Shatner: Humanity Is at Heart of ‘Star Trek’ Appeal

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The notion that humanity will overcome external problems through technology but still will have to cope with its nature is at the heart of why “Star Trek” has endured and remained part of popular culture nearly 60 years after its first episode aired, series star William Shatner said. 

Shatner, who portrayed Capt. James T. Kirk, commander of the U.S.S. Enterprise in the original series and seven feature films, will be at Packard Music Hall in Warren on Sept. 26 for a screening of “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and a question-and-answer session. Tickets for the event can be purchased HERE and at the Packard box office.

“Star Trek II” was released in summer 1982, about two years after “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” a “pretty good” movie that nonetheless “didn’t satisfy the audience,” Shatner said during a phone interview Monday.

The follow-up movie hearkened back to the original television series, which “became popular because it was all about humanity,” he said.

“That’s what ‘The Wrath of Khan’ was about. It’s more human, more identifiable and emotional, and I think that’s the reason why it’s popular,” he continued.

As mankind faces “a tsunami of problems dealing with global warming,” “Star Trek” suggests that humanity will exist in a better world in which technology will help deal with external problems, Shatner said.

“But the problem that humanity has all the time with our nature will remain the same. So given a technological exterior that is interesting and different and imaginative, the same ills will still apply to human beings,” he continued. “That conundrum is what interests people.”

“Star Trek” ran for only three seasons, from 1966 to 1969, but became popular enough in syndication to spawn the film series. The success of the films spurred several spinoff shows on television and now streaming services, plus a reboot film series starring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto.

Pine is one of two actors in the past 15 years who have assumed the role that Shatner has defined – and which has defined him – since the 1960s. He likened the experience to the many actors who have portrayed the title character of “Hamlet” in the 400 years since William Shakespeare wrote the play, and each actor brings their own personality and interpretation of life to the part.

“So reading the lines, they would choose to read them in their own unique way, and the character of Hamlet becomes different with each actor. And I presume that’s the same case here.” Each brings their own experience to the role “and it’s different from what I did.”

When Shatner appears in Warren, he won’t be far from one of the artifacts he used in “Star Trek II,” a handheld communicator. The communicator was among the hundreds of items donated to the Trumbull County Historical Society last year by Hollywood prop maker John Zabrucky, a Warren native, to serve as the core collection for a science fiction museum.

Another item in the collection that Shatner appeared in a scene with – in a non-“Star Trek” role – is a set of tubes known as “the most important device in the universe,” a set of blinking tubes that has been used in several movies and television productions. 

The historical society is “still in the process of figuring out what exactly our participation will look like,” said Meghan Reed, TCHS’s executive director. She would like the historical society to at least have a table at the event to pass out information to the “built-in audience” – for what will be known as the Museum of Science Fiction and Fantasy Arts.

“Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to talk to him while he’s in town,” she said. “We would love to have the opportunity to give him some information about the project and hear from him about what he would want to see highlighted in the space.”

Shatner’s connection with the iconic science fiction franchise brought him into contact with California-based Proto Inc., which manufactures holographic devices that will be distributed by a new Boardman company, Futuristix.

Inspired by the fictional transporter, the storytelling device employed on “Star Trek” to get people to and from the Enterprise, Proto representatives approached Shatner about becoming involved with their company. While they couldn’t move his body, they could move his image in 3D, and it would look exactly like him.

“I checked it out with them, and it was perfect,” he said.

About a week after signing on as an investor, Shatner got a phone call from an Australian travel company that wanted to fly him to Australia for an appearance.

“I said I can’t fly to Australia, but what I can do is I can beam in,” he said. “And they said that’s better.”

He made arrangements with Proto to set up the equipment, and he spent an hour entertaining 4,000 people from a stage in Los Angeles, “and it looked like I was appearing in Australia.”

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