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Shakespeare and Star Trek
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Shakespeare and Star Trek
The Star Trek franchise, begun in 1966, has frequently included stories inspired by and alluding to the works of William Shakespeare. The science fiction franchise includes television series, films, comic books, novels and games, and has material both Star Trek canon and non-canon. Many of the actors involved have been part of Shakespearean productions, including Patrick Stewart and Christopher Plummer.
Jean-Luc Picard: "Well, Number One, you can never go wrong with Shakespeare."
—Picard's advice to Riker about what to say in his wedding vows, from " 'Til Death", short story by Bob Ingersoll and Thomas F. Zahler, 2007
Shakespeare's work has a strong presence in the Star Trek universe. There are several opinions on why this is, and a 1995 issue of Extrapolation was dedicated to the subject. Suggestions and speculation include the creators' appreciation of, and pleasure in, these works; their inclusion may also signal that something is "high culture", "elitist" or "repressive". Critics have suggested that the purpose is to give the franchise a veneer of sophistication or cultural legitimation. The character Jean-Luc Picard (Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart) argues that Shakespeare provides moving insights into the human condition.
According to Shakespearean scholar Craig Dionne, Star Trek's use of Shakespeare "mirrors a long and largely unexamined aspect of Shakespeare's 'common place' in American culture". Shakespearean scholar Brandon Christopher argued that "'Shakespeare' for Star Trek should be understood not simply as a collection of culturally valued texts but as emblematic of a nineteenth-century ethos of Anglo-American world dominance repackaged for a 1980s audience".
Star Trek began in 1966 and used Shakespeare's works as one of many "preexisting motifs", including gangsters, the Old West, and Greco-Roman mythology. According to Shakespeare actor Andy Kirtland, "Smart writers won't try to reinvent the wheel, and so plots and characters are borrowed in such a way as to nod to the past, but be relevant to the present". He says that The Tempest is probably the Shakespeare play that best fits in a science fiction context, "reconciling the past with the future and in general, dealing with a world in transition".
William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, had previously acted in several Shakespearean plays, including Julius Caesar as Mark Antony. When Shakespearean actor Christopher Plummer in the mid-1950s played the title role in Henry V in Stratford, Ontario, Shatner was his understudy, and successfully filled in for him one night when he was sick. According to Shatner, that was the night he knew he was an actor. Plummer later commented: "He didn't do what I did at all. Where I stood up to make a speech, he sat down. He did the opposite of everything I did. And I knew that son of a bitch was going to be a star." Shatner's album The Transformed Man (1968) included readings from Shakespearean plays.
Kirk says that Shakespeare is his favorite author. The episodes "The Conscience of the King" and "Catspaw" included scenes from Shakespearean plays. In "Requiem for Methuselah", the immortal Flint possesses a First Folio, and together with "Is There in Truth No Beauty?", the episode borrows from The Tempest. In "Bread and Circuses", the character Claudius Marcus wears Shakespeare's coat of arms on his robe. The titles of the episodes "All Our Yesterdays", "By Any Other Name", "The Conscience of the King" and "Dagger of the Mind" are all lines from Shakespeare.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan shares themes with King Lear, and the play can be seen on the antagonist Khan Noonien Singh's bookshelf. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Dr. Leonard McCoy, doubting Spock's restored faculties, at one point mutters "Angels and ministers of grace, defend us", which Spock immediately identifies as "Hamlet, act I, scene IV".
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Shakespeare and Star Trek
The Star Trek franchise, begun in 1966, has frequently included stories inspired by and alluding to the works of William Shakespeare. The science fiction franchise includes television series, films, comic books, novels and games, and has material both Star Trek canon and non-canon. Many of the actors involved have been part of Shakespearean productions, including Patrick Stewart and Christopher Plummer.
Jean-Luc Picard: "Well, Number One, you can never go wrong with Shakespeare."
—Picard's advice to Riker about what to say in his wedding vows, from " 'Til Death", short story by Bob Ingersoll and Thomas F. Zahler, 2007
Shakespeare's work has a strong presence in the Star Trek universe. There are several opinions on why this is, and a 1995 issue of Extrapolation was dedicated to the subject. Suggestions and speculation include the creators' appreciation of, and pleasure in, these works; their inclusion may also signal that something is "high culture", "elitist" or "repressive". Critics have suggested that the purpose is to give the franchise a veneer of sophistication or cultural legitimation. The character Jean-Luc Picard (Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart) argues that Shakespeare provides moving insights into the human condition.
According to Shakespearean scholar Craig Dionne, Star Trek's use of Shakespeare "mirrors a long and largely unexamined aspect of Shakespeare's 'common place' in American culture". Shakespearean scholar Brandon Christopher argued that "'Shakespeare' for Star Trek should be understood not simply as a collection of culturally valued texts but as emblematic of a nineteenth-century ethos of Anglo-American world dominance repackaged for a 1980s audience".
Star Trek began in 1966 and used Shakespeare's works as one of many "preexisting motifs", including gangsters, the Old West, and Greco-Roman mythology. According to Shakespeare actor Andy Kirtland, "Smart writers won't try to reinvent the wheel, and so plots and characters are borrowed in such a way as to nod to the past, but be relevant to the present". He says that The Tempest is probably the Shakespeare play that best fits in a science fiction context, "reconciling the past with the future and in general, dealing with a world in transition".
William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk, had previously acted in several Shakespearean plays, including Julius Caesar as Mark Antony. When Shakespearean actor Christopher Plummer in the mid-1950s played the title role in Henry V in Stratford, Ontario, Shatner was his understudy, and successfully filled in for him one night when he was sick. According to Shatner, that was the night he knew he was an actor. Plummer later commented: "He didn't do what I did at all. Where I stood up to make a speech, he sat down. He did the opposite of everything I did. And I knew that son of a bitch was going to be a star." Shatner's album The Transformed Man (1968) included readings from Shakespearean plays.
Kirk says that Shakespeare is his favorite author. The episodes "The Conscience of the King" and "Catspaw" included scenes from Shakespearean plays. In "Requiem for Methuselah", the immortal Flint possesses a First Folio, and together with "Is There in Truth No Beauty?", the episode borrows from The Tempest. In "Bread and Circuses", the character Claudius Marcus wears Shakespeare's coat of arms on his robe. The titles of the episodes "All Our Yesterdays", "By Any Other Name", "The Conscience of the King" and "Dagger of the Mind" are all lines from Shakespeare.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan shares themes with King Lear, and the play can be seen on the antagonist Khan Noonien Singh's bookshelf. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Dr. Leonard McCoy, doubting Spock's restored faculties, at one point mutters "Angels and ministers of grace, defend us", which Spock immediately identifies as "Hamlet, act I, scene IV".