I have to confess that I didn’t much like “Star Trek: The New Generation.” I thought it lacked humor and I was particularly fond of the relationship between Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy.

I watched “Star Trek” when it was in re-runs from when it was on during day to when it was a late-night filler (and helped me through college). I have never attended a Star Trek convention.  Yet I had read Horatio Hornblower novels during junior high and high school and Gene Roddenberry had referred to Captain Kirk as “Horation Hornblower in Space.”

So how could I resist a documentary about Captain Kirk by the man who played him?

“The Captains” was directed and written by William Shatner and it could have been a vanity production. We might think of Shatner as a ham, even as far as actors go, and kid about the “William Shatner School of Acting.” It’s easy to forget that before “Star Trek” he had found success on Broadway as part of the cast of the original “World of Suzie Wong.” Shatner was the male lead.

Although the original series lasted only three seasons (79 episodes from 1966-1969), the franchise eventually produced six series.  The original series lived on in syndication and became a part of our culture. People fell in love with Captain Kirk and if Shatner has played him in a less distinctive style would Kirk have become a cultural icon at all? And what about Mr. Spock?

What American, particularly of the geeky sort, doesn’t know the Vulcan greeting (hand signal) and “Live long and prosper” and phrases like “Beam me up, Scottie”?

For his documentary, Shatner travels to Canada and England (he is based in California) to interview the people who have played the captains in the Star Trek universe: Patrick Stewart, Avery Brooks, Kate Mulgrew and Scott Bakula. He also includes interviews of Christopher Plummer (also like Shatner a Canadian), Rene Aberjonois, Chris Pine and Jonathan Frakes.

Stewart and Mulgrew give the most revealing interviews with Brooks being the most opaque. Here is where Shatner shows his skills as an interviewer and documentary director.

No, for those wondering about slightly acrimonious George Takei, Mr. Sulu doesn’t get to put in his two cents even though technically, he was a Star Trek captain (of the USS Excelsior) in “Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.” Plummer appeared as General Chang in that very movie and voices Chang in the video game “Star Trek: Klingon Academy.”

So Shatner has made some editorial and, perhaps, personal decisions, but, to be fair, we also don’t see Leonard Nimoy, who was also a captain (“Star Trek: Wrath of Khan”).

This documentary suffers a bit from shaky camera syndrome, but overall, is an interesting contemplation about the Star Trek phenomena. Were the men and one woman who acted as captain “slumming” it? Or was that a problematic perception by the media? During his discussions with other Starfleet captains, Shatner examines other experiences and perspectives and doing so, he discovers something about himself.

This could have been an insufferable vanity production, but instead Shatner fills it with due respect for both his fellow captains and his fans and lightens the mood with a little self-deprecating humor. The documentary does provide you with a different perspective of the Star Trek phenomena.

You can view “The Captains” by signing up for a free trial membership to EpixHD. William Shatner (you can follow him on Google +) is also touring the country with free screening events.