william shatner star trek generations

Working With William Shatner On Star Trek: Generations Was A Pleasant Surprise For Patrick Stewart

The final episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," called "All Good Things...," aired on May 23, 1994, bringing seven seasons of a highly successful TV show to a close. The feature film "Star Trek: Generations" was filmed on some of the same "Next Generation" sets, and was shot almost immediately after "All Good Things..." wrapped. The film was released on November 18 that same year. "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" was already on the air at that point, and only took a break from June to September of 1994, meaning Trekkies didn't really have to wait very long to see their favorite show on the big screen. 

Curiously, "Star Trek: Generations" was fixated on themes of "passing the torch," and the film's screenwriters invented a complex time-travel conceit to get Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) together on screen at the same time. Thanks to an idly wandering temporal nexus, the two were able to meet, travel to Veridian III, and take turns punching Malcolm McDowell. This plot was curious as the original "Star Trek" came to an effective close in 1991 with the release of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," and "Next Generation" had clearly emerged as its own entity. There was no longer a need to "pass the torch." 

Regardless, Shatner and Stewart met inside the Nexus and enjoyed an on-screen team-up fistfight together. 

In his new autobiography, "Making It So: A Memoir," Stewart talked a little bit about filming with Shatner, and how the actor, despite a reputation for treating his co-stars badly, was actually a delightful person to work with. 

This wasn't goodbye

Stewart recalls the fast turnaround between the last episode of "Next Generation" and the start of "Generations." He also expressed some regret that the film didn't turn out as well as he had hoped, feeling that the story wasn't anything different than what might have been covered on the TV show. He also, at least initially, balked at the idea of including Shatner in a NextGen movie, as the studio seemed to be displaying a lack of faith in the material. Stewart wrote: 

"But it does highlight the notable pairing of Jean-Luc Picard and Captain James T. Kirk, who, by some writerly trick of extradimensional logic, is allowed to coexist with his successor in his full brown-haired, middle-aged virility. Up to this point, Bill Shatner had been relatively cold to TNG, professing to the press that he'd barely watched any of it, and I was a little disappointed that the producers and writers had decided to insert Kirk into our first movie — it made me feel that they didn't trust the TNG cast to carry a film by ourselves." 

But Shatner proved to be a delight. The two actors, after all, had the common experience of more or less leading a "Star Trek" series. They had also both appeared at "Star Trek" conventions and had likely met a lot of the same people in those ultra-long autograph-signing con lines. They also both had their start in classical theater, having experience with Shakespeare. Stewart played Shylock at the Old Vic in 1965, while Shatner played Duke of Gloucester at the 1956 Stratford Shakespeare Festival (taking over for an ailing Christopher Plummer ). One might wish to hear the two actors' conversation.

'It was ... fun'

About William Shatner , Stewart wrote: 

"I ended up eating my words, for Bill was a pleasure to work with, open and generous, and his death scene is moving. In the film, Picard and Kirk team up to foil a plan by the movie's villain, Tolian Soran, who was played by Malcolm McDowell, a long way from his days as a Royal Shakespeare Company walk-on background actor. Kirk and Picard succeed in locking down Soran's deadly space probe, but not before Kirk makes the ultimate sacrifice to do so, incurring fatal wounds." 

Kirk clung onto a collapsing iron catwalk as it plummetted toward a boulder. Kirk died, speaking to Picard. His last words, Stewart recounts, were "It was ... fun." Then, as the life drained from him, he uttered, "Oh my." Stewart recalled "Our fans loved that Kirk died virtually in Picard's arms, even as they grieved for their original captain."

Some Trekkies were excited enough to see "Next Generation" characters on the big screen that they were happy to overlook the "passing the torch" plot and some of the film's clunkier writing. The film isn't particularly beloved these days, currently sporting a mere 48% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But in 1994, it felt like a miniature event for many people, including this author. It's nice to know that Shatner and Stewart got along and that they had chemistry both on and off the screen. Two Trek legends, at the very least, had a blast filming together. 

William Shatner Explains His Approach To Filming Kirk’s Unusual Death In Star Trek Generations, And It Makes A Lot Of Sense

Star Trek Generations was William Shatner’s final hurrah as James T. Kirk.

Although 1991’s Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country marked the last hurrah for The Original Series cast together, William Shatner ’s James T. Kirk had one more cinematic adventure left in him. Three years later, Shatner reprised his most famous role for Star Trek Generations , which ended with Kirk during his team-up with Patrick Stewart’s Jean-Luc Picard. While the manner in which Kirk died is a polarizing topic among Star Trek fans, Shatner has explained how he approached filming this emotional moment in the franchise’s seventh movie.

In an interview with Variety , William Shatner addressed that he had some “say” in how James T. Kirk perished in Star Trek Generations , namely that the character he’d played for over 25 years by that point would face death with a sense of wonder, which makes a lot of sense. As he explained:

I’m of the opinion that you die the way you live. I thought Kirk would die with a ‘Wow, look at that coming at me. There’s a guy with a scythe. Holy shit!’ He’d seen all these weird aliens before. Here comes death and he meets it with awe and a sense of discovery.

For those who need a refresher, William Shatner’s James Kirk was fatally injured when he fell from a collapsing metal catwalk after de-cloaking the missile that Malcolm McDowell’s Soran, Star Trek Generations ’ main antagonist, planned to launch. You can stream Generations with your HBO Max subscription to remind yourself of the full scope of Soran’s grand plan involving the Nexus, but ultimately he was defeated, and before he died, Kirk told Picard that helping his fellow captain of the Enterprise save the day was “fun.” Kirk’s final words were, “Oh my,” and Picard then retrieved the body and gave it a proper burial on Veridian III. 

Although William Shatner later wrote a series of novels where James T. Kirk was resurrected thanks to an alliance between the Romulans and the Borg, within the official canon, Generations marked the end of his journey. As Shatner saw it, taking into account all the amazing things Kirk saw and did during his years exploring strange new worlds and seeking out new life and new civilizations, of course he would be captivated by the presence of death and embrace walking into the great unknown. For Kirk to face something that grand any differently would feel out of character.

We’re coming up on three decades since William Shatner last played James Kirk, and although the actor was given an opportunity to cameo in 2009’s Star Trek , he turned it down, calling what was written “the stupidest scene I have ever heard of” in 2017. By 2021, Shatner said he would consider playing Kirk again if “they could explain the 55-year difference,” but otherwise he’s keeping busy enough and is comfortable with Star Trek being in his past. Along with sharing his comments about Kirk’s death scene, Shatner has been in the news lately for explaining why he skipped Leonard Nimoy’s funeral and calling Elon Musk out on Twitter .

Meanwhile, Chris Pine played James Kirk in the three movies set in Star Trek ’s Kelvin timeline, but given the numerous setbacks Star Trek 4 keeps facing , it’s hard to say if we’ll ever see him return to that role either. Then in the TV realm, Paul Wesley debuted as a younger version of the main Kirk in the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 1 finale, and he’ll be back for Season 2, which premieres to Paramount+ subscribers on June 15.

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William Shatner

William Shatner is best known for his distinctive voice and his roles on 'Star Trek' and 'Boston Legal.'

Who Is William Shatner?

Actor, director, author, singer William Shatner is best known for his roles on Boston Legal and Star Trek .

Born on March 22, 1931, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Shatner started his career as a child performer in radio programs for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. As a student at McGill University, he continued to pursue acting. Shatner spent his summers performing with the Royal Mount Theater Company. He graduated from the university in 1952 and joined the National Repertory Theater of Ottawa. Working with Sir Tyrone Guthrie, Shatner also appeared in productions at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario.

Early Stage and Screen Roles

In 1961, Shatner had a small part in the Holocaust drama Judgment at Nuremberg , playing an army captain. He had a lead part in The Intruder (1962) as a racist who fought against school integration. On the small screen, Shatner had his first series, For the People , in 1965. He starred on the short-lived drama as an assistant district attorney in New York City.

'Star Trek' Series and Films

The following year, Shatner took on the role that made him famous around the world. As Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek , he commanded the U.S.S. Enterprise , a starship traveling through space in the twenty-third century. Kirk encountered all sorts of unusual aliens and challenging situations during his journeys. Accompanying him on these adventures was his loyal crew, which included first officer Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and medical officer Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley). The science fiction series created by Gene Roddenberry premiered on September 8, 1966, and lasted for three seasons.

During the run of the show, Shatner also made an unusual career move. He recorded an album, The Transformed Man (1968), which featured spoken word versions of contemporary pop hits. Already known for his dramatic, but earnest delivery of his lines on Star Trek , Shatner recorded renditions of such songs as the Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds."

Not long after the album, Star Trek was canceled. The show, however, continued to live on in syndication and became even more popular. Star Trek became a Saturday morning cartoon that ran during the mid-1970s, and it was resurrected a live action film in 1979. Returning to the role of Kirk, Shatner starred in Star Trek: The Motion Picture . The film's warm reception by film-goers showed how much affection the public had for the old series. At the beginning of the film, Kirk has become an admiral, Bones has retired, and Spock has returned to the planet Vulcan. But the three return to work on a new version of the Enterprise to solve a crisis involving a mysterious cloud that has destroyed several spaceships.

In the sequel Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), Kirk has to overcome an old adversary out for revenge, Khan Noonien Singh (Richardo Montalban). He followed with Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986).

The next chapter in the Star Trek film series received a lukewarm reception. For Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Shatner not only returned as Kirk, but made his debut as a feature film director as well. The film, unfortunately, received some fairly negative reviews. Movie critic Roger Ebert called it "a mess," involving "not much danger, no characters to really care about, little suspense, uninteresting ... villains, and great deal of small talk."

Not matter what the reviews said, the Star Trek film series continued at warp speed. The next installments were Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) and then Star Trek Generations (1994). In Generations , the members of the original Star Trek hand the baton to the cast of the spin-off series Star Trek: The Next Generation , marking the end of Shatner's starring role in the franchise.

TV and Movie Roles

't.j. hooker'.

