Shatner in Enterprise?

[ensign_beedrill 0]

Shatner to Play Kirk's Grandfather?

from Trek Today

 

Rick Berman has asked William Shatner whether he would be interested in appearing on Enterprise, the Captain Kirk actor told fans in a chat this week.

 

"Rick Berman did ask me if I would be willing to appear in Enterprise, and I indicated that if it was a good idea and script, yes," Shatner wrote during a chat with The Star Trek Fan Association.

 

Questioned by a fan about Jim Kirk's father George, a character from Pocket Books' Star Trek novels, Shatner replied, "Actually, the thought was to play my grandfather, which was the idea pitched originally by Mr. Berman."

 

However, he added, "I have not heard any further from them."

 

Elaborating on his previous comments that he had an idea in the works for a new series, Shatner said that his initial pitch has been to Pocket for a book series. "Now we have to see how Paramount would react," he said.

 

Though he reiterated that it would be premature to discuss the details of his pitches to Paramount, he expressed concern about the current direction of the franchise. "Star Trek has always had an underlying theme about humanity...after so many years now, it would seem that Paramount may have lost that focus," he said. When the series gets "too fancy," he added, the themes get diluted.

 

Though he expressed his feeling that Star Trek for the present "is pretty much dead", Shatner noted that Star Trek "has always been cyclical, and my expectation is that [it] will renew itself in time."

 

"I am really no authority on Enterprise, having seen only pieces of it," he said. He recommended the attitude from the Trek spoof Galaxy Quest: "'Never give up...never surrender.'"

 

To read more of Shatner's comments on these topics as well as possible visits to Germany and Israel, paintball, horses, his non-Trek books, his co-stars and more, read the full item at The Star Trek Fan Association. Thanks to TrekWeb for the alert.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

:lol: Oh YEEES! That would be excellent, if that did not bring ENT into the spotlight nothing would. I hope I hope I hope it works out!

 

I also hope whatever his idea for another series pans out and is put into early development for use when ENT has finished.

 

Trek's glory days are returning, Yippee! *goes outside and dances in the street*

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Would that fit the timeline though? Enterprise is 200 years before TOS right? Kirk's Grandfather would have to have been pretty old when he had Kirks father or Kirks father would have to be pretty old when Kirk was born. Thinking about my family my grandfathers were about 60 or so years older then me. Wouldn't he have to be Kirks great-grandfather or even great-great-grandfather?

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Oh yeah huh? :lol: They must have meant great great etc... Other wise it would be the greatest blunder ever!

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

TOS is 100 years before TOS.

 

ENT is currently 2153, I believe.

TOS began with 2266.

 

Having William Shatner play Captain Kirk's grandfather would work in terms of the timeline. Also, with Shatner being older, they could get away with it, you know how Trek relatives all look alike... :lol:

[VaBeachGuy 12]

TOS is 100 years before TOS.

 

ENT is currently 2153, I believe.

TOS began with 2266.

 

Having William Shatner play Captain Kirk's grandfather would work in terms of the timeline.  Also, with Shatner being older, they could get away with it, you know how Trek relatives all look alike... :lol:

If that's the case then yes it would work, maybe I was thinking that Enterprise is about 200 years from TNG/DS9/VOY's era.

[cptwright 1]

that sounds like it would be a cool idea, id like to see it. provided it is in a good story line, of course.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

TOS is 100 years before TOS.

 

ENT is currently 2153, I believe.

TOS began with 2266.

 

Having William Shatner play Captain Kirk's grandfather would work in terms of the timeline.  Also, with Shatner being older, they could get away with it, you know how Trek relatives all look alike... :lol:

Yeah I agree, Bill being Kirks Grandfather would work out fine.

[mj 7]

I loved Captain Kirk in TOS! I'd love to see William Shatner guest star on Enterprise, as an ancester of his! :lol:

[barry 0]

I think that would be good to see,it would be good to find out how his character who fit into the story lines.

 

:lol:

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I was looking at this possibility and the Star Trek chronology a little closer, I still don't know that it can work as him being his own Grandfather.

 

James T. Kirk will be born on March 22, 2233. There has never been a birth date given for his father or grandfather so we will have to make some assumptions for the sake of discussion.

 

In order for them to pull this off they will have to have Bill Shatner play a character that is about the same age as he is. Bill Shatner is 72 now (almost 73). Lets figure he'll play a man of 70 in the show. For that to happen the timeline should look something like I have below

 

(This assumes that the ages of these men at the time their son was born to be 30, 40, 40 and 40 as noted below)

 

2083 James T. Kirks Great-Great-Grandfather is born, 30 years later

2113 James T. Kirk's Great-Grandfather is born, 40 years later

2153 James T. Kirk's Grandfather is born, 40 Years later

2193 James T. Kirk's Father is born, 40 years later

2233 James T. Kirk is born, 31 years later

2264 James T. Kirk begins his 5 year mission on the USS Enterprise

 

If you take the assumption that the character will be about 70 to match Shatner's age and then you take the current Enterprise year (2153) and subtract 70 you get the date of 2083. So while J.T.Kirk's Grandfather is alive at this time and is an adult old enough to have a child (Kirks Father) it's not reasonable to think William Shatner at 73 years old could play him. With this assumed timeline Kirks Grandfather would be 40 years old in 2153 and Kirk's Father would be a newborn.

