William Shatner of Star Trek starred in one of the worst adaptations of the 90s

“Tekwar” by William Shatner was born at the end of the 1980s on the problematic set of “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”, a film that Shatner directed at that time. According to an article about The Retro Vision magazine websiteThere was a lot of inactivity in the “Star Trek” set (thanks to a workers’ strike), and Shatner’s mind began to wander, creating an universe built from its two best -known acting projects: “Star Trek” and “TJ Hooker”. Without (it is true) to think too much about it, Shatner began writing a police history established 200 years in the future. He focused on a police character named Jake Cardigan and Tek, a super addictive medicine based on technology that takes the form of a microchip that people use to create dangerous increased reality experiences. These experiences are so strong that they can potentially destroy your brain.

In the first novel, which was published in 1989 and simply entitled “Tekwar”, Jake is unfairly imprisoned for trying Tek and frozen criogenically for four years. He is then released in the care of Walt Bascom, a benevolent assistant who begs Jake to track and arrest the intellectual authors behind Tek’s trade.

“Tekwar” was successful enough to justify a complete series of sequelae books, all of which were accredited to Shatner, but Rob Goulart, written by Ghost, who launched until 1997. He also generated a series of Marvel comics of “Tekworld” of “Tekworld” in 1992, along with a series of MID-Profile TV For two seasons from 1994 to 1996. In the show, Shatner, Shatner, played Copoman, who played Copoman, Copoman, who played Copoman, who played Copoman, Copoman, who played Copoman, Copoman. Jake Alright. Nothing extraordinary, but something intelligent. However, it was very derived and has not inspired much nostalgia since it came out of the air.

“Tekwar” also infamously inspired a CD-ROM video game called “William Shatner’s Tekwar” in 1995. The video game was a first-person shooter and was narrated by Shatner’s own character as Bascom. It was … unique, but most people hated him absolutely.

The story of the video game “Tekwar” was told through scenes at the beginning of each level, each starred in Shatner. I would explain missions to the player and send them to a complex series of subway tunnels that connected the world of the game. The player was not explicitly Jake, the protagonist of “Tekwar”, but played as a former policeman who served as one of Bascom’s rogue agents. In a turn in most FPS games at that time, one could shoot each and every NPC they wanted in “Tekwar”.

Of course, that type of chaos was discouraged. In fact, when the player drew his weapon on a stage that is not combat, the NPC backed up or fled, a new mechanic in 1995. If one could defeat the game (killing all Teklords villains) without surprising or shooting civilians, Shatner would applaud their tactics. However, if one shot at the NPCs, then they were thrown into prison at the end, and Shatner would beat their full violence. The game also involved the player collecting glyphs that could lead to a world of virtual reality called Matrix. (Yes, this game came out four years before the birth of the “Matrix” franchise of the Wachowski sisters.

“William Shatner Tekwar” was reviewed in The February 1996 edition of the magazine Next GenerationAnd the exit hated him, giving him a five star. The reviewer said it was fresh and fun that the NPC responded to the player by drawing a gun, but they were also frustrated that the NPC did not respond to the enemies in the same way. If the NPCs were present during a shooting, then, they would join the villain to fight the player, which the player hinders. They concluded that only Shatner’s obsessives would enjoy it … maybe.

However, “William Shatner’s Tekwar” came and left without much fanfare. It was not a success, causing only a small wave in the world of video games. If one wants to experience a pixelated flashback in the way high -tech video games were seen (high?) One can easily find online game images.

In fact, it could be said that of the “Tekwar” franchise in general. It seemed to be little more than a project of not very creative vanity of its creator. Shatner, on the other hand, said he had received the inspiration for “Tekwar” of his own personal dependence on television. In Retro Vision’s interview, Shatner said he would use his TV to help him sleep, even if he was awakened in the middle of the night. He felt it was like a drug and began to think about technology -based drugs. As for the name, it is difficult not to assume that Shatner simply looked at the word “walk” in the script of “Star Trek” and simply dropped a letter.

In 1997, the entire “Tekwar” franchise apparently disappeared without a trace. The Marvel Comics series had followed its course, the television program had been canceled and the game had gone and come. No one has talked about “Tekwar” since then, apart from some fanatic Trekkies who are interested in Shatner’s auxiliary projects. “Tekwar” exists in a strange memory, Netherrealm, where it was successful enough to be in public consciousness for several consecutive years, but not successful enough to stay in a significant way. It makes one wonder how many other notable science fiction projects have not been recorded.

Curiously, Deadline He actually reported that an animated adult series “Tekwar” was in process in 2021. However, as of 2025, the project has not yet reached good and may be completely dead. “Tekwar,” we hardly know you. We remember the failure of “Star Trek V” better.