If
you’re as much of a Shatfan as I am, then you’ll be thrilled to
know that you can watch William Shatner every weekend in
all his scenery-chewing and over-the-top gut-busting glory in two
different decades in two different uniforms in two different
hairstyles (or hairpieces?).
First
up, catch Shatner in his first iteration of Captain Kirk in the
original 1960s Star Trek television series, which airs
Saturdays at 9:00 p.m. on Me TV (Memorable Entertainment Television).
Nothing beats Shatner hamming philosophic about the quandaries of
mankind’s place in the universe, all the while sporting a
‘60s-style “straight-laced” coiffure (Was it real or was it a
hairpiece? Find out at www.shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com).
Shatner’s partners in pop cultural perpetuity include Leonard
Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle
Nichols, and George Takei.
Shatner’s
heyday (shortly before he became a self-parodying, perpetually
wealth-generating cottage industry unto himself) came in the 1980s,
when—at the same time he was reprising his role as James T. Kirk in
the Star Trek movies—he pounded the pavement and cleaned the
streets of slimy scum as the titular no-nonsense police sergeant in
T.J. Hooker, airing Sundays at 6:00 p.m. on Family
Net (check your local listings for additional weekday showings).
Shatner
as a uniformed police officer is about as high-concept as you can
get, making this the best cop show of all time. Shatner often gets
touted for his peerless hood jumping, but he was quite adept behind
the wheel as well. He could drift (brake-skidding the car on fast
turns) with the best of them, even when it wasn't necessary. And who
could forget that Shatastic ‘80s perm? (Again—real or fake? Check
out www.shatnerstoupee.blogspot.com.) The series also stars the
adorably smug Adrian Zmed, a very fresh-faced Heather Locklear, and
Shatner’s fellow aging pretty boy James Darren.
So
don’t forget to enjoy William Shatner in two of his most memorable
TV roles. Tune in every weekend, same Shat time, same Shat channel!
(Actually, that's two different times on two different
channels.)
--Raj
Manoharan
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