Commander Kyle was a male Starfleet officer in the 23rd century. He served aboard the USS Enterprise between 2267 and 2270 under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, during a historic five-year mission that starship undertook. He held the rank of lieutenant during the five-year mission and was assigned primarily to the operations division. His main duties on the Enterprise included transporter chief and engineering assistant. He was also trained to operate the helm and the science station. In 2285, he was a commander assigned to the USS Reliant under the command of Captain Clark Terrell. He later served as the communications officer on that ship. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday", "Space Seed", "Who Mourns for Adonais?", "The Doomsday Machine", "The Apple", "The Immunity Syndrome"; TAS: "Beyond the Farthest Star", "Bem"; Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Starfleet service
After the Enterprise was accidentally hurled back in time to the year 1969, Kyle was threatened in the transporter room by John Christopher when he, a United States Air Force pilot, pointed a phaser at Kyle and demanded to be beamed down to Earth. Captain Kirk disarmed Christopher and prevented the escape. After an airbase staff sergeant was inadvertently beamed aboard, Kyle served him chicken soup from a food slot in the transporter room, before the Enterprise made a return voyage to 2267. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday")
Khan attacking Kyle
Kyle was in the same room when Lieutenant Marla McGivers threatened him with a phaser on stardate 3141.9. He was rendered unconscious by Khan Noonien Singh while Khan, a 20th century despot, enacted a plan to hijack the Enterprise. Kyle later recovered from this ordeal. (TOS: "Space Seed") However, he was assaulted in the transporter room by a cordrazine-crazed Doctor Leonard McCoy later that year. After Lieutenant Galloway discovered Kyle unconscious on the floor, he was revived. (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever")
Kyle beamed aboard a dead Lieutenant Jackson during a mission to Pyris VII. (TOS: "Catspaw") He later assisted First Officer Spock in finding a weakness in Apollo's force field, on stardate 3468.1. (TOS: "Who Mourns for Adonais?") He beamed a damage control party over to the USS Constellation and returned them safely to the Enterprise during battle with a "planet killer" on stardate 4202.1. (TOS: "The Doomsday Machine") He was later too sedated to work the transporter controls, so Kirk and Spock had to beam a Redjac-possessed Hengist out into deep space themselves. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold")
Kyle aided Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott in loosening Vaal's hold on the Enterprise on stardate 3715.3. (TOS: "The Apple") He inadvertently beamed aboard the mirror universe counterparts of Kirk, McCoy, Scott and Lieutenant Nyota Uhura when an ion storm on the Halkan homeworld disrupted the transporting process. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")
Kyle at the helm
On stardate 4307.1, in the year 2268, Kyle was at the helm of the Enterprise while the ship journeyed through a space amoeba. (TOS: "The Immunity Syndrome") The next year, he sent a landing party over to planetoid Memory Alpha and beamed them safely back after the planetoid was attacked by non-corporeal Zetarians. (TOS: "The Lights of Zetar")
Later that year, Kyle grew a mustache. He transported Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Scott over to an insectoid ship on stardate 5221.3. He locked onto them when explosions erupted aboard the alien vessel and returned them safely to the Enterprise. (TAS: "Beyond the Farthest Star") He transported a cosmic cloud's villi into Scott's force field box to regenerate the ship's antimatter reserves on stardate 5371.3. (TAS: "One of Our Planets Is Missing") He also beamed aboard an alien disguised as long-lost philanthropist Carter Winston, not realizing that the newcomer was, in fact, an imposter. (TAS: "The Survivor")
After temporarily succumbing to the effects of Harry Mudd's love crystals, Kyle transported Kirk and Spock down to a planetoid to rescue Nurse Christine Chapel. (TAS: "Mudd's Passion") He assisted the bridge crew on stardate 5577.3, when Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu broke a leg in a fall. (TAS: "The Terratin Incident") On stardate 7403.6, he beamed down a landing party, with Pandronian representative Ari bn Bem, on a scouting mission to Delta Theta III. (TAS: "Bem")
By stardate 8130.4, Kyle sported a goatee and had transferred to serve aboard the Reliant as a communications officer. While in orbit around Ceti Alpha V, he was unable to communicate with Terrell and Commander Pavel Chekov on the planet surface, not realizing that they had encountered Khan and his followers. Kyle was stranded on the planet when they hijacked the Reliant. After Khan was defeated in the Battle of the Mutara Nebula, Kyle and the rest of the Reliant crew, on stardate 8141.6, were rescued by the Enterprise. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
Appendices
Appearances
- TOS:
- TAS:
- "Beyond the Farthest Star"
- "One of Our Planets Is Missing" (no lines)
- "The Survivor" (no lines)
- "Mudd's Passion" (no lines)
- "The Terratin Incident" (no lines)
- "Bem" (no lines)
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Background information
Kyle with a mustache
Kyle was a recurring character played by English-born actor John Winston. He first appeared in "Tomorrow is Yesterday" and was given onscreen credit as "Transporter Chief". He had no set identity until Spock addressed him as "Lieutenant Kyle" in "Who Mourns for Adonais?".
Kyle was originally set to appear in "The Tholian Web", but Winston was not available at the time the episode was filmed, so the character was replaced by O'Neil (Sean Morgan). (These Are the Voyages: TOS Season Three)
For the Animated Series, he had a mustache and was voiced by James Doohan. The script for "Beyond the Farthest Star" mentioned that the character had to be voiced with a British accent. Winston wore a goatee when he reprised the role of Kyle for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Christopher Doohan, son of James Doohan, stated on his Twitter account that he portrayed Kyle for his uncredited cameo in the film Star Trek.
Apocrypha
Kyle was born on Earth. According to the comic book "Who's Who in Star Trek 1", he was born in Adelaide, Australia and his father was a sales representative for one of Earth's largest transportation companies. The novel Traitor Winds established his birthplace as Sydney, Australia. The video game Star Trek: Starship Creator mentioned that he was born in Sheffield, England in 2241.
"Who's Who in Star Trek" stated that he attended Perth Engineering College. His personnel file in Star Trek: Starship Creator noted that he graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2263. He was assigned to the USS Bull Run as a transporter technician. He was promoted to lieutenant junior grade after receiving his starship pilot certificate in 2264. He was transferred to the Enterprise as a lieutenant and was estranged from his wife, Rebbecca, and his two daughters, Susan and Dawn, who lived in New Berlin, Luna.
According to Star Trek: Starship Creator, he was assigned to the USS Bozeman in 2278 and became the senior helmsman. He was awarded the Citation for Bravery in 2280 for piloting a shuttle and clearing a safe path for the Bozeman out of a Tholian minefield. He was promoted to lieutenant commander in 2281 and named second officer of the Bozeman. He was transferred to the USS Reliant in 2284 at the request of Chekov and became second officer.
"Who's Who in Star Trek" stated that he was assigned to the USS Hood after the events of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The novel The Fire and the Rose mentioned that he attended Kirk's memorial service at Starfleet Academy in 2293 during the events of Star Trek Generations.
There were inconsistencies with regards to Kyle's first name. In "Who's Who in Star Trek", his first name was Thomas. According to FASA's Star Trek: The Role Playing Game, it was Winston – an apparent reference to John Winston. The novels Present Tense and The Fire and the Rose state that it was John – another apparent tribute to the actor who portrayed him.
External link
- John Kyle at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works