Kirk's sense of recall is amazing.
-
magolding-94772 — 9 years ago(October 13, 2016 08:49 PM)
I have always suspected that Kirk's knowledge of the Gunfight at the OK corral had something to do with his ancestors who settled the Old West.
KIRK: (reading from a newspaper pinned up) October 26, 1881. Tombstone, Arizona.
MCCOY: Tombstone. Hell for leather, right out of history.
KIRK: But why here? And why now?
SPOCK: Captain, the Melkot said you were the pattern. He looked into your mind and selected what he considered the proper time and place for our punishment.
KIRK: Because my ancestors pioneered the American frontier.
SPOCK: Yes. The violence of your own heritage is to be the pattern for our execution.
So Kirk did have ancestors "who pioneered the American frontier".
Note that in a reproduction of the Gunfight at the OK Corral in "Spectre of the Gun" the Erps seem unusually sinister compared to their usual depiction. This could be because the Clantons were the losers so the other side had to appear menacing to our heroes acting the part of the Clantons.
Or it could be because Kirk's image of the Gunfight at the OK Corral was formed by family stories about specific ancestors involved with a specific time and place in the settling of the est, ancestors who had a specific surname. Maybe McLowery, Claiborne, or Clanton. -
narnia4 — 9 years ago(October 13, 2016 09:06 PM)
In the later Trek series, kids are portrayed as being educated in complex subjects at early ages. Kids in the future are apparently supposed to be much more intelligent than children today. The most obvious example is Wesley Crusher, but occasionally there will be a guest star shown doing advanced astrophysics as homework or something.
If you apply what we see in those later series to TOS, then it's possible that the Enterprise is filled with multi-talented geniuses with a great deal of knowledge about many different subjects. With that in mind, and factoring in Kirk's fondness for U.S. History (grew up in Iowa, Lincoln is a personal hero, a big fan of the U.S. Constitution, etc.), it doesn't seem to be too big of a stretch that Kirk should remember those things (especially about the OK Corral).
Of course, the show isn't always consistent. Sometimes Kirk seems perfectly familiar with 19th and 20th century Earth, while at other times he needs some help from Spock. -
timmytony80 — 9 years ago(October 17, 2016 05:11 PM)
Kirk was a Science Officer, like Spock, on the USS, I forget. Just before assuming Command of the Enterprise. And rem' guys, they're on a science/military expedition.
Besides, The Gunfight At The O.K. Corrail is only the most famous gunfight in history. -
ben-thayer — 9 years ago(October 19, 2016 07:22 AM)
Kirk was a Science Officer, like Spock, on the USS, I forget.
Kirk served as an Ensign on the Republic, and as a lieutenant on the Farragut, some sources say as a member of the phaser crew and others say the navigator.
However I don't recall any references to Kirk serving as a science officer, nor can I find any reference to him holding this position before assuming command of the Enterprise.