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Star Trek often gets overlooked by the main stream for awards. It happens all the time. Star Trek: First Contact got beat for the 1997 Best Picture by the English Patient. Sure, First Contact didn't even get nominated, but isn't that sort of the issue? How many of you like The English Patient? Let alone, seen it. Yet, it won.

What's up with that?

Sarcastic commentary aside, Star Trek has rarely ever earned nods at the Academy Awards or the Emmys. They've been nominated for some, with The Motion Picture being the first film of the franchise to do so, earning several nods in 1980. Yet, they only have one win; in 2010 for Star Trek 2009. It won for Best Makeup. They've done better at the Emmys, winning 19 times but only out of 59 nominations.

So they've gotten a little love from the mainstream. Yet, for Star Trek fans, it's always been the Saturn...

In an era where directors can revisit their older films and recut them, William Shatner on why he won’t touch Star Trek V again.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Francis Ford Coppola go back over a number of his films, to give them a few nips and tucks, and oversee their remasters. Ridley Scott is no stranger to extended versions of his movies. Sylvester Stallone meanwhile managed to suck virtually all of the fun out of Rocky IV with his recent re-edit of the picture.

There’s certainly an audience out there for alternative cuts of movies. Yet several movies that didn’t come out quite the way the filmmakers had hoped remain untouched. That’s clearly going to be the case for the majority of films, but still: if a filmmaker is dissatisfied with how their film came out, there’s at least a slim...

Richard D. James, the Emmy-winning production designer who worked on all but one of the 14 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, has died. He was 88.

James died Nov. 11 of complications from an infection at Ut Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, his longtime friend Tom Sanden told The Hollywood Reporter.

For the big screen, the Texas native was art director on Bill Forsyth’s Local Hero (1983), starring Burt Lancaster and Peter Riegert; on Mike Nichols’ Silkwood (1983), starring Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell; and on Kevin Reynolds’ The Beast of War, starring George Dzundza, Jason Patric and Steven Bauer.

James joined the syndicated Next Generation for its second season (1988-89) and remained through its conclusion in 1994. He then segued to Upn’s Voyager, working on that series for its entire seven-season run (1995-2001).

James received his Emmy (shared with longtime collaborator Jim Mees) in 1990 for his...

To date, there have been 13 "Star Trek" feature films, with a 14th movie, "Section 31," scheduled to debut on Paramount+ on January 24, 2025. The films are, many Trekkies would agree, various degrees of good and bad. Some of the "Star Trek" films are among the best sci-fi movies ever made, while others are handily the worst. Many agree that Nicholas Meyer's 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is the best one, although J.J. Abrams' 2009 "Star Trek" is the highest-grossing. The four films based on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" -- that is: "Generations," "First Contact," "Insurrection," and "Nemesis" -- are all pretty middling, although many like the Borg action from "First Contact." My personal favorites are Robert Wise's 1979 epic "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," for its cerebral grandiosity, and Meyer's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" for its political bent. 

The films also fluctuate wildly in mere production quality.

When you’re 93, your perspective in life is at another stage. Everything you’ve done comes running back to you. For William Shatner, it must be a mixed bag, having seen both the highs and lows the Industry has to offer.

Having made his mark with his role of Captain Kirk in the Og Star Trek series and movies, Shatner was acting royalty back in the end. And he still is, with a legacy like no other. But there are moments which he must have undoubtedly regretted, including lashing out at a sound engineer once.

William Shatner was the man in the 70s-80s William Shatner was at the helm of a successful ship of Star Trek || Image by Super Festivals, licensed under Cc By 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

To the 70s-80s kids, William Shatner was the man. Even if Star Trek might have lost some of its shine in today’s age.

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Fun trivia: "Star Trek" didn't have a full-blooded Vulcan character in its main cast until the introduction of Tuvok (Tim Russ) on "Star Trek: Voyager" in 1995. Until that point, most of the central Vulcan characters were partially non-Vulcan. Spock (Leonard Nimoy), of course, was half-Vulcan and half-human, with a Vulcan father (played by Mark Lenard in the original series) and a human mother (played by Jane Wyatt). Spock was raised on Vulcan, however, and had devoted himself to the Vulcan ethos of emotionlessness and logic. 

Saavik (Kirstie Alley) from 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," one might find, was also not fully Vulcan, although only deep-cut Trekkies might know about her true heritage. Saavik, for the uninitiated, was a Starfleet cadet who was serving on board the U.S.S. Enterprise as Spock's protégé. "Star Trek II" opened...

