William Shatner on 60 Years of Star Trek: The Extended Interview
Dave Malkoff
119,158 views
Sixty years after Star Trek first premiered, William Shatner sits down with CBS News correspondent Dave Malkoff for an extended conversation about the television series that changed both of their lives.
Shatner looks back at Star Trek's unlikely beginning, its cancellation after three seasons, the syndication that helped turn it into a global phenomenon, and why its ideas still resonate six decades later.
The conversation goes far beyond Captain Kirk. Shatner talks about artificial intelligence and his own use of ChatGPT, technology once imagined by Star Trek becoming reality, the enduring relationship between the franchise and its fans, and what he believes is the real “magic and beauty” of Star Trek.
The interview was recorded aboard the Star Trek Cruise as the franchise approached its 60th anniversary.
Near the end of the conversation, Shatner reflects on the ideas underneath the spaceships and science fiction:
“This to me is what Star Trek is. That's the magic and the beauty of Star Trek.”
Dave Malkoff reports.
20 Comments
Looking back across everything we've heard about how he could be on Trek, as told by almost everyone other than Nimoy and Kelly, I have to give him some slack. Was he a bit of an egoist? Sure. But some of what he did had a practical basis. You're in Hollywood looking for work, along with a thousand other guys. Then, a handful of you wind up with a TV gig in 1966. It's not "STAR TREK!", it's a paycheck. You don't know if it'll last even half a season, but its steady money and you want - need - it to last. The writers were top notch - the stories had depth and they featured many roles. However, what drove TV success was audience investment in a core group of recognizable main characters. On Trek he knew that was himself and Nimoy. Did he convince directors to whittle down other actors' parts and give more of the meat to him? Yep. Some of it was probably pure ego, but a lot was trying to keep the show, to his mind, focused and popular enough to last another week, or month or year so that ALL of them could continue to get paid. In doing so, I don't think he understood the unique appeal of Trek to the audience it had found. But, for the most part, I have to understand it.
William Shatner on 60 Years of Star Trek: The Extended Interview
Dave Malkoff
119,158 views
Sixty years after Star Trek first premiered, William Shatner sits down with CBS News correspondent Dave Malkoff for an extended conversation about the television series that changed both of their lives.
Shatner looks back at Star Trek's unlikely beginning, its cancellation after three seasons, the syndication that helped turn it into a global phenomenon, and why its ideas still resonate six decades later.
The conversation goes far beyond Captain Kirk. Shatner talks about artificial intelligence and his own use of ChatGPT, technology once imagined by Star Trek becoming reality, the enduring relationship between the franchise and its fans, and what he believes is the real “magic and beauty” of Star Trek.
The interview was recorded aboard the Star Trek Cruise as the franchise approached its 60th anniversary.
Near the end of the conversation, Shatner reflects on the ideas underneath the spaceships and science fiction:
“This to me is what Star Trek is. That's the magic and the beauty of Star Trek.”
Dave Malkoff reports.