Why I Am Glad William Shatner Was Not in “Star Trek”

I read this years ago, but I thought I would post it here, since it’s now pertinent again.  William Shatner threw a fit about not being included in the new Star Trek movie by J.J. Abrams, and the following link is why I am glad that he was left out.  (Note, there’s some language in Wheaton’s posts, so be aware they may be NSFW.)

http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/20562/

Wil posted a follow-up to the encounter, but even though he and Shatner seem to be on okay ground with one another despite how they first met, I cannot help but feel that if Shatner would act that way to a kid of 16 and have to be asked to give an apology, he’s not the kind of guy who I feel warrants my attention. 
Now that “Star Trek” has proved to be a huge success and established the reboot series to be an alternate timeline (where Kirk did not die in “Star Trek: Generations”), I’m sure that William Shatner will be involved in the sequel that we all know is coming in some regard.   I hope that if he is, it is not more than a cameo, but we’ll see.  Given the time-travel dynamic of this one has yet to be set up (was the entirety of the time-line set up when events veered away from one another or is each new moment creating the time-line as it goes, thus not having a future for an older Kirk to come from?), there is no distinct “in-text” reason/logic for or against an appearance by Shatner’s Kirk.  One can only assume and hope that J.J. Abrams will make the correct call as he did for “Star Trek” in any coming sequels.
Oh, and as a final note on this subject, I do think that the new film was excellent; it was “Dark Knight” good.  My girlfriend also really enjoyed it, saying that she has developed a crush on Zachary Quinto’s incarnation of Mr. Spock.  There are enough reviews and blogs about it out there that I don’t feel the need to rehash any of what has been said.  Nikki Stafford posted a pretty spoiler-free review that pretty much sums up my feelings on the movie as well (though I didn’t mind the relationship she felt was tacked on).  A great movie that makes me really wish I had more time and disposable income to see a couple more times in the theater.  And it does so completely Shatner free. (See what I did there?)

By B.J. Keeton

B.J. KEETON is a writer, teacher, and runner. When he isn't trying to think of a way to trick Fox into putting Firefly back on the air, he is either writing science fiction, watching an obscene amount of genre television, or looking for new ways to integrate fitness into his geektastic lifestyle. He is also the author of BIRTHRIGHT and co-author of NIMBUS. Both books are available for Amazon Kindle.

1 comment

  1. Good article. I can see why your girlfriend (and my cousin) has a thing for the recent incarnation of Spock. He greatly resembles a young Nimoy of days gone by who, by the way,I had a secret crush on! Must be a family thing!

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