The animated “Star Trek: Lower Decks” premiered a new clip from its forthcoming final season at New York Comic Con, showcasing the crew of the U.S.S. Cerritos pursuing its Season 5 mission: closing “space potholes” — and meeting alternate versions of themselves as they cross through one of those subspace rifts.

The comedic yet still in-continuity show set in the wider “Star Trek” universe features the ship’s junior officers working to stop these dimensional breaks from causing problems in the Alpha Quadrant this season. According to an official description, “Pothole duty would be easy for Jr. Officers Mariner, Boimler, Tendi and Rutherford… if they didn’t also have to deal with an Orion war, furious Klingons, diplomatic catastrophes, murder mysteries and scariest of all — their own career aspirations.”

The show teases that Season 5 could feature its lowly crew getting promoted out of the titular lower decks “into strange new Starfleet roles.

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Thanks to their fictional captain, the original crew of the Starship Enterprise almost didn't get a fond big-screen farewell.

Prior to 1989, the starcrossed "Star Trek" franchise had survived network cancellation and a box office/critical disappointment in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." As such, the brand was unexpectedly in terrific shape coming off three hits in a row in the 1980s with "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." For once, it felt like the entire "Star Trek" team was playing with house money. Then William Shatner, having watched Leonard Nimoy take two turns at the helm, which earned him a hugely successful non-"Star Trek" directing effort in "Three Men and a Baby" (the highest grossing film of 1987), decided it was time to strut his stuff behind the camera.

William Shatner is a legendary figure in the entertainment industry, best known for his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in *Star Trek*. With a career spanning over seven decades, Shatner’s influence reaches far beyond the iconic sci-fi franchise. His extensive work in television, film, music, and even space exploration has made him a household name and contributed significantly to his net worth.

What is William Shatner’s net worth? William Shatner in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | Credits: Paramount

As of May 2024, William Shatner’s net worth is estimated to be around $100 million. Shatner’s wealth stems from his prolific career as an actor, author, director, and producer. He gained widespread fame through Star Trek: The Original Series (1966-1969), which, despite its brief run, left a lasting cultural impact.

Related “I think Gene is twirling in his grave”: One Military Rule Gene Roddenberry Imposed on Star Trek...

Star Trek: Discovery really had themselves a chance to make a new show that continued the legacy of the franchise, enthralling us with new and vibrant stories. Instead, it was yet another prequel that no one asked for. It may have had a shot, but the show did everything it could to turn off established fans. Unfortunately, due to poor management, genuine talents like series star Sonequa Martin-Green bore the brunt of the backlash.

She was, after all, the starring character of the franchise; Michael Burnham. Despite an awful character name, there was hope. After all, Martin-Green was in demand coming off of her role on The Walking Dead. They got a true talent to star in their new Trek series. Why not? Yet, the character was poorly written and given way too many myths and canon-breaking attachments that rubbed fans the wrong way.

A mysterious and never before mentioned sister of Spock?...

William Shatner lived in an idealistic future for many years when he played the Starfleet Captain James T. Kirk. Created by Gene Roddenberry, the show was known for its optimistic view of the future, which saw increased diversity, harmony, and professionalism coupled with the spirit of discovery.

However, the world itself has probably not gone in the same direction as Roddenberry hoped, although there is still hope as the show was set in the 22nd Century. With global warming an ongoing crisis and several countries declaring a climate emergency, Shatner feels that Roddenberry would be extremely annoyed at climate change deniers.

William Shatner Had A Depressing Revelation When He Went To Space William Shatner in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | Credits: Paramount

While William Shatner boldly went where no one had gone before in Star Trek, he did that in real life too when he went to space at...

All throughout Star Trek: The Original Series and up through Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, there was no mention of any siblings for Spock. Even when he had died and returned to Vulcan to restore his katra , there were no brothers or sisters mentioned. That was because at the beginning of the second season of The Original Series, writer D.C. Fontana told the fanzine Spockanalia [via Slashfilm] that not only had Sarek only been married to Amanda, but there were no other children. Spock was an only child.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier was the first to break Fontana's rule when Sybok was introduced as Spock's half-brother. Supposedly, he was Sarek's son with a Vulcan princess, and there was no mention if the pair had actually been married. Fans weren't pleased with the introduction of this never-before-mentioned half-sibling, but, of course, the internet wasn't around at the time...

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From low-budget romps to high-energy blockbuster films, Star Trek has become one of the most influential sci-fi franchises of all time. While Trek has decades worth of TV, film, and animated iterations that might rival Star Wars, it also has its own unique legacy and long-time, passionate cult following (and merch).

