starfleet academy
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Shallow Space 3 sucked too.i didn't think there would be a star trek series worse than deep space 9.
William Shatner mocks Stephen Miller's calls for him to take control of ‘Star Trek’
'I am ready to assume command of the series! Call me!'
Author of the article:Mark Daniell
Published Jan 20, 2026 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
Stephen Miller and William Shatner are seen in a combination photo illustration.
Stephen Miller and William Shatner are seen in a combination photo illustration. Photo by Getty Images/Toronto Sun Photo I
William Shatner has playfully sounded off on Stephen Miller’s suggestion that the Canadian-born actor should take control of the Star Trek franchise.
Miller, an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, reposted a snippet from the latest Star Trek spinoff Starfleet Academy, calling the series “tragic” and suggesting Shatner should be given “total creative control” to “save the franchise.”
The 94-year-old Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek series, jokingly agreed with Miller’s remarks by pointing out that Starfleet Academy actress Holly Hunter is wearing glasses in the clip Miller shared.
“The fact that they have not cured Hyperopia (farsightedness) by the 32rd Century is an abysmal oversight on the writers!” Shatner quipped in response to Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy. “Also @paramountplus needs to up the budget because I’m sure that a well oiled organization like Starfleet in the distant future could afford more than one pair of glasses for at least this hyperopic bridge crew. Do they pass the glasses around while piloting the ship? Shame on the line producers! That is what you meant, right? I am ready to assume command of the series! Call me!”
Miller replied to Shatner by saying that Paramount “screwed up royally when they decided to kill off Kirk in Star Trek: Generations” despite the actor’s objections.
He went on to praise Shatner’s final outing as Kirk in the 1994 film, and then doubled down on his demand that Shatner be given the keys to the Star Trek franchise. “It’s not too late for Paramount to make amends with Shatner and save the franchise. Do it!” Miller implored.
For his part, Shatner has always maintained it wasn’t his decision to have Kirk die, but he said when playing his final scene and uttering the character’s last words, “Oh, my!” he wanted the Captain to have a sense of wonderment during his passing.
“As you get older, as I’m sure you can imagine, you think of death — it becomes more and more present … So when this character was dying, I thought, ‘How do you die?’ … ‘How would Captain Kirk die?’ Captain Kirk, who has faced death so often,” Shatner recalled in a conversation with Postmedia in a 2022. “I thought he would look at death approaching with the same awe and wonder that he looked at these strange beings that he faced in the years I played him. I wanted him to look at death as something filled with the awe and wonder that he looked at the universe. So the, ‘Oh, my!’ was supposed to be a ‘wow.’”
Shatner tries to avoid wading into political arguments (his X bio even says he’s “not political”), but following President Donald Trump’s assertions that his native Canada should join America as the 51st state, the Emmy winner suggested that the U.S. could instead become the 11th province.
“Think of the joy,” he said last spring in an appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News. “It’s the best thing. Here you have a friendly group saying, ‘C’mon over.’ It’s cleaner, there’s plenty of power, there’s lovely people who want to work with you. Be our 11th province!”
New series facing ‘woke’ backlash
Ahead of the Starfleet Academy’s debut last week, Elon Musk shared the same sequence as Miller and added, “Turns out they banned Ozempic and LASIK in the future lol.”
End Wokeness, which has nearly 4 million followers on X, circulated the clip which led one commenter to accuse producers of “cultural vandalism.”
Tricia Black, who plays Lt. Rork on the new show and appears in the scene Miller and Musk circulated online, fired back in her own social media post.
“I’ve seen this exact same comment probably 100 times already so whatever but it’s nuts that the richest man in (the world) felt the need to steal the joke,” she wrote on Instagram. “It doesn’t get to me because I am comfortable in my skin most days but this one made me laugh.”
Black also included a quote from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in her response.
“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms,” his line read.
Gina Yashere, who plays Lura Thok and is also in the clip, said Star Trek has been “woke from day one” in an interview with CNN.
