Risk is Our Business: The Intersection of Star Trek and Hawaii Five-O

Beam me up? Book ‘em? Jack Lord, William Shatner, the oddly similar leading men who made Trek and Five-O immortal

What do William Shatner (Star Trek’s James Kirk) and Jack Lord (Hawaii Five-O’s Steve McGarrett) have in common? Could they have changed places? Photo collage by Joseph Serwach with a 1958 publicity photo of Shatner (right) and a 1976 photo of Lord via Wikimedia Commons.

Jack Lord almost played Captain James Kirk? Lord and the ultimate choice, William Shatner, have much in common.

Both anchored enduring franchises. Besides a similar “look,” Shatner and Lord both epitomize a type of manly hero quality now seldom seen: both are crusading, passionate, bold believers.

‘Beam me up’ and ‘Book ’em’: Evergreen lines continue

Marketing teaches you to end a pitch with a “call to action,” a final “ask.” Television long featured closing catchphrases like Walter Cronkite ending each newscast with “And that’s the way it is.”

Great shows inspire catchphrases, evergreen lines that make us smile every time we hear them (even though they risk becoming cliches).