In the past few years, the Trek television universe has become one of the highlights of original programming on Paramount+.

Going back to 1966, "Star Trek" co-stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had what was called a "favored nations clause" in their contracts. The clause ensured that whenever one actor got a raise, or perhaps input into a script, the other one would get the same. This was done to comfort two actors who were constantly butting heads as to who the real "star" of "Star Trek" was. The favored nations clause made sure that neither actor could "pull ahead" of the other.

The clauses were still in place by the 1980s, so when Nimoy was hired to direct "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" (1984) and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986), Shatner was able to pull rank. Thanks to a pay dispute on "Star Trek IV," Shatner could contractually elbow his way into the director's chair for 1989's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." Not only that, but Shatner...

Paramount’s free streaming service Pluto TV has revealed its August highlights. Pluto TV is boldly going where no streamer has gone before, becoming the first service to offer the entire Star Trek film series for free!

Pluto TV has long been home to a galaxy of science fiction entertainment, and now all of the cinematic adventures of the Star Trek Prime Universe (William Shatner and Patrick Stewart) and the Kelvin Universe (Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto) are beaming up to your favorite device. Also joining Pluto TV in August are Alien Nation by Dust and three new channels from Fox.

Pluto TV is the leading free streaming television service, delivering hundreds of live, linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience. The Emmy Award-winning service curates a diverse lineup of channels in partnership with hundreds of international media companies.

Pluto TV offers various genres, languages, and categories featuring movies,...

David Loughery, the screenwriter whose credits included the action pictures Dreamscape, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and the Wesley Snipes-starring Money Train and Passenger 57, has died. He was 71.

Loughery died Tuesday of skin cancer in St. Petersburg, Florida, his friend Fred Rappaport told The Hollywood Reporter.

Loughery collaborated with director Joseph Ruben on Dreamscape (1984), starring Dennis Quaid; The Good Son (1993), starring Macauley Culkin; Money Train (1995), with Woody Harrelson alongside Snipes in their follow-up to White Men Can’t Jump; and Blindsided (2013), starring Michelle Monaghan and Michael Keaton.

Born on March 3, 1953, in Oak Park, Illinois, Loughery graduated from Ball State University, then received his master’s degree from the University of Iowa. In 1981, he shared a story credit on an episode of ABC’s Hart to Hart.

After his film debut on Dreamscape, he had the sole screenplay credit and shared a story credit on Star Trek V: The Final Frontier...

Actor Leonard Nimoy was known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek. The actor played the role for three seasons in the show and even reprised his role for the original films featuring the same cast. He also had a cameo as Elder Spock in J.J. Abrams’ reboot Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness.

As a filmmaker, Nimoy is known for helming the classic Three Men and a Baby. However, he made his debut with the third Star Trek film The Search for Spock. While the actor’s new position made it awkward for the rest of the cast, Nimoy also reportedly respectfully insulted the directors of the first two films while pitching himself for the job.

Leonard Nimoy Proved Why He Was Perfect To Direct A Star Trek Film Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek | Credits: Paramount Pictures

The Star Trek franchise gained a new...

"Star Trek" fans are a notoriously finicky and aggressively opinionated lot, but I don't think it's terribly controversial to suggest that, of the six films featuring "The Original Series" cast, the majority of Trekkers hold the two directed by Nicholas Meyer, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," to be the best of the bunch.

Made for $32 million less than Robert Wise's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," Meyer, who'd never seen a single episode of the show, got the franchise's big-screen iteration back on track by dispensing with the previous film's occasionally draggy reverence. Though he inherited the notion of calling back to Tos' "Space Seed" episode, Meyer placed his stamp on the film by imbuing the tale with evocative literary allusions to Herman Melville's "Moby-Dick" and Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities." It's a tightly structured yarn that managed...

William Shatner is known for his role as Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise. Starring in the original series, the actor played the enthralling Captain for three seasons and a slate of films before leaving the chair for a new leader in The Next Generation.

While Patrick Stewart has since reprised his role from Tng in Picard, Shatner has yet to make an appearance in a new-generation show. The actor mentioned that he would consider it if the makers avoided making it a gimmick as they did with Leonard Nimoy in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek reboot.

William Shatner Considered A Kirk-Picard Team-Up In A New-Gen Star Trek Show William Shatner plays Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek | Credits: Desilu Productions/Paramount Television/Norway Corporation

William Shatner became a household name after he starred in the original Star Trek series. Though the show only lasted three seasons,...

