star trek fan edit

• Unread posts
• Latest posts
• Rules & Guidelines
• Most new users don't bother reading our rules . Here's the one that is ignored almost immediately upon signup: DO NOT ASK FOR FANEDIT LINKS PUBLICLY. First, read the FAQ . Seriously. What you want is there. You can also send a message to the editor. If that doesn't work THEN post in the Trade & Request forum. Anywhere else and it will be deleted and an infraction will be issued.
• If this is your first time here please read our FAQ and Rules pages. They have some useful information that will get us all off on the right foot, especially our Own the Source rule. If you do not understand any of these rules send a private message to one of our staff for further details.
• Please read our Rules & Guidelines
• Fanedit Discussions
• Extended Editions

STAR TREK THE MOTION PICTURE: THE COMPLETE EDITION - 1080p HD at 60fps derived from 4K versions

• Thread starter Wraith
• Start date Oct 24, 2022

Well-known member

• Oct 24, 2022
• The Theatrical Version (T)
• The Director's Edition (D)
• The Special Extended Version (X)

This new edition of Director's Edition was badly DNRed and looks considerably worse than theatrical one. If I were you, I would consider adding some layer of grain or use theatrical as main source. I'm not sure what's the deal with 60 fps here 🤨  

Gieferg said: Director's Edition was badly DNRed and looks considerably worse than theatrical one. If I were you, I would consider adding some layer of grain or use theatrical as main source. I don't really understand what's the deal with 60 fps here. Click to expand...

subjectzero - Fanedit.org

I should clarify…the audio is the core that will underlying the edit..visuals will come from theatrical and extended …and of corse some Directors edition… Click to expand...

Gieferg said: Now that's more like it. As for framerates, nah, I am traditionalist in that regard, original 24 (or should I say 23,976) fps for life and I am not messing with it. Also, I keep everything in standards as I burn everything on BD-Rs that are supposed to play without any problems on any player. So no-no to cropping black bars or changing FPS. Click to expand...

Wraith said: but let’s see where this goes… Click to expand...

Dwight Fry said: Question: original or DE VFX shots? Click to expand...

• Oct 25, 2022

I'm not doing any TMP edit at the moment, but just wanted to show you something, for inspiration maybe? As I wasn't too happy with the look of Director's Edition, I've made a quick fix to it using a grain plate with a slighly warm tint. Before: https://images4.imagebam.com/89/a1/5c/MEFYHRN_o.png After: https://images4.imagebam.com/b2/11/8e/MEFYHRK_o.png  

That’s great thanks… Where’s the grain plate sourced from?  

Well, I've made it in Vegas :>  

• Nov 27, 2022

Can't wait to see the final results! I've always had heart for the first Star Trek movie!  

Gieferg said: I'm not doing any TMP edit at the moment, but just wanted to show you something, for inspiration maybe? As I wasn't too happy with the look of Director's Edition, I've made a quick fix to it using a grain plate with a slighly warm tint. Before: https://images4.imagebam.com/89/a1/5c/MEFYHRN_o.png After: https://images4.imagebam.com/b2/11/8e/MEFYHRK_o.png Click to expand...

• Jan 13, 2023

UPDATE: Analysis on this is underway and will take a LONG time... The seamless braching on the parent 4K and BDs will complicate matters, but I've tackled this issue before for CE3K. A visual sweep is insufficient due to the extensive additional ADR and folley added to the 4K Director's edition. SInce I will be creating a CONFORMED Theatrical Cut as well, some segments will not match the revised audio styl and these will all need to have audio work to make them seamless...so a lot of planning. I do not expect to start editing proper on this till mid 2023. In between I have two other edits I will be pulling together to stop me going mad and to keep me engaged...Planning is tedious and STTMP is not disimilar in scope to The Godfather Magnum Opus in many respects. There are also choices to be made on certain scenes such as when Kirk, Bones and Spock have their discussion in front of THAT window looking out on the back of the Enterprise. There are now no less than 3 versions of this backdrop...the latest being awful but in 4k, the previous version also questionable....you get the idea... I shall report back.  

• Sep 1, 2023

Hello! Just wondering if you had made any progress on this edit as it sounds wonderful?  

Darth Kermit

60 fps?! Bruh, this ain’t it. Are you using AI to generate frames? Edit: I see you are releasing a 24 FPS version. Color me interested in that version of the project  

• Sep 2, 2023

Darth Kermit said: 60 fps?! Bruh, this ain’t it. Are you using AI to generate frames? Edit: I see you are releasing a 24 FPS version. Color me interested in that version of the project Click to expand...

Star Trek Fan Edits (Released)

Okay, I’m a big Trekkie! I do alot of these edits myself, and I want to share with everyone the edits I have either found or made. Please post any others that I have missed, along with details about them.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Kirkless Generations</span> This is the first Star Trek fan edit I found. Made by CBB Studios if I am not mistaken. This edit involves taking Captain Kirk out of Star Trek: Generations, and turning the story into a feature length episode of The Next Generation. I believe they did this because they think his part in it ruined the film. It lasts about 85 minutes.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - In Thy Image</span> This is an edit I was searching for for ages! Made by Jack Marshall, the former director of the fan series - Star Trek: New Voyages , this edit made me smile. It was made as a re-edit of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, into the pilot episode of Star Trek: Phase II. The aim for this, was to cut it down, making it more viewable and exciting. It lasts about 63 minutes, like the original pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: The Lost Episode</span> This is the second edit I found. The most ingenious and hilarious I have ever seen. I’m not exactly sure what to say about it, so I shall quote from their website here.

<div class=“PostQuote”>It was created in 1988* by “borrowing” elements (sound and footage) from all 78 episodes of The Original Series. (And the cartoon series - & the original cast’s non-Star Trek roles.) These were “reassembling” into a new, cautionary episode: How a show can wander off course and get itself canceled. This is a full length spoof of The Original Series. The scenes were completely re-edited into a “new” episode, and then we replaced the dialogue with our own. The sound track was gleaned from original TOS music & sound effects. Here, the Enterprise is still on its way to Babel. This time the Romulans attempt to finish what the Andorians started: To stop Corridon’s admission to the Federation.</div>

It is available to download from their site, or to be sent a copy via the post. It lasts about 77 minutes.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Kirk V Picard</span> Again, not much to say about this one. Kirk and Picard in a punch up… Download Here

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: The Final Battle</span> I quite like this edit. It shows the original Enterprise and Captain Picards Enterprise in a ship to ship battle. A good laugh, but don’t take it seriously… Download Here

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Bring Back Kirk</span> This is an extended trailer, using footage from the tv show, mixed with new CGI footage, to show a way to bring back Captain Kirk. Paramount should defo make this as a full length movie. Download Here

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Disco McCoy</span> Again, I shall quote directly from the site that made it. ‘A parody scene with Kirk, showing why McCoy was dressed strangely in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.’ You have to see it to believe it! Download Here

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Kirk Lives Generations</span> While searching the net, I found a low quality ending, showing a way Captain Kirk could survive at the end of Star Trek: Generations. So I got my editing tools out, and started crafting the full movie, with a remade ending. Lasts about the same time as the official version of Generations.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: The Original Series - The Trouble with Tribbles (Extended Cut)</span> Not much to say about this one. It is ‘The Trouble with Tribbles’ with footage inserted from ‘Trials and Tribbleations,’ to enhance the story, and give it a new sub-plot. Lasts about 65 minutes, and some of my best work.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: The Next Generation - Pegasus (Extended Cut)</span> This is ‘The Pegasus’ from The Next Generation, extended with footage from ‘These are the Voyages…’ from Enterprise. I think this was a pretty easy edit. It is really cool to see the switching between Enterprise and TNG footage. Only took a week to make, and lasts about 90 minutes.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Excelsior - Loyalty</span> This is a fan edit using footage from Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, as well as footage from Star Trek Voyager’s ‘Flashback.’ I made this, as I have always been a fan of Sulu, and have hoped for a ‘Sulu’ series for a long time. But we haven’t had one, so I made this. Its more of a collection of scenes than a proper episode. But it does what it was meant to do—satisfy me. Lasts just under 45 minutes.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: The Original Series - Space Plant</span> Not one of my best edits. Its Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan into a 45 min episode of TOS. This was a starting point for me. Its nice to see how my skills have evolved.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: The Original Series - Return to Genesis</span> Same as the above, except for Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Again 45 minutes.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - In Thy Image</span> Pretty simple, Star Trek: The Motion Picture edited down into the Pilot episode of Star Trek Phase II.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - Turn Back Time</span> Getting sore fingers now with all this typing. But basically this is the end of Trek3 and the beginning of Trek4, into a 45 min episode of Phase II

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - The Voyage Home</span> Simply the rest of Trek4 into a 45 min episode of Phase II

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - Renegade</span> Trek5 into a feature length episode of Phase II

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - The Trial of Captain Kirk</span> Trek6 into The two parter finale of Phase II

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: Phase II - Deadly Time</span> This is the beginning of Trek7 edited into an episode of Phase II, with clips from past episodes, to extend the story to the required length. This served as a coda to Phase II.

<span class=“Bold”>Star Trek: In a Mirror Mirror Darkly</span> In a Mirror Darkly (ENT), extended with footage from Mirror Mirror (TOS).

OK, my fingers are tired, so I’m taking a rest. Have I missed any?

Does anybody know how to get a hold of these videos? I'm particularly interested in the "Trouble with Tribbles" revamp. This user hasn't logged on since 2011, so if anybody has a copy of it or a way to contact this user I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

There is a star trek v fan-edit out there if anyone is interested. It has been fixed! It is the only one out there so far as I can tell. Cheers!  

link removed by moderator.

Do not post links to downloads on this site.

Fan Edit / Preservation Forum Rules and FAQ - link

Any more Star Trek fan edits out there?

“If only you knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.”

“He told me enough! He told me you killed him.”

“No, I am your father.” - Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, The Empires Strikes Back

Star Trek: Bugs

This was a 20 minute mash up of OS footage with the bugs from Starship Troopers. Quite a fun experience!

David Zaragoza said: Any more Star Trek fan edits out there?

http://ifdb.fanedit.org/component/jreviews/tag/franchise/star-trek/

I would love that extended Pegasus episode!

Has anyone seen a version of “These Are the Voyages” without the TNG bits?

It looks like this thread is pretty ancient, but since you’ve resurrected it, I’ll mention that I have 4 edited seasons of Discovery and Picard in a NuTrek thread here. (I’m also putting the finishing touches on Picard season 2 and plan to then work on the second half of Discovery season 4). It’s amazing how much of a difference editing makes for the newer shows.

Is it possible for a fan to use the deleted rockmen footage from Star Trek v and make a shatner cut using cgi like unreal engine 5 or something?

Screen Rant

How star trek "intakes" edits humanize fan-favorite characters.

Star Trek INtakes incorporate bloopers to add humor and humanity to existing scenes from Star Trek: The Next Generation and other series.

Star Trek: The Next Generation   is getting new life through  Star Trek INtakes , a Youtube series that humanizes fan-favorite characters.  TNG   remains a beloved incarnation of Star Trek despite launching over thirty years ago, and recently its characters have been brought back into the spotlight via the new series  Star Trek: Picard   and  Star Trek: Lower Decks . Complementing this,  Star Trek INtakes  is celebrating these same characters — as well as a few others — by combining originals scenes from Star Trek  shows with outtakes.

Star Trek INtakes launched on Ryan's Edits' YouTube channel in March 2020 and includes 44 videos as of January 1, 2021. The term "INtakes" is short for "integrated outtakes," and each video is a clip from a Star Trek episode with a relevant outtake or blooper edited back in. While the vast majority of the videos are from Star Trek: The Next Generation , there are a few from Star Trek: Enterprise , as well, and at least one episode uses a clip from Star Trek: Voyager .

Related: Star Trek Theory: Worf Replaces Data In Picard Season 2's Story

An example of this is Star Trek INtakes #33, "Data Executes His Smalltalk Protocol," which is essentially an extended scene from the Star Trek: The Next Generation season 6 episode "Starship Mine," with Brent Spiner's (Data) outtakes blended back in, incorporating a reference to measuring Sheliak body temperature. While Data's scenes in much of that  TNG episode were meant to be comical , the edited clip heightens the humor and implies a risqué cap to the conversation (though it is only implied) — which causes a genuine reaction from Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher) and Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker). It strips away the formality typical of the show, allowing for a moment of not just levity, but also a break in convention. As a result, the moment feels very human.

As Ryan's Edits (they prefer to be known by their channel name) explains on their page, "Sometimes bloopers, when edited back into the finished episodes, can add a bit of humanity to characters. Sometimes they just add a bit of absurdity. Both are good."  The videos are short, designed for quick entertainment. The longest has a runtime of 1:39, but at least half clock in under a minute. Star Trek: The Next Generation  episodes are used for the majority of the "INtakes," likely because  TNG blooper reels are easily accessible on the internet; however, there are also episodes featuring Star Trek: Enterprise  actors like Jeffrey Combs, who played  Thy'lek Shran.

When asked about the inspiration for this series of videos, Ryan's Edits explained via email that they'd seen a Star Trek: The Next Generation blooper on Reddit and were inspired to post their first INtake, which was meant to be a one-off for fans. When the response to that video was favorable and people began reposting the videos, they chose to continue the series. What began as a lark in March 2020 has since grown into a continuing series of Star Trek fan offerings designed to amuse and entertain. Ryan's Edits plans to keep going as long as they have the time, and fans remain interested.

Next: Star Trek: How Voyager Set Up Seven Of Nine's Picard Twist

Extended Edition

• TV-to-Movie
• Movie-to-TV

Special Projects

Documentary/review, preservation.

• Latest Reviews
• Latest Fanedits
• Award Winners
• Blade Runner
• Consecution
• DC Cinematic Universe
• Friday the 13th
• Hannibal Lecter
• Harry Potter
• Indiana Jones
• Lord of the Rings
• Marvel Cinematic Universe
• Nightmare on Elm Street
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Resident Evil
• The Terminator
• Transformers
• Documentary
• Science Fiction
• Fanedit Search

Internet Fanedit Database

The Internet Fanedit Database (IFDB) is a database of fanedits vetted by the Fanedit.org Academy. IFDB is intended to provide information about what edits have been made, and allow fans of fanediting a means to review edits that they have seen. Neither IFDB nor its parent site, Fanedit.org, host links or files for fanedits .

Older edits which pre-date Academy approval may not meet the same quality expectations as newer fanedits, but have been included as they are part of the fanediting history, and in addition to their own entertainment value, help provide context for the evolution of fanediting as an art and educational exercise.

LATEST FANEDITS

Below are the types of fanedits we index on IFDb. Click on a category for a description of the edit type:

With a FanFix, the editor is typically attempting clean-up or otherwise modify the original so as to make it a more enjoyable viewing experience. Quite often this entails adding and/or removing portions of the movie, reordering scenes and in general, addressing aspects of story and/or character that detract from the movie. In general terms, a FanFix tends to be an effort to polish the movie, often removing contrivances added by studios or filmmakers which interfere with the story. The goal here is not to invent a new movie or narrative, but to clean-up the existing one and hopefully make the movie more enjoyable. Examples of FanFixes are havok1977’s Codename: Wolverine, gekko’s Mission Impossible 2: Disavowed and The Phantom Editor’s Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Edit.

Where a FanFix attempts to clean-up a story, a FanMix fanedit instead modifies the story so drastically as to make it a new and unique movie experience. In these “new takes” entire sub-plots and characters can be removed, character motivations changed and new endings created. Famous instances of such new takes include Remixed by Jorge’s The Dark Knight, Jack Marshall’s Star Trek Phase II, and CBB’s Titanic – The Jack Edit.

Extended Editions (EE) attempt to create the fullest version of a movie as possible using deleted scenes from commercial DVD’s. Similar to the concept of a Director’s cut, EEs look to present all possible material available as an integrated movie-going experience. If a studio releases an official version that incorporates the same material in similar fashion, it is our site policy to remove the fanedit from the site as it can be legally purchased from a retailer. Extended Editions can be include deleted scenes only available in TV versions, such is the case with EEs like Ridgeshark’s Army of Darkness: Primitive Screwhead Edition or Tranzor’s The Warriors: TV Composite.

This particular form of fanedit creates a movie that does exactly as the name implies, documents a particular topic (quite typically a movie) or provides a review of a movie. Both incorporate movie footage and voice-over work that speaks to the events happening on-screen. The intent of these particular edits is not to create a fictional story, but rather inform, illuminate, or otherwise make comment on or about a particular movie, or set of movies.

This category takes a movie (or TV show) and turns it into a significantly shorter piece of work, either as a stand-alone short movie, or broken/restructured into a series of edits in either the fashion of episodic television, or old-fashioned movie serials. These edits may modify visual style, or restructure the flow of events, but it is a broad category which allows for a wide-range of freedom and reinterpretation.

Some fan-based projects do not seek to create new, untold or heavily modified versions of a film or show. Special Projects are fanedits in which faneditors infuse personal creative choices to modify the viewing experience, yet are not significantly different from the original. The main purpose of a Special Project, with few exceptions, is to make minor changes to a movie that don’t affect the story or plot too much but change the atmosphere of the movie or create a unique viewing experience. With rare exception, Special Projects are not eligible to be voted on.

These aren’t fanedits per se, but a collection of works not available commercially. These may include behind-the-scenes specials, interviews, outtakes, music videos, guest spots, and more for a particular film. Preservation projects are a means of collecting and preserving as much promotional material as possible for a film that may otherwise be lost. Preservation projects are not eligible to be reviewed or voted on.

• What is an unofficial fan edit?
• Follow me >>

• Restricted content - Contenido restringido

VIDEO GAME ART

Choose your edits: Star Trek (1979) MAME MARVEL The TV Series Star Wars: The Phantom... MARVEL The X-Verse Star Trek: Origins MARVEL Spider-Verse The Vast of Night NSE Videogame Art Pieces Fake Trailers & Mockfilms And much more to come...

MARVEL EDITS

New: marvel tv series s4 released: marvel tv series s3 released: marvel tv series s2 released: marvel tv series s1 soon: marvel tv series s5 soon: marvel spider-verse soon: marvel what if… soon: marvel x-verse soon: more….

STAR TREK EDITS

Released: star trek i mame soon: star trek origins more….

star wars EDITS

New: the phantom app… soon: more… more….

RELEASED: The Vast of Night NSE SOON: More… More…

RELEASED: Destiny RELEASED: Journey RELEASED: The Last Guardian RELEASED: Firewatch RELEASED: Alien RELEASED: Hawken SOON: Destiny 2 SOON: Assassin’s Creed SOON: Everybody Is Going… SOON: The Division SOON: Half Life SOON: Portal

What is a fan edit.

A fan edit is an unofficial version of a film modified by a viewer in order to create a new interpretation of the source material.

OWN THE ORIGINAL

You must own an officially released copy of a film to legally watch a fan edit. Support studios and filmmakers by purchasing movies.

NON PROFIT WEBSITE

NOTFLIX Fan Edits is a website made for pleasure and love for movies, not-for-profit, and that does not make money in any way.

Join me! It will only take a minute

How to enjoy NOTFLIX Fan Edits?

Register to create an account and access the site

Subscribe to the Youtube channel to stay  updated

Tell your friends! And contact me if you have any problem

Easy to  join!

You have an internet connection and a screen, you have NOTFLIX Fan Edits. Just it.

What is NOTFLIX Fan Edits?

I’m notflix, a  faneditor , and notflix fan edits is this  website   where find my edits.

All my fan edits will be available for free, in Full HD, original language and english/spanish subtitles. Register and find out how to enjoy them.

What is an unofficial Fan Edit?

The movies you know wearing new clothes.

A fan edit is a version of a film or TV show modified by a viewer, that removes, reorders, or adds material in order to create a new interpretation of the source material and transforms it. This includes the removal of scenes or dialogue, replacement of audio and/or visual elements, and adding material from sources such as deleted scenes or even other films. Disclaimer: Because these transformative uses of copyrighted works add something new with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work, NOTFLIX Fan Edits operates under Section 107 of the copyright act 1976, that allows this “fair use”. Fan edits are non-profit projects and faneditors encourage viewers to own an official copy of the movies. You must own them to legally watch a fan edit. Support studios and filmmakers by purchasing the movies we love. Then come to NOTFLIX Fan Edits to enjoy these new interpretations of the films!

Which FAN EDITS are here?

Marvel the tv series , star trek the motion picture mame , star wars episode iii: the phantom apprentice , other movies, tv series, video game art, and beyond….

To date, you can find MARVEL The TV Series Seasons 1 to 4, a fan edition ongoing project that transforms the MCU in a huge IMAX TV show and will cover all the MARVEL movies and TV series from Marvel Studios (the current ones and the products to come) plus the FOX/Sony alternate universes integrated into it in a consistent way. Also you can find the fan edits  STAR TREK: The Motion Picture in the form of MAME (Modern Action Music Edit) , an exciting cut that replace the whole score,  Star Wars Episode III: The Phantom Apprentice,  the final arc of The Clone Wars edited as a movie, and a short, to-the-point version of the little indie film The Vast of Night .

But you will also get other movies and TV series fan edits, video game art pieces, clips, fake trailers… the number of edits will increase constantly!

This is great, right? My  millions of very real followers think so. But don’t take my word for it, here’s what they say about NOTFLIX Fan Edits :

I can do this all day.”

Steve Rogers

Devoted NOTFLIX Fan Edits marathon-viewer

Following’s not really my style.”

Watch NOTFLIX Fan Edits but neither subscribe nor share

You’re all not worthy.”

Thor Odinson

NOTFLIX possessive hardcore fanboy

Write ME for any question, correction, contribution or suggestion

Or find me in my social media.

Subscribe to stay in the know about the fan edits release dates and to  watch sneak peeks, teasers, special clips,   trailers and official material from the studios.

DISCLAIMER & LEGAL

Cookies policy, privacy policy.

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

William Shatner on His Biggest ‘Star Trek’ Regret – and Why He Cried With Bezos

From Captain Kirk to ‘Boston Legal’ lawyer Denny Crane, the 92-year-old THR Icon reflects on career reinvention and what could lure him back to the captain’s chair.

By Aaron Couch

Aaron Couch

Film Editor

• Share this article on Facebook
• Share this article on Twitter
• Share this article on Flipboard
• Share this article on Email
• Show additional share options
• Share this article on Linkedin
• Share this article on Pinit
• Share this article on Reddit
• Share this article on Tumblr
• Share this article on Whatsapp
• Share this article on Print
• Share this article on Comment

When writing about a legend who’s still working as a nonagenarian, it’s almost obligatory to include a line about how they are seemingly busier than ever. William Shatner , 92, may no longer be on set 12 hours a day for the roles that made him the first Comic-Con celebrity ( Star Trek ), or that transformed him into a late-career regular at the Emmys podium ( The Practice , Boston Legal ), but it’s difficult not to marvel at the pace at which he lives his life. 

Related Stories

Kenneth mitchell, 'star trek: discovery' actor, dies at 49, "i got a little blood on me": a makeup artist legend looks back on 'rocky' and 'star trek'.

Now, Shatner is the subject of the crowdfunded documentary You Can Call Me Bill (in select theaters March 22, his 93rd birthday), a meditation on his life, career and mortality. 

The Montreal-born actor began performing at the age of 6 at camp and never stopped, transitioning from Canadian radio dramas to Broadway to 1950s TV Westerns. He’s been an omnipresent pop culture fixture since 1966, when he was cast as Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek under unusual circumstances never seen again in Hollywood. NBC had a pilot that didn’t work, but the network wanted to try again with a mostly new cast. Where the original pilot was a somewhat dry affair, Shatner brought much-needed humor to the Enterprise. 

Though the show was canceled after just three seasons, it earned a cult following in syndication, and Shatner reprised the role for seven feature films. 

His comedic chops led him to the Saturday Night Live stage — 38 years later, people still ask him about a sketch in which he mocked Star Trek fans with the exasperated line “Get a life!” — as well as multiple Emmy wins playing lawyer Denny Crane on David E. Kelley’s ABC procedural The Practice and then Boston Legal , which concluded after four years in 2008. And he has penned books, released albums and directed documentaries.

During a Zoom conversation in early March, Shatner discussed why Star Trek V: The Final Frontier , his first and only theatrical feature as a director, was the biggest regret of his career; that history-making Star Trek kiss with Nichelle Nichols; and what could lure him back to the captain’s chair.

Some say acting is a way to find the love they aren’t getting elsewhere. Was that true for you?

I’m sure it’s true. I spent a very lonely life in my younger years. Being able to join a cast and be a part of a group of people, I’m sure that was an element in my starting to be an actor when I was very young.

Though you acted throughout childhood, you got a practical degree, a bachelor of commerce, from McGill University in Montreal. Was the plan to use that degree? 

But as an actor, you do have some control, right? You understudied for Christopher Plummer on Henry V in 1956, and he once said, “Where I stood up to make a speech, he sat down. He did the opposite of everything I did.”

I had no rehearsal. I didn’t know the people. And it was five days into the opening of the show [when Plummer got sick]. The choreography was one of the other things that I didn’t know. I was in a macabre state of mind. So that had nothing to do with “I stood where he sat.” [It was, rather], “I’ve got to move around the stage somewhere. I think I’ll sit down here, I’m exhausted!”

You worked with director Richard Donner on the classic Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” which was in fact a nightmare for him, as it was technically complicated and the shooting days were halved. Did you sense the pressure he was under?

It’s complicated. When you get those science fiction choices: The guy is dressed in a furry little suit and you say, “Well, why isn’t the suit aerodynamic? Why is it a suit that’ll catch every breeze that blows?” What kind of logic do you use in any science fiction case? When I looked at the acrobat [Nick Cravat, who played a gremlin terrorizing Shatner’s character from the wing of a plane], I said to myself, “That isn’t something you’d wear on the wing of a 747,” but then again, what do you wear on the wing of a 747? So yeah, it was complicated in that way.

He was in the military, and he was a policeman. So there was this militaristic vision of “You don’t make out with a fellow soldier.” There are strict rules and you abide by the rules. Around that, [the writers] had to write the drama. But within that was the discipline of “This is the way a ship works.” Well, as Star Trek progressed, that ethos has been forgotten [in more recent shows]. I sometimes laugh and talk about the fact that I think Gene is twirling in his grave. “No, no, you can’t make out with the lady soldier!” 

The writers of Star Trek: The Next Generation butted heads with Gene when he was alive. 

The fights that went on, to my understanding, were big, because the writers had their difficulties. “We need some more material.” “We need to get out of here. It’s claustrophobic.” 

When you joke that Gene is twirling in his grave, you mean he wouldn’t approve of onscreen romances between crewmates on the later shows?

Yes, exactly. I haven’t watched the other Star Trek s very much, but what I’ve seen with glimpses of the Next Generation is yes, the difficulty in the beginning, between management, was all about Gene’s rules and obeying or not obeying those rules. 

You and Nichelle Nichols are credited with the first interracial kiss on TV. Is it true that you pushed to make every take real, despite the network asking for faked takes so they would have the option?

After three seasons, NBC cancels Star Trek in 1969, and you find yourself broke, doing summer stock theater on the East Coast. Did you think acting might be over at that point? 

I’m broke, living in a truck, sleeping in the back and trying to save that money so I could support my three kids and my [ex-]wife, who were living in Beverly Hills. The only thing that ever occurred to me was, “I can always go back to Toronto and make something of a living as an actor there.” I never thought, “Oh, I’ve got to become a salesman.” It never occurred to me from the age of 6 to do anything else. Which is weird because [today] I hear it all around me: “God, I can’t make a living anymore [as an actor].” And that’s true. People with names can’t make a living under the circumstances that the business has fallen into. 

In 1979, Paramount needed an answer to Star Wars , so it revived Trek in the form of movies. Then T.J. Hooker came along a few years later. What did you get out of the show?

It was a terrific show. It had all kinds of drama. I got to direct several of the episodes. And some of my shots are in the opening. I was totally involved, committed to the writing, committed to the directing. You’re running all the time. You’ve got to make decisions and you don’t have enough money.

I wish that I’d had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do. My concept was, “ Star Trek goes in search of God,” and management said, “Well, who’s God? We’ll alienate the nonbeliever, so, no, we can’t do God.” And then somebody said, “What about an alien who thinks they’re God?” Then it was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget. I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly. When I’m asked, “What do you regret the most?,” I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture. So in the absence of my power, the power vacuum filled with people that didn’t make the decisions I would’ve made.

You seem to take the blame, but outside observers might say, “Well, the budget wasn’t there. You didn’t get the backing you needed.” But in your mind, it’s on you.

Paramount+ is rumored to have tossed around ideas for you to reprise your role, à la Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Picard . Is that something you would entertain? 

Leonard [Nimoy] made his own decision on doing a cameo [in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek ]. He’s there for a moment, and it’s more a stunt that Spock appears in a future. If they wrote something that wasn’t a stunt that involved Kirk, who’s 50 years older now, and it was something that was genuinely added to the lore of Star Trek , I would definitely consider it.

Did hosting SNL feel like a breakthrough, in terms of showing what you could do with comedy? 

That was a new show then, it was a big sensation, and hosting it was good. They really wrote comedy for me. I played comedy since I was 7. There is a timing. There is a way of characterizing a line. It’s a kind of spiritual thing playing comedy, letting the audience know they’re open to laugh.

After decades in the industry, you achieved your greatest critical success in your 70s playing Denny Crane on Boston Legal . What was the genesis of Denny? 

In 2021, at age 90, you became the oldest person to go to space. Upon landing, you had a tearful exchange with Jeff Bezos. How have you processed that? 

I was weeping uncontrollably for reasons I didn’t know. It was my fear of what’s happening to Earth. I could see how small it was. It’s a rock with paper-thin air. You’ve got rock and 2 miles of air, and that’s all that we have, and we’re fucking it up. And, that dramatically, I saw it in that moment.

What are your thoughts on legacy? 

At Mar-a-Lago, I was asked to help raise funds with the Red Cross. I had to be at Mar-a-Lago Saturday night, and Leonard’s funeral was Sunday morning. I couldn’t make both. I chose the charity. It just occurred to me: Leonard died. They got a statue up. It’s not going to last. Say it lasts 50 years, 100. [Someone will say], “Who is that Leonard Nimoy? Tear the statue down, put somebody else up.” But what you can’t erase is helping somebody or something. That has its own energy and reverberation. That person got help — and then is able to help somebody else. You’ve continued an action that has no boundaries. That’s what a good deed does

This story first appeared in the March 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe .

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

‘ghostbusters’ star ernie hudson talks inequitable treatment, pay disparity: “it’s not quite that simple” to blame racism, mark wahlberg reflects on filming ‘the departed’: “i was a little pissed about a couple things”, david dastmalchian on how ‘late night with the devil’ reconnected him with heath ledger’s joker, ‘ghostbusters: frozen empire’ scares up okay $45m box office opening after all, emily blunt says greta gerwig helped inspire her director character in ‘the fall guy’, jon favreau says he used robert downey jr. and gwyneth paltrow’s real-life banter in ‘iron man’.