Well, another snowy day in New England. What better thing to do than watch a movie right? Pulled out the old Ipad and decided to stream a documentary called, The Captains. Written and directed by none other than the great Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. This well made doc takes us to Canada, England, and both coasts of America where we meet the five other Captains of the star ship Enterprise. Now as we all know, Shatner was the first and some would say the best (kind of like Sean Connery in the Bond franchise), but there are some other great performances by Patrick Stewart, Scott Bakula, Avery Brooks (the only Black Captain), Kate Mulgrew (the only woman Captain), and most recently Chris Pine, who starred in the last two Star Trek films to much acclaim. William Shatner, who I did love as Captain Kirk, is quite thoughtful and insightful in his quest to delve into the psyche of the other Captains, as well as trying to define his own role in this long lasting franchise called Star Trek. The film is photographed nicely, including a sequence on Shatners own dude ranch in Kentucky, Patrick Stewarts estate in England, and Las Vegas where Shatner attend a Trekkie convention. There is a hilarious Q & A between a young fan and Shatner that made me laugh out loud while watching the film. In fact, this doc is spiced with lots of humorous touches thanks to Shatners writing. The guy has a querky sense of humor and a distinct delivery that I think is just great. If you have ever seen Boston Legal, and the often hilarious Priceline commercials over the years, you know what I mean. Shatner talks a lot about his early years in theater with aspirations to become a great Shakespearean actor with a bit of wry humor and a sense of nostalgia that comes from someone who has spent a long time in the acting biz. In fact it is almost inconceivable that he is now 82 years of age! I went into this film thinking it might not be that interesting, an hour and a half of talking about the Star Trek phenomenon...argh, dont know if Ill last, but as I continued to watch I became fascinated by the depth and lovely insights and humor that Shatner weaves. So....I give it 2 thumbs up and recommend you see it. It is available to stream on Netflix, Amazon Instant Video (Prime members, like myself, watch for free!), and also for $1.99 on Youtube. Enjoy! dh youtube/watch?v=DW8TPEeb3EY en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Shatner P.S. I feel a certain kinship to William Shatner (a nice Jewish boy (like myself), from Cote St. Luc, Quebec, a primarily Jewish suburb of Montreal). I attended college in the early Seventies in Montreal and frequented lots of Shatners favorite Delicatessens, (nothing like a smoked meat sandwich from Schwartzs). Years ago, I couldnt have been more than 12 at the time, you could rent small sailboats in Marblehead harbor, Lightnings, Rhodes 19s, Mercuries, things of that nature. Well, one particular day, my childhood buddy and I decide to rent a boat and go sailing in the harbor. You had to sign a register and pay your fees, etc. Upon signing my name in the ledger, I happened to notice that a certain William Shatner had signed in just before me. When I asked the attendant to verify this he did confirm that this was the William Shatner and his camper was indeed parked in the yard (Graves Boatyard) next door. Of course I had to leave a note on Bills windshield extolling my absolute admiration for Captain Kirk and all his buddies. I even invited him to come over for a BBQ if he had time....never did hear back. Supposed he may have been Beamed Up to Maddies for a few G&Ts.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 00:04:41 +0000
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