$30 million sci-fi epic? Check. Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, at the helm? Double check. But here’s the shocker: a single spacesuit costs a quarter-million bucks! Shatner, ever the audacious leader, pushed boundaries on and off the screen in this Star Trek film. This wasn’t your typical phaser-firing adventure; it was a gamble on groundbreaking storytelling, where even costumes defied expectations.

A still from Star Trek: The Next Generation | Paramount Domestic Television

Shatner’s extravagant suit became a symbol of the movie’s daring spirit, a reminder that venturing into the unknown sometimes requires a leap of faith and a very expensive spacesuit.

Shatner Spent Big on a Spacesuit for Star Trek V’s $30 Million Budget William Shatner as Captain Kirk | Paramount Pictures

William Shatner, a nonagenarian workhorse who keeps defying age with his acting and space travels, is spilling the tea on his biggest career regret: Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.

The concept of space and the vast emptiness that lies beyond what our eyes can see has fascinated us for as long as time itself. Our fascination has given birth to the sci-fi genre, where franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek explore the possible theories of life away from our own solar system.

William Shatner as Captain Kirk | Paramount

And yet, there are philosophical attributes of space that are often linked to religion – for example, the existence of God. Most religions believe that Heaven lies somewhere in space, and Star Trek once tried to dabble in that concept. As expected, it didn’t turn out so well.

William Shatner looks back at his only Star Trek directorial feature

To a lot of Trekkies today, William Shatner is a name that evokes respect. Shatner was the leader of the original crew, playing Captain James T. Kirk, and belonged to the...

Amazon Prime Video is the place to go for movies this month, with a plethora of original films as well as new library additions for just about every movie fan. The Emma Roberts-led original Space Cadet hits the streaming service aptly on the Fourth of July, for anyone looking for a fish-out-of-water style comedy. My Spy the Eternal City, the newest film in the Dave Bautista-led family action series also drops on July 18.

Action film fans are also in for a treat with recent films The Beekeeper and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning coming to Prime Video in July.

As far as TV shows go, the most notable addition this month is the adult animated series Sausage Party: Foodtopia, a continuation of the 2016 film Sausage Party.

Here’s everything coming to Prime Video and Freevee in July – Amazon originals are designated with an asterisk.

New on Amazon Prime Video...

Star Trek star William Shatner was not a fan of the Patrick Stewart-led show, Star Trek: The Next Generation. During the inception of the 1987 show, Shatner did not want the series to use the Star Trek name. Fans were also not too happy with the all-new cast of the series, as they were accustomed to Captain Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise.

Patrick Stewart and other cast members in Star Trek: The Next Generation | Paramount Pictures

However, as The Next Generation progressed, fans came to love Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his ship. In fact, even new generation trekkies came to love Stewart’s character from the three-season run of The Next Generation sequel show, Star Trek: Picard.

William Shatner Was Critical About Patrick Stewart’s Star Trek: The Next Generation

William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy in Star Trek V | Paramount Network

Star Trek: The Next Generation was announced at a...

David Schmoeller's 1989 film "Puppet Master" was almost going to be a theatrical release in the summer of 1989, but pivoted to the VHS market at the last minute. Looking at the 1989 supper movie season, one can see why producer Charles Band made the decision. "Puppet Master" would have opened against "Batman," "Ghostbusters II," "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," "Back to the Future Part II," "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," "License to Kill," and "Lethal Weapon 2." There were just too many blockbusters it would've had to compete with.

Its movement to the straight-to-video market might have reduced its prestige, but "Puppet Master" spawned many, many sequels (not to mention a few crossovers) that persist to this day (the most recent "Puppet Master" film was released in 2022). The killer puppets in the film have become minor horror icons and often serve as the face of Full Moon Features, a...

You are on the wrong website if you don’t know who William Shatner is. Whether or not you are a Star Trek fan is irrelevant for you to appreciate Shatner’s impact on pop culture. From his role as Captain James T. Kirk to turns on The Twilight Zone, Tj Hooker, Rescue 911, Boston Legal, and more, Shatner has been a pop culture stalwart since the 1960s. Having written books, released albums, and performed on stage, William Shatner’s legacy hit a pinnacle when he joined Jeff Bezos for a spaceflight a few years ago. From fictional space to real stars, Shatner is a legend.

At 93 years old, William Shatner also knows his time on this planet is coming to an end in the near future. His new documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, mediates his place in the cosmos and what it has meant to have lived almost a century of happiness.

