A few months ago, when William Shatner boldly went where few men of have gone (Space) before, he returned home via a way that man goes all the time (on a plane). On that latter trip, he sat next to someone whose life would change shortly afterward and the two of them have a connection that only one other person can claim.
What the hell am I saying? Yesterday, Paramount+ announced that Paul Wesley is going to play Captain Kirk in the second season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. After the announcement, Welsey shared a photo of himself with the Shat and shared the story behind it.
I am deeply humbled and still a little startled to have been given the honor of playing the inimitable James T Kirk. Ever since I was a kid, I have been awed by the imaginative world Gene Roddenberry created.
Recently, I boarded a flight to LA to discover that the man in the empty seat beside me was the one and only William Shatner, having himself just returned from space. I could barely put two words together but ultimately I managed to say hello and we chatted.
I’m not one who usually believes in fate but this was more than a coincidence.
And of course I had to get a picture.
So thanks Mr. Shatner for the good company. And for seating us together, my thanks to the great bird in the sky. Can’t wait for all of you to see our Captain Kirk on your screens.
As soon as the original James Tiberias Kirk heard about the casting, he had a message for his new friend, “Keep my ship and crew safe, Captain! 😉 Congratulations!”
The omicron variant of COVID-19 is so contagious that it seems like everyone is getting it. That is how the people who are involved with Star Trek: Picard felt when they found out that almost 10% of the cast and crew tested positive for coronavirus on Monday.
Therefore production was shut down, and it is expected to resume tomorrow. Hopefully.
Personally, I know people have to work. But I think they should just take off January and let omicron run its course. I mean, when over 50 of the 450 people who work on the show test positive, I would be afraid. Very afraid.
And if you are like me and are afraid that Sir Patrick Stewart was one of them. Deadline is reporting that he is not. He better stay that way because he is a treasure from the universe.
Before Seth MacFarlane created the Star Trek inspired show The Orville, he filmed a Star Trek spoof in the late ’80s. He still looks the same as he did he was 13 in that 1987 video.
In Star Trek: Generations, we saw Captain Kirk die. However, that does not mean William Shatner‘s fans do not want to see him play his iconic role again.
In fact, someone asked him that very question on Twitter. The Shat told them, “No. I think Kirk’s story is pretty well played out at this point.” After that tweet started getting a lot of press, he added, “🙄 What was any different about my statement on Kirk that I haven’t said before? 🤷🏼♂️ I don’t do cameos (that one stretches back to 2008 & JJ) Kirk’s story is well told out of any other captain’s story. Kirk died in Generations. What is really left? Adventures in the ribbon?”
He says that now, but I bet for the right amount of money, he would do it again. Who wouldn’t?
Imagine watching Star Trek: The Next Generation without Sir Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard. Well, if his good friend Sir Ian McKellan had his way, that is what would have happened. Both actors did not understand American television at the time, so Mckellan told his buddy should stay in London and continue to do plays.
Thankfully, other people told him to do it because it is destined to fail because fans of the original will not accept the sequel. Six seasons and four movies later, all of the people in his life were wrong.
They were not the only ones, so was the studio. They wanted him to have hair just like William Shatner, so they put him in a wig. Watch the interview from This Morning today to see what a bad idea that was. Thankfully, everyone learned from their mistakes.
Everyone but Stewart. When they asked him to do Picard, he was ready to turn it down. Thankfully the producers talked him into it with their briliant idea.
To find out Stewart was right to say yes this time around, check out Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access starting on January 23rd.
