[Dr. Sivana]

Sure he’s a ham

In "Star Trek", he played a captain who himself was a ham. Perfect casting. And just by sticking around, doing record albums, Canadian grocery store ads, "Airplane!" cameos, Oldsmobile ads, TJ Hooker, Denny Crane, Priceline ads, game shows, he managed to transcend his own typecasting.

[Charles Martel]

Last week, I went to the Toyota Music center in Irving, Texas for a screening of "Wrath of Khan" and "A night of conversation with William Shatner". Bill spoke for about an hour after the movie ended, giving his insight on how that film kicked open the franchise to all that has followed, and reflected on everything from his co-stars and the guest hot babe du' jour, to driving - while already decked out in costume - his Corvette out to Vazquez Rocks before dawn for early filming on-site.

He had some interesting observations about how the recent Star Trek movies have been bent in the direction of "action" movies and away from sci-fi - and harkened back to his days on the stage when the rule was "Feed the beast" (meaning, give the audience what it wants). He seems unconcerned by the J.J. Abrams reboot in terms of style, blaming most of it on an audience that wants more "Iron Man" and less "Forbidden Planet". In that, he's probably correct. It was an enjoyable evening. Although Bill rambled a bit once or twice in stringing his thoughts together, I think he's remarkable for his age. Lots of energy, too - he only briefly sat in the big leather chair on stage to speak with the moderator (local radio guy), preferring to pace back and forth near the footlights of the stage.