Image created by “Shutterstock.AI” Released back in 1989, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier generated a lot of anticipation, especially among Star Trek fans. The previous Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was a hit with critics and audiences alike, even those who weren’t Star Trek fans. When Star Trek V landed in theaters in 1989 with a ton of buzz, the reception was harsh – critics panned it, and fans felt let down. William Shatner, who pulled triple duty as director, co-writer of the story, and star, defended the movie at first. During the release of the last Star Trek film featuring the original crew, Star Trek VI, he told us during an interview that he focused on the few positive reviews the film got. (Click on the media bar below to hear William Shatner) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/WillIam_Shatner_Star_Trek_V.mp3 But in a...

After the release of "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" in 1991, a consensus began to form among Trekkies as to which Trek movie was the best. Most fans agreed that the even-numbered films -- "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," and "Country" -- were the good ones, while the odd-numbered film -- "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," and "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" -- were the bad ones. This is arguably an unfair assessment, although "Final Frontier" is still often considered the worst in the series, and "Voyage Home" remains one of the most popular.

Indeed, "Voyage Home," even when not adjusted for inflation, remains the most financially successful "Star Trek" movie released before 2009. This might seem unusual to a 21st-century eye, as "Voyage Home" was a fish-out-of-water time travel comedy and not a revenge-motivated action flick.

William Shatner’s James T. Kirk starred in every episode of the original Star Trek television series and in the first seven Star Trek movies. After donning the role for almost two decades, Shatner followed in the footsteps of co-star Leonard Nimoy to direct a Star Trek film. Shatner directed the fifth film in the franchise, Star Trek: The Final Frontier, which received mixed to negative receptions. Shatner revealed that he has one big regret about making the film.

William Shatner as Captain Kirk in the Star Trek series

Shatner’s directorial venture was plagued with several problems, mostly arising from the cast & crew’s opinions about Shatner’s storyline. However, the T.J. Hooker star took all the responsibility for his failure, sharing that he was not emotionally equipped to handle the big-budget film.

William Shatner’s Biggest Regret Was How He Failed To Take Charge Of His Directorial Venture...

In his vast career, William Shatner has directed five features. Three of them were documentaries about the making of "Star Trek" including "The Captains" in 2011, "Get a Life!" in 2012, and "Chaos on the Bridge" in 2014. Prior to these, Shatner also helmed a 2002 sci-fi film called "Groom Lake," which he co-wrote with the notorious "Star Trek" producer Maurice Hurley.

Shatner's highest-profile directing gig, however, came in 1989 with the release of "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier." To this day, "Star Trek V" is considered the least of the "Star Trek" movies, lambasted for its clunky script, weird central conceit, and cheap special effects. In the film, the U.S.S. Enterprise is hijacked by Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), the half-brother of Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Sybok flies the ship to the very center of the galaxy where he hopes to meet God face-to-face. Along the way, Sybok converts several Enterprise crew members to...

William Shatner is at the point in his life where he can look back at all the things he’s done with perspective. The legendary actor is the subject of a new documentary, You Can Call Me Bill, which chronicles his career. As one would assume, a big part of the retrospective is about his time on Star Trek. Many stories have been shared about his run in the Captain’s chair. And now, Shatner himself would be reflecting on certain parts of his career involving the famous sci-fi property. One thing he would look back on in particular was his attempt to helm a Star Trek movie with the sequel, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Shatner would come up with the story as well as direct the film.

The Hollywood Reporter got to sit down with Shatner as he discussed different phases of his career, including T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal.

When writing about a legend who’s still working as a nonagenarian, it’s almost obligatory to include a line about how they are seemingly busier than ever. William Shatner, 92, may no longer be on set 12 hours a day for the roles that made him the first Comic-Con celebrity (Star Trek), or that transformed him into a late-career regular at the Emmys podium (The Practice, Boston Legal), but it’s difficult not to marvel at the pace at which he lives his life.

The actor, who looks and speaks much like he did 20 years ago, maintains a healthy travel schedule that includes appearances at a dozen or so fan conventions every year. Always popping up in new projects (he hosted the extraterrestrial base camp-simulating reality contest Stars on Mars that aired on Fox over the summer), in 2021, he became the oldest person to travel to space, pouring that experience into...

When "Star Trek" first aired in the late 1960s, it wasn't an overwhelmingly popular hit. When the show was canceled in 1969, it was put into eternal syndication, and it wouldn't be until the mid-1970s that Trekkies would begin to appear in earnest. "Star Trek" conventions started to pop up in hotel ballrooms across the nation, and "Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry would occasionally appear at said conventions to discuss his creation with his many fans.

