'The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World' Review
Director: Mark A. Altman.
Release Date: 10/08/26 [Cinemas]
Genre: Documentary.
MPAA: Not Rated.
Runtime: 134 minutes.
The Verdict: A Must-See
To Ted - Always willing to boldly go where no one has gone before (1963 - 2026)
The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World celebrates Star Trek, particularly the original series, and is spearheaded by Mark A. Altman. Altman, co-author of the acclaimed oral history The Fifty-Year Mission and co-host of the award-winning “Inglorious Treksperts” podcast, knows a thing or two about Trek. But unlike Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons, or the nerds in that classic Saturday Night Live sketch who are told to get a life, Altman presents his Treksperts knowledge with warmth and generosity. His enthusiasm is infectious, and The Sixty-Year Mission is an inviting celebration that welcomes everyone from the fan who knows every color of a Horta to the newcomer who mistakenly calls Leonard Nimoy's iconic character "Doctor" Spock.
Starring and executive produced by William Shatner, James T. Kirk himself, The Sixty-Year Mission boldly explores the importance and enduring relevance of Star Trek, from its 1960s origins to its place in popular culture today. The original series was never merely about purple backdrops, rubber-suited aliens, and green women. Its stories used science fiction to confront real-world anxieties, from the political tensions of the Cold War and the shadow of Vietnam to questions of race, equality, and humanity's future. Casting Nichelle Nichols as communications officer Uhura and George Takei as helmsman Sulu helped make a more inclusive future visible on American television.
Star Trek offered audiences both escapism and an invitation to imagine something better. Altman and Shatner set out to remind us why that vision mattered then, and why it still matters now.
The documentary is packed with interviews and archival footage. Shatner, Takei, and Walter Koenig provide immediate connections to the original series, while writers, producers, and creative minds from across the franchise help illuminate the show's legacy. Even familiar faces from outside the Trek universe, including actor Wayne Knight and comedian Dana Gould, add perspective. The result is a lively mix of history, personal recollection, behind-the-scenes insight, and unabashed fandom. Longtime Trekkies will find plenty to savor, but Altman never makes the material feel like an exclusive club whose membership requires a degree from the Daystrom Institute.
The Sixty-Year Mission moves at warp speed, keeping its interviews and historical material zooming without getting slowed down in the Neutral Zone. The original cast receives its due, as do creator Gene Roddenberry, second-season showrunner Gene L. Coon, and cinematographer Jerry Finnerman. The documentary clearly recognizes that Star Trek wasn't the product of one man's vision alone, but the result of a creative collaboration that brought an extraordinary fictional universe to life.
Yet, despite a title that promises a journey through six decades of Star Trek, the original series is clearly the star of this voyage. The Next Generation, the theatrical films, and the subsequent television series get only a Vulcan salute of acknowledgment. For a franchise that has expanded into so many spin-offs, characters, and creative eras, the transporter buffer still holds a lot of history. A teased follow-up focused on the theatrical films, presented in a mid-credits sequence worthy of a Marvel production, suggests that Altman has more stories to tell.
The Sixty-Year Mission is a fast-moving, thoroughly enjoyable tribute, made with the affection of a filmmaker who understands Star Trek is about more than starships and phasers. Rather, it is a show, a vision, about what we might become if we choose to do better.
Plenty of strange new worlds remain to explore, but as a celebration of the series that started it all, Altman's documentary is a mission well accomplished. Indeed, one can say that it is… fascinating.
