Posted in: Movies, Paramount+, streaming, TV | Tagged: paramount, star trek, The Next Generation, william shatner

William Shatner on Roddenberry's Rules/TNG Writers; Star Trek V Regret

Star Trek legend William Shatner on "TNG" writers butting heads with Gene Roddenberry over his "rules" & what he regretted about Star Trek V.

When it comes to covering William Shatner, it usually involves staking out his social media or seeing what one of his co-stars had to say about him. But then there are the longer interviews – like the one that went live today with The Hollywood Reporter – where we get a chance to take a deeper dive into Shatner's thoughts on the "Star Trek" franchise. For this go-around, we have two highlights in particular that caught our attention, so we wanted to pass them along. First, Shatner discusses how franchise creator Gene Roddenberry's "rules of conduct" would often end up at odds with the "Next Generation" writers. Following that, Shatner shares what it was about Star Trek V: The Final Frontier that led to one of his biggest regrets.

Shatner on Gene Roddenberry, Writers Butting Heads Over Roddenberry's Rules: "He was in the military, and he was a policeman. So there was this militaristic vision of 'You don't make out with a fellow soldier.' There are strict rules and you abide by the rules. Around that, [the writers] had to write the drama. But within that was the discipline of 'This is the way a ship works.' Well, as 'Star Trek' progressed, that ethos has been forgotten [in more recent shows]. I sometimes laugh and talk about the fact that I think Gene is twirling in his grave. 'No, no, you can't make out with the lady soldier!' Shatner explained.

As he saw it, the "Next Generation" writers were looking to have more of a creative sandbox to play in but Roddenberry wasn't looking to waiver on what he considered to be core beliefs. "The fights that went on, to my understanding, were big because the writers had their difficulties. 'We need some more material.' 'We need to get out of here. It's claustrophobic," Shatner added, explaining why he believed Roddenberry would be "twirling" six-feet-under. I haven't watched the other 'Star Treks' very much, but what I've seen with glimpses of the 'Next Generation' is, yes, the difficulty in the beginning, between management, was all about Gene's rules and obeying or not obeying those rules."

"Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" Led to One Thing That Shatner Will "Regret the Most": "I wish that I'd had the backing and the courage to do the things I felt I needed to do. My concept was, 'Star Trek goes in search of God,' and management said, 'Well, who's God? We'll alienate the nonbeliever, so, no, we can't do God.' And then somebody said, 'What about an alien who thinks they're God?' Then it was a series of my inabilities to deal with the management and the budget. I failed. In my mind, I failed horribly. When I'm asked, 'What do you regret the most?,' I regret not being equipped emotionally to deal with a large motion picture," Shatner revealed. "So in the absence of my power, the power vacuum filled with people that didn't make the decisions I would've made."

In the context of the film's success – or lack thereof – there is more than enough blame to go around – from budget constraints to forced notes from the studio. But with "Star Trek V," Shatner takes full responsibility – while also sharing some insight into the tough day-to-day production decisions that needed to be made. "It is on me. [In the finale,] I wanted granite [rock creatures] to explode out of the mountain. The special effects guy said, 'I can build you a suit that's on fire and smoke comes out.' I said, 'Great, how much will that cost?' They said, '$250,000 a suit.' Can you make 10 suits? He said, 'Yeah.' That's $2.5 million. You've got a $30 million budget. You sure you want to spend [it on that]? Those are the practical decisions. Well, wait a minute, what about one suit? And I'll photograph it everywhere [to look like 10]," Shatner shared.

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