Before I start my review, let me address what I think is a bit of revisionism going on among Star Trek fans. Some reviews of "Star Trek Memories" (written by "Next Generation" snobs, no doubt) suggest that William Shatner had nothing to do with the success of "Star Trek," and that his career would have gone nowhere had he not been lucky enough to win the role of James T. Kirk. First, I would argue that after Gene Roddenberry, William Shatner is probably more responsible for the phenomenal success of Star Trek than any other person. Without his bold, histrionic, over-the-top performance as Kirk, I seriously doubt Star Trek would have achieved cult status shortly after its original cancellation in 1969. And without the development of that cult following into massive proportions, there would have been no movies, no "Next Generation," no "Deep Space Nine" or "Voyager" or "Enterprise" - none of it. Second, Shatner was already established when he joined the "Star Trek" cast. Before Trek, Shatner had already played Shakespeare on stage, starred on Broadway, and appeared in major motion pictures (notably "Judgement at Nuremburg"). Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Shatner brought a unique talent to the original "Star Trek" that was crucial to the show's popularity.

Anyway, on to the video review. "Star Trek Memories" is a highly condensed documentary based on Shatner and Chris Kreski's book of the same name. I recommend the book over the video - you've seen all the clips already, and after a while the documentary succumbs to "talking head" syndrome. But there are definitely some worthwhile moments here, thanks to generous allotments of time to Shatner's costars. James Doohan entertains with alternate accents for Scotty, while Nichelle Nichols offers a moving account of her meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who convinced her not to quit the show. Shatner himself offers a cogent theory about Star Trek's popularity stemming from a relatively young nation's search for its own mythology.

If you've read the book, the video isn't essential, and might even be superfluous. But it makes a nice gift for fans of the original "Star Trek" series. "Live long and prosper!"