kirk’s eyes tell you he knows this man is Spock. It’s an older version, but it’s him. Kirk lovingly brings his second hand to join the other two. Spock reciprocates.
The two men relax as if they’ve been relieved of a great burden. They smile, knowing they are together once again. Together to take this one final journey into the setting sun that engulfed the window before them.
This poignant piece hit me hard. Not so much because the characters had meaning to me, but because of the deathbed scene and its complete silence. They didn’t need words to say how they felt. The actions of their entire life defined those feelings. Words could add nothing more.
During one of the last days of my brother’s life, I finally got the chance to go beside him by myself. Too often, someone else was in the room, preventing us from speaking confidentially to each other.
When we were finally alone, at first, we didn’t speak. I grasped his hand as men do. I could tell he wanted to say something, but something was holding him back. “What is it?” I asked.
“They say I need to tell you how much I feel for you,” he said. He struggled. Not for any physical reason, but because saying the words revealed an awkwardness he was less than comfortable with.
Someone was trying to force these words from him. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t me. It was someone who didn’t understand that the natural bond between brothers doesn’t require these words or any words.
My instinct was to relieve his burden. I squeezed his hand and smiled, maybe even laughed a little. I said, “We spent our whole life together revealing how we felt about each other. Will any words change that?”
“No,” he quickly said without a doubt. He squeezed my hand a little harder. I could sense the anxiety had left him.
We spent those remaining moments together as only brothers could.
I couldn’t join him on that final journey. That wouldn’t have been right.
Perhaps, however, when it’s my turn to face the last sunset, he’ll be by my side, and, hand in hand, we’ll make that crossing together.
[…] words can never achieve. Would you like to see an example? Read this week’s Carosa Commentary “‘I’ve Been Contemplating The Death Of An Old Friend,’” and be sure to watch the 8-minute video when […]