The crew of the USS Enterprise-D on Star Trek: The Next Generation did something that would have baffled Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). As Captain of the USS Enterprise, Kirk devoted his life to Starfleet, going above and beyond to look out for his ship and his crew. Although Kirk had a son with Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), she chose to raise their son David (Merritt Butrick) alone, as Kirk was always off traveling the galaxy. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), too, chose to focus on his Starfleet career rather than starting a family.
Both Kirk and Picard came to see their USS Enterprise crews as their family, but Jean-Luc later got a chance that Kirk never did. In Star Trek: Picard season 3, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) crashed back into Jean-Luc's life, revealing that she had given birth to their son, Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), twenty years before. After the shock wore off, Jean-Luc took the time to get to know his son, something that Kirk never really had the chance to do. Tragically, Kirk's son, David, was killed by the Klingons in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.
Captain Kirk Would Be Baffled Star Trek: TNG’s Crew Had Children
Kirk Couldn't Understand How Starfleet Officers Found Time To Have Children
In Star Trek Generations, Captain Kirk visits the bridge of the USS Enterprise-A to send the ship off for its shake-down cruise. While there, he's introduced to helmsman Ensign Demora Sulu (Jacqueline Kim), the daughter of Hikaru Sulu (George Takei). Kirk says it "absolutely amazes" him that Sulu ever found time to have a family, but Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) points out that "if something's important, you'll make the time." Unlike most of the crew from Star Trek: The Original Series, many of the USS Enterprise-D crew members found time to become parents.
Dr. Beverly Crusher was already a mother to Ensign Wesley Crusher (Wil Wheaton) when Star Trek: The Next Generation began, and she was still a skilled doctor and intelligent scientist. Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn) became a father to Alexander (Brian Bonsall) on TNG, although he will not be winning any father-of-the-year awards. Captain William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) became parents after Riker took over command of the USS Titan. Commodore Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) had two daughters by the time of Star Trek: Picard, and even Data (Brent Spiner) spawned newly upgraded androids, including Soji Asha (Isa Briones).
Why Captain Kirk Didn’t Raise A Family Of His Own
Kirk Never Came Across As A Family Man Anyway
Captain Kirk was relatively early in his Starfleet career when Carol Marcus gave birth to David, and she did not want to follow him across the galaxy. Carol felt like David would be better off with her, and he eventually followed in his mother's footsteps to become a scientist. David was already a young adult when Kirk met him in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and both returned to their work after the events of the film. There were other times when Kirk attempted to settle down, but something always brought Jim back to Starfleet.
In Star Trek Generations, Kirk found himself in the Heaven-like Nexus realm, where he had the chance to live a life with his lost love, Antonia (Lynn Salvatori). Although Kirk once considered sharing his life with Antonia, he instead chose to return to Starfleet. Even in the Nexus realm, Kirk could not settle into a domestic life, choosing instead to return to the real world with Captain Picard. Although Star Trek: The Next Generation's Picard got the chance to have a family late in life, Kirk was killed in the fight to stop Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), robbing him of any opportunity to settle down.
