The Captains (2011)

The Captains is a feature length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed Starship captains within the illustrious science-fiction franchise.

Director:

William Shatner

Writer:

William Shatner

Stars:

William Shatner, Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
William Shatner	...	Self
Patrick Stewart	...	Self (as Sir Patrick Stewart)
Avery Brooks	...	Self
Kate Mulgrew	...	Self
Scott Bakula	...	Self
Chris Pine	...	Self
Christopher Plummer	...	Self
Richard Arnold	...	Self - Fmr. Assistant to Gene Roddenberry
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rene Auberjonois	...	Self
Ira Steven Behr	...	Self
John de Lancie	...	Self
Paul Duraso	...	Arm Wrestling Referee
Jonathan Frakes	...	Self
Sally Kellerman	...	Self
Walter Koenig	...	Self

Storyline

The Captains takes the audience on a voyage of discovery as pop culture phenom William Shatner interviews Sir Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard Star Trek: The Next Generation), Avery Brooks (Captain Benjamin Sisko Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Kate Mulgrew (Captain Kathryn Janeway, Star Trek: Voyager), Scott Bakula (Captain Jonathan Archer, Star Trek: Enterprise), and Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek 2009). With each of these celebrated actors Shatner explores the pressures and pitfalls that came along with donning the Starfleet uniform and reveals for the first time his own embarrassment over the role which made him a household name. With the help of his fellow captains Shatner learns to respect his work on the original Star Trek and finishes the film with a new perspective on life, death, and the legacy he will leave behind. The Captains also delves into each of the actors' lives and careers leading up to their landmark television performances. The film pays ...

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Plot Keywords:

canada | film clips | archive footage | singing | horseback riding | 

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Taglines:

The final frontier is only the beginning

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was a series of books which had each of the captains walk through a door/portal that led them into a bar where they each spoke of the travails of being a captain, called "Captains Table" . Very interesting as how they created the entrance no matter where the captains were at the moment and captains could cross paths of past captains before they were or even ones past dead. But all captains, no matter the ship.

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Goofs

Right after the scene showing Captain Sisco on the bridge of the original Enterprise, there's a shot of Voyager dropping out of warp speed. The shot must be running backwards as no ship has even been shown to warp aft end forward.

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Crazy Credits

Head Sci/Fantasy Con Promoter Debbie Hess

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Connections

References Star Trek: Voyager (1995)

User Reviews

A great look back

I have found Shatner to be a great interviewer. He really knows how to get insightful responses from those he questions. In this documentary I found the best parts of it were when he was talking about his own career and looking back and when the person he was interviewing was asking him questions too. You get a good sense from the interviews the personal sacrifices that the "Captains" on each Trek show had to make and how their jobs were certainly different than the rest of the cast.

The highlights were his conversation style interview with Patrick Stewart at Stewart's home as well as his interview with Kate Mulgrew in a theater in New York City.

Overall though the best part of this documentary is Shatner himself. As he describes his long life and career and even discusses his thoughts on the end of life and his closeness to that end. That gave the documentary a slightly sad and nostalgic feel to it. It felt in some ways almost as if he were saying farewell just slightly. I say just slightly because as you will see when watching that Shatner has a zest for living that few his age can muster. He truly is a marvel to watch and I wish him many more years.

If you are a fan of Trek and of Shatner then this documentary is a must see. You will enjoy it immensely.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

22 July 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Captains

Filming Locations:

Toronto Pearson International Airport, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Le Big Boss Productions, Ballinran Entertainment, Movie Central

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD