startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
I watched William Shatner comedy roast it was hilarious it was on channel 4 in the UK last night did any of you like it or watch it?
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William Shatner Comedy Roost
- Thread starter startrekrcks
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RobertScorpio
Pariah
Yes...I thought BETTY WHITE stole the show..Takei was funny, in a crass way. But some of the comedians were not funny..though the last one, I cant remember her name, she was good...
I thought Andy Dick's stuff was stupid...
Rob
I thought Andy Dick's stuff was stupid...
Rob
startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
I thought when they showed Bill singing was funny also the clips of his whole career was great
William Shatner Comedy ROOST?
Maybe Miss Chicken needs to weigh in here . . .
Maybe Miss Chicken needs to weigh in here . . .
startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
It was on Channel 4 last Sunday, I couldn't stop laughing at Lisa Lampanelli she was hiliarious and William Shatner was clearly enjoying himself.
Yes, the Comedy Central Roast that aired a while back.
I heard it was on Channel 4 last sunday.
startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
Yes indeed Lisa Lampanelli was hiliarous I nearly died laughing when she was doing the roast.
startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
yes it was
I thought so. 
startrekrcks
Fleet Captain
did you watch it or are you not really into comedy roasts?
I was just thinking about this. This was the only comedy roast I've ever seen and will definitely be the last. I absolutely hated it. I would have rather seen a straight-faced show that's a sincere tribute to William Shatner, instead of this awful spectacle where a bunch of celebrities insult him and are insulted by him.
I didn't understand the appeal of it at all, and based on this, I don't think I could ever enjoy a "comedy roast". I just find it mean-spirited. All I remember is William Shatner saying to Jason Alexander, "why are all my fans such fat fucking losers?". I know he was just joking, but I didn't think it was funny. The whole thing just struck me as a waste of time and in bad taste.
I didn't understand the appeal of it at all, and based on this, I don't think I could ever enjoy a "comedy roast". I just find it mean-spirited. All I remember is William Shatner saying to Jason Alexander, "why are all my fans such fat fucking losers?". I know he was just joking, but I didn't think it was funny. The whole thing just struck me as a waste of time and in bad taste.
I could have done without Andy Dick, who looked drunk. Whiskey Dick is more like it.
There was a lot of funny in there though - the guy who plays "Spence" presenting a paper bag and asking Shatner to act his way out of it -
There was a lot of funny in there though - the guy who plays "Spence" presenting a paper bag and asking Shatner to act his way out of it -
It's important to note that Comedy Central started doing their own roasts (of which Shatner's is a part of) when they couldn't televise the Friars Club Roasts. THOSE tend to be far more entertaining than the ones on Comedy Central. They're a bit more meanspirited, but at least there's a reason for everyone to be up there; the whole point is to roast the ones you love, so only friends and family would be invited to be roasters -- none of this "regular lineup" Comedy Central has like Lisa Lampenelli, who has no connection to Shatner whatsoever.
The classic Friars Club Roasts tended to involve legends like the Rat Pack, Don Rickles, Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Humphrey Bogart, Nat King Cole, etc. etc. hence the goodnatured camaraderie and intimacy early on. As time went on, roastees included more modern TV, Film, Stage, and Comedy stars, but again, only those who had a personal connection to the guest of honor could be up on stage. To this day, they tend to have and/or honor A-list talent, whereas Comedy Central seems to pick on those with camp value -- Pamela Anderson and Jeff Foxworthy are definitely no Harry Belafonte or Lucille Ball. Even the presentation is vastly different: Friars Club has their roasts in banquet halls with a few dozen or hundred invited. Closed set, intimate, members-only club. The Comedy Central roasts, as you've seen, are cheesy, large, loud, and not at all subtle.
If this was a Friars' Club Roast, you'd see a lot more representation of Shatner's career, and a lot more love. Here, it's just shock value. I suspect the Friars' Club broke the deal with Comedy Central because of the second Chevy Chase roast. If you think the Shatner one was painful, Chase is far, far worse -- he was roasted by mostly, comedians who were otherwise total strangers to him (hired by Comedy Central), and it was clear that Chase was painfully humiliated, rather than entertained and honored. The roastee always gets the final word, and traditionally it's him roasting the roasters, but Chase's final words were simply, "That hurt." Comedy Central screwed that pooch, then they had the audacity to rip off the concept for more cash.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h72IjTcU2v8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liCljBjjdUw
Lampinelli can't touch this.
It wasn't any good. Other than Betty White and Jason Alexander, the roasters seemed to be a random collection of people who couldn't get any other work. And George Takei was just annoying. He's really convinced himself, I think, that Shatner somehow deprived him of the chance to become a big star, when the fact is that George simply does not have the talent.
I, for one, will always defend Kevin Pollack's impersonations of Shatner. There's a reason why the two of them are friends, after all!
Oh, was Pollack there? I'd forgotten. As the #1 Shatner impressionist in the world, of course he deserved to be included.
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