Details On “The Captains of the Final Frontier” Bio Channel Documentary Airing Next Week

On Wednesday, November 03 at 9 pm (ET) the Bio Channel will air a new two-hour Star Trek-focused documentary called “The Captains of the Final Frontier”. Unlike William Shatner’s The Captains documentary about the actors who played captains, this Bio Channel doc will focus on the fictional characters themselves. The Bio Channel has provided us with a detailed description, see that below.

 

official description

The Captains of the Final Frontier

STAR TREK is the most influential science fiction television series of all time.  In the 44 years since its inception, Star Trek has spanned six series and 11 movies, indisputably paving the way for every science fiction series that has followed.  What began as a cult following, stands today as a worldwide phenomenon that only grows stronger and more widespread with each iteration. With its most recent blockbuster film breaking all previous franchise box office records, it’s clear the STAR TREK buzz has never been louder!

And at the center of it all stand the fearless captains of each STAR TREK generation: a class of iconic characters whose leadership and choices changed the course of their own universe forever.   So in the next 2 hours, The Captains of the Final Frontier a show for Trekkies, Trekkers and the casual observer alike is riding shotgun on the incredible triumphs and epic dark moments of the most legendary captains in Starfleet’s history, one by one, and comparing them against each other as leaders and lovers.   

Taking a hard look at the creation, background and history of these captains, this show will delve into their development and examine the evolution of the role of CAPTAIN itself, as it progressed with each consecutive series and film. We’ve assembled and incredible cast of experts from creators and directors, episode writers, novelists and Star Trek actors to bring the story behind the story to life they’ll reveal how these characters came to be, who was up for the roles and will compare their styles across the leadership spectrum.

This cast of experts will not only bring new perspective to the onscreen action, but will be the ultimate source for revealing the dramatic decisions that were made everywhere from the writers room to the screen…and beyond. So step onto that transporter, because we’re boldly going where no show has gone before, taking a telescopic view of the most powerful men and women in the STAR TREK universe.

Prepare to engage…this is The Captains of the Final Frontier.

The Captains of the Final Frontier premieres Wednesday, November 03 at 9 pm (ET) on the Bio Channel.


More Captains Stuff

As noted earlier, there is more Star Trek captains fun coming soon. William Shatner’s The Captain’s documentary is currently in post-production and will be shown next year in Canada (and hopefully elsewhere). That documentary will look at the different actors who have sat in the captain’s chair and includes interviews with all of Trek’s captains. TrekMovie will be doing an update on this project in the future.

And in 2007 CBS released a special DVD collection "Star Trek Fan Collective – Captain’s Log", a 5-disc set with three favorite episodes from each of  Star Trek’s five captain actors, including episode introductions by all five actors for select episodes, as well as some more special features. With 2-parters included, the set has 17 episodes plus lots of special features, so it is a pretty good deal at just $22.49 at Amazon. 

39 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Will it air in the UK?

Wow. This would be some great stuff. I wonder though. Will they Inclued Capt Kirk form Trek 09 as well. Also. Will it inclue Capt Harriman and and Capt Garret from the Enterprise C. As Spock would say. Fasinating

Cool!

holy crap I am so cancelling all plans to watch this!

@1 Good Question

Maybe in part 2 we can see,,

Kelsey Grammer as Captain Bateson of the USS Bozeman

James B. Sikking as Captain Stiles of the USS Excelsior

George Takei as Captain Hikaru Sulu of the USS Excelsior

Bruce Greenwood as Captain Pike of the USS Enterprise

Tricia O’Neil as Captain Rachel Garrett of the USS Enterprise C

:oD

ehh.. I’ll DVR it and give it a shot

Oh, I love bio! :)

They did a back-to-back Lost in Space/Star Trek bio-othon a while back.

And I Survived, is seriously one of the my favorite shows on TV. I look forward to this.

What #1 and #5 said.

No. You’re not allowed. But, we’ll tell you all about it! :)

oh,,and,,,
last but not least,,,
Faran Tahir as Captian Richard Robau of the USS Kelvin !

Starkiller that’s a good question?

Has anyone coined a word for the painful over-use of Trek jargon (also used for other franchises, but this is Trek Movie) such as we have in that press release?

Fourty-two quatloos, a tribble, and a case of Slusho for the best submission.

– Harry

13) It’s all Geek Speak to me :)

Techno-Babble – seriously ought to be a wikipedia entry for this…
oops, there IS!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technobabble

I’m watching it.

Too bad they did not interview Rod Roddenberry or James Cawley.

Just dvr’ed it! Thanks Trekmovie.com!!!!

Hope its available in more countries than the states.

I bet its not.

Bummer!

Curious if they do it countdown style. The first (Kirk) should be last, as the most iconic.

Wish I got more than basic local cable. I’ll have to wait for it online.

…OK, I re-read the copy. Looks like they will cross-reference and “examine the evolution of the role of CAPTAIN itself, as it progressed with each consecutive series and film.” Hmmm… still think they’ll know enough to save a healthy helping of Kirk for the end.

You say “six series” are you counting TAS?

What about Capt Spock or Capt Sulu? How bot Captain Dekker?…he got royally screwed!

Please don’t forget Sisko like UPN once did.

I’m just sayin’.

Time to set the DVR!

“Will they Inclued Capt Kirk form Trek 09 as well. Also. Will it inclue Capt Harriman and and Capt Garret from the Enterprise C.”

Why, why, and why?

What? Canucks get to see Shats Captains doc before us in the usa?First the olympics now this? I hope Canada knows this means war! What next-making hollywood movies n tv shows in canada? Opps-anyway this special sounds great for trek fans-what a pleasant surprise–I am guessing it will NOT include minor or secondary captains at all,although some may be mentioned when appropriate for the history they are explaining–the special is attemptng a history n background of captains in trek–the characters,not the actors except as comments/supporting of their characters-at only 2 hours they will barely be able to cover the major captains i think–they will have to explore each characters history n origins plus background on their creation-kirk from trek 09 will be mixed in with kirk tos n movies since its the same character(or is it since its an alternate universe)–if seperately mentioned they should also mention the mirror universe captains as well–wonder if they will mention Captain Chad Boutte from the vegas trek experience haha

RE: six series
That copy is from Bio Channel, so it appears they are counting TAS – even though it shares the same Shatner/Kirk.

Only the most dedicated of geeks would care to have this include Harriman, Garret, or any of the other non main character.

Golly, I hope they include Captain Ezri Dax – she’s the best ever! :rollseyes”:

No female captains in trek 2009. The woman is relegated again to being only the communications officer/love interest. Not very 2lst Century.

Not bad at all…

…then it will be another dvd to add to the collection once it comes out. This sounds very interesting to have them do something like this. I have to agree somewhat with # 29. Afterall, where do you draw the line for capts? You could say they would have to add in Capt Esteban from STIII and the 2 Capts from STIV…even Capts T’pol & Trip Tucker from ENT. The series have always been about the one and only capts from each of the TV series.

Although it would be nice to see some more depth to the others that have sat in the center seat.

looks cool

I like the order of the hair vs bald ratio in the pic.
Hair, bald hair, bald, hair.

Gives the cover a nice uniform appearance

@1
Probably. Bio UK usually air their US shows at some later point.

6, we could also count Captain Jellico, who actually commanded the Enterprise-D for a short time.

However, if we do this, we should probably also count Riker, who captained the Enterprise, albeit temporarily, on several significant occasions seen on screen, and who has also been a captain of various other Starfleet ships. (“Captain” in this sense, as consistent with broad military usage, does not denote rank, but status.) Captain Sulu (who happened to be captain both in rank and in command status) would naturally be included. And lest we forget, this would also include Captain Troi, who was in command when she crashed the ship in Generations.

A broad definition of “captains of Starfleet” could conceivably include scores of individual officers, including, for example, Worf, who commanded the Defiant as well as “guest star” captains.

Since it would be unwieldy to include all of these captains for the purposes of a short documentary, the subject matter is probably limited to, in the main (1) all captains whose portrayers had a permanent starring role in ST shows or movies, in their respective permanent capacities as captains (ruling out Worf, for example) and (2) occasional references to and discussions of other captains (such as Jellico) for the purposes of illustration or contrast.

Also, the descriptive blurb says that the show will be about “the most legendary” captains in the Star Trek universe, which might very well exclude, for example, Deanna Troi, who was much, much better as a psychiatrist, I would venture.

As I understand it, she is the only officer in Starfleet known to have deliberately crashed a major Starfleet vessel of the same name on two separate occasions (Generations, into the planet, and Nemesis, into Scimitar, while at the helm). Come to think of it, she might be legendary after all….

#35

Not to nitpick—but I will anyway!—but Troi wasn’t in command in Generations. Remember Riker shouting, “Deanna, take the helm!” during the attack? Famous last words, I guess. She was also at the helm in Nemesis when the E rammed that Reman Death Star ship. Moral of the story: never let a Betazoid get behind the wheel. :)

PS: However, Troi was in command in the episode “Disaster.” Hmmm… that title really seems to fit her piloting skills, doesn’t it?

37, good catch about Troi.

Imagine how Generations would have turned out if Troi hadn’t crashed the Enterprise-D.

Actually, come to think of it, imagine how First Contact would have turned out if Troi hadn’t crashed the ship; there wouldn’t have been an Enterprise-E, for one thing. The Borg might have won!

In some parallel universe, the entire Earth was already Borgified, and indeed, so might have been the First Contact universe (which, supposedly, is very close to our own universe, if not the same one)….

i soooooo hope that will be repeated, i missed it bloody traffic,

oh and good remark about Capt Ezri Dax.

Kes