In 1982, Shatner took on a new leading television role in T. J. Hooker , as a veteran police officer who returns to a street beat. The supporting cast included Heather Locklear and Adrian Zmed as younger officers who work with and look up to Shatner's character. Unlike the original Star Trek series, T. J. Hooker was immediately popular with television audiences.

Shatner remained a fixture on television even after T. J. Hooker went off the air, becoming the host for Rescue 911 in 1989. This was an early entry into the reality television genre, featuring reenactments of emergency situations.

'The Practice,' 'Boston Legal'

On the big screen, Shatner appeared as a beauty pageant host in Miss Congeniality (2000) and its sequel Miss Congeniality 2 (2005), with Sandra Bullock . In 2003, he made a guest appearance as a talented, but eccentric lawyer on The Practice . His turn as Denny Crane brought him his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2004. He had been previously nominated for his guest appearance on the science fiction sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun in 1999.

The Practice creator David E. Kelley created a spin-off series, Boston Legal , featuring Shatner's character Denny Crane in 2004. Law partner and master litigator Crane acts as a mentor of sorts to Alan Shore (played by James Spader). For his work on the series, Shatner won his second Emmy — this time for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series — in 2005. More nominations in this category followed in 2006 and in 2007.

'Shatner's Raw Nerve,' 'Weird or What?'

In 2008, Shatner began work on Shatner's Raw Nerve, a celebrity interview program on the Biography Channel. He then worked on another Biography Channel project entitled Aftermath with William Shatner , which focused on the stories of ordinary citizens who became overnight celebrities, and also hosted the supernatural-themed Weird or What?

'$#*! My Dad Says,' 'Better Late Than Never'

In 2010, Shatner returned to sitcom TV in the short-lived $#*! My Dad Says , based on a Twitter feed of the same name. He began hosting the U.S. version of the stop-motion series Clangers in 2015, and enjoyed some success with the reality-travel series Better Late Than Never the following year, alongside Henry Winkler , George Foreman and Terry Bradshaw .

'The UnXplained' on HISTORY

Shatner is the host and executive producer of the HISTORY nonfiction series The UnXplained , which premiered on July 19, 2019, at 10 pm ET/PT. The series tackles subjects that have mystified mankind for centuries, from mysterious structures and cursed ancient cities to extraterrestrial sightings and bizarre rituals.

“It’s an intriguing show that will offer viewers credible answers to questions about mysterious phenomena, while also leaving other theories left unexplained," Shatner said.

Shatner has experienced great success as an author. During the writers' strike of 1987, he transformed a screenplay idea into a novel. The result was TekWar (1989), a work of science fiction featuring a middle-aged private detective working in the twenty-second century. More Tek titles followed and were later adapted for television.

Additionally, Shatner worked with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens to create a series of Star Trek novels, and launched the Quest for Tomorrow and Samuel Lord science fiction series.

Also a veteran of nonfiction, Shatner co-authored Star Trek Memories (1993) and Star Trek Movie Memories (1994) with Chris Kreski. He and Kreski also worked together on Get a Life! (1999), a look at the whole Star Trek fan phenomenon. The actor went on to pen several nonfiction books with David Fisher, including Up Till Now: The Autobiography (2008) and Live Long And...: What I Learned Along the Way (2018).

Marriages and Personal

From 1956 to 1969, Shatner was married to Canadian actress Gloria Rand. The couple had three children together. Shatner married actress Marcy Lafferty in 1973. That marriage ended in divorce in 1996. Shortly thereafter, he married model Nerine Kidd. Kidd's life came to a tragic end in 1999, when she accidentally drowned in a pool at the Shatners' home in Studio City, California.

After such a tragic loss, Shatner was able to find happiness again with his 2001 marriage to Elizabeth J. Martin, a horse breeder. In late 2019, it was reported that the 88-year-old actor had filed for divorce.

As part of his own love of horses, Shatner started the annual Hollywood Charity Horse Show to raise funds for children's charities in 1990.

In late 2017, Canadian Governor General Julie Payette appointed Shatner an Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to popular culture and his charity work.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: William Shatner
• Birth Year: 1931
• Birth date: March 22, 1931
• Birth City: Montreal
• Birth Country: Canada
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: William Shatner is best known for his distinctive voice and his roles on 'Star Trek' and 'Boston Legal.'
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• McGill University

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• Article Title: William Shatner Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
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• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: December 11, 2019
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
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William Shatner Reveals Why Kirk Died in Star Trek: Generations

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How one upcoming marvel hero can take over as the face of the mcu, deadpool & wolverine tracking to obliterate box office.

Though he has since moved on to other projects, William Shatner is still remembered by many as Captain James T. Kirk from the classic  Star Trek  TV series, a role he reprised for the franchise's movie installments. However, as fans will recall, the beloved space hero met an unceremonious end in Star Trek: Generations , when he was killed by the film's main villain Tolian Soran, played by Malcolm McDowell.

To this day, Kirk's death has remained a controversial moment in the Star Trek fandom, but Shatner has recently opened up as to why this move happened, citing the choice as being financially motivated as opposed to creatively.

RELATED: Star Trek: Joshua Jackson Could Be the New Kirk the Movies Need

"So the Producer said, 'We're going to kill Kirk because we think that  The Next Generation  will make more money at the box office,' and I said 'Why? Why do you want to kill the Captain?'” Shatner said in an interview with Comicbook.com . “[They said] 'Ah, the box office, expenses, the budget, and the box office.' And they said, 'Do you want to be a part of it?' And I said, 'Yes, I'll be a part of it.'"

However, in reality, Shatner felt he had little say regarding the decision.

“Well, I didn’t think I had any choice in the matter,” he continued. "Paramount had decided that the ceiling that they could reach in our box office had been reached and they thought that by putting in  The Next Generation  cast, that they would reach a higher box office. That decision had been made. It was either I was going to appear and die, or they were going to say he died. So, I chose the more practical of the two. That was their theory. It didn’t work out that way, but that is the way it was.”

Luckily for fans, Shatner has considered reprising his famous role for a cameo the current series  Star Trek: Discovery  if the writers can come up with a way to explain Kirk's resurrection, so the legendary Enterprise may prove you can't keep a good captain down for long.

KEEP READING: Chris Pine Still Hopes to Be Part of Star Trek 4

William Shatner Shares Regrets Over Captain Kirk's Death Scene in Star Trek: Generations

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• William Shatner aimed to convey Kirk's final moments with a sense of curiosity and courage, seeking a nuanced interpretation.
• The actor felt his ad libbed line, "Oh my," should reflect dread and adventure in facing the unknown and death.
• Shatner's main concern is not Kirk's death but the execution of the character's last words with wonder and exploration.

The character of Captain James T. Kirk, portrayed by the venerable William Shatner , stands as a towering figure in Star Trek's history. As the original captain of the Starship Enterprise, Kirk's adventures and leadership have been a cornerstone of the franchise. However, it is his final moments in the film Star Trek: Generations that have recently resurfaced in discussions, particularly his last words: "Oh my."

I never quite hit it. I never quite got that nuance that I was looking for.

In an interview with Screen Rant promoting the documentary, Shatner shared his thoughts on Kirk's death scene in Star Trek: Generations . He explained that he sought to capture a sense of curiosity and courage in Kirk's final words. Shatner aimed to convey a blend of apprehension and eagerness for the unknown, a characteristic he believed defined Kirk throughout the series. However, he feels that he didn't fully achieve the nuance he was striving for. Shatner shared:

William Shatner: The thing an actor can bring to a written word is the interpretation of how to say it. I love you. I love you. I love you. Variations on the words. So if the writer has written I love you, and the actor gets a hold of it and does something totally unthought of, that's a big deal. The director either gets upset or goes with it. In this case, I thought of Kirk as being so courageous in life that when he faced things that he didn't know about, like the strange, the weird... the entities that the writers thought up, when he faced death, he would face death with a sense of adventure. 'Oh, what's going to happen now?' So I ad libbed, Oh my.' And I wanted that 'Oh my' to be 'Oh my,' like, dreading it but, but looking forward to the adventure - somewhere in between, you know, and it would be very obvious to you what he was thinking. And I never quite hit it. I never quite got that nuance that I was looking for. I had another couple of takes, but they they didn't understand what I was doing. Screen Rant: I've seen that scene so many times. I do feel it. I feel Kirk seeing the great beyond, the great mystery. And I do feel that he meets it with that curiosity... William Shatner: And awe and wonder. Every time he faced an animal, an entity, he didn't say, 'Oh my' [with fear or disdain], he would say, 'Oh, my look at that. I wonder if it's going to eat me?' You know? I think that was his attitude.

Star Trek: Captain Kirk's 15 Best Quotes, Ranked

William Shatner's James T. Kirk was the first captain to take Star Trek fans into the final frontier, and he shared a lot of wisdom along the way.

At the age of 93, Shatner remains a dynamic presence in the entertainment industry, with a career spanning over seven decades. His journey and contributions are showcased in the new documentary "William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill," directed by Alexandre O. Philippe. The film offers a deep dive into Shatner's life, with a significant focus on his iconic role as Captain Kirk .

The death of Captain Kirk served as a pivotal moment in Star Trek lore, signifying the transition from the original series to Star Trek: The Next Generation . The aim was for Kirk to hand over leadership to the new generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard, portrayed by Patrick Stewart. However, despite Shatner's iconic performance, the studio's decision to eliminate Kirk stemmed from a desire to concentrate on the franchise's new phase.

Debating Kirk's Death and William Shatner's Quest for the Perfect Last Words

Throughout the decades, there have been various talks about potentially reviving Captain Kirk, featuring a concept for Shatner to represent an alternative version of the character in Star Trek: Enterprise . Nonetheless, these concepts never materialized. Yet, these ideas never took shape. The approach to Kirk's death has been a point of debate among enthusiasts, with some, including Shatner's fellow cast member Walter Koenig, finding it unsatisfactory .

Despite the ongoing debate surrounding Kirk's final scene, Shatner's main concern is not the character's death itself, but rather the execution of his last words. He wishes he could have imbued "Oh my" with the sense of wonder and exploration that he believes epitomized Captain Kirk.

As Star Trek continues to evolve and captivate new audiences, the legacy of Captain James T. Kirk, as portrayed by William Shatner, remains an integral part of the saga's rich tapestry. Shatner's reflections on Kirk's final words offer a glimpse into the actor's deep connection to the character and his desire to leave a lasting impact on the storied franchise.

Star Trek: Generations

• William Shatner

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Star Trek Generations

Where to watch.

Watch Star Trek Generations with a subscription on Max, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Generations stands as a mediocre changing of the guard for crews of the Enterprise, with a dull plot that sometimes seems like an expanded episode of the television series.

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Audience reviews, cast & crew.

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William Shatner Calls Return To Star Trek “Intriguing Idea,” Suggests Digital De-Aging To Play Kirk Again

| May 6, 2024 | By: TrekMovie.com Staff 61 comments so far

The star of the original Star Trek series (and several Star Trek movies) turned 93 in March, and William Shatner still sees the possibility of returning to the role of James T. Kirk.

Kirk still intrigues Shatner

William Shatner is promoting his new documentary You Can Call Me Bill , which has recently been released on Video on Demand . While out promoting, of course he’s been asked questions about Trek, including one he has been getting for decades: Would you play Kirk again? In a new interview with Canadian Press , Shatner said:

“It’s an intriguing idea… It’s almost impossible but it was a great role and so well-written and if there were a reason to be there not just to make a cameo appearance, but if there were a genuine reason for the character appearing, I might consider it.”

William Shatner as Kirk in Star Trek Generations

Shatner last played Kirk 30 years ago in the 1994 film Star Trek Generations , which featured the death of Kirk. The actor has an idea of for way to bring him back as Kirk. From the Canadian Press interview:

He suggests he could play a younger version of the Starship Enterprise captain as he’s recently signed on to be the spokesperson for OTOY, a company specializing in technology that “takes years off of your face, so that in a film you can look 10, 20, 30, 50 years younger than you are.”

Earlier this year Shatner said he was open to the idea of an AI-generated performance of him as a younger Kirk, but only after he had passed away (and after his family was paid, naturally). But in this case, Shatner is suggesting using technology for his own performance. De-aging has become more common in films today. Perhaps the most extensive use of this was for last year’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny , which shaved around four decades off of Harrison Ford . Star Trek has used digital de-aging before, most extensively in Star Trek: Picard which used it to de-age Brent Spiner as Data, as well as Patrick Stewart as Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Riker.

De-aged Patrick Stewart as Picard and Jonathan Frakes as Riker in “Seventeen Seconds”

Going to the expense of bringing back William Shatner as James T. Kirk and digitally de-aging him would require a specific reason. The franchise has already recast the role twice with younger actors, Chris Pine for the last three feature films and Paul Wesley on the Strange New Worlds television series.

Of course, it’s always hard to tell how serious Shatner is with these comments. In the same interview, he joked about how Kirk could be brought back after his body and brain were frozen:

“‘We’ve got Captain Kirk’s brain frozen here.’ There’s a scenario. ‘Let’s see if we can bring back a little bit of this, a little salt, a little pepper. Oh, look at that. Here comes Captain Kirk!’”

You can hear much more from Shatner, including his regrets about Kirk’s death scene in Generations , in the new documentary You Can Call Me Bill .

Keep with all the Trek celebrity news at TrekMovie .

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Well his body is at Daystrom Station and we did hear the biomedical beep…

Did we just find Legacy’s villain?

A couple of episodes of Discovery back I think Stamets said that this founder of life species could ‘eventually bring them (people) back’.

Could certainly be a way to get characters back from dead.

Not sure how he made the jump from “can encode information in DNA to direct evolution towards a general body plan” to “can reanimate a corpse”, but as good a way as any to bring him back I suppose.

That was a fun ‘cameo’ I wonder how Shatner felt about it ?

I wonder if he’s actually aware that it happened.

It’d be great if they could figure out some way to use that, if, for no other reason than to give Kirk a better send off than the one in Generations. I just saw that film again recently. I used to give it extra points for having Shatner’s last performance as Kirk and the great Picard Kirk chemistry and having Malcolm McDowell as the villain. That’s all great, to be sure. But there is no getting around the clumsy and contrived screenplay. Both Brannon Braga and Ronald Moore have both said they blew it. Malcolm McDowell says GEN was terrible. IIRC, Shatner said a while back that he felt that he just didn’t make Kirk’s death work.

For all those reasons, GEN might be the worst of the TNG films.

I’d be onboard with him playing an older Kirk and there just being no explanation for it. I’d be onboard with voicing Kirk in an animated Trek movie. I’ve got zero interest in seeing him voice some de-aged CGI monstrosity. I’ve got less than zero interest in that; we gotta get negative numbers involved to express how little I’d like for that to happen.

Agreed about the CGI. No thanks. But you make good points as to an animated production, his voice is still strong.

his voice is strong when paired with his age visually, but if you put his 90-year-old voice with a 50-year-old Kirk, you’d bump on it.

The Indiana Jones Dial of Destiny de-aging looked pretty fantastic, but Ford’s voice was, well…weak in comparison. You could just tell it was 80 year old Ford

And Ford was noticeably pitching his voice differently there than for the rest of the movie, too. So you had an actor in better health than most 79 year-olds managing to convince in terms of how he moved, but not quite in how he sounded. I can’t imagine Shatner being able to pull that off, even if they de-aged him back to his 60s. It would need some scripting to not tax him too much physically, and then if any digital tricks were done to his voice… I’d say why bother? It’s such a huge expense – Dial of Destiny cost (and lost) a fortune in part because of the de-aging budget. The Irishman, The Mandalorian and Star Trek: Picard’s big budgets and top talents didn’t hold to convincingly de-aging Robert DeNiro, Mark Hamill and Brent Spiner, respectively.

Find a way to include Shatner as he is now.

or just move to high-quality animation and then you don’t have to worry about aging out

It’d be great, if the fourth Kelvin movie actually gets sorted out, to figure out a way to include Shatner. People have suggested the Nexus, say, Kelvin Kirk meeting Prime Kirk’s image there, but then you have to bring back the whole Nexus thing and figure out a way to put that in.

Maybe use the Guardian of Forever to bring back a deaged Shatner, say, right before the Enterprise B ride? Something like that?

Or, just the cameo thing that Orci wrote with a message to Spock Prime from Kirk Prime that Kelvin Spock shares with Kelvin Kirk. But that’s just a cameo.

There’s definitely a way of doing it. The question is, again, can you do it in a way that services the plot and not as a gimmick or cameo, or something completely contrived as Generations largely was?

Animated and standalone TOS movie-era Kirk movie – that would be interesting. On an adventure with Chekov and Sulu? Certainly a great reason to keep my subscription…

How to rectify that horrendous death scene in Gen/1994, and what credible script can be written for it, the first two things that jump to mind. I’m an old-time Shatner Kirk fan, he’s my favorite Trek character, but I feel this particular ship has sailed. Makes me sad to say so, too. That being said, if it happened I’d be thrilled and all over it.

His body was claimed by Section 31 in something called Project Phoenix, and the wording there is that he was critically injured. There’s a way for a writer to do it.

I can dig that, I’m with you, but we need really GOOD writers.

I keep beating this drum. Trek has really good writers – dozens of them. They *really* need to leverage the novel authors like Ward, Bennett, Mack

I always thought about reworking the rules of the Nexus that could somehow undo Kirk leaving to fight Soran and leave him alive in there.

Alternate timelines are a dime-a-dozen in the franchise. Surely some ship in some series can wander into one where an aged Kirk is still alive…

I wish we could bring back Bill for a proper swan song. I would watch it with no hesitation. Supposedly, Tarantino’s script would have brought back Shstner’s Kirk. Such a wasted opportunity…..it would have been glorious….

Really? Where did you read that?

I heard rumours Shatner might’ve been involved in the supposed ‘Piece of the Action’ style QT film (the script writer saying it had abit of time travel), but i think it was just speculation (id imagine QT wouldve wanted him in there even if just a cameo and I very much doubt Shatner would’ve turned him down)

I don’t care for any of the new stuff. Bring back William Shatner as James T. Kirk along with actually good writers who know Star Trek prior to 2009. Even though TNG and Voyager were the series of my generation and childhood, for me William Shatner IS and forever will be both James T. Kirk and Star Trek. Kirk was a manly man, something surely lacking in today’s culture. Any “Star Trek” poster for the franchise as a whole that lacks Shatner or relegates him to a diminished status or stature in the background is NOT Star Trek. Star Trek, just like Star Wars, needs a major course correction. Cancel all the new stuff, which only a tiny minority of people are even watching and instead Bring back George Lucas to helm Star Wars and William Shatner to star in Star Trek. William Shatner IS the Star of STAR Trek period.

Disagree with me if you wish, because in the United States you are free to be wrong.

I don’t think one in five Paramount+ subscribers is an especially tiny amount.

How about no.

I don’t mind at all, to be honest. Though I’m onboard with Bill Shatner *voicing* Jim Kirk in an animated Star Trek show or movie.

Bill sure knows how to get headlines.

I would love to see him return

i’d like to see him and chris pine do a few scenes together. but its not necessary let shatner move on from the character

Just throwing this out there for free for anybody to use: we all wanted Kirk to go out aboard the Enterprise. Kirk probably wanted that too. So …

You take the unused concept for GENERATIONS (the Hurley script) where they bring Kirk back on the holodeck to help solve a problem only he can. But in the course of the discussion, it is revealed Kirk died on some backwater world. HoloKirk seems a little saddened by this, probably even angry about it, a kind of Danny Glover-esque ‘that ain’t right’ moment (Glover uses that in more than one film, I think, sort o like how he uses ‘all we really got is each other’ in more than one film, at least as I recall, but that’s a digression.)

Later in the film, when all seems lost, HoloKirk winds up piloting an evacuated Enterprise (who cares what letter it is!) into the principal antagonist, thus saving the day once more while also fulfilling his preference (going out on the ship) and his prophecy (dying alone.)

