It would be hard to find a television phenomenon as popular as “Star Trek.” Even though it was only on television for three seasons and 79 episodes (1966-69) it attracted viewers and devotees that still follow it passionately 45 years later. The fanatical supportspawned several movies and television spinoffs. Star Trek conventions continue to this day. There has never been anything like it.
Clearly the idea of future space travel and the notion of what exists in the “Final Frontier” have created such ongoing devotion. The series was saved from cancellation after its second season due to an intensive letter-writing campaign to NBC. It was the first time that such an effort succeeded. But, as if NBC wanted it to fail, the show ended up in a dead zone timeslot of 10 p.m. Fridays and it was axed the following year. Unlike most defunct series Star Trek did not die.
Fans organized conventions where they dressed up as characters, dissected every episode, and the actors made guest appearances. In 1973, NBC even brought Star Trek back as a short-lived Saturday morning animated series with the stars reappearing as the voices of their characters. By 1975 there was talk of a Star Trek movie, which became a reality five years later after the popular appeal of Star Wars.
The success of the first movie led to several sequels and the production of a new television series, “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” That spawned even more movies and two other TV spinoffs. The Star Trek phenomenon was here to stay.
The actor who has benefited most from all this hysteria is William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk in the original series and seven of the movies. Shatner is best known these days as the spokesman for Priceline.com. He has appeared in several series since his days on “Star Trek,” including “T.J. Hooker” and “Boston Legal.” At 80 he is still going strong.
One place where he has expanded his talents is in writing books. In addition to several novels, he has penned four non-fiction tomes that are a treasure-trove of Star Trek tales. The first two, “Star Trek Memories” and “Star Trek Movie Memories,” are musts for any trekkie who wants to know what went on behind the scenes. The most recent ones, “Up Till Now: The Autobiography” and “Shatner Rules: Your Guide to Understanding the Shatnerverse and the World at Large,” are more about his life in general, but still fascinating and fun reads.
“Up to Now” describes his upbringing in Canada and how he became an actor. He discusses his early days as a struggling actor and how he eventually became a part of Star Trek. He then talks about the whole Star Trek phenomenon, living with the Captain Kirk legacy, and how he endured life beyond it. He goes on to candidly discuss his marriages, especially his third wife who died in a highlypublicized but misinterpreted accident.
He also tackles head-on the friction that developed with other actors on the series who saw him as self-serving boor. The only exception seems to be Leonard Nimoy, the infamous Spock, who remains a lifelong friend.
“Shatner Rules” is an easy read that brings out even more stories of his fascinating life and lifestyle. Many of them are hilarious and eye-opening but there are serious discussions of life lessons, how to age gracefully, and even more fodder from the tension he has had with the other Star Trek actors. Perhaps the most telling revelation is that the popular phrase, “Beam me up, Scotty” was never actually said on the show. I always wondered about that because I never recalled that specific line from the original series.
There are many books about the Star Trek phenomenon but William Shatner’s four titles are a good place to start.
He has a self-deprecating sense of humor and doesn’t shy away from controversy. To be a living legend with a character almost 50 years old can’t be easy. Shatner embraces it in a way that makes the most of it for himself and anyone who follows his career. It’s an opportunity that any Star Trek or Shatner fan doesn’t want to miss.
Book Notes
January 30, 2012
Book Notes: No Trekkie should miss Shatner’s books
- Book Notes
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- Memoir reflects on 'roller-coaster life and career' Apparently, the third time wasn't the charm. The way Reynolds described him, the third husband was worse than the first two combined and that's saying a lot. Eddie Fisher literally walked away from Reynolds and their two infant children to chase a sex goddess. At least he got his just desserts when Elizabeth Taylor tossed him aside for Richard Burton.
- 'Who's on Worst?' reveals the ugly in baseball The Baseball Hall of Fame celebrates the greatest players, managers and owners from our national pastime. Any of us who have watched Major League baseball have inevitably seen some of these immortals practicing their craft. But we have also likely witnessed a sample of their opposite brethren, players who shouldn't have been in the Major Leagues. Has there ever been a definitive source that "celebrates" the non-accomplishments of the worst that Major League baseball has to offer?
- Book takes readers on path for equal rights One of the most troubling aspects of our history is race relations. It takes a long time to achieve true equality in a society when the heritage of one ethnic group is slavery and Jim Crow laws. Even today African Americans are more likely to be stereotyped as athletes than doctors, lawyers or entrepreneurs. The path to a "color-blind" nation is still a work in progress.
- Piazza wasn't considered much of a prospect for the majors It's probably going to be a quiet few days in Cooperstown when Hall of Fame weekend rolls around this summer. The baseball writers did not elect anybody this year despite some heavyweight candidates. The problem was that at least three of the poster boys for the steroids era, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa, were on the ballot for the first time. The writers were clearly making a statement when nobody got elected.
- Who would have thought e-books would be so popular? When I was in library school 25 years ago, a future concept was presented that seemed absurd at the time. It was the notion you could read books on a small computerized device about the size of a pocketbook.
- 2012 was a year of great films, future favorites The year 2012 was a blockbuster year for great films. Several of the movies up for Best Picture would have been runaway favorites almost any other time. They will make for easy pickings for the library when they become available on DVD.
- Blockbusters are not the only movies worth watching Hollywood makes enough movies that there are always a few that you don't hear about until they are on DVD. Sometimes they are simply horrible films that end their theater run quickly, but often they are "diamonds in the rough" that made their mark at film festivals.
- Mickey Mantle biography shows the good and the ugly It has become obvious in recent days that bestowing "hero" status on athletes is a misplaced priority.
- Book looks at 50 years of James Bond movies When I was in elementary school, James Bond was all the rage. For some reason I didn't see any of the early films with Sean Connery playing the infamous 007 British spy, but my siblings and several friends certainly did.
- Two thumbs up for the film 'Arbitrage" Arbitrage is a word that 99.99 percent of us probably never heard of until the movie with that title appeared. I looked it up on Wikipedia and discovered why nobody had heard of it. It refers to Wall Street financiers and has a meaning so convoluted that I couldn't figure it out.
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