Thoughts on Shatner

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Melakon, Nov 29, 2012.

  1. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    And perhaps his shortest guest appearance ever.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blHwaFzzbkQ[/yt]
     
  2. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Frightening. :lol:

    If IT was the captain...with that expression, I would transport myself off of the ship...even if there was no planet nearby...
     
  3. Avon

    Avon Commodore Commodore

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    after going back to watch TOS after only vaguely remembering it from childhood, the thing that struck me most is that young shat was bloody attractive

    shatgrew, not so much
     
  4. Green Shirt

    Green Shirt Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    The expression on Lee Majors' face says it all.
     
  5. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Or, he was thinking, "6 million dollar man? Whatever. I'm married to Farrah, who's probably screwing 6 million other men every day I go to work on this goofy series!"
     
  6. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    Judging from that photo with Lee Majors, someone wants us to believe The Shat is over six feet tall.
     
  7. teacake

    teacake Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I had a huge crush on him when I was a young teen and when I went back to TOS years later as an adult I remember thinking I would probably find that kind of amusing. But NO, he was just as gorgeous, if not more gorgeous than I remembered!
     
  8. inflatabledalek

    inflatabledalek Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    That Promise ad has to feature Shatner's worst ever wig.

    As for the man himself, generally he's better in early Trek when he's still well respected theatre actor William Shatner rather than The Shat. That's not to say there's not enjoyable stuff later on, it's just the ratio between actually acting and hamming it up shifts more and more towards the later as he goes on.

    I don't know if he's ever admitted it, but I really hope around the time he did Rocket Man he was on lots and lots of hardcore drugs. That'd explain it.
     
  9. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    There was more than one Promise ad with him too. My first reaction when seeing them in the early 70s was "Oh dear." It was obvious he was having to do them because he needed the money.
     
  10. timelord1010

    timelord1010 Captain Captain

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  11. jayrath

    jayrath Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    He's not an actor. He's a star.

    Really, he long ago decided to play himself playing an actor playing himself. "Free Enterprise" was the best thing that every happened to Shatner. He completely redefined himself.

    As for his earlier work, it is absolutely in the style of every other drama on TV at the time. Check out "Bonanza" or "The Big Valley." Almost all shows were broadcast and then rebroadcast only once. That was the expectation, anyway. There was no time for subtleties. The audience needed to be told fast what the story was about.

    Is it often hammy now? Sure. But no one, even in the first decade of syndication, ever, ever complained about it. I lived through it all, and while fans complained about certain guests, no one ever criticized the regular cast's performances. Back in the '70s, the most common complaint about Shatner in "Star Trek" was that he was sometimes "fat." (Which I just do not see in TOS. Maybe a few extra pounds, but never fat.)
     
  12. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    Here's one for the ladies!

    A pre-Trek Bill takes off his shirt in the failed "Alexander the Great" pilot.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e8OuJgwBhU[/yt]
     
  13. scotpens

    scotpens Professional Geek Premium Member

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    And here's a young, slim, and impossibly blond (or is that a bad wig?) Shatner in a 1955 live TV production of Billy Budd.

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfQ4NzQhHHA[/yt]
     
  14. BoredShipCapt'n

    BoredShipCapt'n Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    It does, but that was also his only expression.
     
  15. TREK_GOD_1

    TREK_GOD_1 Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Cold!! :lol:
     
  16. TorontoTrekker

    TorontoTrekker Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I'll see your margarine commercial, and raise you a Loblaw's commercial (Loblaw's is a Canadian supermarket chain):

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Kh8Pii0p4[/yt]
     
  17. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I have another clip from that show here:
    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSQ3UqBKJ0o[/yt]
     
  18. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Shatner is a decent actor. There's an interesting clip here where he discusses his method:

    [yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5lTlkWPsqo[/yt]

    By the 1980s theatrical acting was no longer appreciated, and Shatner's reputation had taken a hit because of how pushy he had (necessarily?) been during his lean years. By the 1990s, he took a cue from George Foreman and Leslie Nielson and realized he could reinvent himself. He gave the public what it wanted -- perhaps at the expense of some good performances.
     
  19. Mr. Laser Beam

    Mr. Laser Beam Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Whatever it must have been like being a co-star of Shatner's, I do distinctly remember all of the TOS cast saying that being DIRECTED by him, in ST V, was completely different. Strictly as a director, he was totally professional and treated the entire cast with 100% respect. There was none of the baggage that came with being a fellow *actor* during the original series.

    That being said:

     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2016
  20. Melakon

    Melakon Admiral In Memoriam

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    He's so much fun, whether in comedy or drama. Canada's answer to Roger Moore.