How did a cult sci-fi TV series inspire inventors, astronauts and many others to change the world? In this Emmy nominated special, former Captain Kirk of Enterprise, William Shatner, meets scientists, writers and actors from the various ‘Star Trek’ incarnations to find out.
Mobile phone inventor Martin Cooper was inspired in the early 1970's when he saw an episode in which Captain Kirk used a voice-activated, hand-held ‘communicator’ device. Together with phone giant Motorola, Cooper began working on the idea of a phone which wasn’t confined by wires. It was the start of a technological revolution that would sweep the globe.
Stanford University Medical Centre brain surgeon John Adler tells how the show inspired him to ask questions about what could be done with medicine. He went on to invent the cyber knife, a computer controlled robotic device that emits a lazer beam that can painlessly and effortessly remove cancers from the body without a single slice.
Curator of Computer museum Digi-Barn, Bruce is convinced that the 'geeks from the seventies' who watched the show are responsible for advancements in the PC - such as Bill Gates and Paul Allen who, in 2000, opened a Science Fiction museum in Seattle and even bought Captain Kirk's own captain's chair for a reported $100,000 dollars.
Director: Julian Jones
Executive Producer: Malcolm Clark