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September 14, 2004

And the Emmy Goes to...

These days, people look at William Shatner as a joke. He’s been branded a ham actor who has been playing a version of the true Shatner for nearly two decades now.

That may be true. But, Shatner has always been a product of his time. In the 1960s when a certain style of acting was required for dramatic television, he delivered. It got him noticed and ultimately cast in the lead of Star Trek. In the wake of the series’ cancellation, Shatner went on to a lucrative few years of guest starring on just about every dramatic show there was. He detoured for a failed season on the under-appreciated Barbary Coast (a show I wouldn’t mind seeing rerun on Starz Western) and then found new fame as T.J. Hooker . Acting in the 1970s shows, especially on ABC, didn’t have to be Emmy-worthy, the network was playing to the lowest common denominator and winning timeslots because of it.

By the 1980s, he was back playing Captain Kirk in the movies but the acting roles were drying up. He wasn’t young nor was he leading man handsome anymore. Fame, fortune and a certain fondness for kitsch transformed Shatner the man into Shatner the Pop Star and he milked it for all it was worth.

He branched out, as happy with horse breeding as he was with the occasional small role. Shatner found writing a new venue, parlaying his fame into best-sellerdom. With Ron Goulart, he created TekWorld and sold many millions of books, which actually led to a television series. The writing led him back to Trek as he teamed with Judith and Gar Reeves-Stevens for what has been dubbed the Shatnerverse series of novels. They sell well and you get one pretty much every year.

Shatner played with his image in fun ways such as playing the Big Head on Third Rock from the Sun or playing himself in the hilarious Free Enterprise.

But it has been a long time since anyone asked Shatner to stretch as a serious actor. No one thought he could do it. That is, until David Kelly created Denny Crane and gave the part to Shatner during the waning weeks of The Practice. Denny was an odd bird, a lawyer possibly at the beginning of Alzheimer’s disease and idiosyncratic in the office. In the court, though, he’s still brilliant and dramatic and hard to take your eyes of him. And Shatner has to act, his usual Shatner speech patterns and mannerisms fail him and he has risen to the occasion, bringing this creation to life.

It has worked so well, Shatner received the Emmy Award for Best Guest Actor in a Drama. And he deserves it. Those episodes of The Practice are currently rerunning and I recommend you check them out. The experience proved so enjoyable, he’s signed up as a regular on the new series Boston Legal, also starring James Spader. (And for Trek fans, Rene Auberjonois will play a recurring character.)

So, I salute the reinvention of William Shatner. A well-deserved honor.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at September 14, 2004 04:21 PM

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Comments

Maybe it's just from having lived in Boston, but whenever I hear "Boston Legal", I keep wondering why David Kelley is doing a series about a seafood restaurant. :-)

Posted by: Tom Galloway at September 14, 2004 05:05 PM

A few years ago, I read Shatner's book GET A LIFE about the Star Trek phenomenon, and I gained a lot of respect for him. He basically decided to try to figure out why this show had become the cultural touchstone it has, and he finally came to understand what the rest of us saw in it. In a way, he has come to realize that he was a caretaker for a very special role.

Posted by: Michael A. Burstein [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 14, 2004 05:28 PM

Unfortunately, the horror that is the Shatner version of "Mr. Tamborine Man" has a way of overshadowing almost all other endevours of his.

Posted by: ObeeKris at September 15, 2004 03:21 AM

Many people would aspire to be the "joke" that William Shatner has become. I know I would. I've found Mr. Shatner entertaining on so many levels. My highlight was one of his appearances on the Howard Stern Show when a female wack pack member (can't remember her name but she is really wacky and over 50 yet claims she is 28) wanted to meet him and wanted to give him a kiss. He would not let her near him but stuck out his index finger for her to kiss. Too funny.

Posted by: charles at September 15, 2004 09:58 AM