The Captains

As documentaries go, I admit I don't have a lot of viewing experience. As Star Trek goes however, I found this to be very enjoyable.

Shatner comes across as a pretty decent guy and his interviews with the various actors who have sat in the captain's chair are revealing, often funny, and occasionally very touching, and it is in these moments where The Captains really shines. The contrasting discussions with Scott Bakula and Patrick Stewart over their divorces and the discussion between Shatner and Stewart over their legacies on the show are both fantastic moments. Throughout the documentary there is a lot of insight given into the construction of the captain characters.

My one major complaint is that Avery Brooks gives pretty much nothing. He sits at his piano and plays jazz in a lot of his scenes, which is OK I guess, but we don't really find out anything about his relationship to the Sisko character. The first twenty minutes is also a little tedious.

Really, if you're a Star Trek fan, even in passing, this is worth a look. I definitely recommend it.

What a great movie. Shatner does a great job of finding out who these actors are and what impact it had on their lives. He gets to the heart of what it means to be an actor and also what it means to be a part of Star Trek. I really enjoyed hearing from the Actors (Brooks, Mulgrew, Stewart, Bakula, Pine and Shatner) about their experience as actors and as Captains on Star Trek. We really see what love these actors had for the show and how it effected them.

The movie was shot and edited wonderfully. Great production quality. I was really pleasantly surprised. I wish there were extended interviews on the DVD since I wanted to see even more. It was a really interesting and fun movie and I really enjoyed it!

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.

Entertaining? Yes Informative? Yes. Self-serving to Shatner's ego? Definitely.

If you can get past Shatner's huge ego, then this is an enjoyable documentary. Obviously it's a must-watch for any serious fan, but casual ones will find it interesting too. Also, Shatner's questions, while long winded and self-centered, did elicit some great dialog from the other captains. I especially enjoyed the emotional chat with Patrick Stewart. I was particularly surprised with the Christopher Plummer appearance. Then the tables turn and they ask the Shat questions. Sadly, you kinda get to understand why some of the other characters complained about him over the years.

Also, it never really occurred to me the intense commitment and time it takes to be the captain, or the toll it took on their family lives. And, you might be concerned for Avery Brooks, although my Rutgers friends say that theater professors are often like that...

This is a very odd and meandering little documentary. If you hate Star Trek or have little interest in it, then you should probably avoid it. But, if you like or love the shows, then by all means give it a look--but the film is probably NOT what you are expecting.

William Shatner made this documentary. It consists of him traveling about the globe interviewing the various people who have played the Captain on the various Trek incarnations--"Star Trek: The Next Generation", "Deep Space 9", "Voyager", "Enterprise" and even the latest movie "Star Trek"--where the Kirk character was given a re-boot. But, I was surprised because the flow of the show and the interviews seems rather free-form. And, unlike my expectations, it did NOT consist of the actors reminiscing very much about the show or telling amusing anecdotes (though there are a few). Instead, it's rather philosophical and discusses such unusual topics as death and the afterlife, the effect the shows had on their family lives (it was mostly VERY negative) and the legacy of having been a 'Captain'. The biggest surprise for me was how incredibly grueling the shows were--as 12-14 hour days were the norm. So, being at work 60-75 hours a week was typical--and wrecked a few marriages. How very sad. Yet, despite this, they all seemed very much at peace with the show and their legacy.

Overall, a delightful and slight little film. Worth seeing and thought-provoking.

why APple AnnIE? effect on family relationships--sad; grueling schedule