For me, this would pay off the way Kirk should have gone out in the first place, piloting an abandoned smoldering-wreck Enterprise-A into a taken-over spacedock to wipe out Fed/Kling/Rom conspirators who all want an endless and thus endlessly profitable war at the end of a TUC-variant movie. (got the idea from an unused — and mostly godawful — Sean Connery Bond script that had SPECTRE take over the Statue of Liberty, which is then attacked by helicopters, and climaxes with blood dripping out of the statue’s ‘eye.’) Even could have a moment of DOOMSDAYMACHINE-esque humor, as Kirk’s E hurtles toward spacedock, where the dock voice does an echo of ST III with ‘warning, space doors are closed, warning, space doors are closed,’ and Kirk grins wryly and responds, ‘Sorry, I am not programmed to respond in that area,’ a very in-joke ref to I, MUDD. (okay the last bit is probably too much, but when I get goin … )

There, maybe I’ve gotten that out of my system for good now.

BTW, you folks should watch the Bill Mahar from a couple weeks ago with Shat … he was ‘on’ in an unbelievably impressive way, sharper than I can remember seeing him in decades, which is saying a lot. It’s almost like he has settled into a delivery that calls back to ‘here it comes’ from TWOK, very with-it and knowing.

It would be amazing to have him back, he is still so smart and hard spoken. At least there would be none of the current constant emotions sharing bs that had plague the last seasons of Discovery.

Can they digitally remove his ham acting?

I think you … keep … missing .. the … picture here.

I’ve said it for years; just let Shatner play a klingon commander and chew the scenery like a madman. It would be so much fun to watch! :)

I think Shatner and Lower Decks could be fun.

I like that idea.

I never liked the way Kirk was killed in Star Trek Generations. Yes, 30 years have passed. This screams ‘Short Trek’ for me — Kirk is back from Veridean III and still helping the federation in the 25th century.

Yes, it’s been 30 years but the character did NOT a proper send off.

Also — Lower Decks could have him back and explain why Kirk’s return is still a secret — and just have a great episode where Shatner voices a Returned Kirk

There is always the clone option open to future Trek writers. Shinzon was a clone of Picard from some skin cells so in theory any alien race that ever came into contact with Kirk and got some of his DNA could have cloned Kirk.

How do we know there isn’t a clone of James T Kirk out there in the galaxy somewhere in the 23rd/24th Century?

It would be Kirk but would not have had Kirk’s life experiences, maybe too deep and complex for a movie appearance but just putting it out there.

I know many people would love to see Shatner play Kirk again, but for me I have never really felt the same way. Sure if they could find a good story or reason to bring him back I would certainly be curious, but I think most of fandom have moved on long long ago.

It would just feel like unnecessary fan service to me at this point for a character who has literally been dead for 30 years now.

Same time though I also admit Shatner will probably forever remain the only real James Kirk for me since I’m not overly fond of the new actors who has replaced him since.

I would love to see a Kirk final appearance as great as Nimoy’s final full performance as Spock was in 2009 (his 2013 cameo was fine, but unremarkable). It seems very likely that Shatner will not live long enough for that ever to happen in a movie. Also he let them kill off his Kirk, so that has always been a big problem for a return appearance (although apparently there is an unused hologram scene written for him from 2009).

Unless Shatner were willing to do a Short Trek, logistics alone probably mean he will never be Kirk again.

Ya know if they had just left Kirk well enough alone with his fantastic goodbye in ST VI I would totally agree. I wouldn’t need more. But man that Generations death is SUCH a travesty I’ve never been able to drop it (pun intended)

Same here. I don’t see the point of it, other than wish fulfillment for some fans.

Although I like both new Kirks, I tend to think of them as entirely different characters.

I want to see a de-aged Shatner back as TJ Hooker.

Well the Fall Guy has bombed so that means another 15y until another 80s series getting the big screen treatment (last was A-Team in 2010 which bombed and put pay to the TJ Hooker movie that was in development which would’ve co starred Shatner)

We got a 5 minute return of Hooker with the movie Showtime (DeNiro/Eddie Murphy)

I’ve always loved Shatner ..and I always will…

I’ll never be able to forgive Paramount for cancelling Orcis/Shatners ST3 for Pegg/Lins Guardians/Furious inspired Beyond ..

Damn you Paramount, you crushed my dreams.. Orcis’ dreams, and Shatners dreams..

I would have liked to have seen that movie too, but didn’t Nimoy die before it would have happened anyway?

Yes but it could’ve obviously been incorporated into the film (as it was in Beyond) , the plot seemed more ‘Kirk Prime’-centric anyway (from what I understand)

There are so many variables though with that one and a lot of missing information. Did Orci’s script ever get leaked? All I’ve ever seen are rumors about time travel, a comment from Pegg that Paramount thought it was -too- Star Trek, and then Orci’s mad rants. That’s not much to go on, and all that on top of the idea of entrusting a $100 million+ budget to a first-time director? It could have delighted us or been an even bigger disaster. We don’t have enough information, all we know is Beyond disappointed at the box office, was marketed poorly, and perhaps did not quite unite fandom the way the 2009 film seemed to.

I do think Beyond’s plot wouldn’t have been out of place as a two-parter on any of the shows, but with enough big budget spectacle to make that a good thing (as opposed to Insurrection, when the lack of scope and ambition was a big criticism). They destroyed the Enterprise but it wasn’t much of a shock, gave Kirk some worthwhile misgivings to work through, split up the characters cannily, gave us a good new crew member (Jaylah) and another undercooked villain. A mixed bag, but I enjoyed it more than STID, and I am not confident Orci would have delivered the goods in time without way more help.

No leaked script, just Orci hinting what it was about in tweets and on TM comments (villain wanting to change the kelvin timeline back to prime timeline via some ancient device , Kirk Prime somehow returns and assists new kirk & spock in the dilemma to save the timeline or not. Bryan Cranston potential villain, Shatner CG deaged, Alice Eve. not titled ‘Beyond’) which to me sounds like a natural progression from the first film (once certain factions find out about Nero altering the timeline they might want to try reverse things/restore vulcan, or kidnap Spock Prime for info on the future ), Orci was set to direct yes but they could’ve got someone else and just used his script (Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Rupert Wyatt were rumoured at various points, of course had JJ not jumped ship to SW maybe he’d have used the Orci script?) of course Paramount then decided Trek needed to be more Guardians of the Galaxy and Orcis script was ‘too star trek’ so in came Pegg/Jung/Lin to do Beyond (which felt like such a non event, similar to Insurrection in certain ways)

btw, 15years today since ST09!!

(and over half that time waiting on ST4)

Woof. That’s the time it took to make the entire run of TOS films and Generations.

everything was going ok until Beyond and then all the ST4 fiascos (Hemsworth/Pine pay disputes, Hawley, Tarantino, and more), there couldve easily been another 2 movies from around 2018 to now

Cracks started to form with STID. They spent too much, fan opinion was divided. They had to tread more carefully the next time out. Can’t argue they bungled it a bit for Beyond, but nothing I’ve read convinces me Roberto Orci’s script was the answer.

Even if the next big screen crew is configured with all-new characters, a storyline which somehow enables a last hurrah for Bill Shatner could be lively fun, and a huge publicity boost for the movie.

But I agree with those who’d rather see him perform as he is now, with no CGI ‘de-aging’ malarkey whatsoever.

Perhaps the storyline could somehow involve ‘multi-verse/alternate universe’ shenanigans, where the Captain and crew end up incredibly encountering….an elderly, but still vital ‘alternate Admiral Kirk’…

….but due to the ship’s current Captain being incapacitated at some point, this highly experienced nonagenarian has to take temporary command of the ‘Captain’s chair’ aboard the starship in this particular universe….to save the crew from whatever anomaly caused their meeting in the first place….so that he can somehow return to the arms of his elderly ‘alternate universe’ wife and son….and save the day for them all.

He’s in Daystrom Station – just get him out of there for a Star Trek Streaming Film and let him play Kirk (without de-aging).

The side by side profile of a Shatner from his TOS movie days shows how much and how little his face have has changed in some areas

With the upcoming 60th Anniversary it would seem to be a good time for this. Unfortunately given the state of Paramount it is difficult to know what will be produced . The 50th was a missed opportunity. Perhaps there is hope to do something special for the 60th. Having Shatner come back as Kirk would be special. I understand some fans do not want anymore nostalgia but I think this would be worth it. Hopefully if it were to happen it would be done effectively.

I’m honestly surprised Terry didn’t make Star Trek the Return canon. Seeing the easter egg in Picard season 3.

Imagine if they make Star Trek Legacy an adaptation on Shatners The Return (obviously no Spock or Bones now but still with Kirk/Shatner)

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When ‘star trek: generations’ nearly stalled the franchise.

Twenty five years ago, 'Star Trek: Generations' put Captains Kirk and Picard in a shared universe movie — to mixed results.

By Phil Pirrello

Phil Pirrello

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Star Trek: Generations

Captains Kirk and Picard finally meet, their two ships — the Enterprise — locked in battle on the film’s poster. 

That was the original (and exciting) idea co-writer Brannon Braga pitched for what would become Star Trek : Generations , released 25 years ago Monday. Unfortunately, what could have been an inspired and action-packed first encounter between William Shatner and Patrick Stewart ’s iconic Star Trek characters went another way, one that introduced the two captains for the first time over Kirk scrambling eggs and, in the process, almost stalled the very franchise it was intended to reinvigorate.

Generations was written by  Star Trek: The Next Generation writers Braga and Ronald D. Moore — integral scribes to the TV show who would go on to write 1996’s First Contact .

But the seventh Star Trek film was an uphill battle from the jump. It started when Braga and Moore were called into producer Rick Berman’s office during the series’ sixth season to be asked to write the film. Unlike the TV series, where Berman and his writers were left largely to themselves to create episodes without much studio interference, Generations was born in part from studio mandates that would ultimately hamstring the movie’s full creative potential. (You can practically feel all the boxes being checked as the film lurches clunkily from scene to scene after the opening teaser featuring a 23rd century Kirk, Scotty and Chekov on one last mission together aboard the newly christened Enterprise-B.) 

