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In Star Trek Beyond, a few days before the anniversary of Captain Kirk's father's death, he and Dr. McCoy have a sip of 30 year old scotch taken from Chekov's locker. Bones pours a finger into 3 glasses. I assume the third glass is to remember George Kirk. Then he makes a toast: "Here's to perfect eyesight and a full head of hair." Wha?!

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In TOS: the Corbomite Maneuver Bones serves Captain Kirk something that might be scotch. Perhaps he was going to make a toast but Yeoman Rand interrupts their conversation with a salad - of all things. There are other countless times when they have a drink, but a lot of people draw a parallel to the Romulan Ale they share in The Wrath of Khan.

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Whatever the time, I don't remember Bones ever making a toast. Is this a reference to some previous toast I can't remember? Is this a nod to the glasses Kirk had in Star Trek IV? Is it a joke about Shatner's toupee? Anyone have any insight?

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  • "a nod to the glasses Kirk had in Star Trek IV"--those glasses were a birthday present McCoy gave Kirk in the scene from the beginning of Wrath of Khan that you posted the screenshot from, and in that scene the fact that Kirk didn't have good eyesight anymore was part of a theme the movie was setting up about him feeling like he was getting old. So the toast in Star Trek Beyond was probably a sort of ironic reference that was meant to contrast with that scene, although I don't know of any definite confirmation of this from anyone involved with the movie.
    – Hypnosifl
    Aug 4, 2016 at 19:43
  • Spielberg threatened to sue for "Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women." :D
    – PoloHoleSet
    Aug 4, 2016 at 20:44

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Pure supposition, but the toast was almost certainly a playful jab at both the actor (William Shatner) and the character he portrayed (James Kirk)

Perfect Eyesight

Kirk was known to be allergic to Retinax, a drug which would have improved his eyesight. He was forced to rely on a set of antique reading glasses for fine work.

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Head of hair

William Shatner has faced some merriment and criticism over the years for the poor quality of his wigs, designed to cover up extensive baldness.

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  • Is that true? Is Shatner really bald? How do we know that?
    – Jerry Nixon
    Aug 9, 2017 at 23:13
  • @JerryNixon-TOS - Discussed extensively (and obsessively) here
    – Valorum
    Aug 9, 2017 at 23:33

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