Of course I must bow to you both in the matter of House affiliation. :) But I dunno...I can see Kirk as driven right enough, but devious? He just gave off such a vibe of being satisfied with what he had - which was basically being the ultimate male fantasy. That's why I could never work up a decent loathing for him, even at moments when I knew I should; after all, why shouldn't he enjoy himself?

Now you've got me genuinely interested, actually. :) He was the Captain, he was on a starship, he got all the babes and saved the universe at least twice a week - what's left to scheme for?

in my head, Blish is my preferred canon... The special effects are better, too.

This. To the power of ten. I can still recall the one ep - for the life of me I can't remember the title, but it had primitive tribes warring over a pregnant chief's wife who I think was Julie Newmar.
Anyway, clearly even Blish couldn't totally save this one...but at least on paper, the primitive tribes weren't wearing what looked like fringed lampshades on their heads. I can still recall the thrill of horrified disappointment when I caught that promo.