Have you seen his talk show? He know's what has made him a household name. So he plays to that. Wayne In a message dated 3/1/2010 10:36:28 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Re. satire versus seriousness, I'm with Jonathan on this one. Shatner's whole "Transformed Man" LP is full of painful stuff like that. (His cover of "Mister Tambourine Man" is actually kind of terrifying. It's like the Tambourine Man is Freddy Krueger or something. "I'll come FOLLOWIN' YA!") Add that to stories that folks like Walter Koenig and George Takei tell, and it's hard for me to take this as satire. Shatner reminds me of those little kids who start out being serious, get laughs, and then ham it up to keep getting attention. He does have good comic timing, though, it's true. He was hilarious when he hosted SNL (especially the bit where he posed in front of a mirror, flexing and complimenting himself, for the entire sketch). The bits in the early days of Boston Legal where every line of his dialogue for an entire scene would be inflections on "Denny Crane" could be very funny. Unfortunately David Kelley has the same ego/performance issues as Shatner, with no one (e.g. a director) to tell him when he's out to sea. Does Shatner know he's doing parody? By this point and based on some things he says, I think he must. But I also think he forgets. And sometimes, even when the schtick gets serious -- e.g. he did a cover of "Common People" with Joe Jackson that's not half bad. I suspect that's because Ben Folds rode him on the "interpretative" excesses. On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 8:41 AM, Jonathan Sherwood <[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > wrote: I don't know. I don't think he got into his satirical phase until much later. If I heard the audience laughing, then I'd believe it was meant to be a joke. Or if I saw the slightest twinkle in Shattner's eye to suggest he was poking fun at himself - but I think he was just trying to get his singing career off the ground. <slaps hands over eyes - I can't watch anymore!> On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 2:26 AM, Sal Armoniac <[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > wrote: PS: I laugh hysterically every time I see it! :) It's hilarious. On Mon, Mar 1, 2010 at 2:21 AM, Sal Armoniac <[email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) > wrote: Ha guys, didn't any of you see it as satiric? Shatner is playing that role to this day on Boston Legal. That character didn't come out of the blue. I'm convinced that that's a parody Shatner is doing of Shatner as he plays Kirk. :) Sarah -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) . To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) . For more options, visit this group at _http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en_ (http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en) . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) . To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) . For more options, visit this group at _http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en_ (http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en) . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "R-SPEC: The Rochester Speculative Literature Association" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/r-spec?hl=en.
