I don't think William Shatner owes me any thanks.
I've never bought one of his albums, and Promise margarine sucked.
I don't have the 50th anniversary tribute penciled in as must-see TV, with or without the Shat. Does anyone remember the 25th anniversary salute?
Not being an American, no. I do, however, remember the 25th anniversary game though, and Unification, with Spock guest starring in TNG, and The Undiscovered Country.
The 30th anniversary with First Contact, Trials and Tribulations, and Flashback
The 50th anniversary of Doctor Who not only had the Day of the Doctor with both Smith and Tennant, as well as a nice tribute at the end with every doctor (including the ones that have died) having an appearance and a line, it also had The Night of the Doctor, giving some closure to Paul McGann, and the hilarious "The Five(ish) Doctors".
How will the 50th anniversary be any different to the 47th with Trek? Oh whoop, a 3-part special book that doesn't sound anything different to the 40th.
I expect Trek'17 will be a TNG reboot timing into the 30th anniversary of that show, with Frakes as the crossover character, but for the 50th anniversary of TOS? Very low-key, probably because there aren't many people still around that watched TOS back in 1966.