Star Trek Memories

by William Shatner, Chris Kreski

Overview

The star of the legendary sci-fi franchise shares the ultimate “Captain’s Log” in this classic behind-the-scenes memoir.

A living pop culture legend and one of Hollywood’s most enduring stars, William Shatner will forever be associated with the role of James T. Kirk, captain of the starship Enterprise and hero of the sci-fi series Star Trek. Beginning in 1966, Star Trek offered something entirely new to prime time TV audiences. Though it suffered from shaky ratings throughout its run, the show became a global pop culture phenomenon, as well as a billion-dollar entertainment juggernaut.

In Star Trek Memories, Shatner offers fans his personal insights and recollections of the show’s creation. He covers everything from the drama behind its most unforgettable episodes, to its outsized cultural influence and groundbreaking vision of the future. 

Star Trek Memories includes more than 120 photographs and illustrations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781504086745
Publisher:	Open Road Media
Publication date:	09/12/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	16,616
File size:	116 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

William Shatner (b. 1931) is a Canadian actor, author, and film director, known for his irreverent charm and his star turn as Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, as well as many other roles. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Shatner was cast in Star Trek as the courageous, unpredictable Captain James T. Kirk in 1966. The show became a cult hit in syndication, leading to a number of spin-offs and movies. Shatner starred in seven Star Trek films beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. He later played leading roles on the television series T.J. Hooker (1982–86) and Boston Legal (2004–08). Shatner has also published a number of novels, most notably TekWar (1989), a science-fiction thriller that inspired eight sequels as well as video games and a television series. When he isn’t working, Shatner and his wife, Elizabeth, divide their time between Southern California and Kentucky.

Chris Kreski (1962–2005) was a writer and consultant for MTV and a head writer of The Daily Show. He cowrote Star Trek Memories and Star Trek Movie Memories, as well as several other books with William Shatner.

William Shatner (b. 1931) is a Canadian actor, author, and film director, known for his irreverent charm and his star turn as Captain Kirk in the original Star Trek television series, as well as many other roles. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Shatner was cast in Star Trek as the courageous, unpredictable Captain James T. Kirk in 1966. The show became a cult hit in syndication, leading to a number of spin-offs and movies. Shatner starred in seven Star Trek films beginning with Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979. He later played leading roles on the television series T.J. Hooker (1982–86) and Boston Legal (2004–08). Shatner has also published a number of novels, most notably TekWar (1989), a science-fiction thriller that inspired eight sequels as well as video games and a television series. When he isn’t working, Shatner and his wife, Elizabeth, divide their time between Southern California and Kentucky. 

Editorial Reviews

It's been a very good year for Trekkers. There've been a new TV series, more ST novels; the excellent "Star Trek Chronology" ; ST star beamdowns to conventions all over the map; the promise of ST flicker number seven, in which old- and new-generation characters will collide; and now this: Captain Kirk's--well, okay, his personifier William Shatner's--chatty, anecdote-laden memoirs of making the original TV series. And man, is he chatty. Get a load of this, from the first page of text proper, on which we join the star upon his awakening: "Now, as a pronounced series of bodily cracks and pops serenades me from deep within most of my moving parts, I make a supreme effort to overcome my blissful inertia. I . . ." Who's this guy think he is--Zeus? Arnold Schwarzenegger? Bob Greene? Real fans wouldn't want it any other way, of course; like Einbinder's Flypaper, Shatner's fustian is the brand we've come to depend on over the course of three decades. And real fans will love the hunks of fellow ST stars' and production crew members' reminiscences that Shatner generously includes, not to mention the "candid" production stills and other photos and designers' drawings that decorate.

Ray Olson

Finally, the Captain's Log that a zillion Trekkers have been waiting for. This isn't an omnibus Star Trek history. Shatner (a.k.a. Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise) and Kreski (editorial director of MTV) stick to Stardate mid-1960's and the original TV series, skipping both the Star Trek movies (presumably the subject of a future Shatner memoir) and the multiple series spinoffs. No matter; what remains is a fascinating account of network TV in its post-Beaver, pre-Bunker teenage years. Shatner works against his reputation for hogging the limelight (which he confronts head-on in the final chapter) by remaining off-camera for the first quarter of the text while recounting Gene Roddenberry's early Hollywood career and the making of the pilot, the "absolutely, incontrovertibly brilliant" The Cage. Tidbits tumble forth: at first Roddenberry envisioned a Captain Robert April at the helm of the USS Yorktown, with a half-Martian "satanic" Mr. Spock at his side. As the high concept took flesh, a fight arose among studio executives over Spock: How important should he be? What should his ears look like?—questions that attained even greater importance when, to everyone's bewilderment, the mind-melding Vulcan bested Kirk as the focus of the Trekker cult. Soon the rest of the cast signed on, along with ace producer Gene Coon, whom Shatner praises to the detriment of icon Roddenberry: "Roddenberry created Star Trek, and Coon made it fly." Shatner's favorite program ("The Devil in the Dark"), Leonard Nimoy's clashes with management, why laser-guns became "phasers": there's enough here to satiate the most avid Trekker, delivered with pop and pizazz. After just three years, atired cast called it quits, or so they thought. Today, Star Trek prospers, and so will this memoir—most probably at warp speed. ("Over 130 never-before-seen photographs"—not seen)

Kirkus Reviews