The Captains

Shatner, who played the first Star Trek captain, James T. Kirk, on the 1960s TV series and in several films, traveled to England and across the United States to interview five other actors about their lives and experiences portraying captains in the now legendary sf franchise. It's an interesting premise, but the results are somewhat uneven. Veteran Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and a handful of films), for example, is consistently witty and insightful, but young actor Chris Pine (Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek movie) comes off as rather bland. Kate Mulgrew (Capt. Kathryn Janeway in Star Trek: Voyager) is frank about the difficulties she had as a single mother working 16-hour days on the Trek set, and Scott Bakula (Capt. Jonathan Archer on Star Trek: Enterprise) unguardedly discusses how his constant television work contributed to the end of his first marriage. But Avery Brooks (Capt. Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), while amiable, is often oddly elliptical and evasive, unlike the straightforward character he portrayed. Shatner, the documentary's writer and director, also talks about his own long acting career and how he only recently came to embrace being so strongly identified with Kirk. Though at times the film loses its focus—an interview with actor Christopher Plummer, who played a Klingon in the film Star Trek VI, feels a bit out of place, and the obligatory scenes at a Star Trek convention seem gratuitous—but there are nonetheless plenty of keen perceptions here. Die-hard Star Trek fans will get the most out of this production, but patrons interested in the acting life as well will find much to like.—David Rapp, Library Journal