How William Shatner Changed the World (2005) (TV)

Director:

Julian Jones

Writers:

William Shatner (book)
Chip Walter (book)
(more)

Release Date:

13 November 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sci-Fi

Plot:

William Shatner presents a light-hearted look at how the "Star Trek" TV series have influenced and inspired today's technologies...

Plot Keywords:

Star Trek | Computer | Technology | Cell Phone | Space

Awards:

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

Cast

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 (also archive footage) (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)
Steve Perlman	...	Himself - President, MOVA
Stephen Hawking	...	Himself - Scientific Genius (archive footage)
Lawrence Krauss	...	Himself - Case Western Reserve University (as Prof. Lawrence Krauss)
André Bormanis	...	Himself - Star Trek Science Consultant (as Andre Bormanis)
Kevin Warwick	...	Himself - Dept. of Cybernetics, Reading University UK (as Prof. Kevin Warwick)
Ira Steven Behr	...	Himself - Writer, The Next Generation
Kate Mulgrew	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lou Antonio	...	Lokai (archive footage)
Barbara Babcock	...	Philana (archive footage)
Robert Beltran	...	Chakotay (archive footage)
Tim Brazeal	...	Paramount Rally Organizer
Avery Brooks	...	Captain Benjamin Sisko (archive footage)
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (archive footage)
Buster Crabbe	...	Flash Gordon (archive footage)
John de Lancie	...	Q (archive footage)
James Doohan	...	Lt. Commander Montgomery Scott (archive footage)
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf (archive footage)
Marj Dusay	...	Kara (archive footage)
Albert Einstein	...	Himself (archive footage)
Frank Gorshin	...	Bele (archive footage)
Jayne Heitmeyer	...	Irate Home Owner
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy (archive footage)
Mark Lenard	...	Sarek (archive footage)
Bela Lugosi	...	(archive footage)
Gates McFadden	...	Doctor Beverly Crusher (archive footage)
Robert Duncan McNeill	...	Tom Paris (archive footage)
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien (archive footage)
Anthony Montgomery	...	Ensign Travis Mayweather (archive footage)
Charles Napier	...	Adam (archive footage)
John Neville	...	Isaac Newton (archive footage)
Nichelle Nichols	...	Herself
Leonard Nimoy	...	Spock (archive footage)
Eddie Paskey	...	Lieutenant Leslie (archive footage)
Roger Perry	...	Captain John Christopher (archive footage)
Ethan Phillips	...	Neelix (archive footage)
Mary Linda Rapelye	...	Irina (archive footage)
Duncan Regehr	...	Ronin (archive footage)
Gene Roddenberry	...	Himself (archive footage)
Tim Russ	...	Tuvok (archive footage)
Kirkpatrick Sale	...	Himself - Author
Dwight Schultz	...	Barclay (archive footage)
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deana Troi (archive footage)
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data (archive footage)
Rick Sternbach	...	Himself - Prop Designer, The Next Generation
Patrick Stewart	...	Captain Jean Luc Picard (archive footage)
Nana Visitor	...	Major Kira (archive footage)
Robert Walker Jr.	...	Charlie Evans (archive footage)
Garrett Wang	...	Harry Kim (archive footage)
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher (archive footage)
Grace Lee Whitney	...	Yeoman Janice Rand (archive footage)
Meg Wyllie	...	The Keeper (archive footage)
Jane Wyman	...	Amanda (archive footage)
Michael Zaslow	...	Darnell (archive footage)

Directed by
Julian Jones

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Alan Handel
Julian Jones
William Shatner		book
Chip Walter		book

Produced by
Malcolm Clark	....	executive producer
Alan Handel	....	executive producer
Alan Handel	....	producer
Susan Werbe	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Stephane Lavallee

Cinematography by
Robert Bock

Film Editing by
Howard Goldberg

Production Management
Robert Ditchburn	....	production supervisor: host shoot
David R. McLeod	....	post-production supervisor
Natacha Robinson	....	production supervisor
Lynn Trout	....	production supervisor

Sound Department
Louis Collin	....	supervising sound editor
François Proulx	....	sound
Bruno Ruffolo	....	sound mixer