Two scripts were originally commissioned — one by former Next Generation showrunner Maurice Hurley, which would focus solely on the Next Gen crew, and the other, written by Moore and Braga, centered on Picard and his crew engaging with members of Kirk’s. Despite Berman’s insistence on the Blu-ray special features that Paramount did not make the filmmakers have the first Next Generation movie include members of the original crew, Moore recalls differently on the disc’s commentary track. “There was a requirement from the studio that the original series’ castmembers only appear in the first 10, or 15, minutes of the film,” Moore said. “But then Captain Kirk can return and come back at the end of the picture and have an adventure with Picard.” 

That adventure consisted of the two Starfleet legends uniting at a log cabin, over the aforementioned eggs, on a mission to stop the villainous Dr. Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from course-correcting an energy ribbon home to a living dreamscape known as the Nexus from destroying a planet. That is how the story shoehorns in Kirk’s appearance into this 24th century-set adventure; the good captain somehow was “zapped” into this Nexus when he first encountered it while saving the day one last time aboard the Enterprise-B. (Other story requirements included a central villain, a la Khan, the Klingons and a comedic runner that would become a subplot involving android Data reconciling with his first use of an emotion chip that allows him to feel.)

The end result is a noble misfire, an extended-length TV episode with a medium-sized film budget ($38 million) whose reach exceeds its ambitious grasp. Nothing great — or on the level of the great Star Trek pics like Wrath of Khan or Undiscovered Country  — could come from a story that, of all the possible ideas the production could afford to execute a (brief) shared universe with these iconic characters, the best ones to win involved making breakfast and riding horses with guys who belong on starships. (In fact, writing that scrambling eggs scene is when Braga, in a June 2019 episode of the Inglorious Treksperts podcast, admitted that that is when he and Moore knew the movie had taken a turn.) 

Despite Generations ’ shortcomings, including the emotionally unsatisfying choice of having Kirk die being crushed by a bridge instead of on the bridge of his ship, the movie does boast still-impressive ILM model work — especially the signature set piece of crashing the Enterprise-D’s saucer section on an alien world. The Data subplot has maybe one too many groan-worthy dad jokes, but it is an effective and charming arc for the character. And watching the two captains take a beat to size up their first (and last) mission together — Kirk: “I take it the odds are against us and the situation is grim” — sparks the same fanboy glee we felt when seeing Iron Man team up with Cap and Thor and the rest of Marvel’s Avengers in 2012, some 18 years after Star Trek piloted the shared universe idea that Marvel would refine and make their own. 

The movie opened at No. 1 at the box office, making just shy of $76 million domestic throughout its theatrical run. It was a base hit but felt like a disappointment, both creatively and financially, given the hype surrounding the team-up of the two captains. The film, and its lead stars, even appeared on the cover of Time  magazine back when that was a big deal. The Next Gen crew, coming off one of the best TV series finales ever, “All Good Things…” (also written by Moore and Braga), deserved a better, bigger, feature film launch. The studio wanted the movie to service as a passing of the torch from Kirk to Picard, but the mixed-to-negative response to the pic from both critics and fans risked extinguishing that flame. The best thing to come out of the movie, however, was another sequel. 

Star Trek: First Contact —  “The One With the Borg” — all but erased the bad-ish taste Generations left in the mouth of audiences, eliminating any doubt the studio may have had about Stewart and his fellow castmembers being worthy successors to the franchise that Shatner and his crew pioneered.

While we never got to see the two captains locked in battle the way Braga envisioned, we did get to experience a landmark moment in pop culture — one that arguably helped pave the way for the current landscape of blockbuster IP and movie crossovers. 

But we’ll never get over that damned egg scene.

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After Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart Nearly Had a Star-crossed Star Trek Reunion With William Shatner in The Next Generation

I n the vast Star Trek universe, people often hope and anticipate potential reunions of iconic characters. One such moment nearly came to fruition in a planned Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, where Patrick Stewart’s Captain Jean-Luc Picard was set to cross paths with none other than William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk.

After Leonard Nimoy briefly associated with The Next Generation television series by appearing as Spock, fans were tantalized by the prospect of another Star Trek legend gracing the small screen. The script for this potential reunion episode held promise for an unforgettable encounter between Picard and Kirk.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Almost Reunited Patrick Stewart and William Shatner

Spanning over decades, there are several Star Trek projects like the 1994 movie Star Trek: Generations that have earned massive hatred from fans, after unnecessarily killing off the beloved Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner. However, one project that witnessed massive appreciation from fans that too on the small screen was the 1987 television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

“Incredibly proud of this episode”: One Star Trek: TNG Legend is Leaving the Franchise after Final Strange New Worlds Season 3 ‘Murder Mystery’ Episode

While the show seamlessly kept drawing fans’ attention and viewership over time, Star Trek: The Next Generation was inches close to becoming a timeless classic. Apparently, the TV series almost had the stars aligned, as one episode was supposed to mark a historic moment in Star Trek history by bringing together two generations of captains in a tale of interstellar adventures.

According to the website Redshirts Always Die , it was reported that Patrick Stewart and William Shatner almost had a reunion in the show if the showrunners had agreed to the potential idea. Apparently, a script highlighted the possibility of bringing Shatner’s Captain Kirk as a hologram or maybe even as a flashback to join in a discussion with Stewart’s Captain Picard .

However, fate had other plans, and the script was ultimately shelved, leaving fans to wonder what could have been. While the lost opportunity for a Patrick Stewart and William Shatner reunion may leave some fans wistful, it isn’t the only time a Star Trek legend missed the opportunity of reunion with Shatner.

The Next Generation Almost Reunited Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner

According to ScreenRant , Leonard Nimoy was initially asked to associate with Star Trek: The Next Generation , as a producer of the show. The creative team for the 1987 television series wanted to align the series with Star Trek: The Original Series as much as possible. Which is why, they had been planning to bring OG stars from the 1966 show.

X-Men and Star Trek: The Next Generation Were There Weirdest Crossovers of the 90s

This prospect from the creative team almost turned Leonard Nimoy into a Star Trek: The Next Generation producer. However, since the actor had mixed feelings about the series, he didn’t want to associate with the project for long. This led Nimoy to briefly appear in his iconic role as Spock beside Patrick Stewart’s Captain Picard.

Unfortunately, since Star Trek: The Next Generation failed to bring William Shatner’s Captain Kirk to the show, even Leonard Nimoy missed a possible reunion with Shatner. Nevertheless, despite the lack of a reunion, the legacy of Star Trek is fueled by the imaginations of fans who continue to dream of the day when such a reunion might become a reality.

Star Trek: The Next Generation is available on Paramount+. 

William Shatner

• Born March 22 , 1931 · Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Height 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
• William Shatner has notched up an impressive 70-plus years in front of the camera, displaying heady comedic talent and being instantly recognizable to several generations of cult television fans as the square-jawed Captain James T. Kirk, commander of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise. Shatner was born in Côte Saint-Luc, Montréal, Québec, Canada, to Anne (Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer. His father was a Jewish emigrant from Bukovina in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while his maternal grandparents were Lithuanian Jews. After graduating from university, he joined a local Summer theatre group as an assistant manager. He then performed with the National Repertory Theatre of Ottawa and at the Stratford, Ontario, Shakespeare Festival as an understudy working with such as Alec Guinness , James Mason , and Anthony Quayle . He came to the attention of New York critics and was soon playing important roles in major shows on live television. Shatner spent many years honing his craft before debuting alongside Yul Brynner in The Brothers Karamazov (1958) . He was kept busy during the 1960s in films such as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and The Intruder (1962) and on television guest-starring in dozens of series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) , The Defenders (1961) , The Outer Limits (1963) and The Twilight Zone (1959) . In 1966, Shatner boarded the USS Enterprise for three seasons of Star Trek (1966) , co-starring alongside Leonard Nimoy , with the series eventually becoming a bona-fide cult classic with a worldwide legion of fans known variously as "Trekkies" or "Trekkers". After "Star Trek" folded, Shatner spent the rest of the decade and the 1970s making the rounds, guest-starring on many prime-time television series, including Hawaii Five-O (1968) , Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) and Ironside (1967) . He has also appeared in several feature films, but they were mainly B-grade (or lower) fare, such as the embarrassingly bad Euro western White Comanche (1968) and the campy Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) . However, the 1980s saw a major resurgence in Shatner's career with the renewed interest in the original Star Trek (1966) series culminating in a series of big-budget "Star Trek" feature films, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) , Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) , Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) , Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) , Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) . In addition, he starred in the lightweight police series T.J. Hooker (1982) from 1982 to 1986, alongside spunky Heather Locklear , and surprised many fans with his droll comedic talents in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982) , Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) and Miss Congeniality (2000) . He has most recently been starring in the David E. Kelley television series The Practice (1997) and its spin-off Boston Legal (2004) . Outside of work, he jogs and follows other athletic pursuits. His interest in health and nutrition led to him becoming spokesman for the American Health Institute's 'Know Your Body' program to promote nutritional and physical health. - IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected]
• Spouses Elizabeth Shatner (February 13, 2001 - 2020) (divorced) Nerine Kidd (November 15, 1997 - August 9, 1999) (her death) Marcy Lafferty (October 20, 1973 - December 11, 1996) (divorced) Gloria Rand (August 12, 1956 - March 4, 1969) (divorced, 3 children)
• Children Melanie Shatner Leslie Carol Shatner Lisabeth Shatner
• Parents Joseph Shatner Ann Shatner
• Clipped, dramatic narration.
• Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek (1966) and seven of the Star Trek films.
• Voice like a radio disc-jockey.
• Shortly after the original Star Trek (1966) series was canceled, his wife Gloria Rand left him and took a lot of money with her. With very little money and his acting prospects low, he resided in a pick-up truck camper until continually acting in bit parts led into higher-paying roles.
• Recorded a special message for the crew of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-133 that woke up them at 3:23 a.m. (EST), March 7, 2011. The message included the Star Trek theme song along with Shatner's narration: "Space, the final frontier. These have been the voyages of the Space Shuttle Discovery. Her 30 year mission: To seek out new science. To build new outposts. To bring nations together on the final frontier. To boldly go, and do, what no spacecraft has done before.".
• His clipped, dramatic delivery of his lines, peppered with dramatic pauses, is often referred to as "Shatnerian".
• Auctioned a kidney stone to GoldenPalace.com for $75,000. The money went to Habitat for Humanity, a charity that builds houses for the needy.
• In 2001, he married Elizabeth Shatner (Elizabeth Anderson Martin), 30 years his junior. She is a horse trainer who had lost her husband to cancer in 1997. Their grief (Shatner was a widower) and their love of horses drew them together. They reside in Southern California and in Kentucky.
• [When asked if he wore a hairpiece] It's a question that I find like asking somebody, "Did you have a breast implant?" or "When did you get your lobotomy?".
• [When asked if he was a fan of technology] I love technology. Matches, to light a fire is really high tech. The wheel is REALLY one of the great inventions of all time. Other than that I am an ignoramus about technology. I once looked for the 'ON' button on the computer and came to find out it was on the back. Then I thought, anyone who would put the 'on' switch on the back, where you can't find it, doesn't do any good for my psyche. The one time I did get the computer on, I couldn't turn the damn thing off!
• I am not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-1701, or own a phaser. And I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu or Spock. And no, I've never had green alien sex, though I'm sure it would be quite an evening. I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me "Live long and prosper", I seriously mean it when I say, "Get a life." My doctor's name is not McCoy, it's Ginsberg. And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And yes, I've gone where no man has gone before, but I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!
• We were basically one and the same, although Jim [Kirk] was just about perfect, and, of course, I am perfect.
• What he tells his kids about money: Don't buy anything on time, and that includes cars and houses. (Money magazine, 2007)
• Kingdom of the Spiders (1977) - 20,000 plus 7 1/2 percentage of the gross

