In which the Meridian asks his reader(s) . . .
Do you get William Shatner?
Please consider the Comments section your chance to offer definitive answers to the above question, to dispute the answers of others, etc.
(Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
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9 comments:
I just can't get behind that.
I'm not really sure I know how to answer that question, so I suppose the answer must be 'no'...
If 'get' is some sort of synomym for 'dig' then the answer is definitely a 'no'.
Actually, I meant "get" as in "understand."
He went from being a Shakespearean actor to "You'll Have time" by "the shat"... The series of paradigms that requires would fill an entire video anthology including but not limited to How William Shatner Changed the World. Oh, and all of star trek on video cassette. I know a guy...
I think the key to Shatner is that Shatner "gets" Shatner.
He was basically respected as an actor, but slowly and surely became a punchline. And he knows it, so everything he does is intended to accentuate the punchlineyness of himself. Normally, when an actor does a Priceline commercial, it's another nail in the career coffin - but for Shatner, it was his comeback. That tells us something.
I think he's smart to act insane, releasing albums full of weirdness and all that. Everyone's laughing at him anyway, so why not capitalize on it?
Besides, Boston Legal is an excellent show. Shatner with mad cow disease? Now that's comedy.
Erin,
I think you're right. Shatner plays campy Shatner these days--not himself but the public's image of himself. Which is to say, Capt. Kirk transported (in)to Denny Crane. All that's missing, really, are the aliens.
'Think you know Shat? Check out Invasion Iowa http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429377/
Now, that was campy!
I've always had a fondness for Kirk, at any rate, for he reminds me so much of my father. (I'll post side-by-side pics on my blog sometime.)
I don't really "get" Shatner, though I met him once while skiing in the local mountains. I was surprised to find that he has pretty bad skin. The make-up people really do a good job on him.
Actually, I meant "get" as in "understand."
Yeah, sorry, that was meant as a joke, but reading it back now it actually looks like I was just confused. Which I was, but not about the meaning of that word.
The thing is, I don't really have much of a concept of William Shatner. I gather from the other comments and from what little surfing I've done since you posted this, that he has a life outside StarTrek. Clearly his extra-Enterprise existence has not been deemed worthy of importing to Europe.
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