I want to fight William Shatner

I want to fight William Shatner

“I want to fight William Shatner” is one of my favorite lines from the movie Fight Club and I think shows how unbelievably iconic William Shatner has become in our culture.  Some of my first television memories are of sitting on the couch in my family’s living room watching Star Trek.  Perhaps for that reason, or because of his mannerisms William Shatner has always reminded me of my father.  Throughout my life William Shatner has been a fixture in my television life, first as Captain Kirk, then as I became fascinated with the Twilight Zone, he appeared in one of my absolute favorite episodes, Nightmare at 20,000 feet.  Once I was in high school Shatner spent time occasionally obstructing the view of Heather Locklear on TJ Hooker.  He re-emerged as the Star Trek franchise took off through movies and new series and of course in guest appearances on damn near everything on television.  He showed up in one of his funniest roles as the Big Giant Head on Third Rock from the Sun.  He also earned critical acclaim for roles on The Practice and Boston Legal.

Not only an actor, William Shatner also took on the music industry and has produced some of the most unforgettable renditions of classic tunes including Mr. Tambourine Man or his spoken word version of Rocket Man.

As he’s gotten older Shatner has become incredibly interesting to me and has definitely become someone I’d like to sit down and have a beer with sometime.  He has a farm in Kentucky and raises horses and seems to have reached a really calm and comfortable place in his life.  One of the most amazing things to me is the fact that he’s 81 years old and is still actively working.

The most amazing work Shatner has ever done in my opinion is his interview show, Shatner’s Raw Nerve.  I wrote a piece on the Raw Nerve a while back and if you get the opportunity to see it, check it out it’s really an amazing show, hell he made Tony Danza interesting.

So yes, if I could fight any celebrity, I would fight William Shatner or maybe we’d just get a beer and chat.

William Shatner’s Raw Nerve

I was just watching an episode of Shatner’s Raw Nerve.  Shatner is a really fascinating guy to me.  We all know him as Captain Kirk and as the actor that played him; this stilted speaking ladies man who had turbulent relationships with his costars.  This stands in contrast to his performance in one of the most famous Twilight Zone episodes, Nightmare at 20,000 feet where he plays an utterly freaked out airline passenger.  Shatner has never seemed to get much credit for his acting ability, has garnered much ridicule and fascination for his singing, and rarely is mentioned as a business man.

It is well known that he took stock instead of cash when he started doing Priceline commercials ten years ago and has reportedly made $600 million for his work, pretty smart.  Not to mention those commercials are totally fun, self-effacing and obviously quite effective.  I love the one where the evil Kirk, I mean Shatner shows up.

However, I think the best work Shatner has ever done is his interview show, Shatner’s Raw Nerve.   This is the best interview show on television by far, from the intimate setting, to the “S” shaped couch and the conversational nature of the interviews.  In this format Shatner quickly gets to the core of folks.  In one moment in the Gene Simmons episode, Simmons recalls a moment as his mother applies to enter the United States and he stops, tears in his eyes like he’s been hit in the face with a board.  A really intensely personal and revealing moment with the Kiss guitarist.  This is Shatner’s genius in this show, somehow he’s able to cut past the bullshit of celebrity and get to the heart of people, and it is absolutely fascinating television.  The only complaint I have is that I wish the show was an hour instead of thirty minutes. 

I hyper-linked to the show above but here again is the link to the website, check it out, it’s certainly worth the time  http://www.biography.com/shatner/