This article could easily have been called "James T. Kirk's Top Five Loves", one of which would undoubtedly be the Enterprise, or "James T. Kirk's Top Five Seductions", but those titles didn't quite convey the connotation I was looking for. As everybody who ever watched Trek Classic knows, the good captain had his fair share of women, getting involved with a different one once every three episodes or so.

The man oozed excess testosterone, which might have explained his hair loss later on. You'd think the 23rd century would learn to regrow it better. Then came the 24th century look when baldness was "in". But I digress. It was also his self-confidence that made him without question a chick magnet. This aspect of the character undoubtedly appealed to the uber-nerds who watched Star Trek then and now.

Kirk has been accused of being sexist and misogynistic. I don't believe that's true, but I do think Kirk's very nature prevented him from having any long-term or lasting relationships. He wasn't that good at discussing his feelings (sensitivity obviously also didn't become "in" until the 24th century). He was too busy saving the universe as he knew it. In this sense, he was self-destructive. I sometimes wonder what a date between him and Carrie Bradshaw from Sex And The City would be like.

Some of his short-term relationships influenced him more than others. It's questionable if he even had sex with some of them, but I like to think he did.

Edith Keeler - This brief relationship from "The City on the Edge of Forever" is considered to be Kirk's ultimate relationship. Let's face it -- he nailed a young Joan Collins. I don't know a single heterosexual male who wouldn't want to nail a young Joan Collins.

Unlike many of Kirk's bimbos, she actually had a brain and personality. Moreover, he actually fell in love with her. Not a fling; the real love thing. In the original script it was Spock that was supposed to hold back McCoy and allow her to die, which reinstated the original timeline. After Gene Roddenberry and company got through with it, it was Kirk that held McCoy back. I like Harlan Ellison's original version better. Who would allow the love of their life to die, particularly a guy like Kirk and his "damn the consequences" attitude.

Miramanee - She was a tribal priestess on the planet Amerind (her tribe was reminiscent of the "American Indian," hence the planet name). She did what no other woman has done before or since: she got Kirk to marry her. Granted, he was under the influence of an alien obelisk and amnesiac at the time, but it did still happen. She was also pregnant with Kirk's child. Sadly, unlike his other child, this one did not survive. Neither did his wife.

Star Trek Fate made her suffer the famous "red shirt syndrome" when another member of her tribe hits her in the abdomen with a rock and even 23rd century medicine can't save her. Despite (or possibly because of) her astonishing accomplishment, she becomes expendable so Kirk can remain a starship captain.

Lt. Marlena Moreau - She only appeared in the episode "Mirror, Mirror" and she serves as a good example. It's easy to think of Kirk as misogynistic, but he's nowhere near as bad as his evil counterpart from another dimension.

She was the "captain's woman", a position which would provide support and implied sexual favors for the ship's captain. It seemed more of a slave position that one of choice, although there was a degree of power with it. She was a strong character, using the ship's tantalus field weapon to save good Kirk from an assassination attempt by evil Sulu. The good Lieutenant Moreau wasn't anywhere near as interesting as her evil counterpart, but good people never are.


Yeoman Janice Rand - It was never explicitly said in the series, but it was implied that she was Jim Kirk's "companion" (not to be confused with "captain's woman"). She took care of Kirk's manly needs while he was busy saving the universe. Of all the women listed, I think she can take the title of having slept with Captain Kirk the most, since she was there for multiple episodes of Season One. She could have sex with Kirk dispassionately for the good of Starfleet (or maybe she couldn't, which explains her absence in subsequent seasons).

I never understood the position of "Yeoman" in the original series. It seemed more of a glorified secretary. However, noting that most Yeomen were attractive women, well, that's where the "implied" part comes in. You can stop judging me now.

Dr. Carol Marcus - Okay, she's a movie character, but I've included her in this list because it was mentioned in Kirk's first episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before" that he had a fling with a "little blonde lab technician" who is presumed to be Carol Marcus. Unlike the other women in this list, she had Kirk's baby and didn't even get killed before giving birth.

Actually, Kirk's son grew to a fine young man before he was killed by the Klingons, leading to a hatred of the race that lasted until Star Trek VI. We never did learn what happened to Carol Marcus. Since she had Kirk's baby and the kid died, I suspect she died from "red shirt syndrome" at some point afterwards.

That's my list. Who did I miss?