New Releases: The Captains Documentary, a Film by William Shatner

The most interesting thing about The Captains documentary, a film by William Shatner, is the fact that not only do you discover a few new things about the man who played James T Kirk, but he does too. Shatner confesses more than once that, even after all these years, he’s got a few epiphanies in him about his life as a starship captain. He gets to this point by sitting down with the handful of other actors who have been privileged enough to sit in the captain’s chair as part of one of the most lucrative and influential pop culture phenomenons ever created. He also reminds us that it all started with him.

Although I would have enjoyed seeing Shatner spend more time with his successor, Chris Pine, each of the actors get their time in the spotlight as Bill asks them about their origins as actors, as people, and as Star Trek icons. Surprisingly (or possibly not), Shatner becomes confrontational on some subjects while remaining his usual jovial self. He digs at Kate Mulgrew (Captain Janeway on Voyager) for the truth behind how she tricked her father into financing her first foray into acting and how being a starship captain has negatively affected her family even to this day. He prods Scott Bakula (Captain Archer from Enterprise) into discussing his belief in the existence of God or a higher power. He attempts to weasel an answer about something, anything from Avery Brooks (Captain Sisko on Deep Space 9), who seems content in answering nearly every question with free form jazz music and wordplay. But he spends most of his time grilling Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard on the Next Generation) in his stately English home about everything from the fans to failed relationships due to the tremendous time constraints put upon them.

Most of all, these conversations funnel down into how Shatner and this exclusive club of cinematic Captains have come to terms with being intimately identified as these iconic characters, possibly more than anything else that they have done or will do in their lives. And through this film, it’s not only the viewer that discovers something new about these gentlemen (and lady), but Bill apparently comes to terms with a few things himself.

I’m a big Star Trek fan, growing up with it through my teens to today, but I’m not as hardcore as some. More than a few of these stories were new to me, especially those that came out of Shatner’s and Stewart’s conversations. They are probably the two men, out of all of the actors featured, who will go to their graves being known primarily for being Kirk and Picard, despite the incredible catalog of work they’ve done for easily more than 60 years each.

As for the structure of the film itself, the introductions felt a little stilted and cutesy, but it didn’t bother me much, because it was utterly entertaining to see these actors sit down and discuss something I love with reckless honesty. The Star Trek convention footage is a hoot, mostly because it’s packed full of fans decked out in their Starfleet uniforms or bumpy Klingon foreheads (they set a Star Trek costume world record that day for the most in one place) and extolling the virtues of the shows and the captains that boldly went where none had gone before. A particular highlight was getting to see Bill stroll through the crowds and jump into photos without some of them realizing who he was at first. The shock and joy that come across the faces of curvaceous geek girls dressed as 7 of 9 or even a Tribble Slayer (no, Star Trek conventions aren’t just filled with blobby 40 year old virgins) is worth the price of the DVD alone. That and the scenes featuring Bill as he swaggers his way from booth to booth, James T Kirk-style, to find each and every woman who appeared on Star Trek in one incarnation or another just to tell them how they were the most beautiful of the bunch.

The Captains is thought-provoking, intimate, and funny for a documentary about a pop culture subject you’d think has been milked to death by now. It’s available now on DVD and on Netflix instant streaming.