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'Star Trek V: The Final Frontier' at 35: Did William Shatner direct the cheesiest chapter in the franchise?

Some of the cheesiest lines ever delivered in a "Star Trek" movie have branded this unloved 1989 entry with a bold badge of shame.

When some of the most memorable scenes in a " Star Trek " movie aren't epic laser-blasting starship clashes, but Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy), and Bones (DeForest Kelley) sitting around a campfire eating beans laced with Tennessee whiskey and singing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," you know you might be in trouble.

Oh yeah, and how can we ever unsee Uhura's (Nichelle Nichols) naked fan dance? " Star Trek V: The Final Frontier " holds the ignoble distinction of being perhaps the low point in that era's "Star Trek" feature film roster starring " The Original Series " crew, and its forced jokes, budget slashing nightmares, rushed reshoots, terrible special effects by Associates and Ferren, and a weird mission to meet their Maker in the middle of the galaxy have been dissected to infinity and beyond. 

Harkening back to more character-driven episodes of "The Original Series," it was an ambitious, existential narrative concerning deep spiritual and philosophical ideas like the nature of life, the inevitability of death, a literal and figurative search for God, and the necessity of all sentient beings to accept and integrate all life's sorrows.

However, the actual execution of the screenplay and the shooting woes that resulted in some of the cheesiest lines ever delivered in a "Star Trek" movie have branded this unloved 1989 entry with a bold badge of shame. But is it truly deserving of such criticism upon a modern rewatch?

While certainly short on action and showcasing laughable production design that often looks like something straight out of a bad high school play or micro-budget fan film, it does present some touching character moments between the "Trek" trifecta of Kirk, Spock, and Bones and relevant humanistic topics that don't seem so uncomfortable today as they might have been 35 years ago.

After the success of the lighter "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" from 1986, Paramount was anxious to get a script approved and hurried into production. Though he’d never directed, Shatner's "equal compensation" clause in his contract awarded him the directing gig due to Leonard Nimoy helming "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," which had become the most profitable film to date in the venerable "Star Trek" franchise.

Sure, it all begins with a bit of silliness with Spock (sporting jet-propelled ski boots) rescuing Kirk from a rock climbing accident on Yosemite National Park's famous El Capitan granite face and the physics-defying cartoonishness on display as they embrace and descend back down to Earth. But it doesn’t shy away from its strong spirituality notions and poignant questions of faith and self-forgiveness.

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Co-written by Shatner, producer Harve Bennett, and writer David Loughery, "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" was released on June 9, 1989 and scored a respectable  $17.3 million on premiere weekend, but it took a severe plunge after that promising debut, eventually bottoming out at a worldwide haul of just $70.2 million.

The plotline follows Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), a charismatic Vulcan cult leader and Spock's half-brother, who recruits acolytes and hostages on the desert planet of Nimbus III, then hijacks the USS Enterprise to search for God on the fabled planet of Sha Ka Ree in the heart of the galaxy. It then tumbles into absurdity as Kirk, Spock, and Bones join the madman to go galivanting out to encounter a sagacious entity who's actually an alien charlatan impersonating God to commandeer a starship and escape his own exile from the Great Barrier. 

Shatner was honest about his debacle in a recent The Hollywood Reporter interview:

"I wish that I'd had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do," he admits. "My concept was, 'Star Trek goes in search of God,' and management said, 'Well, who's God? We'll alienate the nonbeliever, so, no, we can't do God.' And then somebody said, 'What about an alien who thinks they're God?' Then it was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget. I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly. When I'm asked, 'What do you regret the most?,' I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture. So in the absence of my power, the power vacuum filled with people that didn't make the decisions I would've made."

Another aspect of the film's failure was the fact that Gene Roddenberry was only an executive consultant on the project since he'd had all his creative control taken away after "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." "The Final Frontier" was an entry the legendary "Star Trek" creator once deemed "apocryphal" as he believed that Shatner had conveniently borrowed "The Final Frontier's" concept from Roddenberry's initial draft for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" titled, "The God Thing."

While "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" is without a doubt a strange and unappetizing entry in the "Star Trek" canon, it is nevertheless an official member of the family and perhaps deserving of a rewatch in celebration of its 35th anniversary this month.  

Don't forget the beans and the marshmallows!

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Jeff Spry is an award-winning screenwriter and veteran freelance journalist covering TV, movies, video games, books, and comics. His work has appeared at SYFY Wire, Inverse, Collider, Bleeding Cool and elsewhere. Jeff lives in beautiful Bend, Oregon amid the ponderosa pines, classic muscle cars, a crypt of collector horror comics, and two loyal English Setters.

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• Dallas1701D As a lifelong fan of all things Trek, I have to state how much I love this movie. It's silly, it's wacky, it's a bit out-there, for sure, but it was the first time (IMO) that the films made another episode of the original series. Aside from the concept of Sybok, everything else sits perfect alongside The Apple, Who Mourns for Adonis, Squire of Gothos, and countless others. The only difference was the "god" our crew went up against was one from their own history (mostly) and not immediately assumed to be nefarious by our outside perspective. Were the effects great? ..... Sometimes yes, others no. Was the acting great? ..... sometimes yes, .... Hopefully you get the point. I find it fun for all of its sci-fi absurdity and touching for all of its character. The moments in the forward lounge when our trio confront Sybok and their own demons, and are able to overcome his influence due to their friendship, logic, and pragmatism (itself a reflection on our trio, they all confront it in their own passionate way) is pure Trek again giving the human condition spotlight over 'guns-a-blazin' action, and I wish we had more of that today. I understand Shatner didn't fulfill his original vision and has regrets, and I'd love to see what could have been, but I am truly thankful to have the film as-is available to me for a rewatch whenever I need to be reminded how much the power of friendship can make our world a better place. Thank you for reading. Reply
• Bootsdad Very well said. I really enjoy this entry. It boldly went where other films would not. Reply
• Mars Tafts They lost me at a Fan-dancing Uhura ... Reply
• Bootsdad Honestly that’s the most cringe, not the campfire singing. I’ll give ya that. Reply
• Dallas1701D TBH, she didn't hate the scene..... but she was Dubbed for the singing portion which was disappointing all around. Again, the film centered around aging folks working well outside of their scope to overcome a potential disaster of galactic proportions...... and aging actors who never would have had this opportunity aside from their legacy casting. Ridiculous as it was, it worked for the plot as a way to distract the guards. Silly, yes, but for V it's par for the course. Reply
• View All 5 Comments

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55 Years Ago: Star Trek Final Episode Airs, Relationship with NASA Endures

Johnson space center.

The voyages of the Starship Enterprise came to a sudden and premature end on June 3, 1969, with the airing of the final episode of the Star Trek original television series. Ironically, the show’s cancellation came just six weeks before humanity embarked on its first voyage to land on another celestial body. Although the show ran for only three seasons, it generated a devoted fan base disappointed by the cancellation despite their write-in campaign to keep it on the air. But as things turned out, over the decades Star Trek evolved into a global phenomenon, first with the original episodes replayed in syndication, followed by a series of full-length motion pictures, and eventually a multitude of spin-off series. With its primary focus on space exploration, along with themes of diversity, inclusion, and innovation, the Star Trek fictional universe formed a natural association with NASA’s real life activities.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry first had the idea for a science fiction television series in 1964. He presented his idea, a show set in the 23 rd century aboard a starship with a crew dedicated to exploring the galaxy, to Desilu Productions, an independent television production company headed by Lucille Ball. They produced a pilot titled “The Cage,” selling it to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) network that then bought a second pilot titled “Where No Man Has Gone Before.” NBC introduced the show to its fall 1966 lineup, with the first episode “The Man Trap” airing on Sep. 8. To put that date in perspective, NASA launched Gemini XI four days later, one of the missions that helped the agency achieve the Moon landing nearly three years later. Meanwhile, Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise continued its fictional five-year mission through the galaxy to “seek out new life and new civilizations.” The makeup of the Enterprise’s crew made the show particularly attractive to late 1960s television audiences. The major characters included an African American woman communications officer, an Asian American helmsman, and a half-human half-Vulcan science officer, later joined by a Russian-born ensign. While the show enjoyed good ratings during its first two seasons, cuts to its production budget resulted in lower quality episodes during its third season leading to lower ratings and, despite a concerted letter-writing campaign from its dedicated fans, eventual cancellation.

