by Kevin W Byrom

Created on: August 12, 2008

The original "Star Trek" series with William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, will forever be etched into the science fiction time capsule as the series that broke the barriers of race, religion, time, conviction and vision. With a white captain, black female communications officer, alien science officer, scotsman engineer, russian navigator, and asian helmsman, the series filled our hope chest with a profound vision of how life could change for all of us if we could simply learn to get along with everyone else.

I grew up with the original "Star Trek" series, and I watched it evolve into "Star Trek, The Next Generation", "Deep Space Nine, "Voyager", and every movie that has been made in-between. As a "TREKER" who loves everything that the "Star Trek Universe" has offered, and still has to offer, when Captain Kirk died assisting Captain Picard in the movie "Star Trek, Generations", the loss I experienced within my emotions at the death of this icon, was just as heart-felt and devastating as if I loss a member of my own family. When people die in the real world they don't come back, and even with the marvels of the "Star Trek Universe", in death, some characters actually become larger than life itself because we keep them alive in our memories.

The question is "Should William Shatner return as Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek movie?"

My answer is "no", he shouldn't return to the role as Captain Kirk.

During the original series William Shatner portrayed the youthful character and the brilliance of his command ability magnificently The new "Star Trek" movie deals with the "Enterprise" crew as they are fresh out of "Star Fleet" academy. William Shatner has aged to the point where he cannot portray the youthful Captain Kirk that is required to make the movie believable. Only a youthful actor can portray Captain Kirk with the zeal and finesse attributed to the character in the original series.

Does this mean that there is no role for William Shatner? Absolutely not.

One characterization that could bring Captain Kirks entire life to a new meaning would be to cast William Shatner in the role as Captain Kirks father. We all know Captain Kirk to be a brilliant strategist who thinks through every possible scenario, and who improvises to win the game when all hope for salvation appears to be lost. What if this train of thought was driven into "James T. Kirk" by his father throughout his life? What if his father's wisdom and unique experiences went to the heart of Captain Kirk's every sense of being to make him the commander and tactician that he eventually became?

We all know that Captain Kirk did not believe in a "No Win Scenario" as he stated in "The Wrath of Kahn". Maybe his father believed in this and taught James everything he knew to help improve his chances of survival in deep space. Perhaps when he said in the movie "Star Trek V, The Final Frontier", "I've always known, I'll die alone", he had a premonition of his death during his childhood, and it scared him so badly that he had to speak with his father, portrayed by William Shatner.

The only role for William Shatner in the new "Star Trek" movie is that of Captain Kirks father. A cameo appearance as Kirks father could tie together everything that we don't know about Captain Kirk. If I were the director, I would ask William Shatner to make a cameo role appearance as he hugs Kirk closely and says "Never forget what I've taught you, because as long as you sit in that chair, you can make a difference!"

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