“Woke is a good word. It’s been given negative connotations. But woke just means you’re awake and aware of everything that’s going in the world around you. And that’s what (Gene Roddenberry‘s) always been about, and that’s what Star Trek has always been about. And so we’re just carrying on that legacy,” she said.
Robert Picardo, who is best known for playing The Doctor in the Star Trek universe and reprises the role in Starfleet Academy, said the franchise has always been about embraces our differences.
“Long before the term existed, Star Trek’s heart was ‘woke’ & even though that word has been hijacked & made a cudgel to insult, to ridicule & – at the toxic extremes of social media – to justify prejudice & racism, Star Trek’s heart is strong & still beating for those listening,” Picardo wrote on X.
But Hunter, who leads Starfleet Academy as Captain Nahla Ake, told Postmedia in a recent interview that the series tapped into her lifelong love of Star Trek.
“I was slightly giddy,” the Oscar-winning actress said. “I was always in a great mood, being on the bridge. I felt like a child with all the infinite possibilities of where I could be, what I could do and what I could climb on … It was just fun. Star Trek is that and the sets give off that feeling of, ‘Wow, what can we do here.'”
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+.
mdaniell@postmedia.com
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'I am ready to assume command of the series! Call me!'
Author of the article:Mark Daniell
Published Jan 20, 2026 • Last updated 1 day ago • 5 minute read
Stephen Miller and William Shatner are seen in a combination photo illustration.
Stephen Miller and William Shatner are seen in a combination photo illustration. Photo by Getty Images/Toronto Sun Photo I
William Shatner has playfully sounded off on Stephen Miller’s suggestion that the Canadian-born actor should take control of the Star Trek franchise.
Miller, an advisor to U.S. President Donald Trump, reposted a snippet from the latest Star Trek spinoff Starfleet Academy, calling the series “tragic” and suggesting Shatner should be given “total creative control” to “save the franchise.”
The 94-year-old Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek series, jokingly agreed with Miller’s remarks by pointing out that Starfleet Academy actress Holly Hunter is wearing glasses in the clip Miller shared.
“The fact that they have not cured Hyperopia (farsightedness) by the 32rd Century is an abysmal oversight on the writers!” Shatner quipped in response to Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy. “Also @paramountplus needs to up the budget because I’m sure that a well oiled organization like Starfleet in the distant future could afford more than one pair of glasses for at least this hyperopic bridge crew. Do they pass the glasses around while piloting the ship? Shame on the line producers! That is what you meant, right? I am ready to assume command of the series! Call me!”
Miller replied to Shatner by saying that Paramount “screwed up royally when they decided to kill off Kirk in Star Trek: Generations” despite the actor’s objections.
He went on to praise Shatner’s final outing as Kirk in the 1994 film, and then doubled down on his demand that Shatner be given the keys to the Star Trek franchise. “It’s not too late for Paramount to make amends with Shatner and save the franchise. Do it!” Miller implored.
For his part, Shatner has always maintained it wasn’t his decision to have Kirk die, but he said when playing his final scene and uttering the character’s last words, “Oh, my!” he wanted the Captain to have a sense of wonderment during his passing.
“As you get older, as I’m sure you can imagine, you think of death — it becomes more and more present … So when this character was dying, I thought, ‘How do you die?’ … ‘How would Captain Kirk die?’ Captain Kirk, who has faced death so often,” Shatner recalled in a conversation with Postmedia in a 2022. “I thought he would look at death approaching with the same awe and wonder that he looked at these strange beings that he faced in the years I played him. I wanted him to look at death as something filled with the awe and wonder that he looked at the universe. So the, ‘Oh, my!’ was supposed to be a ‘wow.’”
Shatner tries to avoid wading into political arguments (his X bio even says he’s “not political”), but following President Donald Trump’s assertions that his native Canada should join America as the 51st state, the Emmy winner suggested that the U.S. could instead become the 11th province.
