The Captains
- Thread starter bbailey861
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The footage material is a GOLD MINE for potential fan films and mash ups... I'm watching it again tonight to get some ideas.
Oh yeah, I found Brooks to be quite unusual as well, but to the point that I actually found it unsettling. It doesn't make me respect him less as an actor or anything, but I wondered what was running through Shatner's head... I mean, the scene in which Shatner wants to discuss death and then Brooks starts playing that song... pretty odd stuff. But amusing for sure. I wonder it Shat regretted doing his interview with Brooks at a piano!
I had no idea this documentary even existed, but somehow it started while I was surfing channels and I hit record. What a fantastic doc. And I loved that Shanter was the center of it all. The arm wrestling scene was hilarious... and I loved the special edit for that outcome.
I did find that Bakula may have sold himself (and his co-stars) a little short, admitting to The Shat that in Enterprise they didn't pull off the chemistry that Shatner, Nimoy and Kelly did. They had their own chemistry (I'm sure he's thinking of Conner and Jolene) but I found their chemistry worked quite well as it's own, unique combination of people. That's something Sir Stewart was very articulate about... that he and his cast were there in TNG season one not to meet the expectations of the Original Series but to break out on their own and try to establish something new.
As awesome as they all were, the interviews between Sir Stewart and The Shat stand above the rest... they seemed to find the best connection.
Oh yeah, I found Brooks to be quite unusual as well, but to the point that I actually found it unsettling. It doesn't make me respect him less as an actor or anything, but I wondered what was running through Shatner's head... I mean, the scene in which Shatner wants to discuss death and then Brooks starts playing that song... pretty odd stuff. But amusing for sure. I wonder it Shat regretted doing his interview with Brooks at a piano!
I had no idea this documentary even existed, but somehow it started while I was surfing channels and I hit record. What a fantastic doc. And I loved that Shanter was the center of it all. The arm wrestling scene was hilarious... and I loved the special edit for that outcome.
I did find that Bakula may have sold himself (and his co-stars) a little short, admitting to The Shat that in Enterprise they didn't pull off the chemistry that Shatner, Nimoy and Kelly did. They had their own chemistry (I'm sure he's thinking of Conner and Jolene) but I found their chemistry worked quite well as it's own, unique combination of people. That's something Sir Stewart was very articulate about... that he and his cast were there in TNG season one not to meet the expectations of the Original Series but to break out on their own and try to establish something new.
As awesome as they all were, the interviews between Sir Stewart and The Shat stand above the rest... they seemed to find the best connection.
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Well, considering how much of that footage he used, I doubt it.
Also, if you check the credits, Shatner gave Brooks a credit as Music Supervisor. So it would appear that he collaborated with Brooks more extensively than just in the interview.
Wow... quite a number of people agreeing with Shatner that Brooks is "out there..." You guys have to chill out in a jazz club for a bit, then you'll get Brooks.
billcosby said:
"I mean, the scene in which Shatner wants to discuss death and then Brooks starts playing that song... pretty odd stuff. But amusing for sure. I wonder it Shat regretted doing his interview with Brooks at a piano!"
Gary 7 is right. In other words, Brooks did answer it.
He used a different language. One Bill Cosby is extremely familiar with.
http://jonmccaslinjazzdrummer.blogspot.com/2010/06/bill-cosby-on-jazz-drumming.html
Chuckling
His behaviour could also form the premise of an entertainment show where candidates have to express their views/opinions/answers with music.
I'm one of the people who characterised Brooks' behaviour as 'out there'. I just want to emphasise I don't mean this negatively. I just found it a little odd. It's also an edited snapshot of his overall behaviour. I'm sure he isn't like that all the time.
I'm one of the people who characterised Brooks' behaviour as 'out there'. I just want to emphasise I don't mean this negatively. I just found it a little odd. It's also an edited snapshot of his overall behaviour. I'm sure he isn't like that all the time.
Just watched The Captains on Netflix.
Was anyone else doing some mental math when Shatner was telling Patrick Stewart about doing a school play when he was six about the Holocaust? Shatner was born in 1931. Making him six years old in 1937. And ten years old when the US entered WW2 in 1941. Shatner tried to make it sound like he was in grade school after WW2.
Was anyone else doing some mental math when Shatner was telling Patrick Stewart about doing a school play when he was six about the Holocaust? Shatner was born in 1931. Making him six years old in 1937. And ten years old when the US entered WW2 in 1941. Shatner tried to make it sound like he was in grade school after WW2.
Well, Shatner is Canadian, and Canada entered the war along with Britain when Germany invaded Poland in 1939; the U.S. entry date is irrelevant.
And his memory of those events might just be fuzzy and mixed in with other memories. That's a fairly common occurrence, especially as we get older and try to remember events from our earliest years.
Also, Nazi abuses against European Jews commenced long before the explicit extermination program now known as the Holocaust began. The play may well have been about the earlier anti-Semitic laws and actions, which Shatner equated with the Holocaust, either erroneously in his memory, or in his own personal opinion (since it's not like there's a clear-cut definition about what particular act of oppression against European Jews does or does not qualify as being part of this event we call the Holocaust).
I enjoyed learning more about the actors and seeing them as themselves, rather than as their characters. But I got tired of the convention scenes and overall too much emphasis on Shatner himself. I don't think he's a very good interviewer; he interrupted an awful lot.
Brooks is an eccentric professor/actor/musician, but he appeared sober and lucid to me.
Brooks is an eccentric professor/actor/musician, but he appeared sober and lucid to me.
Shatner might not be such a great interviewer in a professional sense but I think he got the people he interviewed to open up to and interact with him in a way another interviewer would not have, from colleague to colleague and Captain to Captain, if you will. I find him a bit weird and a bit too vain for my taste, but the latter is common among actors.
And, you know, it's not necessarily a bad thing for Shatner to bring it back to himself, either. I mean, he comes across as vain, but he also comes across as an old actor who is genuinely trying to take what he's learned from other actors and use that information to grapple with his own understanding of his craft and his career. The Captains is ultimately about an old actor coming to terms with what it means to be an actor.
^ Yes.
Well it positions itself as a journey to understand and accept what it means to be Captain Kirk. What it means to himself and to other people. I liked it, even though I doubt the sincerity of the 'revelation' at the end. Sadly, the only time I think Shatner has ever truly been honest on camera is when his wife passed away and reports were waiting outside his house. Other than that, he always has a pretty heavy facade up.
Just a quick question hopefully some of those who've seen this can answer.
Did any clips from the various Star Trek series appear in this? I seem to recall Shatner asking for memorable moments for each Captain on his Facebook page. Did that lead to anything being used for the documentary? As an indie film, it's possible CBS may have nixed their use. Just curious.
Thanks in advance.
Did any clips from the various Star Trek series appear in this? I seem to recall Shatner asking for memorable moments for each Captain on his Facebook page. Did that lead to anything being used for the documentary? As an indie film, it's possible CBS may have nixed their use. Just curious.
Thanks in advance.
The film does indeed contain plenty of clips from the various Star Trek shows.
Not out in Britain and it doesn't look likely either. So I've been wondering whether or not to import it. Will have to do that.
The Captains is certainly worth a look, as it really opened my eyes to the attributes of the later captains outside of the Original Series and/or Feature Films. I always liked Patrick Stewart, but this made me appreciate the rest as well, yes, including Chris Pine!
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