They were stars from two different eras, or you might say two different generations. One in the middle of the most difficult challenge of his professional life. The other, a young man who wanted affirmation. One hoped to hit it off with his childhood idol, while the “idol’ had no idea who he was talking to.
It’s gone down in the lore of Star Trek — the time that William Shatner met Wil Wheaton on the set of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. A meeting that did not go the way either of them would like to have remembered it.
Shatner was directing a film, which he hoped would be a blockbuster — like the last three Trek films were. But the struggle for artistic control was real for Shatner, who later admitted that he wished he hadn’t directed the project.
The story goes that Wheaton’s show, The Next Generation, was in production in the studio next door to Shatner’s film in 1988. Wheaton was just 16 years old, and when he learned that The Original Series cast would be working close by, he was ‘beside himself.’
It happened to be that Wheaton and LeVar Burton were the two big Trekkies on the TNG cast. Wheaton wanted to meet the TOS cast but was too shy to do so — as he tells in his song (see the embedded video for all 26 minutes of this story).
“I loved, loved Star Trek,” Wheaton said. “I used to watch it every day on Channel 5 in the afternoon, and I had seen every episode multiple times.”
Wheaton said that Gene Roddenberry himself offered to introduce the young man to the legendary cast next door, but Wheaton declined each time. He said that he tried multiple times to visit the TOS cast but was afraid for a long time.
Finally, Wheaton met Shatner, an acquaintance introduced the director to the young fan. In his song, Wheaton said that Shatner looked heavier and “rummier” than he appeared on television.
According to Wheaton, Shatner asked, “What can I do for you?” The common friend told Shatner that Wheaton was on TNG and wanted to meet ‘Captain Kirk.’
Please note that Shatner has admitted since that he’s never watched Star Trek — even his own episodes or movies. He was most likely unfamiliar with Wheaton or his character, Wesley Crusher.
“So you’re the kid on that show?” Shatner said. Wheaton said that he answered nervously but that Shatner was not impressed. Wheaton offered to shake Shatner’s hand, but “Bill” did not accept.
“What is that? Your spacesuit?” Shatner asked Wheaton. After a few more missed opportunities, Shatner walked back to his set.
“The man who I had admired since I was eight years old was immediately transformed into ‘William F****** Shatner,’” Wheaton said. The young man slunk back to his set, and he shared the tale with others. Finally, Roddenberry called Wheaton and told the young actor that “Bill Shatner is an ass!”
The Rest of the Story
The thing is — not everyone remembers the story entirely as Wheaton does. It turns out that another person, besides Shatner and Wheaton, witnessed this historic meeting. That person was Phil Weyland, who served as a stand-in DeForest Kelley and Shatner and later as a dialog coach. Weyland was on the set with Shatner for all seven Trek films, through T.J. Hooker, Boston Legal, on $h*! My Dad Says.
Weyland remembers things a bit differently. He said that the story made the newspapers.
“There was this story about Wil Wheaton and about how Captain Kirk had been rude to him, and he’d gone to Gene Roddenberry,” said Weyland. He then went to see Shatner to get to the bottom of the story.
Courtesy of Phil WeylandPhil Weyland in San Francisco in his Captain Kirk uniform for Star Trek IV.
“I asked him, ‘Did you make that kid over there cry?’” Weyland asked Shatner. The director seemed to know nothing about the incident. Weyland gave Shatner the newspaper to read for himself.
“I don’t remember being mean to anybody,” Shatner told Weyland.
Soon after, Trek producer Harve Bennett got involved and told Shatner that they had a real “problem” after the Wheaton story got out. Bennett said that Roddenberry got a call from Wheaton, who was “very upset.”
Weyland said that when Bennett and Shatner were discussing the situation, Wheaton was watching them from afar. Bennett told Weyland to run over to Wheaton, which he did.
“Hi, I’m Phil,” Weyland said to Wheaton. “If you’ve got a moment, Bill Shatner would like to say hello.”
“Oh! OK!” Wheaton told Weyland, who let the two have a private conversation.
Weyland said that even though it has been many years since this meeting took place, he said that Wheaton’s version of things “didn’t add up.” This was true not only in his song but also in one of Wheaton’s book, which is likely “Memories from the Future.”
Weyland said that he met up with Wheaton at a Star Trek convention years later. The two got to talking, and Weyland told Wheaton that some of what he’d written about his encounter with Shatner was not true.
“Whatever Bill said to the kid was in jest or fun, and there was certainly no meanness,” said Weyland. “He was a nervous kid and got upset.”
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