Star Trek XI: Out with William Shatner as Captain Kirk; In with Chris Pine

Love him or hate him, William Shatner is an American Icon. His portrayal of Captain Kirk will forever live on in the annals of television history, and through the modern marvels of syndicated television and DVDs, he will live on for future generations to enjoy.

Yet time is a thief we cannot elude, and even Shatner has to give way to a modern version of the fantasy hero he made so popular. Heresy you say? Why? It happens to the best of them. Even Sean Connery could not go on being James Bond forever. After a while, even the legendary actor had to give way to a string of good hearted imitators. So to for that matter did Adam West who made popular the cape crusading figure known as Batman.

However, the fact that I enjoyed both Connery's "Bond "and West's "Batman," does not mean I was not one of countless ticket holders who patiently waited in line to see a brand new interpretation of these characters, both the good and the bad as it turns out. I did not shed a tear for West when Michael Keaton made the Batman role his own, though I did cringe a bit when Val Kilmer did his best to destroy the franchise. Such is Hollywood, for better or worse.

Time then, marches on, taking with it our childhood memories and the heroes and idols who played a part in them. Time though can be an unforgivable foe. I have seen it robbed even the greatest of heroes of their glory days. Time can reduced a legendary golden boy icon like Mickey Mantle, to a hobbled player with sore knees.

A decade ago I had the good fortune to run into Yvonne Craig (formerly Batgirl in the TV series) at a public appearance for one of the newer Batman movies. As any fan of the show would do, I got in line to meet her and get an autograph picture. The picture still hangs in my den, and it was a thrill to meet the original Batgirl. Yet time had robbed her of some of her physical beauty and figure, and the last thought on my mind was that she should reprise her former role in anyway, shape or form.