The Enterprise flies across the screen in the title sequence for How William Shatner Changed the World
How William Shatner Changed the World is a two-hour television special produced for The History Channel in the United States. Hosted by William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), it focuses on technological advancements in the real world that were inspired by the Star Trek phenomenon. The show uses intentional campiness and humor to maintain a light spirit. In promotional spots prior to the show's first airing, Shatner proudly claimed that he had made such inventions as the Internet possible, before adding, "But don't take my word for it – take his." The voice-over then announced the program's title and premiere date.
The program begins by examining how ahead of its time the "Treknology" seen in Star Trek: The Original Series was. One example is Dr. McCoy's medical scanner, which inspired numerous letters from real-world physicians inquiring about the concepts behind the device. It was in fact a salt shaker.
As the show progresses, Shatner discusses how Star Trek: The Next Generation had to raise the technological threshold, as many ideas considered unimaginable in the 1960s had become commonplace by the late '80s and early '90s. The Heisenberg compensator is revealed to be a way the writers hoped to circumvent the laws of physics without losing credibility.
Among the fans who have been inspired by the program are Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, who lays out the basic concepts that leads to the development of the iPod after watching Data on the Next Generation episode "A Matter Of Time" scan through various orchestral pieces instantly at his fingertips. Also, he demonstrates a suit he believes is a predecessor to a real-world holodeck. Portable telephones are also discussed by one of their inventors, who likens Captain Kirk's communicator to a modern-day "flip phone" with voice recognition.
Although produced for The History Channel, the special actually premiered on The Discovery Channel in Canada (who co-produced the program) on 13 November 2005, receiving its first US broadcast on The History Channel on 12 March 2006. It was first shown in the United Kingdom on 24 May 2006, on Five.
Filmed mostly in Vancouver, the special featured some scenes that took place in locations shown in Star Trek TV series.
The special was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2006 – Outstanding Nonfiction Special, and Outstanding Writing For Nonfiction Programming.
Appearances by[]
- Prof. John Adler, Stanford University School of Medicine
- Martin Cooper, inventor of the cell phone
- Rob Haitani, product designer from PalmOne
- Dr. Marc D. Rayman, Chief Propulsion Engineer, NASA, JPL
- George Takei
- Dr. Mae C. Jemison, NASA Astronaut 1987-1993
- Dr. Seth Shostak, SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
- Bruce Damer, Curator, Digi-Barn
- Dorothy C. Fontana, Writer, Star Trek 1966-1969
- Jonathan Frakes
- Walter Koenig
- André Bormanis, Star Trek Science Consultant
- Rick Sternbach, Prop Designer, The Next Generation
- Steve Perlman, President, MOVA
- Dr. Miguel Alcubierre, National University of Mexico
- Prof. Lawrence Krauss, Case Western Reserve University
- Kirkpatrick Sale, Author
- Prof. Kevin Warwick, Dept. of Cybernetics, Reading University UK
- Ira Steven Behr, Writer, The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
- Kate Mulgrew
- Tim Brazeal [1]
Releases[]
In Region 1 the film was released on DVD by Allumination FilmWorks and in Region 4 in Australia by Umbrella Entertainment. Both releases took place in 2007.