Makes for a Happy Ending, but to be honest, utterly unrealistic in terms of a structured organization, and create conditions rife for a mutiny against a half-trained (and potentially incompetent) Captain

Do we know he was half-trained? I got the impression he was basically writing his final exam and was ready to graduate.

I mean, Bones was technically a cadet, but he had his medical degree.

Unrealistic? You mean like a deviant demi-god picking on various Captains for fun? I'm not sure realism is the measuring stick Trek goes by.

Just going to put this out there

http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/3...ext-star-trek/

Kirk was in his third year at the Academy.

First of all, LOL.

Second of all, thanks for reminding us all (including me) what this thread was supposed to be about.

Don't split hairs, it's pretty irrelevant whether he was half-trained, a third trained or three quarters trained, it's just a figure of speech. The point is that Kirk wasn't an Academy graduate, and expecting a seasoned crew to follow orders from some kid who never graduated is something which would never happen in the real world.

I know, I know... Suspend Disbelief...

How about the Starfleet commando who wore Jem'hadar ketracel tubes as a necklace? No different to Viet cong chopping off people's ears... There's a fine line between realistic in context and completely implausible...

And Pike specifically said they can be an officier in 4 years (and have their own ship in 8), while Kirk boasted he'd do it in 3, which he did He's under the official grade, for sure, but his talent proved enough to fill that gap

Helping save the Federation probably had a hand in it too
Isn't the point of any fiction to do things that wouldn't happen in the real world?

I agree, and I'm pretty sure the deviant demi-god picking on random Captains falls into the "completely implausible" category. Yet that is a continous theme in TNG, and fans arent mad about that. So my point is once again, realism isnt a central theme in Trek.

Someone once said, I would tell you if I could remember, that the best fiction is taking realistic people and putting them in unrealistic situations and seeing how they react.

In any case, I suggest we all remember the Mystery Science Theater 3000 mantra: "Just repeat to yourself 'it's just a show, I should really just relax.'"