Shatner rightly disses Wesley

Wil Wheaton has worked hard breaking through the mold as the annoying character of Wesley Crusher in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" with some successful comedy writing, and the popularity of an online blog.

But it wasn't until the release of his book -- "Dancing Barefoot" -- and a recent column he writes for Suicide Girls that Wheaton finally came clean about the actor who played Capt. James T. Kirk in the original "Star Trek" -- someone he unaffectionately calls "William Fucking Shatner."

"I first met William Shatner on the set of ['Star Trek V: The Final Frontier'] back in 1988," Wheaton wrote. "I was 16, and had been working on TNG for two years at the time. We were enjoying some success with our show, and I was very proud of the work I was doing. When I found out that the original series cast would be working next door to us for two months, I was beside myself."

One day, Wheaton found the courage to approach Shatner, who also was infamously directing that installment of the Star Trek movie franchise. Dressed in his grey acting ensign uniform, Wheaton made his way over to the "Star Trek V" set and came face-to-face with Shatner, someone he said he had idolized .. that is until now.
Shatner looked at him, refused to shake the hand that Wheaton had extended, and asked him if he was the kid "on that show." Shatner then made fun of Wheaton's costume, asking him if that was his "spacesuit."

"I really wanted to leave," Wheaton wrote. "I felt a little light headed. Why wouldn't Capt. Kirk shake my hand? And why didn't he like my spacesuit? Could he see the fake muscles? Maybe he didn't like the color."

Wheaton said he explained what his character did on the Enterprise-D, and all Shatner could do was tell him, "I'd never let a kid come onto my bridge" and walked away.

"Capt. James Tiberious Kirk, of the Starship Enterprise 1701, and Enterprise 1701-A, the only person in Starfleet to ever defeat the Kobiyashi Maru, the man behind the Corbomite Maneuver, the man who took the Enterprise to the Genesis planet to return Spock's katra, the man who I had admired since I was 8 years old, was immediately transformed into 'William Fucking Shatner,'" Wheaton wrote.

Gene Roddenberry, who was still working on the series as an executive producer at the time, later had Shatner send a note over in apology, but Wheaton never forgot about it.
In his later years, Shatner seemed to warm up to Wheaton, even talking about baseball backstage of the American version of "The Weakest Link" when both were contestants together (but Wheaton said it's possible Shatner didn't even realize who he was).

To read the column in amazing detail (and complete with Wheaton's signature humor), read both parts of the column by clicking here and clicking here.