Did Kirk and Spock smash?

Women kept STAR TREK alive when it was under threat of cancellation. They started the first conventions. Without women, STAR TREK may very well have died in the 1970s. They carried the flame of Trekdom, writing fanzines and creating a new genre of fan fiction, known as slash. Today, we call it shipping.

Kirk-SLASH-Spock, or K/S, are romance and erotic stories of the undying love between the emotional, human captain and the logical, controlled Vulcan science officer. Today’s fans call this Spirk.

Whether intentional or not, OG STAR TREK is filled with queer subtext, from Kirk’s flirty dialogue with Spock to even the half-human/half-Vulcan’s inner struggle.

Kirk and Spock’s bond is a deep love, which surpasses mere friendship. Some say it’s brotherhood. Others say it’s amorous. Me, I’m inclined to believe those women who saved STAR TREK.

Queer trekin’ through the universe

STAR TREK wasn’t originally meant to be a two-hander. Gene Roddenberry’s first concepts for his space show centered around the captain. In the first pilot, Mr. Spock is a secondary character at best. Captain Pike and Number One dominate as the show’s lead and co-lead, with some potential hints at possible romance.

However, when William Shatner joined the cast, all that changed, and Spock moved up to co-lead. The captain was renamed James T. Kirk, after a few early name attempts, such as Peter York (ick). Number One was dropped and her logical baring was given to the Vulcanian science officer, who was also now the first officer.

Unlike Jeff Hunter’s Pike and Majel Barrett’s Number One, Shatner and Nimoy had an undeniable chemistry on screen. While Shatner might deny it, he did look at Spock with “come fuck me” eyes a lot. Even the dialogue between them was flirtatious from the jump.

Yeah, Kirk was smitten from the very first moment they appeared on screen. But did they smash? I say they did, and brought the proof in this Bluesky post.

Your parsecs may very.

But we all know they did.