It was during these conversations, really, that Roddenberry began to mentally highlight the messages he put into "Star Trek." Fans, he saw, were responding to Trek's depiction of a world without war and money, a world where diplomacy and exploration took precedence over conquest and acquisition. Many loved the show's diversity.

When it came time to create "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1986, it appeared Roddenberry was eager to shift Trek's themes into overdrive. "Next...

"Star Trek" is one of the most iconic and enduring science fiction franchises of all time, following the adventures of Starfleet in the far-future as they explore space, the final frontier. To bring strange new worlds and civilizations to life, "Star Trek" leans heavily into visual effects, many of them cutting edge for technology available at the time. These special effects did everything from showcasing the starship Enterprise to making the ship's memorable transporter look seamlessly functional. Simply put, "Star Trek" wouldn't be what it is without its meticulously realized visual effects.

It takes a whole team and a whole process to bring these futuristic sights to the screen and these behind-the-scenes photographs offer a look at how it was all made. From extensive use of models and bluescreen to modern digital projection, "Star Trek" uses every visual effect trick in the book to thrill audiences. Here is what "Star Trek...

At the beginning of William Shatner's 1989 film "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise-a is on shore leave, taking a much-needed breather while their ship undergoes extensive repairs and improvements. Scotty (James Doohan) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) are overseeing the repairs back on the ship. Chekhov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) are hiking together in Yosemite while Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Captain Kirk (Shatner), and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) set up their own camp nearby. This must not be a very long shore leave, otherwise I assume these people would all be at home visiting their families and not hanging out with their co-workers. 

At night, McCoy, Kirk, and Spock gather around a campfire, cook beans, and enjoy marshmallows. Everything is comfortably low-tech. Kirk and McCoy attempt to introduce Spock to the Earth tradition of singing songs around the campfire, teaching him the lyrics to "Row,...

According to IMDb, "All Good Things..." -- the final episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" -- filmed on the Paramount lot and around Southern California from March 11, 1994, to April 5. The episode aired on May 23. The final episode made extensive use of the show's many sets, filming on the bridge, in Ten Forward, and throughout various corridors on the Enterprise-d. The series ended with a complex time-travel story, and the implication that the adventures of the Enterprise-d would continue, but that audiences simply wouldn't be allowed to watch them. Had "Star Trek" ended there, I think many Trekkies would have been perfectly content. Or, more likely, we would have happily shifted focus to "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" which debuted in January of 1993.

Paramount, it seems, wanted "Next Generation" to remain fresh in people's minds, however, and the production of the first "NextGen" feature film, "Star Trek: Generations," overlapped with "All Good Things.

Created by Ton Ruegger and overseen by executive producer Steven Spielberg, "Tiny Toon Adventures" debuted in September of 1990, marking a sea change in mainstream TV animation. "Tiny Toons," tapping into 1990s trends toward self-awareness, regularly addressed its own status as a cartoon show, and the characters would frequently give side-eyes to the audience, extract scripts on camera, or even exit their animation cels to cause havoc for the animators. The show's regular obliteration of the fourth wall reflected — and guided — the prevailing winking sarcasm of the 1990s, making it (and I am not exaggerating) a vital and definitive text of the decade. It's no coincidence that it landed the same year as Richard Linklater's "Slacker."

"Tiny Toons" was striking, funny, and launched an entire series of notable Spielberg-backed 1990s cartoons like "Animaniacs," "Histeria!," and "Freakazoid!"

The characters on "Tiny Toons" were largely all distaff "youth" counterparts of established Looney Tunes characters.

It's most popularly accepted by Trekkies and by general audiences that, of the 13 "Star Trek" movies to date, Nicholas Meyer's 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is the best. It's certainly the most celebrated, and one might find "The Wrath of Khan" the most commonly programmed Trek flick at repertory movie theaters. It's easy to understand why it's so beloved; "Khan" is, compared to its 1979 predecessor, a straight-up action picture. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was a deliberately paced psychedelic light show akin to Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," and ended with a character evolving into light. "Khan," meanwhile, was a juicy revenge film starring Ricardo Montalbán as an overacting supervillain, hellbent on destruction, and climaxing with a battleship-like, weapons-forward faceoff in a nebula. "Motion Picture" is for meditating. "Khan" is outright thrilling.

When a follow-up to "Motion Picture" was still in development, "Star Trek...

