Star Trek: The Captain's Summit

[T J]

For those of you who haven't heard of this I recommend you check it out!

For the first time in Star Trek history, five of the final frontier’s greatest names have been brought together for a 70-minute rare and unprecedented round table event. Filmed exclusively for Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and host Whoopi Goldberg share candid insights, humorous moments, and intimate details about life on the set, working with each other and how Star Trek has affected their lives.

This was probably the most fascinating thing I've watched all year... there are bad feelings and good feelings. Granted the glaring omissions of Brooks, Mulgrew, and Bakula is odd but it is what it is.

I especially like Franks, he still has a child like look in his eyes he's so excited, always liked that about him.

Shatner does come off a tiny bit bitter at times, either that or it's just an act... who knows but they all have a good time.

Anyone else see this, thoughts?

 

[Romulan_spy]

It is indeed a bit odd to exclude Brooks, Mulgrew and Bakula. It seems to send the message that DS9, Voyager and Enterprise don't count as true Star Trek.

 

[Tanagra]

It's possible that they did ask and they were unable to do it or didn't want to... but I would've thought they would definitely be up for doing something like that.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I just saw this for the first time recently and I was thinking of starting a thread about it too. There were some parts that were a lot of fun, and others that were a bit disappointing. I didn't like how Whoopi Goldberg wasted time with the story of why she wanted to be on Star Trek and how she got the gig. It's a well-known story (from books, websites, and previous DVDs), and it's a real stretch for her to say Shatner influenced her (which he gently points out in stating that he was only a 'small part' of that). After all, Shatner didn't have anything to do with the casting of Nichelle Nichols.

I wish they would have gone into more detail on the production of their movies (and the problems), but I guess I was expecting too much from what was meant to be a pleasant conversation of mostly just reminiscing about happy memories. I do like that at one point when they were talking over each other and laughing about how Nimoy refused to be in "Generations", Frakes yelled that they'd killed off Shatner "badly"! I laughed right along when Stewart jokingly quipped that he can now reveal the truth is that they never wanted Nimoy in the movie in the first place.

I loved Frakes' honesty there. Wish we'd seen more of it. I have trouble believing Patrick Stewart is, as he said, truly proud of everything they did on television and on film. Surely he's aware of how mediocre 3 out of 4 of the TNG films were. I thought the most intriguing reveal was that Shatner has never watched a single episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" because he's too busy watching sports and news to watch one-hour TV. Stewart and Frakes' reactions to that were priceless.

They may not have gone into as much detail as I would have liked about their movies, but the few anecdotes about them were wonderful. One of my favourite moments of the discussion was Stewart saying he rarely yelled as the captain (Bollocks! I can remember many awesome moments of Picard yelling during the series) and then amusingly remembering and (mis)quoting his great 'call to arms' speech in "First Contact". Equally great was Shatner's joke that he came up with the line "bridge on the Captain!" in reaction to his character's death. That was probably the funniest moment. That, and Stewart talking about the time he was directing the show and made Frakes kneel (not so much for the story itself, but how he told it and how everyone reacted to it).

I also thought it was interesting when Patrick Stewart explained why he never directed a Star Trek film. His explanation was insightful and made a lot of sense, and it was nice to see Nimoy relating to Stewart not wanting to act and direct at the same time. I was surprised to learn that Nimoy and Shatner had expressed interest in directing episodes of the show back in the 60s and were turned down immediately. I didn't know their ambition for directing expanded that far into the past.

It was a very enlightening and entertaining conversation overall, but also disappointing in some ways because of the time wasted rehashing stories that Star Trek fans have been aware of for a long time, talking over each other, and avoiding covering some new ground that could have potentially been addressed in the conversation.

It was also a little awkward to have two pairs of people together for a conversation when each pair had hardly worked with the other. So you'd have two people talking about a show the other two have little or no experience with, instead of four people all reminiscing about the same thing. To those criticizing the exclusion of the other Captains, just think how awkward it could have been with three people each talking about a series that nobody else had been a part of!

Plus, they had no experience making Star Trek movies, which would have given them even more they couldn't relate about. Even with the four people chosen, they weren't always in sync. I couldn't believe there was a moment where Nimoy and Shatner were totally ignoring the other people in the panel to have their own conversation!

Frakes was my favourite person there. Not surprisingly, he as usual seemed to be the most delighted to be doing something related to Star Trek. However, it was a little weird how at the end when asked what they appreciate most about Star Trek, their answers were hardly about Star Trek. Shatner and Nimoy both basically just said they loved most how it allowed them to have more opportunities in their careers, while Stewart and Frakes basically just said they loved most how it allowed them to make some of their best friends. Neither party claimed what they loved most was the actual work itself.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

It is indeed a bit odd to exclude Brooks, Mulgrew and Bakula. It seems to send the message that DS9, Voyager and Enterprise don't count as true Star Trek.

Paramount knows they are Trek and knows the fans want it. Highly unlikely we will see anything knew being shot with William Shatner after TOS season 3 is released on Blu-ray in 2010 except for at conventions.

Yes hopefully Paramount liked the captain's summit idea and will try something like it again for the Enterprise Blu-ray special features with Scott Bakula, Dominic Keating, Jolene Blalock, Kate Mulgrew, Robert Beltran, Avery Brooks.

 

[T J]

I just saw this for the first time recently and I was thinking of starting a thread about it too.

