The original series of Star Trek certainly gave us plenty of background cast members, including those who appeared on the bridge a few times or on away missions. These are the forgotten members of the crew, for the most part, but one character who got more screen time than the others was Lieutenant Kyle, Scotty’s transporter operator and a redshirt who managed to survive the 5-year mission.
Most viewers recognize Kyle by his Australian accent and blond hair, but where did he come from, and what was his Starfleet career like? Let’s take a look at Lieutenant Kyle’s character and his importance to the Star Trek universe.
Mr. Kyle’s first appearance
Viewers first saw Lieutenant Kyle in the episode “Tomorrow Is Yesterday” (S01E19), although he was unnamed at the time. When the Enterprise is hurled back to the past and Air Force pilot John Christopher finds himself aboard, he threatens Kyle with a phaser. Kirk manages to disarm him, but Kyle doesn’t seem to hold any grudges for the people of the past, even offering a meal to one of the Air Force staff members who found himself accidentally beamed aboard. This suggests that Kyle has a laid-back attitude about people, despite his commitment to Kirk and the Enterprise.
A witness to Starfleet history
Viewers first hear Kyle’s actual name and rank in “Who Mourns for Adonias?” (S02E04), as he works to assist Mr. Spock with finding a way through the shield created by Apollo. He proves himself very adept with figures and formulas, as later, he and Scotty find a way to destroy the computer god Vaal in “The Apple” (S02E09).
Lieutenant Kyle (whose first name is either John or Thomas, depending on which source you believe) witnessed a great deal of what later became storied Starfleet history. He survived an attack by Khan Noonian Singh when the former overlord tried to take over the Enterprise. Several decades later, he survived a second attack by Khan after he took over the Reliant and stranded him and the rest of the crew on Ceti Alpha V. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.) While Commander Chekov and Captain Terrell certainly suffered at the hands of Khan, you have to wonder how many nightmares Kyle had about Khan over the years!
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