 

Could Kirk's grandfather be 73 at the time of Archer? Yes, it's possible. But I think a timeline like the one I am calculating is a more reasonable timeline for them to go with.

 

What does all this mean? Nothing at all, the only date we know of is James T. Kirk's birthdate of March 22, 2233. I just think it would be better to have him play the Great-Great-Grandfather then to try to explain how a 73 year old Shatner could play a man who's grandson won't be born for another 80 years.

[trekzone 0]

im all for that, after the Xindi story arc though....

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

Shatner doesn't look that old, all they gotta do is call in the makeup department and make him look 30 years younger. Hey, look at the ageless "Jullia Robberts"

 

Anywho, I think it'd probably be best to have Shatner be Kirk's great grandfather. This is 100 years ago and Shatner's old, so having him be a great grandfather instead of a grandfather would work out best in my opinion. :lol:

[A l t e r E g o 9]

I've calmed down now.

 

I see now how having Bill be his own Granddad wont work. Most sons start a new generation around the age of what? 18 to 25 years old? <That means in the 100 years between ENT and TOS the potential exists for there to have been 4 or 5 generations born before JTK. (:lol: or thousands)

 

I've thought of at least two additional variables we as yet have no information for: 1. We have no idea if Bills new character would be made to look younger, be his real age, (almost 73) or be made older and 2. Will time travel be involved.

[Goose 0]

Stardate:213655.7

 

 

 

I like the idea of shatner in ENT.Maybe he could be talking to Archer saying"Ya know i would like to see somebody in my family someday be Captian of a starship,maybe a starship like Enterprise........."

[barry 0]

If they did get Shatner to play his own Grandad at least they wouldn't have to fit him with a girdle to hide that ever expanding waistline of his,so the part would be perfect for him.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I would really hope that they don't have Shatner try to play a 40 year old man, or even a 50 year old man.

 

Time travel would be a real possibility, even thought the Vulcan Science Directorate has deter... well you know... lol

 

That's about the only way he could be his own grandfather though.

 

I was just thinking about this, and in Trials and Tribbil-ations Dr. Bashir meets a woman in the past and then gets the thought that his Great-Grandmother had the same last name as the woman. He says that no one ever knew his great-grandfather and then suggests that maybe he was supposed to go back in time to 2267 to become his own great-grandfather. (This episode is set in 2374 traveling back to 2267).

 

(again, these dates are just a guess on my part based on Bashir's statement that he could be his own great grandfather)

 

2267 33 Year old Bashir becomes his own Great Grandfather

2268 Bashir's grandfather is born, then 35 years later

2303 Bashir's Father is born, then 38 years later

2341 Bashir is born, then 33 years later Bashir becomes his own great-grandfather and we start all over again... lol

 

Bashir is 33 years old at this point so if he were to become his own great-grandfather that would be 74 years before his own birth in 2341. So for Bashir to go back and play his own great-grandfather at 33 is reasonable because he is 33 himself.

 

It would be reasonable to have Kirk's Grandfather portrayed on Enterprise but I don't think (aside from time travel or some other situation like that) it would be reasonable to have Shatner play him because of his (Shatner's) age.

 

In fact I still don't think it would really even be reasonable to have Shatner portray his great-grandfather for the same reason. I think it would be a safe assumption that Kirks great-grandfather is 35 - 40 years old during the time of Enterprise and I think they would be ill-advised to have Shatner try to play a part that's 35-40 years old. He (Shatner) was about 35 during the time of TOS and no matter if he looks 73 or not he doesn't look even close to 35 (or 40).

[TransporterMalfunction 1]

Would he rip/take off his shirt and have a fist fight in the sand?

 

I think it would be good if Shatner played a character not related to Kirk at all, perhaps an evil ruler or even a Klingon!

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Would he rip/take off his shirt and have a fist fight in the sand?

 

I think it would be good if Shatner played a character not related to Kirk at all, perhaps an evil ruler or even a Klingon!

Too bad the Federation hasn't formed at this point, they could have him play the first Federation president.

[nebulahunter1963 0]

OK,OK....how about Bill plays a small part (sorry Bill) such as the cabin-boy from another ship that strands him on a planet where Enterprise just happens to stop for some much needed R&R after befriending a race of spider people that help Archer defeat their long-time enemy, The BlackFlaggers (bug spray) of Hi-Veria. Bill is brought aboard to assist Archers cook in developing a new menu for Porthos...........But............unbeknownst to the crew, Bill is infected with a rare disease which will cause permanent blindness in all Vulcans and any space-race which has more than 6 eyes, although he is only a carrier of the disease. Bill could be cured when, through a time-displacement accident, Dr. Bashir is transported through time to assist Dr. Phlox in curing Bill's ailment and afterwhich he (Bill) is transported through time to become his own veterinarian.

