How William Shatner Changed the World
How William Shatner Changed the World is a two-hour television special produced for The History Channel in the United States. Hosted by William Shatner (Captain James T. Kirk), it focuses on technological advancements in the real world that were inspired by the Star Trek phenomenon. The show uses intentional campiness and humor to maintain a light spirit. In promotional spots prior to the show's first airing, Shatner proudly claimed that he had made such inventions as the Internet possible, before adding, "But don't take my word for it – take his." The voice-over then announced the program's title and premiere date.

The program begins by examining how ahead of its time the "Treknology" seen in  was. One example is Dr. McCoy's medical scanner, which inspired numerous letters from real-world physicians inquiring about the concepts behind the device. It was in fact a salt shaker.

As the show progresses, Shatner discusses how  had to raise the technological threshold, as many ideas considered unimaginable in the 1960s had become commonplace by the late '80s and early '90s. The Heisenberg compensator is revealed to be a way the writers hoped to circumvent the laws of physics without losing credibility.

Among the fans who have been inspired by the program are Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer, who lays out the basic concepts that leads to the development of the iPod after watching Data on the Next Generation episode  scan through various orchestral pieces instantly at his fingertips. Also, he demonstrates a suit he believes is a predecessor to a real-world holodeck. Portable telephones are also discussed by one of their inventors, who likens Captain Kirk's communicator to a modern-day "flip phone" with voice recognition.

Although produced for The History Channel, the special actually premiered on The Discovery Channel in Canada (who co-produced the program) on , receiving its first US broadcast on The History Channel on . It was first shown in the United Kingdom on , on Five.

Filmed mostly in Vancouver, the special featured some scenes that took place in locations shown in Star Trek TV series.

The special was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2006 – Outstanding Nonfiction Special, and Outstanding Writing For Nonfiction Programming.

Appearances by 
 Prof. John Adler, Stanford University School of Medicine
 , inventor of the cell phone
 Rob Haitani, product designer from 
 Dr. Marc D. Rayman, Chief Propulsion Engineer, NASA, JPL
 George Takei
 Dr. Mae C. Jemison, NASA Astronaut 1987-1993
 Dr. , SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)
 Bruce Damer, Curator, Digi-Barn
 Dorothy C. Fontana, Writer, Star Trek 1966-1969
 Jonathan Frakes
 Walter Koenig
 André Bormanis, Star Trek Science Consultant
 Rick Sternbach, Prop Designer, The Next Generation
 , President, MOVA
 Dr. , National University of Mexico
 Prof. Lawrence Krauss, Case Western Reserve University
 , Author
 Prof. Kevin Warwick, Dept. of Cybernetics, Reading University UK
 Ira Steven Behr, Writer, The Next Generation, 
 Kate Mulgrew
 Tim Brazeal

Releases 
In Region 1 the film was released on DVD by Allumination FilmWorks and in Region 4 in Australia by Umbrella Entertainment. Both releases took place in .

External links 
 
 

de:Die Akte Enterprise – Ein Raumschiff verändert die Welt
fr:How William Shatner Changed the World
Documentaries
Emmy Award nominees