William Shatner says the Star Trek ethos has been forgotten

William Shatner has never been one to hold back his opinion, especially when it comes to Star Trek. Having played Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek: The Original Series and the seven follow-up movies as well as Star Trek: Generations, he has been a part of the Trek world since 1966. He knew Gene Roddenberry and what the creator of the series believed in and wanted for it, especially when it came to the rules.

According to Shatner, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Roddenberry had a militaristic view of certain aspects of the shows like "you don't make out with a fellow soldier," meaning Roddenberry wouldn't be a fan of the romances that have happened aboard the various ships that have followed the Enterprise after The Original Series.

Shatner references the difficulties the staff of Star Trek: The Next Generation experienced at first, specifically pointing out that the problems, especially those between management, was all about Gene's rules and not obeying those rules.

"He was in the military, and he was a policeman. So there was this militaristic vision of “You don’t make out with a fellow soldier.” There are strict rules and you abide by the rules. Around that, [the writers] had to write the drama. But within that was the discipline of “This is the way a ship works.” Well, as Star Trek progressed, that ethos has been forgotten [in more recent shows]. I sometimes laugh and talk about the fact that I think Gene is twirling in his grave. “No, no, you can’t make out with the lady soldier!” "

- William Shatner

The former Captain Kirk has spoken before about Roddenberry "twirling in his grave," and he doesn't back down from the comment. Though he hasn't watched the new shows in the franchise much, he thinks Roddenberry would not approve of the onscreen romances taking place between crewmates as that was something the creator simply didn't allow.

"When you joke that Gene is twirling in his grave, you mean he wouldn’t approve of onscreen romances between crewmates on the later shows?—Aaron Couch, journalist for The Hollywood Reporter

Yes, exactly. I haven’t watched the other Star Treks very much, but what I’ve seen with glimpses of the Next Generation is yes, the difficulty in the beginning, between management, was all about Gene’s rules and obeying or not obeying those rules."

- William Shatner (answering question)

Roddenbery's rules were established in the 1960s so it's possible that, by now, were he alive, he would have changed with the times. Star Trek is about space travel and people being together on missions for long periods at a time. It's difficult to imagine romance wouldn't find its way onto the ships as well as other areas in the franchise.