One of HBO’s former hot properties returns in a big way this January, as True Detective season four finally arrives on the service. Will this be a return to form for the gritty show? Well, that remains unclear, but this time around the anthology series will follow detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) as the long winter darkness in Alaska. When eight people at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace, these detectives need to get on the case quickly.

Also hitting Max this month is the final season of Sort Of. Season three finds Sabi (Bilal Baig) dealing with the unexpected death of their father, and making some big life choices as a result.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) HBO and Max this month…

HBO and Max New Releases – January 2024

January 1

90 Day Fiancé: Holiday Special 2023 #3 (TLC) 90 Day Fiancé Pillow Talk...

In William Shatner's film "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," the U.S.S. Enterprise is hijacked by a hippie Vulcan cult leader named Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill) and flown to the very center of the Milky Way. In reality, the galaxy's center is the site of a supermassive black hole called Sagittarius A*. In "Frontier," Sybok believes it's where God lives. Not a spiritual conduit to God, mind you, but the actual physical body of God Himself. Kirk (Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) think Sybok is mad, but are dragged along in his mad scheme. 

When the Enterprise arrives at its destination, however, it seems for a few moments that Sybok is right. He and the Enterprise crew encounter and land on a mysterious planet, and God Himself (George Murdock) appears. Everyone is awestruck ... except for Kirk. When God asks the mortal characters for a starship to spread His Word,...

Max’s January 2024 lineup includes season four of True Detective, led by Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, as well as the third and final season of Sort Of with Bilal Baig. Max is also kicking off the new year with the debut of On The Roam, an eight-part documentary series featuring Aquaman star Jason Momoa.

The streaming service’s January 2024 roster includes the return of Real Time with Bill Maher for season 22, along with the seventh season of Rick and Morty. The critically acclaimed documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project arrives on January 8.

Series & Films Arriving On Max In January 2024:

January 1

90 Day Fiancé: Holiday Special 2023 #3 (TLC)

90 Day Fiancé Pillow Talk: Single All The Way (TLC)

The A-Team (2010)

After Earth (2013)

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)

Aniara (2019)

Austenland (2013)

Bachelorette (2012)

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2013)

Body at Brighton Rock (2019)

Booty Call (1997)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Brothers (2001)

Cabin Fever (2003)

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever...

The "Star Trek" franchise was nearing a crossroads in 1986. 20 years after the premiere of The Original Series on NBC, moviegoers were showing up in significant numbers to follow the big-screen exploits of Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise. But while 1982's "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and 1984's "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" were hits for Paramount (they both grossed in the $78 million range domestically), they were not blockbusters. So when stars William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy asked for salary bumps, the studio had some tough decisions to make.

Paramount almost received an unexpected windfall when their under-contract box office juggernaut, Eddie Murphy, asked to be in the fourth "Star Trek" movie. Murphy had just starred in "Beverly Hills Cop," the highest-grossing movie of 1984, and, as a hardcore Trekker, wanted to be a part of Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi universe. The studio was thrilled,...

There’s no place like Prime Video for the holidays! The streamer is celebrating the holiday season from the jump, ringing in the holiday season with “Candy Cane Lane,” starring Eddie Murphy and Tracee Ellis Ross, and continuing with a collection of rom-coms and animated specials, such as the DC Comics special “Merry Little Batman.”

Throughout December, Prime Video will also make way for dozens of classic and original films and series, including the sophomore seasons of “Reacher” and “Coach Prime,” the complete “7th Heaven,” and multiple entries into the original “Star Trek” film series.

Continue below to see The Streamable’s must-watch picks this month and see everything coming to Prime Video in December!

30-Day Free Trial $8.99+ / month amazon.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Prime Video in December 2023? “Candy Cane Lane” | Friday, Dec. 1

Eddie Murphy leads the new Christmas romp as Chris, a man determined...

There’ll be some happy holidays on Prime Video in December, as the streamer’s seasonal offerings hope to keep the fires warm in your home this month!

As such, there are quite a few new original holiday movies coming to the service. At the beginning of the month, Eddie Murphy stars in Candy Cane Lane. In this film, the Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America star plays a determined man who is willing to go above and beyond to win the annual Christmas home decoration contest in his neighborhood – even if it means making a very magical deal.

The DC universe will also be getting festive in December thanks to Merry Little Batman, an animated feature that sees Batman’s son, Damian Wayne, stumble upon a villainous plot on Christmas eve, one that may give him a chance to save the day when his dad isn’t around.

