Captain's
Log, Stardate 95
Captain's
Log, Stardate 95
(Article reproduced with kind permission of The LIST - the Glasgow and Edinburgh Events Guide Magazine.)
In 1966 Star Trek was launched with Captain James T. Kirk at the helm. Hilary Oliver speaks to WILLIAM SHATNER, the man who filled his starfleet boots for nearly three decades.
Was it difficult getting back into the role and the Lycra?
Ah, the Lycra. No, it wasn't difficult. You just get measured, slip into
the tight pants, the cameras start to roll, you take a deep breath and say your
words. It's almost second nature.
Did you get a feeling for the historical significance of Star Trek:
Generations?
We certainly knew the old cast was giving way to the new.
There was a sense of change there and change is difficult. I've never
understood why nature hasn't allowed us the mechanism to accept change without
fighting it, since change is inevitable. With the changing of the guard, so to
speak, it has freed me to pursue the many other projects in my life.
They say there was a melancholic feeling on set as they filmed your
final scene, the ‘death’ of Kirk. What was the emotional build up for
you as you prepared for that?
I wanted to perform it with realism, so I
had to think about my own death and what I would like to do: how I would like to
go out. Rather than screaming in terror at something, I'd like to go out like a
hero. So I had to consider those things which are difficult, painful subjects
to come to grips with. As the last scene was shot, there was a definite feeling
of sorrow.
Is it true that the original ending was different - that you were due to
be shot in the back?
Yes, there were some adjustments and I fought for
them. It's not the way a hero goes, being shot in the back. There wasn't as
much spectacle as they wanted, so they went back to that dreaded place called
the Valley of Fire and re-shot for a week, giving it more spectacle and a little
more heroic action.
It makes great commercial sense bringing both generations together. Do
you think Paramount and the producers also felt they owed some emotional dues to
Star Trek fans to let the older crew go in grace?
Perhaps. The parts
written for Spock and Dr. McCoy were so small that Leonard Nimoy and DeForest
Kelley felt they'd rather be remembered for the way they were in Star Trek
VI than appear in this. There weren't too many of the original cast in
there, just me, James Doohan and Walter Koenig, but there was definite executive
decision made to put some of us in there as a ceremonial handing over - and also
perhaps as some box office insurance.
Director David Carson says Star Trek has always had tremendous
production values - that has touched on many aspects of the human condition.
Over the years have you worked out your attitude to life through the character
of Kirk?
The situation with Star Trek is that in many instances
the cast are the creators. In Star Trek: The Final Frontier which I
directed, I sought to bring God and the Star Trek cast together. The
meaning of who and what God is in relation to Star Trek is an
exploration of a sort. There was a great deal of that going on in my life:
working out my thoughts on life, death and God.
The Nexxus in this film is a very interesting idea. Was there much
discussion as to what individuals thought about the Nexxus - the perfect world?
Yes,
we would ask each other 'What's your Nexxus?' My own would be nothing different
from yours: love, passion, a sense of health and well being, horses and dogs.
Kirk and Picard share obvious qualities of leadership, but what are
their essential differences?
Traditionally, Kirk has been a man of
action. They tell the story that if Kirk got the drop on the bad guy with the
gun, he'd say: 'When I count to three you are going to drop your gun ... one,
two, bang.' If it was Picard, he'd say: 'One, two, two and a half . . . ' I
suppose that the edicts, as laid down for the writing of The Next Generation
were more intellectual than the action-adventure of the first series.
You've said that in the early days it was a hazard just walking onto the
bridge of the Enterprise - that you have the bent nose to testify that the men
who operated the doors didn’t always get it right. Are the sets more
sophisticated now?
Yes. Whereas in the early days we had to shake the
camera and lurch from side to side when there was an explosion, they now shake
the set. When you consider they were shooting this film in a city that had just
gone through an earthquake, that was quite fun. I think there still are men on
either side of the door, or at least one guy above.
How much pride do you got out of the hero status assigned to Kirk?
I
don't think of it in those terms. I'm just an actor playing a part. In a way I
reject and mentally screen out all that. It's not real and if someone says:
'You're my hero', while I don't scoff at it, I can't bring myself to believe
what they are saying is true.
Is it true that you have at times confused Kirk’s powers with your
own?
That's true. I've gone through life never really being hurt. I've
got this strange feeling I can't be hurt because everything's a movie. I've
been in some very dangerous situations, climbing mountains and in white water
and I just have this feeling that I can't get hurt. When I was attacked by
three guys on a beach, I thought: 'I know how to take care of this. I've done
this several times in films.' Then as the situation got really bad and it looked
like it was going to be a disaster, the reality of it suddenly became clear with
a blinding light. These guys are going to kill me and I'm not Captain Kirk. So
I had to start talking fast. I guess I was acting more like Captain Picard.
The Star Trek series has won many awards. With which are you most proud
of being associated?
I don't follow that kind of thing, but I will tell
you that when we were on air, NASA had a better time with its budget as a result
of the publicity of science fiction and space we gave them. When we were
running, NASA was at its height. The country was intrigued by the magic of
science fiction as represented by Star Trek. Then, when the moon shots
started to happen and the rockets went up, our ratings went up, so there was a
symbiotic relationship between NASA and Star
Trek which I think is amusing.
How aware were you of some of Star Trek's ground-breaking aspects, such
a the first interracial kiss on network television between Kirk and Uhura? Was
that a brave move?
Oh, not very. Nichelle Nichols is a very beautiful
girl. Kissing beautiful girls is a wonderful endeavour. There I was kissing a
beautiful girl and I didn't think much of it. It was only afterwards that people
talked about it as if it were something, but it really wasn't.
If you had to write your own ending for Kirk, could you have written a
better one?
No. It's a good ending. It's a great ending.
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