With new documentary, Brandeis alum assesses Star Trek at 60

Brandeis Stories

With new documentary, Brandeis alum assesses Star Trek at 60

By David Levin
October 15, 2026 • Alumni

Mark A. Altman '88 was editor of The Justice, Brandeis' student newspaper, when he talked his way onto the set of a new show called "Star Trek: The Next Generation." The experience kicked off a successful career as journalist, writer, and unofficial Trek historian. Altman's new documentary, "The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World," which opened in theaters on October 9, marks the franchise's 60th anniversary. It features Tom Doherty, professor of American studies at Brandeis, as one of its most prominent voices. In this interview, we talk to Altman about the "Trek" legacy - and the role Brandeis played in helping him preserve it.

What sparked the idea for this documentary?

I did a book about 10 years ago called "The 50-Year Mission," which was a really successful oral history of "Star Trek." This documentary was sort of an outgrowth of that book. With the 60th approaching, I felt there was a limited window to honor the original series properly, so I put together a crew, started doing interviews, and got Bill Shatner on board as executive producer. I didn't anticipate it becoming a theatrical release. It just snowballed.

What does Star Trek mean to you, and why has it loomed so large in your life?

I've been a "Star Trek" fan since kindergarten, and I'm still trying to understand why, all these years later, I remain obsessed. There are lots of theories about why so many people connect with the show - that it's a positive view of the future, it's about hope, it's about a family - and I think all of those things are true. But it also has great storytelling and the alchemy of an amazing cast. There aren't many shows from the '60s that people still watch. Ask someone from Generation Z about "Bonanza or Gunsmoke," which were once the biggest shows of their day, and they won't know what you're talking about. But even people who've never seen "Star Trek" know about it. Captain Kirk, Spock, and McCoy are like the Mount Rushmore of popular culture.

What do you think made the original series revolutionary?

(From left): "The 60 Year Mission" Executive Producers Ashley E. Miller, Mark A. Altman '88, Michael S. Broder, and William Shatner, along with entrepreneur Peter Diamandis (far right), who hosted the premiere event for the film.

People don't fully understand the context of when it was made. You've got the character of Uhura, an African American, who is in a position of authority on the bridge when racial segregation laws were still in effect in the south. There's a Japanese American flying the ship 25 years after Pearl Harbor. There's a Russian officer at the height of the Cold War. Gene Roddenberry, who created "Star Trek," also built a meticulous fictional universe in the same way J.R.R Tolkien did with "The Lord of the Rings" - It was so fully fleshed out, with different civilizations and a rigorous internal logic, that it all held together from season to season. "Star Trek" took the first steps towards what we now call "canon", a backstory that is so consistent and detailed that people can write encyclopedias based on it.

You've called Tom Doherty the film's MVP. Why is that?

Tom Doherty [professor of American studies at Brandeis] was my professor, and he was phenomenal. We've stayed in touch ever since, nearly 40 years now. He's written great books about the Cold War and the Hollywood blacklist, so he's a font of great stories, especially early in the film, where we put "Star Trek" in a cultural context: Captain Kirk was JFK, the final frontier was the New Frontier, [the Kennedy administration's informal name for his foreign and domestic agenda.] I'm just so happy that I can continue my connection with him and have him in the documentary because he's an all-star.

What did Brandeis give you that ended up mattering most in your career?

I was a political science major, but I took every film class I could, plus classes that let me write about film in other ways. I really can't credit Brandeis enough. It taught me critical thinking. I had incredible professors. Being editor of The Justice taught me about publishing years before I ever went into film. I've been relatively successful in television and film professionally, and I really credit the education I got inside and outside the classroom at Brandeis.

"The Sixty-Year Mission" opened in theaters on Friday, Oct 9. For more information go to www.trek60.com