Posted: 10/18/2011

The Captains: A Film by William Shatner

(2011)

by Amber Burnham

Now available on DVD from Entertainment One

Forty-five years after the Starship Enterprise first hit the airwaves, The Captains: A Film by William Shatner discusses the character that was at the helm of it all: the captain of the starship U.S.S. Enterprise. Six actors have played captains of the Enterprise; William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard), Avery Brooks (Captain Benjamin Sisko), Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway), Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer) and most recently Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek 2009). Shatner flies around the world talking with each of these actors about their experiences and lasting impressions of playing the role. Not only does Shatner learn about the various people who have played the captains, but he also learns about himself and his impact as being the very first captain.

This is not what a typical documentary would normally be; most of the time is spent in one-on-one interviews with the actors with bits of information given throughout. This does not take away from this as a documentary. The focus is not Star Trek but the people who played the character of the captain on the different series’ throughout the last forty-five years. Because of this, the most can only be learned by talking with the people themselves.

The Captains is a wonderful documentary for any Star Trek fan. No matter which franchise was your favorite, you will walk away with great respect for all of the actors who were chosen to play the various captains over the years. It was obvious that Shatner did his research on the actors before going into the interviews. Shatner offers a variety of questions to each actor, some obviously challenging. He was able to get the most from the little time he had with each person because the questions and issues were tailored for each individual. The similarities and differences in each of the actors are amazing to learn. To learn that all of the actors had strong theatrical backgrounds before taking the role of captain is an interesting point. Something about the stage and this role worked well together. At the same time, each individual was as different in real life as their captains were on screen.

Along with the interviews with the actors playing the captains, various other Star Trek stars discussed the actors they worked with, both as people and as the captains they portrayed. There is also vintage footage from Star Trek, footage from conventions, and photographs of many of the actors in some of their first theatrical roles. The disc also contains the bonus The Making of The Captains. Although, this is a short featurette, it gives a little light on why and how the documentary was created.

Amber Burnham has a BA in Early Childhood Education from Kendall College. She is also a regular panelist on Kichicast, the all-girl, Chicago-based podcast devoted to anime, manga, and Japanese culture. You can listen to Kichicast at kichigi.com.

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