 

Maybe???????

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

If Shatner's too old to be Kirk's grandpa, make him his great-grandfather! Problem solved.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

If Shatner's too old to be Kirk's grandpa, make him his great-grandfather!  Problem solved.

You must not have noticed this from one of my previous posts:

 

In fact I still don't think it would really even be reasonable to have Shatner portray his great-grandfather for the same reason. I think it would be a safe assumption that Kirks great-grandfather is 35 - 40 years old during the time of Enterprise and I think they would be ill-advised to have Shatner try to play a part that's 35-40 years old. He (Shatner) was about 35 during the time of TOS and no matter if he looks 73 or not he doesn't look even close to 35 (or 40).

 

How can a 73 year old man portray a 35 to 40 year old man? I go back to my original thought that if Shatner is to be in it he should be Great-Great-Grandaddy Jim.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

Well, I've known 35-40-year-old people who look old as Shatner. As far as 70's-year-olds go, Shatner doesn't look that old. With the right make-up, they could get away with it.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

Well, I've known 35-40-year-old people who look old as Shatner.  As far as 70's-year-olds go, Shatner doesn't look that old.  With the right make-up, they could get away with it.

Why make him play a 35 year old though when all they would have to do is add an extra "great" to it and poof he can be his own age. It would make it more credible.

 

Besides, I don't care how much make up you use, you can't make this:

 

Look this young:

 

With Enterprise there enough people complaining about timeline's and Borg and all that, why give them something else to complain about by making a 73 year old man become a 35 year old man. Especially when we knew the man (through TOS) when he really was 35. It doesn't make sense.

[APW 0]

Shatner to Play Kirk's Grandfather?

from Trek Today

 

Rick Berman has asked William Shatner whether he would be interested in appearing on Enterprise, the Captain Kirk actor told fans in a chat this week.

 

"Rick Berman did ask me if I would be willing to appear in Enterprise, and I indicated that if it was a good idea and script, yes," Shatner wrote during a chat with The Star Trek Fan Association.

 

Questioned by a fan about Jim Kirk's father George, a character from Pocket Books' Star Trek novels, Shatner replied, "Actually, the thought was to play my grandfather, which was the idea pitched originally by Mr. Berman."

 

However, he added, "I have not heard any further from them."

 

Elaborating on his previous comments that he had an idea in the works for a new series, Shatner said that his initial pitch has been to Pocket for a book series. "Now we have to see how Paramount would react," he said.

 

Though he reiterated that it would be premature to discuss the details of his pitches to Paramount, he expressed concern about the current direction of the franchise. "Star Trek has always had an underlying theme about humanity...after so many years now, it would seem that Paramount may have lost that focus," he said. When the series gets "too fancy," he added, the themes get diluted.

 

Though he expressed his feeling that Star Trek for the present "is pretty much dead", Shatner noted that Star Trek "has always been cyclical, and my expectation is that [it] will renew itself in time."

 

"I am really no authority on Enterprise, having seen only pieces of it," he said. He recommended the attitude from the Trek spoof Galaxy Quest: "'Never give up...never surrender.'"

 

To read more of Shatner's comments on these topics as well as possible visits to Germany and Israel, paintball, horses, his non-Trek books, his co-stars and more, read the full item at The Star Trek Fan Association. Thanks to TrekWeb for the alert.

Hey,sure,why not?

I usually disagree with everything Berman does,but I'll throw in with him this time...

Even though,it might work out better to be Kirk's great-grandad,or even great-great...(unless his grandfather waited until late in life to have children of his own,which,I suppose could be possible....)

[master_q 0]

As far as I am concerned . . . Why Not?

Yes, we can go into those details and other technical things

But let's let Shatner shine again - I don't see anything wrong with that

 

 

Master Q

StarTrek_Master_Q@yahoo.com

[Mr.Picard 12]

Well, I think it is a good idea having someone from TOS showing up in ENT. This could come out quite interesting (though it would not be Kirk himself but his grandfather ).

I say: It's okay, let's do it as long it does not "hurt" the time line

 

 

 

Mrs. Captain Picard

[nebulahunter1963 0]

It worked well in TNG and DS9....why not on ENT. Might bring a few more people over that either don't like ENT or don't get into it too much. I'm not really into ENT but if the story's would get better along with upgrading the characters, I'd be willing to watch more often.

[Captain Jean-Luc Picard 1]

Well, Great-Great-Grandfather being in his 70's about 90 years before Kirk. I think I finally see VBG's justification for adding an extra "Great" on. My question is this: Will the producers think to do this? What if they just call him Kirk's grandpa? They'll probably call him something like "something Kirk" and just have him be Kirk's ancestors and let the fans sort out which generation he is. :(

[Admiral Kirk 1]

I'm all for Shatner appearing on Enterprise only if the story and plot are airtight.