Despite the show’s cancellation, Star Trek lived on and prospered in syndication and attracted an ever-growing fan base, turning into a worldwide sensation. Often dubbed “trekkies,” these fans held the first of many Star Trek conventions in 1972. When in 1976 NASA announced that it would name its first space shuttle orbiter Constitution, in honor of its unveiling on the anniversary of the U. S. Constitution’s ratification, trekkies engaged in a dedicated letter writing campaign to have the orbiter named Enterprise, after the starship in the television series. This time the fans’ letter writing campaign succeeded. President Gerald R. Ford agreed with the trekkies and directed NASA to rechristen the first space shuttle. When on Sept. 17, 1976 , it rolled out of its manufacturing plant in Palmdale, California, appropriately accompanied by a band playing the show’s theme song, it bore the name Enterprise. Many of the original cast members of the show as well as its creator Rodenberry participated in the rollout ceremony, hosted by NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher . Thus began a lengthy relationship between the space agency and the Star Trek brand.

During the development of the space shuttle in the 1970s, the need arose to recruit a new group of astronauts to fly the vehicle, deploy the satellites, and perform the science experiments. When NASA released the call for the new astronaut selection on July 8, 1976, it specifically encouraged women and minorities to apply. To encourage those applicants, NASA chose Nichelle Nichols, who played communications officer Lt. Uhura on the Starship Enterprise, to record a recruiting video and speak to audiences nationwide. She came to NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston in March 1977, and accompanied by Apollo 12 and Skylab 3 astronaut Alan L. Bean , toured the center and filmed scenes for the video in Mission Control and other facilities. NASA hoped that her stature and popularity would encourage women and minorities to apply, and indeed they did. In January 1978, when NASA announced the selection of 35 new astronauts from more than 8,000 applicants, for the first time the astronaut class included women and minorities. All distinguished themselves as NASA astronauts and paved the way for others in subsequent astronaut selections. Nichols returned to JSC in September 2010 with the Traveling Space Museum, an organization that partners with schools to promote space studies. She toured Mission Control and the International Space Station trainer accompanied by NASA astronaut B. Alvin Drew . She also flew aboard NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne telescope aircraft managed by NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, California, in September 2015.

Meanwhile, the Star Trek brand renewed itself in 1979 as a full-length motion picture with the original TV series cast members reprising their roles. Over the years, several sequels followed this first film. And on the small screen, a reboot of sorts occurred in 1987 with the premiere of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a new series set in the 24 th century aboard the Enterprise-D, a next generation starship with a new crew. That series lasted seven seasons, followed by a near-bewildering array of spin-off series, all built on the Star Trek brand, that continue to this day.

James Doohan, the actor who played Lt. Cmdr. Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, the Starship Enterprise’s chief engineer, had early associations with NASA. In April 1967, Doohan visited NASA’s Dryden (now Armstrong) Flight Research Center in California, spending time with NASA test pilot Bruce A. Peterson. A month later, Peterson barely survived a horrific crash of the experimental M2-F2 lifting body aircraft. He inspired the 1970s TV series The Six-Million Dollar Man, and the show’s opening credits include film of the crash. Doohan narrated a documentary film about the space shuttle released shortly before Columbia made its first flight in April 1981. In January 1991, Doohan visited JSC and with NASA astronaut Mario Runco (who sometimes went by the nickname “Spock”) toured the shuttle trainers, Mission Control, and tried his hand at operating the shuttle’s robotic arm in the Manipulator Development Facility. In a unique tribute, astronaut Neil A. Armstrong , the first person to step on the lunar surface , spoke at Doohan’s retirement in 2004, addressing him as “one old engineer to another.”

George Takei, who played Enterprise helmsman Lt. Hikaru Sulu, and his husband Brad, visited JSC in May 2012. Invited by both Asian American and LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Groups, Takei spoke of leadership and inclusiveness, including overcoming challenges while in Japanese American internment camps during World War II and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. He noted that Star Trek remained ahead of its time in creating a future when all members of society could equally participate in great undertakings, at a time when the country struggled through the Civil Rights movement and the conflict in Southeast Asia. The inclusiveness that is part of NASA’s culture greatly inspired him. JSC Director Michael L. Coats presented Takei with a plaque including a U.S. flag flown aboard space shuttle Atlantis’ STS-135 mission. He also visited Mission Control and spent some time with Robonaut.

Leonard Nimoy played the science officer aboard the Starship Enterprise, the half-human, half-Vulcan Mr. Spock. The actor watched in September 2012 when space shuttle Enterprise arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, on the last leg of its journey to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, where it currently resides. “This is a reunion for me,” observed Nimoy. “Thirty-five years ago, I met the Enterprise for the first time.” As noted earlier, the Star Trek cast attended the first space shuttle’s rollout in 1976. Following his death in 2015, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti paid tribute to Nimoy aboard the International Space Station by wearing a Star Trek science officer uniform, giving the Vulcan greeting, and proclaiming, “Of all the souls I have encountered … his was the most human.”

Captain James T. Kirk, played by actor William Shatner, a life-long advocate of science and space exploration, served at the helm of the Starship Enterprise. His relationship with NASA began during the original series, with references to the space agency incorporated into several story lines. In 2011, Shatner hosted and narrated a NASA documentary celebrating the 30 th anniversary of the Space Shuttle program , and gave his time and voice to other NASA documentaries. NASA recognized Shatner’s contributions in 2014 with a Distinguished Public Service Medal , the highest award NASA bestows on non-government individuals. NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Communications Robert “Bob” N. Jacobs presented the medal to Shatner. The award’s citation read, “For outstanding generosity and dedication to inspiring new generations of explorers around the world, and for unwavering support for NASA and its missions of discovery.” In 2019, Shatner narrated the NASA video We Are Going , about NASA’s plans to return astronauts to the Moon. He has spoken at numerous NASA-themed events and moderated panels about NASA’s future plans. On Oct. 13, 2021, at the age of 90, Shatner reached the edge of space during the NS-18 suborbital flight of Blue Origin’s New Shepard vehicle, experiencing three minutes of weightlessness.

Elements of the Star Trek universe have made their way not only into popular culture but also into NASA culture. As noted above, Star Trek fans had a hand in naming the first space shuttle Enterprise. NASA’s Earth observation facility aboard the space station that makes use of its optical quality window bears the name the Window Observational Research Facility (WORF). The connection between that acronym and the name of a Klingon officer aboard the Enterprise in the Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series seemed like an opportunity not to be missed – the facility’s official patch bears its name in English and in Klingon. Several astronaut crews have embraced Star Trek themes for their unofficial photographs. The STS-54 crew dressed in the uniforms of Starship Enterprise officers from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, the second full-length feature motion picture of the series. Space shuttle and space station crews created Space Flight Awareness (SFA) posters for their missions, and more than one embraced Star Trek themes. The Expedition 21 crew dressed in uniforms from the original series, while the STS-134 crew chose as their motif the 2009 reboot motion picture Star Trek.

As much as Star Trek has influenced NASA, in turn the agency has left its mark on the franchise, from episodes referencing actual and future spaceflight events to NASA astronauts making cameo appearances on the show. The first-season episode “Court Martial” that aired in February 1967 featured a photograph of the December 1965 Gemini VI launch adorning a wall aboard a star base. In the second-season episode “Return to Tomorrow,” airing in February 1968, Captain Kirk in a dialogue about risk-taking remarks, “Do you wish that the first Apollo mission hadn’t reached the Moon?” a prescient reference to the first Apollo mission to reach the Moon more than 10 months after the episode aired. Astronaut Mae C. Jemison , who credits Nichelle Nichols as her inspiration to become an astronaut, appeared in the 1993 episode “Second Chances” of Star Trek: The Next Generation , eight months after her actual spaceflight aboard space shuttle Endeavour. In May 2005, two other NASA astronauts, Terry W. Virts and E. Michael Fincke , appeared in “These are the Voyages…,” the final episode of the series Star Trek: Enterprise.

In the 2016 documentary “ NASA on the Edge of Forever: Science in Space ,” host NASA astronaut Victor J. Glover states, “Science and Star Trek go hand-in-hand.” The film explores how for 50 years, Star Trek influenced scientists, engineers, and even astronauts to reach beyond their potential. While the space station doesn’t speed through the galaxy like the Starship Enterprise, much of the research conducted aboard the orbiting facility can make the fiction of Star Trek come a little closer to reality. Several of the cast members from the original TV series share their viewpoints in the documentary, along with those of NASA managers and scientists. Over the years, NASA has created several videos highlighting the relationship between the agency and the Star Trek franchise. In 2016, NASA Administrator Charles F. Bolden led a video tribute to celebrate the 50 th anniversary of the first Star Trek episode.

In 2021, on the 100 th anniversary of Gene Roddenberry’s birth, his son Rod hosted a virtual panel discussion , introduced by NASA Administrator C. William “Bill” Nelson , about diversity and inspiration, two ideals the Star Trek creator infused into the series. Panelists included Star Trek actor Takei, Tracy D. Drain, flight systems engineer for the Europa Clipper spacecraft at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, NASA astronaut Jonny Kim , Swati Mohan, guidance and operations lead for the Mars 2020 rover at JPL, and Hortense B. Diggs, Director of the Office of Communication and Public Engagement at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mutual attraction between NASA and Star Trek stems from, to paraphrase the opening voiceover from the TV series, that both seek to explore and discover new worlds, and to boldly go where no one has gone before. The diversity, inclusion, and inspiration involved in these endeavors ensure that they will live long and prosper.

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Counselor Troi's 10 Best Star Trek: TNG Episode, Ranked

Doctor who's matt smith reflects on the life-changing experience of carrying on the doctor's legacy, every q star trek appearance ranked worst to best.

