Walter Koenig Says Captain Kirk’s Star Trek Generations Death Was “Unforgivable”

Star Trek: Generations

Summary

Walter Koenig call the way Captain James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) died inStar Trek Generations"unforgivable " . Koenig reprize Pavel Chekov in the opening scene ofStar Trek Generations , and , like William Shatner , it was the last time Walter canonically portrayed his iconicStar Trekcharacter . Koenig currently joinsThe 7th Rulepodcast for a monthly review ofStar Trek : The Original Seriesepisodes with hosts Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T. Husk .

OnThe 7th Rulepodcast ’s review ofStar Trek : The Original Seriesseason 2 , episode 6 , " The Doomsday Machine " , Cirroc Lofton , Ryan T. Husk , and Walter Koenig were impressed with guest star William Windom , who played Commodore Matt Decker . Traumatized by the planet - killer whale robot wiping out the crew of the USS Constellation , Decker goes on a suicide military mission to destroy the Doomsday Machine . Koenig contrasted Decker ’s ultimately heroic sacrifice with the underwhelming wayStar Trek Generationskilled off Captain Kirk . Check out Walter ’s quote and watchThe 7th Rulevideo below :

It makes me think [ of ] Star Trek : The Next Generation ’s first movie … the way they wrote off Captain Kirk was , I think , just unforgivable . He should have give out trying to save the ship … He dies on a bridge or something , and he falls down , and he ’s drained . If they ’re break to kill off somebody as crucial as Captain Kirk , then it should be heroic .

Now , WIlliam Windom , his nous is going and he ’s in bad shape , but at least you understand why he ’s doing this and you could finger for him . He has an extraordinary sense of guilt trip because his gang was all killed . Now , I really call up it would n’t have taken that much … that Kirk should have had a heroic conclusion . Could ’ve , should ’ve . If he was kick the bucket to exit , he should have die trying to save the ship or something of that nature .

Star Trek Generations not only passed the flashlight to the cast of The Next Generation , it also revealed the ultimate luck of Captain James T. Kirk .

Why Walter Koenig Is Right About Captain Kirk’s Star Trek Generations Death

Kirk’s death didn’t satisfy anyone

Walter Koenig is a author who understands good storytelling , and he ’s right about Captain Kirk ’s destruction inStar Trek Generationsnot befit a hero of Kirk ’s height . pour down off Kirk was a mandate from Paramountas part of passing theStar Trekmovie franchise from Captain Kirk ’s original crew toStar Trek : The Next Generation ’s cast . However , writers Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga , as well as manufacturer Rick Berman , create a scenario where Kirk dies in an underwhelming way while teaming up with Captain Jean - Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) to block lunatic Dr. Tolian Soran ( Malcolm McDowell ) .

What ’s substantial about Kirk ’s death is that it has cleave for 30 years .

It ’s dissatisfactory thatStar Trek Generationsdidn’t conjure a path for Captain Kirk to step aboard Captain Picard ’s USS Enterprise - D and see thenext generation of his dear Starship Enterprise . William Shatner also did n’t get to interact with theStar Trek : The Next Generationcast other than Patrick Stewart . However , what ’s significant about Kirk ’s decease is that it has stick for 30 years , andStar Trekhas not canonically resurrected William Shatner ’s Captain . ButWalter Koenig clearly takes umbrage that guest star Commodore Decker inStar Trek : The Original Serieswent out on a liberal blazing of glorythan Captain Kirk did inStar Trek Generations .