“Think of the joy,” he said last spring in an appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime on Fox News. “It’s the best thing. Here you have a friendly group saying, ‘C’mon over.’ It’s cleaner, there’s plenty of power, there’s lovely people who want to work with you. Be our 11th province!”
New series facing ‘woke’ backlash
Ahead of the Starfleet Academy’s debut last week, Elon Musk shared the same sequence as Miller and added, “Turns out they banned Ozempic and LASIK in the future lol.”
End Wokeness, which has nearly 4 million followers on X, circulated the clip which led one commenter to accuse producers of “cultural vandalism.”
Tricia Black, who plays Lt. Rork on the new show and appears in the scene Miller and Musk circulated online, fired back in her own social media post.
“I’ve seen this exact same comment probably 100 times already so whatever but it’s nuts that the richest man in (the world) felt the need to steal the joke,” she wrote on Instagram. “It doesn’t get to me because I am comfortable in my skin most days but this one made me laugh.”
Black also included a quote from Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in her response.
“Star Trek was an attempt to say that humanity will reach maturity and wisdom on the day that it begins not just to tolerate, but take a special delight in differences in ideas and differences in life forms,” his line read.
Gina Yashere, who plays Lura Thok and is also in the clip, said Star Trek has been “woke from day one” in an interview with CNN.
“Woke is a good word. It’s been given negative connotations. But woke just means you’re awake and aware of everything that’s going in the world around you. And that’s what (Gene Roddenberry‘s) always been about, and that’s what Star Trek has always been about. And so we’re just carrying on that legacy,” she said.
Robert Picardo, who is best known for playing The Doctor in the Star Trek universe and reprises the role in Starfleet Academy, said the franchise has always been about embraces our differences.
“Long before the term existed, Star Trek’s heart was ‘woke’ & even though that word has been hijacked & made a cudgel to insult, to ridicule & – at the toxic extremes of social media – to justify prejudice & racism, Star Trek’s heart is strong & still beating for those listening,” Picardo wrote on X.
But Hunter, who leads Starfleet Academy as Captain Nahla Ake, told Postmedia in a recent interview that the series tapped into her lifelong love of Star Trek.
“I was slightly giddy,” the Oscar-winning actress said. “I was always in a great mood, being on the bridge. I felt like a child with all the infinite possibilities of where I could be, what I could do and what I could climb on … It was just fun. Star Trek is that and the sets give off that feeling of, ‘Wow, what can we do here.'”
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is now streaming on Paramount+.
mdaniell@postmedia.com
Gina Yashere on Instagram: "Woke is not an insult. They can keep trying 😂. My appearance on @cnnthestory with @elexmichaelson @startrek has ALWAYS been about inclusion, diversity & unity. “Star Trek” is turning 60 years old this year!! And #starfl
3,449 likes, 175 comments - ginayashere on January 14, 2026: "Woke is not an insult. They can keep trying 😂. My appearance on @cnnthestory with @elexmichaelson @startrek has ALWAYS been about inclusion, diversity & unity. “Star Trek” is turning 60 years old this year!! And #starfleetacademy...
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Tricia Black on Instagram: "Okay okay okay… even Elon is obsessed with the new Star Trek show Starfleet Academy, and you can be too! (Also I’ve seen this exact same comment probably 100 times already so whatever but it’s nuts that the richest man in
677 likes, 80 comments - its_triciablack on January 14, 2026: "Okay okay okay… even Elon is obsessed with the new Star Trek show Starfleet Academy, and you can be too! (Also I’ve seen this exact same comment probably 100 times already so whatever but it’s nuts that the richest man in felt the...
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William Shatner: At a certain point, persistence becomes insulting | Fox News Video
Canadian actor William Shatner weighs in on President Donald Trump's quest to make Canada the nation's 51st state and reveals whether he wants to go to Mars on 'Jesse Watters Primetime.'
William Shatner mocks Stephen Miller's calls for him to take control of ‘Star Trek’
William Shatner has mocked Stephen Miller's suggestion that the Canadian-born actor should take control of the Star Trek franchise.