The Captains

William Shatner asks a question: what does playing this part do to a person. He played Kirk and his life was never the same afterwards. Now he goes to find the others. He talks one by one with Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine. The questions start simply and go somewhere personal: marriages, time not spent with children, giving up a theatre career, and the cost of being tied to a series. Footage from fan conventions comes between. William Shatner writes and directs. Shatner himself and the other captains of the series speak in it. It is a Canadian production. The documentary is weighted to interview; the editing is left to the flow of conversation. The matter it treats is being remembered for one part; every captain has dealt with a version of the same problem. The section with Avery Brooks is its most unusual part; the conversation proceeds through music and does not become a straight interview. Shatner describes the mistakes in his own past and does not protect himself. The documentary does not tell the history of the series; it is not a reference for followers. The narrative takes on fan culture as well and the convention scenes show it. Its limit is method; the structure is scattered, the questions repeat, and the narrative reaches no conclusion. Who it is for: viewers who like Star Trek and conversations with actors. Who it is not for: it is scattered, the subject narrow, and the ending does not gather it.