Shatner’s performance works extremely well with the “pedantic and self-important” material Roddenberry was prone to supply. Kirk, especially early on, shares Lieutenant Rice’s unease at being in command. He never lets on in front of his men, but he’s troubled. He understands that decisions he makes could result in the deaths of his crew, or provoke wars that will see civilians killed; he understands that his enemies can be justified in their actions, and that there are situations where he must reach decisions quickly and live with the consequences. Shatner instinctively saw that a solemn,
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