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removed from William Shatner — although he opts to play the young Tiberius with a little more bravado and phy sicality.
And then there's Leonard Nimoy who. alter
decades ot turning down requests for Star Trek guest appearances. opted to revive his own character for a pivotal extended cameo. As these details emerged trepidation and scepticism turned to eager anticipation.
l’egg felt there was something in the air as soon as he joined his fellow cast members. ‘l came slightly later to the shoot becatise it was a long one and everyone had already met each other.’ says the Shaun of [/H’ I)('(l(/ star. ‘But when I joined the crew and l linally came on board. it felt so right. ln a weird kind oi hippyish way. we already knew each other and immediately clicked. It was a great l‘eeling and the spirit of togetherness that pervades Star Trek was very much there on the set.‘
Now a cult phenomenon. the Star Trek franchise has risen from geeky obscurity to global domination. The fictional Star Trek universe. devised in 1966 by Gene Roddenberiy, has been the setting for six television series' and ten feature films. We track the changing face of the world of Vulcans and Klingons. tracing its history from Shatner to Pine.
The Original Series
(1 906-1 969) was set on the Starship Enterprise and featured William Shatner as Captain James Tiberius Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. This first cycle became much
the globe.
the original series.
24 THE LIST 30 Apr—14 May 2009
loved. attracting a cult fan- convention following across
The Animated Series (1973-1 974) won Star Trek its first Emmy in 1975. The original cast performed the voices of their characters. satisfying disgruntled Trekkies who bemoaned the axing of
‘OUR GOAL WITH STAR TREK WAS TO MAKE THE BEST POSSIBLE VERSION EVER'
Abrams. too. had several pinch—me moments en route to bringing his cast together. When t'rban walked in for his audition. for instance. the director was "blown away'. 'lt wastrt an impersonation. it was like channelling the soul Ul- Illill c‘ltttl'uclc‘l‘.‘ says [ltL‘ director.
Having Nimoy on side lending support to Quinto. was also a joy. ‘lle was so supportive ~ not just of what we were all doing. but specifically of Zachary. Here‘s a guy who has played this role l'or almost halt a century and here‘s this young. handsome actor coming in
The Next Generation
(1 987-1 994) found Mr Logical, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) took command of a new crew and starship Enterprise-D. A Trekkie favourite. this series had the highest ratings of all the television programmes.
Deep Space Nine (1 993-1 999) followed as the
only Star Trek series to take place on a space station rather than a starship. The show chronicles the events of the station‘s crew. led by
Commander (later Captain) Benjamin Sikso. played by Avery Brooks (above). Voyager (1 995 - 200 1) welcomed the first female commanding officer in a leading role with Kate Mulgrew
and taking over that character. I just think it could have been a lot of things. but what it was was the definition til~ grace.‘
It was Nimoy who shared the delights ol‘ Star Trek for the first time with tans in 'l‘e\.is where. in April. the e\citement surrounding the lilm went into hyperdrive. \‘iewers e\pecting to see a screening ol' former tan layouritc. Shir Trek II." [he ll'nrr/i of Khan were shocked when the film reel appeared to melt alter ten minutes and then Nimoy who coined the ‘live long and prosper" greeting appeared to ask them: ‘\\'ouldn't you rather see the new moy ie'."
The delighted reaction suggests that maybe.
.lllst milHWe. Abrams‘ Slur 'l'ri'lv reboot is the
best in the series yet; one that boldly goes where no fan had ey er dared to guess it could. Star Trek is on general release from Wed 8 May.
Heroes’ Zachary Quinto looks a natural fit for Spock
as Captain Kathryn Janeway. Enterprise (2001-2005) boasted initial extraterrestrial contact wrth the Vulcans. Paramount Pictures has produced ten Star Trek feature films. before the most recent. Past films include tThe Motion Picture (1979). The Search for Spock (1984), The Final Frontier (1989) and Nemesis (2002). (Ann Russell) 4