I feel like I owe William Shatner, Gene Roddenberry, the entire cast of Star Trek, and Trekkies all around the world a huge apology. William Shatner has been a part of pop culture my entire life. Some of the earliest memories of my childhood involve sitting around the television with my father back in the early 70’s watching re-runs of the original Star Trek series. As a kid of probably five or six, Star Trek was my first true introduction to the fantastical world of science fiction. The simple stage sets, the gimmicky props, the cheesy special effects, the dramatic acting … I loved it all.
The problem for me came in May 1977 when George Lucas released Star Wars. I hadn’t quite turned seven yet, and I can still remember the TV commercial previewing the film, with the Millennium Falcon flying above the atmosphere of some gigantic planet far below. There was nothing simple or cheesy or gimmicky about what Lucas and Industrial Light & Magic — or at least it’s precursor — had achieved. To my young adolescent mind, it appeared as if Lucas had actually traveled to a galaxy far, far away and filmed actual pilots, rebels, and Imperial troopers fighting real space battles with real lasers.
For me, a line had been drawn, a good-versus-evil, if you will, and I could never go back to watching Star Trek again. True, Star Trek The Motion Picture came out two years later in December 1979. But that was quickly forgotten after Lucas released Empire Strikes Back just five months later. From the moment Star Wars was unleashed on the world, at least on my world, Star Trek would always take a back seat. And as Star Trek tried to maintain its standing in the universe, it always felt like the franchise was Star Wars’ kid brother, running behind, struggling to keep up, always yelling from a block away, “Hey you guys! Wait up! Don’t forget about me!”
Over the years, Star Wars has had its own share of parodies and spin offs. (We would speak the name of Voldemort aloud before ever speaking the name of a certain Christmas Special.) I’m not entirely certain of the tally of which side has had more fun poked at them, but because I’m firmly rooted on the side of Star Wars, I’d have to say it was Star Trek. Of course, I also recognize that Trekkies hold Star Wars in equally high contempt, and would likely argue that Star Wars would win the parody battle. Whatever the tally, the truth of the matter is that Star Trek has existed — and even survived — far longer than Star Wars, simply because its been around longer. And much of that survival (and thriving) can be attributed directly to William Shatner.
My entire life so far (I’m 53 now) was always a comparison between Star Wars and Star Trek and, therefore, a comparison between William Shatner and Mark Hamill (or perhaps Harrison Ford). Yes, Hamill’s Luke Skywalker was a whiny teenage moisture farmer with delusions of grandeur. But we can at least agree that he eventually dropped the whinyness and became a Jedi Master. Shatner’s Captain Kirk, on the other hand, remained virtually unchanged over the course of 79 episodes (the original show only ran three seasons) and five Star Trek movies, not to mention all his guest appearances.
Shatner’s career as Captain Kirk was so influential that the two people, one real and one fictional, became essentially the same being, a sort of Vulcan mind-meld of the two. Shatner was Kirk. Kirk was Shatner. And rather than try and escape the character, Shatner embraced it. He loved the fans. Lived for the fans. Attended the conventions and had so much fun with them. The movie Galaxy Quest captures this love of the series and the fans perfectly. Shatner went on to try and do other things, film projects like Airplane II, Loaded Weapon (parody movies in and of themselves), and Miss Congeniality. He had smaller roles in film and television, as well as several theater and stage productions. He even cut several records, creating his own unique style of poetry set to music.
I never appreciated any of this. Whenever I saw him in anything else, my first reaction was always, “Hey look! It’s Captain Kirk!” Talk about being type-cast. This past month, however, I picked up an audiobook at the library called Boldly Go, Reflections on a Life of Awe and Wonder. Shatner is the reader, which I found to be wonderful. The person I had always known as Captain Kirk was nowhere to be found in this book. Instead, I discovered Bill Shatner, a deeply thoughtful and introspective man who has found wonder and opportunity in every aspect of his life, someone who loves nature and our planet, and also someone who has never taken a single day for granted. Of course, I realize this kind of maturity and appreciation has come after nine decades of living (Shatner is now 92 and, with his love for life, his thoughtful and expressive wisdom, and his seemingly endless energy, he may likely remain with us to form the United Federation of Planets in 2161.)
It’s taken me four decades to understand and appreciate who William Shatner truly is and what he’s actually all about. And I have to say, after reading just this one single book, I am now a big Bill Shatner fan. Trekkies the world over probably saw all this in Shatner eons ago, which is why they’ve stayed true to him all this time. I have to agree. I owe Shatner and all the Star Trek fans a true and sincere apology for not appreciating him more when I was younger, and for spending so many years poking fun at him. I’ll definitely be reading more of his work and also trying to incorporate more of his passion into my own life. You can’t listen to his book and not be inspired by the sense of wonder and awe he has for this planet and the universe. He’s a great role model, and it only took me forty-seven years to realize it.
