The Best Shatner Ham Job

[RColtrane]

Gangster role in "A Piece Of The Action" and his face after opening the Tribbles container in "The Trouble With Tribbles". Oh man there are TONS of ham moments in The Shat's career... it is almost impossible to nail all of them here.

 

[Herbert]

That's the first thing that came to my mind as well...

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Every time he does the "I'M CAPTAIN KIRK!" bit I lose it. Just great stuff

 

[Qonundrum]

You guys are crazy. The Enemy Within? Risk is our business? Those are extremely good and even iconic performances. He was great with Ruth in Shore Leave.

The choking bit in "Triskelion" is because Kirk is suddenly being choked while exerting himself.

In Turnabout, the script called for Janice Lester to be an unlikable jerk.

In my view, the only time he was ever bad in TOS was the turbolift scene in "And the Children...", and that was because the situation and dialog as written were stunningly horrible, and Shatner was a guy who committed to sell every scene, good or bad.

Seconded. The camera speed allowed a freeze frame to make it look worse than what the motion video looks like, which is substantially different and more effective.

I also would defend the scene in "Plato's Stepchildren" - it takes guts to do a scene like that without playing it as camp - which would be terribly easy to do. He played it utterly sincerely, as had Nimoy, Kelley, and the guest stars. People, I dare say, conflate the high concept premise with the acting, and season 3 had some of the highest concept episodes of all time. Roll with it and there's much that's genuinely disturbing, if it actually happened to you the viewer.

If anything, Shatner probably enjoys doing certain scenes too much and the audience can tell he's relishing the chance to do something different, but he doesn't end up going OTT or ruining it.

My guess, for that unasked question, might be that Shatner probably did develop his lighter side for more recent shows as a result of the pop culture misbelief he was hamming it up in the 60s. No, he was playing it straight and as a professional. He's also a classically trained (Shakespearean) actor, like Christopher Plummer and others. Shatner just ended up portraying Kirk (and making the character his own) and doing sci-fi, during a time where sci-fi was not as mature and adult-oriented in general (TOS by comparison was, but still was a genre everyone slagged off as "mindless kid crap"). Where am I going with that? As usual, 3 different places at once, usually...

 

[Spock's Barber]

He paused deliberately for emphasis, the way some writers build a pause into a sentence with an "em dash", to give the next phrase greater power.

The late Adam West said that he deliberately paused or delivered his lines in an elongated form in order to get more air time for his character. It drove Burt Ward and the series directors batty.

 

[mos6507]

"I'm Captain Kirk!!!"

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This more theatrical style of acting makes TOS infinitely more entertaining than the spinoff shows.

Kor

Plus TOS has the best music, which complements the melodrama so well. TNG's dreaded sonic-wallpaper was such a disgrace (with a few exceptions, like Inner Light).

 

[Phaser Two]

The only really embarrassing ones are the two ATCSL scenes (Triacus cave and turbolift) and I think he just didn't like the script. Plato is more disturbing than anything.

But there are so many fantastic Shatner moments. One of my favorite underrated ones comes from Wolf in the Fold, after Lt. Tracy is murdered and Hengist comes back from canvassing for witnesses with Morla, Kara's jealous former lover. McCoy confirms that he can't tell whether the lock was picked to the chamber where Lt. Tracy was examining Scotty and was killed, Kirk's frustration boils over, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, Shatner fully extends his arm to point at Morla and full-on shouts, "CAN YOU! PROVE! YOU WENT STRAIGHT HOME??"
I absolutely love it. Every time.
As the Guardian would say, many such other examples are possible.

 

[f14peter]

The late Adam West said that he deliberately paused or delivered his lines in an elongated form in order to get more air time for his character. It drove Burt Ward and the series directors batty.

ROBIN: "Holy script interpretation Batman, what are we going to do!?!?!?!?"

BATMAN: "Robin ... I believe it's time for ... a Batpause."

 

[TOSalltheway]

New To be honest I never found his KHAAANNNN shout to be realistic in WOKand especially that build up he did to it! Plus that wig didn't help either!

Ummmm I hate to be picky but that was not SHATNER over acting, it was KIRK overacting. Remember that this was a fake cry of frustration in order to fool Khan.

 

[johnnybear]

The movie Treks weren't a patch on the TV series for me and KHHAAANNN was extremely corny I know! In the series his worst Shat was his gurning and shocked poses during the attack by The Zetarian life energies in Lights of Zetar I've always thought!
JB

 

[Samuel]

Any episode of T.J. Hooker.

 

[johnnybear]

And what about that dark fluffy wig he wore as well?
JB

 

[Spock's Barber]

And what about that dark fluffy wig he wore as well?
JB

You mean....his Brillo pad hair do?

 

[Redfern]

Dang it! I keep misreading the thread title as "Best Shatner Hand Job"!

 

[johnnybear]

You mean....his Brillo pad hair do?

Either that or in the future there is a medicine for balding guys to increase the size of their thatch?
JB

 

[2takesfrakes]

The Best Shatner Ham Job ... Right Here!