William Shatner is pushing for a Star Trek musical

The actor hopes to celebrate the show's 50th anniversary with a special and some songs.

November 11, 2015, 3:24PM By MeTV Staff

What rhymes with "Triskelion"? Songwriters might be asking themselves that very question if William Shatner has his way. The Star Trek actor has been on the media circuit of late, showing up at the CMAs, mocking Star Wars fans, teasing a biography of Leonard Nimoy, prepping for a fan cruise. Oh, and of course there is the matter of Star Trek's upcoming 50th anniversary.

Speaking to The Guardian, the erstwhile Captain Kirk spills that he has been pushing to do a 50th anniversary special in 2016.

“I’m attempting to sell a 50th anniversary show, but so far I’ve had very little luck. Maybe because Paramount’s going to do their own – but I don’t know how they can do their own without me. I’ve never been contacted… I’ve been actively trying to do a 50th anniversary show … We had a big company say: ‘What about a musical or a music variety show?’ That got some traction – but nothing’s come of it yet.”

Our mind immediately fills with ideas for such a show. Taylor Swift singing "Tribbles" to the tun of her "Trouble"? While we welcome celebration of the half-century mark, the notion of a little song and dance might not be apt for the occasion. A larger Broadway production is another matter. Would you watch a Star Trek musical?

Star Trek

3/25 11:00PMThe Enterprise Incident
"Captain Kirk becomes increasingly erratic and orders the Enterprise into Romulan space where the ship is captured by a beautiful Romulan commander."
4/1 11:00PMThe Paradise Syndrome
"Stardate 4842.6: Kirk, Spock and McCoy beam down to a planet to inform any inhabitants that they must evacuate the planet due to an approaching asteroid's imminent collision. A society similar to Native American Indians has arisen on the planet, but near their villages, the landing party finds a strange obelisk whose design and construction is far beyond the capabilities of the planet's natives. Kirk finds that the monolith can be opened by the combination of sounds found in the order "Kirk to Enterprise," but when he enters the obelisk, he is attacked by waves of energy that erase his mind. With no time to spare, Spock and McCoy have to return to the Enterprise without Kirk, and begin trying to use the ship's tractor beam to divert the asteroid. Meanwhile, Kirk becomes the tribal chief, takes a wife and even expects to become a father, but the Enterprise may not be able to save her former captain's future."
4/8 11:00PMAnd the Children Shall Lead
"The Enterprise travels to a planet where a scientific team has killed themselves except for the children, who began to act oddly."

*available in most MeTV markets

One thing that is likely certain is that such a production will not include Shatner singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," as he did on his 1968 album The Transformed Man.

He also explained that he has never seen an episode of Star Trek. Bill, it's on MeTV every Saturday night!