Star Trek’s original 1960s TV series contains a noticeable continuity error in its third episode.
In ‘Where No Man Has Gone Before’, the third episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, fans have identified a name inconsistency. The episode, which premiered in September 1966, marked the debut of William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, the commanding officer of the USS Enterprise.
In this episode, the Enterprise crew faces off against their own helmsman, Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood), who acquires telekinetic abilities after the Enterprise crosses the galaxy’s edge during a botched rescue mission.
Mitchell, increasingly arrogant and power-hungry, claims godlike status and attempts to impose his will on the crew using his newfound powers.
During one scene, Mitchell mocks Kirk with a tombstone he has prepared, which reads “James R. Kirk”—a puzzling detail since Kirk’s middle name is Tiberius.
Fans quickly noticed this inconsistency and struggled to find an explanation. On Reddit, one user mentioned that despite various theories, there is “no hard canon explanation for it.”
Another commented: “Why didn’t they fix that? Obviously there has been enough times where it has been established that Kirk’s middle initial begins with a T.”
A third user joked: “The person who signed Kirk up for Starfleet was a rubbish touch typist.”
Is this middle initial slip simply an error, or does it have an explanation?
Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry provided an explanation tied to Mitchell’s fundamental humanity.
According to DC Fontana, in the introduction for Star Trek: The Classic Episodes 1, when the error regarding the consonant confusion was noticed, Roddenberry decided that, if asked about the inconsistency, he would attribute it to Mitchell’s mistake.
“Gary Mitchell had godlike powers, but at base he was human,” Roddenberry said, as reported by The Daily Star. “He made a mistake.”
This is just one of many errors and plot holes found throughout the Star Trek franchise. Even newer TV series and films have featured mistakes that fans have noticed. For instance, Game of Thrones fans spotted a Starbucks cup in season 8, and the Duffer brothers, creators of Stranger Things, admitted they considered retconning Will Byers’ birthday after viewers noted a discrepancy.