Visual Effects by
Sebastien Dostie	....	consulting visual effects designer

Editorial Department
Véronique Barbe	....	assistant editor (as Veronique Barbe)
Erik Daniel	....	post-production consultant
Pierre Del Duchetto	....	cgi artist
Eric Losier	....	on-line editor
Etienne Patry	....	color correction

Other crew
Ginette Beauchemin	....	archival research
Ginette Beauchemin	....	production team
Claire Benoit	....	business affairs
Claire Benoit	....	legal affairs
Andrea Boscan	....	production team
Andrea Boscan	....	researcher
Johanne Caporicci	....	coordinator: host shoot (as Johanne Caporricci)
Johanne Caporicci	....	production team
Christopher T. Carley	....	assistant: William Shatner
Irene Carter	....	administration
Irene Carter	....	production team
Irene Carter	....	tax credits
Giuliana Cucinelli	....	production coordinator
Giuliana Cucinelli	....	production secretary
Robbie Ditchburn	....	production team
Anik Fournier	....	production accountant
Anik Fournier	....	production team (as Anik Fournier)
Ann Harbron	....	production executive: Discovery Channel Canada
Emily MacDowell	....	programming coordinator
Ann Mayall	....	production team
Ann Mayall	....	rights clearances
Joe Mayhew	....	production team
Joe Mayhew	....	researcher
Dave Novak	....	unit publicist (as David Novek)

Thanks
Jocelyn Beaulieu	....	thanks
Virginie Beck	....	thanks
Joe Iacono	....	thanks
Carmen La Via	....	thanks (as Carmen Lavia)
Melinda McNeelly	....	thanks
Jill Offman	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Handel Productions
• Mentorn

Distributors

• Discovery Channel Canada (2005) (Canada) (TV)
• Allumination Filmworks (2005) (USA) (video)
• Five (2006) (UK) (TV)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Aston Martin North America  courtesy of: Aston Martin DB9
• BBC Motion Gallery  archival material (as Motion Gallery)
• Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)  archival material (as CBC)
• Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC)  with the assistance of (as The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit)
• Cancer Research UK  archival material
• Discovery Channel Canada  developed in association with
• F.I.L.M. Archives  archival material
• Fermilab Visual Media Services  archival material
• Getty Images  archival material
• ITN Archive/Reuters  archival material (as ITN/Reuters)
• Jet Propulsion Laboratory  archival material
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)  archival material
• National Film Board of Canada (NFB)  archival material (as National Film Board of Canada)
• Paramount Pictures  courtesy of: Star Trek Footage
• Quebec Film and Television Tax Credit  with the assistance of (as Quebéc Film and Television Tax Credit)
• Rearden Studios  archival material (as Reardon Studios)
• Siemens Medical Solutions  archival material
• Unité de programmes Découverte et Connaissance  in association with: production (as Arte France - Unité Découverte et Connaissance)
• Universal Networks International  in association with: production
• Vulcan Productions  archival material (as Vulcan Inc)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:85 min (DVD version) | USA:120 min | Canada:90 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Australia:PG | New Zealand:PG

Filming Locations:

Boulder Creek, California, USA

Company:

Handel Productions

Movie Connections:

Features Design for Dreaming (1956)

Shatner is Freaking Crazy

I like William Shatner. I like Star Trek. But this was a bit too much.

First, the show does make some valid points about "Star Trek"s influence on the world of science over the years, but only enough for about the first hour. After that, it launches into a tailspin that discusses what the other Trek franchises tried to do and how they failed.

Even during most of the first hour, it doesn't do much but bring out some scientific pioneers and make them look absolutely silly. By the time it starts trotting out familiar Trek faces, the grins will fade. You feel sorry for people who have millions of dollars as their 'beamed' places or start quoting episodes. I mean, I do it too, but if I had money, I wouldn't do it on national television.

Most of the narration is self referential, and Shatner degrades the show and himself throughout. It's amusing, but, gets kind of tiring after a while. His exuberance and sheer bounciness is the best part of the piece, don't get me wrong, but there's a point that his narration and the hyper kinetic editing just become boring.

This show really isn't for non-Trekkies. And I don't think it's even really for Trekkers if they have their wits about them. It's really just a platform for William Shatner to be crazy, and, for people who love him, that's what they'll get here.