William Shatner’s Finest TOS Performance?

[Spock's Barber]

I just watched the scene where Captain Kirk returns to the Enterprise bridge after the crew ‘mutiny’ in ‘This Side of Paradise’. I really felt empathy and sympathy for his character during his Captain’s Log monologue.

Your choice for Shatner’s finest performance, either a scene, an act or a whole episode…

 

[Frontis]

It's tough because there are so many fine performances.
Right now The Enemy Within comes to my mind.

 

[Phaser Two]

As far as episodes, there are so many . . . Devil in the Dark and Obsession certainly come to mind. He's superb in The Doomsday Machine too.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Shatner never spared himself when the script called for Kirk to go big, even when it was something big and abysmal, like the uniquely terrible turbolift scene in "And the Children..."

When the big writing was any good at all, he was fantastic:

• Miri: he's an action star, a girl's charming crush, and then the disease starts pulling the rug out from under him and he's desperate to get through to the children.

• Return to Tomorrow: the Risk is Our Business speech. Known to this day, known to non-fans, an enduring classic.

• The Omega Glory: his passionate reading of the Preamble in reruns really started to stand out in the post-Vietnam period, when it became hip to be contemptuous of American patriotism. M*A*S*H and the Norman Lear sitcoms were hip, but Kirk's unabashed admiration for our Constitution was profound and I loved it.

• The Paradise Syndrome: I won't get unanimous consent, but I think Shatner was pitch-perfect throughout. It's a top-tier episode in my book.

 

[Warp Core Breach]

Everyone always likes to do the "risk is our business" thing, and while that's good I would say pretty much the entirety of City on the Edge of Forever. Especially the end.

Let's get the hell out of here.

 

[Phaser Two]

Everyone always likes to do the "risk is our business" thing, and while that's good I would say pretty much the entirety of City on the Edge of Forever. Especially the end.

Let's get the hell out of here.

Agreed. That's another powerhouse. Another good one for Shatner, which is probably in the bottom half of my favorite episodes (mostly for no Scotty), is Journey to Babel. Kirk's politeness to his murderous enemies - as in the final scenes with Thelev - is magical, and Bill utterly sells it.

 

[BillJ]

“Turnabout Intruder”

 

[Warp Core Breach]

Agreed. That's another powerhouse. Another good one for Shatner, which is probably in the bottom half of my favorite episodes (mostly for no Scotty), is Journey to Babel. Kirk's politeness to his murderous enemies - as in the final scenes with Thelev - is magical, and Bill utterly sells it.

Saw that one the other day. "You speculate."

 

[Warp Core Breach]

“Turnabout Intruder”

I do not know why that episode is so hated. Sure, it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread but Shatner is fantastic in it. So is Sandra Smith.

 

[BillJ]

I do not know why that episode is so hated. Sure, it's not the greatest thing since sliced bread but Shatner is fantastic in it. So is Sandra Smith.

Probably because it is the last new aired episode. It isn’t really bad, just mediocre.

 

[Phaser Two]

Saw that one the other day. "You speculate."

Exactly!!! Oh I adore that line.

 

[Warp Core Breach]

Probably because it is the last new aired episode. It isn’t really bad, just mediocre.

Yeah I think a lot of people consider it to be the series finale, but they didn't do that back then. I dunno, I enjoyed it.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Agreed. That's another powerhouse. Another good one for Shatner, which is probably in the bottom half of my favorite episodes (mostly for no Scotty), is Journey to Babel. Kirk's politeness to his murderous enemies - as in the final scenes with Thelev - is magical, and Bill utterly sells it.

Plus that episode has another Kirk flying drop kick…

 

[feek61]

I agree with all mentioned here and will add "Balance of Terror" as another great performance.

Shatner in my mind has always been underrated as an actor, sure he could be "wooden" but my God, when he wanted to, he could deliver.

 

[BillJ]

I agree with all mentioned here and will add "Balance of Terror" as another great performance.

Shatner in my mind has always been underrated as an actor, sure he could be "wooden" but my God, when he wanted to, he could deliver.

I think he is seriously underrated as an actor. He throws himself into the project.

 

[dswynne1]

My all-time favorite? "Court Martial". To me, it was about risking one's principles, even at the cost of one's station in life.
Second favorite? "The Empath". While it has minimalist production values, I really liked the interaction between the characters, and how Kirk didn't want to choose who to sacrifice, simply because he doesn't like "false choices", and that there is always a "third option".

 

[Spock's Barber]

My all-time favorite? "Court Martial". To me, it was about risking one's principles, even at the cost of one's station in life.
Second favorite? "The Empath". While it has minimalist production values, I really liked the interaction between the characters, and how Kirk didn't want to choose who to sacrifice, simply because he doesn't like "false choices", and that there is always a "third option".

Yes, the way Kirk stands up to Commodore Stone was impressive.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Second favorite? "The Empath". While it has minimalist production values, I really liked the interaction between the characters, and how Kirk didn't want to choose who to sacrifice, simply because he doesn't like "false choices", and that there is always a "third option".

‘Empath’ director John Erman also directed the Outer Limits episode ‘Nightmare’ about a group of United Earth prisoners of war who are captured and tortured by aliens.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Probably because it is the last new aired episode. It isn’t really bad, just mediocre.

I compare the first and last episodes ‘Man Trap’ and ‘Turnabout Intruder’ as pretty equivalent : they aren’t my favorites for various reasons but they are TOS episodes so I just live with it.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

‘Empath’ director John Erman also directed the Outer Limits episode ‘Nightmare’ about a group of United Earth prisoners of war who are captured and tortured by aliens.

Well, that's interesting. It reminds me that "The Conscience of the King" wasn't the first thing Gerd Oswald directed that featured a disfigured man with an enormous black face bandage.

I'd guess that "The Empath" was a coincidence, but "Conscience" was the director putting in a grim idea.