Clockwise from top left: Candy Cane Lane (Prime Video), Your Christmas Or Mine 2 (Prime Video), The Flash (Warner Bros.)Image: The A.V. Club

Prime Video—perhaps more than any other streaming provider—is really leaning into Christmas-themed movies this December. Eddie Murphy plays a family man desperate to win...

In the sixth season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," in a two-part episode called "Chain of Command", Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) was released from his command of the U.S.S. Enterprise so that he may engage in a top-secret mission to a planet called Celtris III. His mission was to infiltrate a secret underground facility and locate a massively dangerous biological weapon that the Cardassians were said to be developing. The mission, however, was based on tainted intelligence, and there was no weapon. Instead, Picard is captured by a sadistic and terrifying Cardassian general named Madred (David Warner) who aims to torture Picard. 

Madred didn't need information from Picard, however. The aim of Madred's cool and calculated infliction of pain seemed to be to break Picard's will, to merely prove that a stalwart and loyal officer could be snapped and conditioned. In a particularly vicious game, Madred illuminates...

Tom Hardy's first major film gag was playing one of the many faceless soldiers in Ridley Scott's overwrought war thriller "Black Hawk Down" in 2001. The actor was only about 24 at the time and had just come off of the acclaimed HBO WWII miniseries "Band of Brothers." His second feature was also a war drama called "Deserter," a low-profile project that was released in 2002. Casting directors seemed to like the way Hardy looked in uniform.

Also in 2002, however, Hardy was offered a higher-profile role -- and a very challenging one -- when he was cast as Shinzon in Stuard Baird's "Star Trek: Nemesis." Shinzon was a clone of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) who had been raised in a Reman mining colony, and who would rise up against his Roluman oppressors and attempt to take control of the Romulan Star Empire. Shinzon was essentially a younger, more aggressive version of Picard,...

The latest "Star Trek" animated series, "Very Short Treks," attempts to honor — or at least revisit and poke fun at — arguably the most underrated series in the nearly 60-year-old franchise. "Star Trek: The Animated Series" was a two-season Saturday morning cartoon show starring most of the original cast and written by many of the original writers, which filled in the gaps left in the historical records after the Enterprise's five-year mission got cut short by CBS.

While "Star Trek: The Animated Series" could be a little hit-and-miss (just like every other "Trek" show) it expanded on the original series in crucial ways. The animation was limited, but there was no longer any need to hold back on ambitious creatures and concepts due to budgetary concerns. So the cartoon featured an array of bizarre worlds and life forms that had never been possible on the show before and have rarely been explored since.

The 1967 revision of the "Star Trek" writer's guide starts by asking the reader a simple question: "Can you find the major 'Star Trek' format error in the following 'teaser' from a story outline?"

"Star Trek" is a franchise that comes with many rules and dictums, many derived from its late creator, Gene Roddenberry. Other times they came from story editors and producers across the franchise's nearly-60-year history. And all of them are fiercely debated among fans in countless fanzines, convention halls, and chat boards, as well as on social media.

But rules are made to be broken, aren't they? Or, at the very least, broadly interpreted... like Starfleet's non-interference directive by some captains. And, to paraphrase Kirk, risk was "Star Trek's" business from day one. So let's look at 13 times when the makers of "Star Trek" took a risk and broke the mold.

Read more:...

In "Those Old Scientists," the latest episode of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," a magical time portal is discovered in the late 24th century by the characters from "Star Trek: Lower Decks." Ensigns Boimler (Jack Quaid) and Mariner (Tawney Newsome) accidentally activate the portal and are thrown back in time 120 years to where Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and his crew discover them. For the sake of retaining timeline purity, everyone agrees that Boimler and Mariner need to be sent back to the future. The issue is that no one knows how to activate the portal in the 23rd century, as it requires a rare element that is near-impossible to manufacture, and it is emblazoned with symbols that even the talented Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) cannot translate. 

Mariner seeks to help Uhura by offering a break and a drink to cool off her brain. They retire to the mess hall where...

Put down the marshmallows and stop singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.” It’s time to gather ’round the campfire and listen to the contract squabble that led to one of the strangest movies in the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek III: The Search For Spock certainly have their fans, but it was Star Trek V: The Final Frontier that cemented the adage that “only the even-numbered Star Trek movies are good.” How in the world did the franchise follow its most successful movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home with a film about Spock’s long-lost brother and God needing a starship?

As with most things in Trek, the answer leads back to Kirk and Spock. William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy had a strange, complex relationship on-screen and off, resulting in contract negotiations that changed the course of the franchise.

Shatner and Nimoy...