How William Shatner Changed the World (TV 2005)

William Shatner presents a light-hearted look at how the "Star Trek" TV series have influenced and inspired today's technologies, including: cell phones, medical imaging, computers and ... See full summary »

Director:

Julian Jones

Writers:

Alan Handel, Julian Jones,

Stars:

William Shatner, Jon Adler, Martin Cooper

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Shatner	...	Himself - Host / Narrator
Jon Adler	...	Himself - Stanford University School of Medicine (as Prof. John Adler)
Martin Cooper	...	Himself - Inventor, Cell Phone
Rob Haitani	...	Himself - Product Designer, Palm One
Yuri Gagarin	...	Himself - Soviet Cosmonaut (archive footage)
Marc D. Rayman	...	Himself - Chief Propulsion Engineer, NASA, JPL (as Dr. Marc D. Rayman)
George Takei	...	Himself
Mae C. Jemison	...	Herself - NASA Astronaut 1987-1993 (as Dr. Mae C. Jemison)
Seth Shostak	...	Himself - SETI Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (as Dr. Seth Shostak)
Bruce Damer	...	Himself
Bill Gates	...	Himself (archive footage)
Miguel Alcubierre	...	Himself - National University of Mexico (as Dr. Miguel Alcubierre)
D.C. Fontana	...	Herself - Writer, Star Trek 1966-1969 (as Dorothy C. Fontana)
Jonathan Frakes	...	Himself
Walter Koenig	...	Himself (archive footage)

Storyline

William Shatner presents a light-hearted look at how the "Star Trek" TV series have influenced and inspired today's technologies, including: cell phones, medical imaging, computers and software, SETI, MP3 players and iPods, virtual reality, and spaceship propulsion.

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Plot Keywords:

star trek | computer | technology | cell phone | space | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Discovery Channel

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 November 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

How Star Trek Changed the World

Filming Locations:

Boulder Creek, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Handel Productions, Mentorn

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min 85 min (DVD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Design for Dreaming (1956)

User Reviews

The evolution of the Star Trek era

This documentary makes a very nice overview of the evolution of the Star Trek era and how the show changed the world. Of course, it doesn't take itself seriously and Shatner is even able to laugh at his own short sightedness.

You will probably fall into two categories: those who think Star Trek is overrated and those who think Star Trek is underrated. I think I fall somewhere in the middle. Star Trek is based on a world that was evolving even before the show ever took the air. But I think it was a catalyst for the speed at which the technical evolution was occurring.

Worth viewing if you remotely like Star Trek and a nice showcase of the evolution of technology as pushed by "Star Trek geeks".