TV – William Shatner Weekends Double “Bill”: Double the Bill, Double the Thrill

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