Aren't you glad you didn't. Apparently on a board full of Trek fans only a couple people either saw or even cared... Man I miss the old days when more Trek fans cared...

 

[B.C.]

I don't think its so much that Paramount doesn't view DS9, VOY & ENT as true Trek. I think it's more that this disc is included with the Blu-Ray movie set, which only features the TOS and TNG crews.

It is indeed a bit odd to exclude Brooks, Mulgrew and Bakula. It seems to send the message that DS9, Voyager and Enterprise don't count as true Star Trek.

 

[Therin of Andor]

I didn't like how Whoopi Goldberg wasted time with the story of why she wanted to be on Star Trek and how she got the gig. It's a well-known story (from books, websites, and previous DVDs)...

I wish they would have gone into more detail on the production of their movies (and the problems)

Huh? How is Whoopi Goldberg's story any better known than the production and problems of ST:TMP, II, III, IV, V and VI? There have been whole books dedicated to the making of ST:TMP, II and V, and an unofficial one on ST VI. The commentaries on the TOS movie DVD DEs and CEs have all covered just as many insightful anecdotes.

I'm sure if Whoopi had acted strictly as compere of this DVD, people whould have been saying "Why didn't Whoopi tell her story, too?"

 

[barnaclelapse]

I think the implication about Goldberg telling her story is that she's a bigger star and that her story of being influenced by Star Trek and getting on the show might be known by fans and non-fans alike.

(Shrugs)

I still need to check this out. It sounds like a pleasant way to kill an hour and some change, and it doesn't surprise me that Frakes would be the most entertaining of the group. As much as I love Nimoy and enjoyed his commentaries for his Trek movies I might have to honestly say that Frakes' commentary for First Contact was the most entertaining of the bunch.

I like that everyone in the group each have such a great sense of humor going for them. I would imagine that it carried the show quite a bit.

 

[donners22]

Apologies for the uppage, but I want to try to restore TJ's faith a little by demonstrating that there's at least one other who saw it. I watched it this morning at a friend's house (since I don't own a blu-ray player).

I think it was quite enjoyable overall. They interacted well together and there were some genuinely amusing moments. I didn't get anything much out of it that I didn't already know, but it's a nice experience to see those five chatting with each other.

It would have been nice to have others represented at the summit, but as has been noted, they would have neither been relevant to the set, nor would the conversation have flowed as well.

My main annoyance was that there were a few interesting conversation topics which were raised but never really addressed. They were half-answered (in one case missing the question, I thought), then it was on to the next question.

On the positive side, Shatner seemed a lot healthier and more coherent than he was in some of the other recent features (especially the Captain's Log set).

 

[Jefferies]

Just wanted to say that I stumbled across this a few days ago and was very pleasantly surprised at how entertaining a show it was. What I thought was an interesting contrast was how buddy-like Patrick and Jon seemed compared to Nimoy and Shattner. Also I have to agree that Frakes was great in this. The others were entertaining as well, but he just came across as such a genuine and sociable guy that it was a real delight. Having never seen him out of character apart from the interviews on the DVD boxsets this came as a bit of a surprise. I would have imagined him to be the blandest of the four, but I was totally mistaken. In conclusion, I thought it was a fun event and I hope they will do more of these in the future. Possibly the best "bonus" material they have ever released.

 

[T J]

Apologies for the uppage, but I want to try to restore TJ's faith a little by demonstrating that there's at least one other who saw it.

You are one of the good ones! Faith restored. I'm glad others enjoyed it as well. I feel ya about topics not being covered enough, but in that setting it's to be expected. I too hope they will do more of these with other cast members.

 

[SalvorHardin]

I did see it some time ago and I thought it was great. Interesting, fun and definitely a must watch for Trek fans.

I had many clips from it on my youtube for some time but made them private now to avoid possible copyright issues.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

I was surprised to learn that Nimoy and Shatner had expressed interest in directing episodes of the show back in the 60s and were turned down immediately. I didn't know their ambition for directing expanded that far into the past.

Not only that, but Shatner also had writerly ambitions back then having submitted an episode treatment to Roddenberry, which was ultimately turned down. Although in Shatner's 196-something TV Guide interview, Roddenberry said that it was quite good or something equally diplomatic. IIRC, Shatner's episode treatment is also mentioned in Captain's Log: A Personal Making of Star Trek V The Final Frontier.

 

[backstept]

this feature is also on the original 6 film DVD set
can't wait to watch it!

 

[SFRabid]

I don't think its so much that Paramount doesn't view DS9, VOY & ENT as true Trek. I think it's more that this disc is included with the Blu-Ray movie set, which only features the TOS and TNG crews.

It is indeed a bit odd to exclude Brooks, Mulgrew and Bakula. It seems to send the message that DS9, Voyager and Enterprise don't count as true Star Trek.

That makes sense, even if the name does not. I'll have to find this somewhere and watch.

 

[Therin of Andor]

That makes sense, even if the name does not.

Why doesn't the name make sense? Spock has been a captain since ST II and Riker became one at the end of the final TNG movie. So it is indeed a "Captains' Summit".

There is a very limited budget for these DVD extras, and adding Bakula, Brooks and Mulgrew to the mix would increase the costs plus reduce everyone's screentime. It was Whoopi Goldberg chatting to two captains who inspired her to become a ST fan and a better person, plus her own character's captain and (now-captain) first officer. Makes perfect sense.