• TNG could get a successful big-screen reboot like The Original Series thanks to modern Hollywood actors.
• Recasting TNG crew is tough as original cast members were irreplaceable. But new actors could coexist.
• TNG's best moments revisited with possible modern actors for revamped roles, bringing new energy.

Who would play the crew of the USS Enterprise-D if Star Trek: The Next Generation were rebooted as a new movie? With J.J. Abrams' blockbuster films, Star Trek: The Original Series has already gotten a successful big-screen reboot, and TNG could benefit from the same treatment. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG had an amazing cast of characters who became just as popular as Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and his Enterprise crew. Recasting the TNG crew would be no easy feat, as many of the actors came to embody the characters they played.

Throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation 's seven seasons, the crew of the USS Enterprise-D became a family and the cast members remain close friends today. While TNG 's original cast members are irreplaceable, they could coexist alongside a new cast for a big-screen reboot. With actors like Michelle Yeoh, Jason Isaacs, Holly Hunter, and, most recently, Paul Giamatti, modern Star Trek has been incredibly successful with its casting. Many big-name Hollywood actors love the Star Trek franchise and would jump at the chance to be a part of it. Here are 10 modern actors who could portray an updated cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

25 Best Star Trek: TNG Episodes Of All Time

Star Trek: The Next Generation produced some of the best and most beloved science fiction television of all time. Here is TNG's best of the best.

10 Julian Hilliard as Wesley Crusher

Originally portrayed by wil wheaton.

Although he is currently only 12 years old, Julian Hilliard has already appeared in numerous hit television shows and films. As young Luke in Mike Flanagan's The Haunting of Hill House , Hilliard perfectly captured the fear and wonder of a young, curious boy living in a creepy old mansion. Hilliard also portrayed Billy Maximoff, one of Wanda Maximoff's (Elizabeth Olsen) twins, in WandaVision and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Not only does Hilliard already have experience playing the son of Elizabeth Olsen's Wanda, but he seems more than capable of playing the young boy genius, Wesley Crusher. Wesley may not have been TNG's most popular character, but Wil Wheaton did the best he could with the role, and the character always had potential. Julian Hilliard could bring new energy to the role and round out the regular cast of TNG.

9 Marie Avgeropoulos as Counselor Deanna Troi

Originally portrayed by marina sirtis.

Best known for portraying Octavia Blake on the CW's post-apocalyptic drama The 100 , Marie Avgeropoulos would make a great Counselor Deanna Troi. Early in The 100, Octavia is one of the show's most empathetic characters, but she becomes a formidable warrior as the show progresses. Still, Avgeropoulos has the right look for Troi, and she showed her range as an actress on The 100.

In the first three seasons of The 100, Octavia is involved in a romantic relationship with Lincoln (Ricky Whittle), a warrior from a group of survivors called the Grounders. With their very different personalities, this relationship is reminiscent of the one between Deanna Troi and Worf in Star Trek: The Next Generation's final season. Like Marina Sirtis, Marie Avgeropoulos also has Greek parents.

Marina Sirtis's empathic Counselor Deanna Troi had some great moments throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation's seven seasons.

8 Elizabeth Olsen as Dr. Beverly Crusher

Originally portrayed by gates mcfadden.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Elizabeth Olsen showed her incredible range as an actress, playing Wanda Maximoff (aka The Scarlet Witch) as a frightened orphan, a powerful Avenger, a devoted wife and mother, and a malevolent force fueled by her grief. In WandaVision, in particular, Olsen got to lean into her domestic tendencies before eventually unleashing the full might of her power.

Elizabeth Olsen has been nominated for two Golden Globe awards, for her performance as Wanda Maximoff in WandaVision and as housewife Candy Montgomery in HBO's Love & Death .

Like Dr. Beverly Crusher, Wanda would do anything for her children, but she's also a strong and capable woman outside of her role as a mother. On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Dr. Crusher was incredibly empathetic, but was also willing to stand up to Captain Picard when needed. Elizabeth Olsen has already proven more than capable of playing both sides of a role like Dr. Crusher.

7 John Boyega as Lt. Geordi La Forge

Originally portrayed by levar burton.

British actor John Boyega rose to fame after playing Stormtrooper-turned-rebel Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and its two sequels. Like Geordi La Forge, Finn has a strong sense of empathy and morality, choosing to join the resistance rather than participate in the cruelty of the First Order. Boyega starred in the Netflix science fiction comedy They Cloned Tyrone as multiple characters, proving his versatility as an actor.

John Boyega also portrayed King Ghezo alongside Viola Davis's General Nanisca in the historical epic The Woman King . While Boyega's performance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens was almost universally praised, the character of Finn was underutilized in the two sequels. Boyega has proven himself to be a talented actor who could undoubtedly play the brilliant and compassionate Geordi La Forge .

6 Laz Alonso as Lt. Worf

Originally portrayed by michael dorn.

As Marvin T. "MM (Mother's Milk)" Milk on Amazon Prime's The Boys , Laz Alonso has both the warrior mentality of Worf and his strong sense of morality. The Boys has a skewed morality compared to Star Trek, but MM is often the one holding Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) back from his darker impulses. MM is out for revenge against the defense contractor that owns the superhero team known as the Seven, which also draws comparisons to Worf.

Laz Alonso portrayed the villain in the fourth film in the Fast & Furious franchise, and he played Na'vi warrior Tsu'tey in James Cameron's Avatar. In The Boys and Avatar, Alonso plays both MM and Tsu'tey as strong and loyal warriors who also have a soft side . Life Worf, they fight for what they believe in and would protect their friends and families with their lives.

5 Matt Smith as Lt. Commander Data

Originally portrayed by brent spiner.

British actor Matt Smith has the perfect look and acting range to portray the USS Enterprise-D's resident android, Data (Brent Spiner). On the BBC's Doctor Who , Matt Smith brought a childlike wonder to the Eleventh Doctor, while also making it believable that he was a 900-year-old time lord. Both of these characteristics would serve him well playing Data, as the android is both ageless and childlike.

Matt Smith was nominated for an Emmy for his portrayal of Prince Philip in Netflix's The Crown, and currently stars as Daemon Targaryen on HBO's House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones. With all of these very different roles, Matt Smith has shown that he has just as much range as Brent Spiner, who portrayed both Data and his evil twin Lore (as well as several members of the Soong family).

Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith reflects on the life-changing experience he had carrying on the Doctor's legacy, getting to portray the character.

4 Richard Madden as Commander William Riker

Originally portrayed by jonathan frakes.

Scottish actor Richard Madden has played princes, spies, and superheroes, and elements of all of these characters could be incorporated into a portrayal of Commander William Riker . Riker was an accomplished Starfleet officer who became less uptight as Star Trek: The Next Generation progressed, and Madden has the charm to play Riker as a ladies' man and the leadership qualities to play him as First Officer of the Starship Enterprise.

As Robb Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones, Madden commanded armies before his untimely death at the infamous red wedding . Like many Star Trek actors, Madden has also performed in numerous Shakespeare plays. In 2016, he starred as Romeo in a West End production of Romeo and Juliet, alongside Lily James as Juliet, and directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Richard Madden won a Golden Globe award for his performance as war veteran and police officer Sergeant David Budd in the critically acclaimed miniseries, Bodyguard.

3 Toby Stephens as Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Originally portrayed by patrick stewart.

No one could ever replace Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard, but British actor Toby Stephens could make the role his own. Stephens delivered an incredible performance as the ruthless pirate Captain James Flint in Starz's Black Sails , and he could bring the same commanding energy to the role of Picard. As both Captain Flint and John Robinson in Netflix's Lost in Space , Stephens has played a strong and capable leader who remains calm in a crisis.

Most recently, Toby Stephens appeared as the Greek god Poseidon in the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Like Patrick Stewart, Toby Stephens began his acting career on the stage and is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stephens has starred in numerous Shakespeare plays, including a portrayal of Hamlet for the 2004 Royal Shakespeare Company production. Not only has Stephens proven he can lead the cast of an ensemble show, but he can also perform the hell out of a speech, a quality necessary for Captain Picard.

2 David Tennant as Q

Originally portrayed by john de lancie.

Scottish actor David Tennant has the perfect chaotic energy to play the omniscient god-like being known as Q. As the Tenth Doctor on Doctor Who, Tennant perfectly captured the sometimes manic, but always intelligent and profoundly compassionate nature of the Doctor. David Tennant's version of Q could also incorporate elements of his Good Omens character, Crowley, who enjoys wreaking havoc on occasion, but genuinely cares for his friend Aziraphale (Michael Sheen).

John de Lancie's god-like Q became one of Star Trek's most popular recurring characters, and here are all of his appearances ranked worst to best.

The energy David Tennant brought to the manipulative villain Killgrave on Marvel's Jessica Jones could come in handy in playing the darker Q of early TNG. When Q later developed a fondness for Picard, he became more playful, which is where Tennant's Doctor energy would come in handy. Like many British actors, Tennant has also performed in numerous Shakespearean adaptations and even played Hamlet alongside Patrick Stewart's Claudius.

1 Lisa Berry as Guinan

Originally portrayed by whoopi goldberg.

Another important recurring character on Star Trek: The Next Generation was Whoopi Goldberg's Guinan , who served as the bartender in Ten Forward on the USS Enterprise. Like many real-world bartenders, Guinan was always willing to listen and offer advice to any of the crew members on board. As Billie the Reaper on the CW's Supernatural , Lisa Berry was believable as an ageless being who often knew more than she let on.

Later in Supernatural, Billie became Death incarnate, making her even more powerful and knowledgeable.

Berry certainly has the right energy to play Guinan as someone who will tell you what you need to hear rather than what you want to hear. Berry had quite a screen presence on Supernatural and she could bring that same compelling energy to playing the enigmatic El Aurian bartender. Whether or not the characters of Star Trek: The Next Generation ever get recast, there are many talented actors who would be perfect for a role in a potential reboot.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.