In the wake of the new "Star Trek" film release this past summer, there was so much grumbling coming from William Shatner, who was dissatisfied with his omission from J.J. Abrams's franchise reboot, that Trekkies termed the fallout Shatnergate. Abrams was noticeably unresponsive in the face of Shatner's criticism, and for good reason: Love him or hate him, Shatner is, arguably, the most iconic figure in the "Star Trek" universe, so it's better to evade the issue than fan the flames of controversy. The official version is that Shatner was offered a cameo in the film. Shatner denied that there was ever any offer but said, either way, he wouldn't have accepted a cameo. If they could work an old Spock into the plot, why not an old Kirk?

In a recent interview with Australian media, J.J. Abrams explains, "The problem was his character died on screen in one of his 'Trek' films, and because we decided, very early on, that we wanted to adhere to 'Trek' canon as best we could...the required machinations to get Shatner into the movie would have been very difficult to do given the story we wanted to tell and also to give him the kind of part that he would be happy with...It was this thing where it would have felt like a gimmick in order to get Shatner in the movie, which would have honestly, to me, been distracting."

It's nice to have Abrams's take on the situation now, and it makes sense; Abrams prides himself as a logic-driven filmmaker who, though he was not a fan of "Star Trek" before helming the prequel, has attempted to honor the Trek mythology -- as he describes in his own words, in the video above. Asked about the possibility of Shatner appearing in the next movie, Abrams is vague, but seemingly open to the idea: "In terms of moving forward, I am open to anything...I feel like the first movie did some of the heavy lifting that needed to be done in order to free us to continue going forward. Maybe there's less of a burden and there's going to be more opportunity to work with [Shatner]." Well, that's a whole lot of maybe, but at least he's responding to the issue. Abrams also went on to say that he and Shatner are scheduled to have lunch....

Most curious of all is the inclusion, in the "Star Trek" DVD, of a bonus feature segment, "The Shatner Conundrum," breaking down the "Trek" mythology issues that prevented, in Abrams's mind, the old Kirk from appearing in the lastest film. Will lunch and a bonus feature be enough to placate the roaring beast that is Bill Shatner? Don't bet on it.

Sure, stars Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto weren't overwhelmingly qualified to carry the new "Star Trek" movie. But Chris Pine did rock my world in "The Princess Diaries 2," and Zachary Quinto's eyebrows are truly impressive, so I'm willing to throw them both a bone. A weird-looking alien bone, but a bone nonetheless.

This interviewer seems less forgiving. He asks Chris, "You're not really mimicking William Shatner [the original Captain Kirk]. That's intentional, right?" Oh, SNAP.

Chris gets points for throwing some outer space jargon into his rebuttal, though: "If you saw me doing a bad impersonation, I think I would have just, like a black hole, sucked all energy into people watching my bad impersonation."

Translation: "WHO GETS TO CARRY THE LASER GUN, HUH A**HOLE? I'LL SHOW YOU INTENTIONAL, B*TCH."

We've decided to celebrate Friday's opening of the new "Star Trek" movie with some classic footage of a shirtless William Shatner teaching space-judo to his hot-headed young charge. Reminds me of junior high.

Unlike his old shipmate Leonard Nimoy, Shatner was not invited to appear in the J.J. Abrams reboot. Shatner's been a good sport about it, posting clips of himself watching the "Star Trek" trailer and meeting new Captain Kirk Chris Pine on his YouTube channel.

That channel also features a clip about one of the more bizarre bits of Shatner-ania, and one certainly worth repeating: the story of how William Shatner's visage became the iconic mask worn by babysitter-murderer Michael Myers in legendary horror flick "Halloween." The story (and more), after the jump.

Sorry United Kingdom, your “tough guys” are nancy boys compared to the Top 10 Badasses we got:

10. Jake Fury: Yeah, he’s in last place in the Battle Dome. But that’s just the thing – the guy in last place is still tougher than these tea-drinking, funny talkers.

9. Turkish Rambo: A cross between Sly Stallone and Lou Ferrigno. That would be bad (check) and ass (check). Deal with it.

8. Arnold from "Diff’rent Strokes": Whatchu talkin’ bout British?

7. Dennis Rogers: He can bend a wrench with his bare hands and slam a nail through a thick board -- yeah, with his hand. No scones or clotted cream, thanks. And he drives on the left-hand side of the road whenever the hell he feels like it.

6. Captain Kirk: Man enough to wear tights and have relations with aliens.

5. Voltron: Lions. Robots. Now what, son?!

4. Colt Seavers: He might fall from a tall building, he might roll a brand new car, 'cause he’s the unknown stuntman that made Redford such a star. He never spend much time in school but he taught ladies plenty. It's true he hires his body out for pay, hey hey.

3. Robocop: 'Nuff said.

2 (tie). Andy Rooney: He will seriously hurt you, stuff you in a desk drawer, then pull you out in 20 years and do a "60 Minutes" rant about the punks who stepped to him.

2 (tie). "B.A." Baracus: He pities lots of fools.

Click "continue reading" for our No. 1 badass.