Casual Star Trek fans might also be influenced by J. J. Abrams’s version of Kirk. That Kirk is much closer to young Picard. And another thing, for the most part we see Picard as the captain of the Enterprise, he took command of it at 58. At that point most of the wild stuff is in his past, he goes to Risa with the intention of reading a book. We see Kirk as the captain of the Enterprise between 32 and 36, which is much closer to Riker, who is 28 in the first season of TNG. If they ever make a new show with a young Picard who just got command of the Stargazer at 28 it would be a very different show from TNG.
It’s funny cause even though Kelvin Kirk has a huge libido, he still drops women to do Starfleet stuff.
Remember in 2009 when he said “I have to go study.” And Bones said “Study my ass.” And the next scene is Kirk in bed with Uhura’s Orion roommate? This tied into a deleted scene where the Orion girl actually helped Kirk upload a subroutine into the simulator which allowed him to cheat. It wasn’t just a booty call, he went there to give her the program she needed to plant the next morning, that’s why he changed the subject on Uhura when she finds him.
Or in into Darkness when he has twins in bed with him an he literally forgets they’re there once his communicator chirps. One of the girls knows it’s over right at that moment.
Even JJ Abrams made Kirk a nerd.
At that point most of the wild stuff is in his past, he goes to Risa with the intention of reading a book
Yeah, the plot of “Tapestry” is basically that he was wild as fuck as a young adult, but becoming tempered by time gradually led him to who he is; if he chilled out too quickly, he’d just end up as a Lt Paddbringer (which there is no shame in being, especially in the federation)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapestry_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)
Even before 2009, Kirk was known for being a womaniser and a fighter.
Half of the episodes from TOS involve Kirk having to fuck some lady in order to save the day. My complaint is that we are Kirk doing all the cool shit in TOS, while we are mostly told how cool Picard used to be, but he always just seems like a dweeb that everyone is constantly fawning over.
Maybe we should take this as a moment to appreciate complex, well developed characters that arent shallow stereotypes
To write interesting and realistic characters, they have to have layers, conflicting motivations and personal development and growth.
If the backstory is just more of the same, it’s not really that interesting, nor very believable.
But if you can use it to show some of the facets of the character that are not as prevalent in their current behavior, maybe even conflicting with their main traits and how they are perceived today, then that’s interesting, that gives them a new depth, then you want to know how and why they turned out differently and maybe even what would have happened if they didn’t.
This is at the core of the writing for young Kirk and young Picard. Kirk written as a nerd and Picard written as a hothead is in contrast to their current personalities. Not necessarily diametrically opposed, they don’t need to have gotten completely rid of those traits, but they are now subdued, reigned in, overcome or ripened.
So yes, Picard as seen in the present of the series IS a stable, prudent, diligent man of science and morality, while Kirk as seen in the present of the series IS a rebellious, womanizing risk taker full of hope. Both have overcome, mastered or even developed their youthful traits that provided contrast to their current personality into their current traits.
What really blew my mind when I finally got around to watching TOS (I started with TNG, then DS9 and VOY) was how educated Kirk really was. And how few ladies he got with.
Kirk and Picard both excel in smarts, diplomacy, and physical combat. A lot of stuff around TOS/Trek in general is memed and exaggerated.
