Shatner boldly comes to West Texas

Jan. 10—William Shatner, famously known as the original Captain James Kirk of the Enterprise, will be boldly going where he's never gone before.

No, not space — he's already been there — but rather to Midland for a special screening of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan."

The legendary actor, who over a year ago became the oldest person to go into space at age 90, will be taking the stage in front of fans Thursday at the Wagner Noël Performing Arts Center to share fascinating and humorous behind the scenes stories from his career as well as answering questions from the audience members, after a screening of the movie.

The event starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and tickets can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/ynswwwaj.

It'll be his first time in the Odessa-Midland area and he's excited about the opportunity to visit.

"I'm leaping," Shatner said in a phone interview. "When I walk, I walk on the tip of my toes now because I'm coming to Midland. I laugh, involuntarily, before going to sleep and waking up because I know I'm coming to Midland."

The event is part of a tour which has been going on for a couple of years now.

The tour will make other stops in the Lone Star State this week with Lubbock on Friday, Sugar Land on Saturday and Austin on Sunday.

"I'm bringing the film, the 'Wrath of Khan' and it's been refurbished as far as color and sound," Shatner said. "They'll play it on the screen and then I'll come out on stage after that and entertain for an hour or more and answer questions about the film or anything else. We'll have a great time. It's a great evening in the theater."

It should go without saying but his favorite part of each screening is getting to talk to the fans.

"That's it," Shatner said. "Talking to the fans afterwards is a kick in the same way that I'm talking to you. I enjoy talking to the fans and we have a lot of fun. There's a lot of laughs, a lot of information and funny stuff transpires in that hour or more. I have a great time and I'm looking forward to coming there."

In 1966, Shatner originated the role of Captain James T. Kirk in the television series "Star Trek."

Since then, the series has spawned a feature film franchise where Shatner returned as Captain Kirk in seven of the "Star Trek" movies, one of which he directed.

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is the second film of the "Star Trek" film series but is considered by many to be the best of the movies.

Released in 1982, the film, directed by Nicholas Meyer, features the (now admiral) James T. Kirk and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Signh (played by Ricardo Montalban).

The film, produced by Paramount, was a box office success and it came after the disappointment of the first film "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" which was released in 1979.

While the first film performed modestly at the box office (earning $139 million against a budget of $44 million), it sat in the shadows of another famous sci-fi film.

"Well, the people at Paramount decided to make a film about Star Trek," Shatner said. "They spent a lot of money and hired Robert Wise to make it. It was alright and did well but compared to 'Star Wars', it was a disappointment for Paramount and they thought they wouldn't do any more movies."

A lofty budget and an over-reliance on special effects were some of the reasons the film didn't perform as well as Paramount had hoped.

However, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" corrected those mistakes as the film was made at a smaller budget of $12 million.

"It was suggested to make one more movie," Shatner said. "So they turned it over to the television department because they'll make it for less. So that's what we did. We made a film for one-third the cost of the movie and the wonderful writers wrote it."

The result was a box office hit, as the movie received positive reviews while earning $97 million worldwide and was seen by many as the one that saved the "Star Trek" movie series.

"It became what Star Trek had always been: a wonderful story and not just special effects," Shatner said. "That's what 'Star Trek II' is about. It's a wonderful story and I think that's why it's so popular."

The film serves as the beginning of a three-film story arc that continues with "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" which were released in 1984 and 1986, respectively.

Shatner went on to direct 1989's "Star Trek: The Final Frontier."

The original "Star Trek" series ran from 1966-1969 with some success.

However, it would soon develop a cult following as it became a hit on broadcast syndication and is now considered one of the most popular and influential television series of all time.

Over the years, many different "Star Trek" films have come out including the most recent rebooted series in 2009 that featured "Star Trek," "Star Trek Into Darkness" (both of which were directed by J.J. Abrams) and "Star Trek Beyond."

Yet "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is one that many fans point to as their favorite.

"I enjoy the fact that ('Wrath of Khan') exists because there was a lot of talk that that was it and we weren't going to make any more movies," Shatner said. "But it's an emotional film and that's fun for an actor."

The show has also seen many reboots on television including The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and Strange New Worlds, just to name a few.

While he says he hasn't seen the newer versions of "Star Trek," Shatner praised Abrams for his direction on the film series.

"In my defense, I haven't seen the newer ones," Shatner said. "I think J.J. Abrams found the answer to the limited box office that all the 'Star Trek' films had by making it a ride and adding all the special effects. Then, the 'Star Trek' films became popular. I think his contribution to making more 'Star Trek' films was by giving us this science fiction ride. But 'Star Trek' in my opinion has always been a great story and that's the reason The 'Wrath of Khan' is so popular."

In October 2021, Shatner made history by becoming the oldest person to go into space, going aboard a capsule piloted by Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin which took off from Van Horn.

For him, it was an emotional experience.

"The experience was so profound that it's hard to talk about it in the limited time that we have to talk," Shatner said. "But instead of exaltation, I felt great sadness because, looking at the beauty of the earth and knowing what I know through the books I've read and the people I've talked to, what a state of disarray the earth is in. I felt such sadness that I was moved to tears when I came back down, as opposed to the happy and proud have to done the trip feeling."

He does not expect to go back into space.

"No, I've done it," Shatner said. "I don't need to do it anymore."

Over the years, Shatner has cultivated a career spanning over 50 years as an award winning actor, director, producer, writer, recording artist and horseman, becoming one of Hollywood's most recognizable figures.

While he's gone on to do many other projects and roles on television, film and on the stage, he's always grateful for the opportunity he had playing Captain Kirk.

"Well, the series itself when I did it, was only moderately popular," Shatner said. "It was a mediocre hit. The show itself was wonderful but in terms of popularity, it was between cancelling and not cancelling for the three years that it was on. So when it went into syndication, it became very popular. People who liked that kind of thing were watching it. Eventually, it made me very popular. I'm talking to you because of the popularity 'Star Trek' gave me. I had a great time acting in it. I've written some stuff for it and directed a film. I've had a great career with 'Star Trek'. I'm very proud of it."