$#*! William Shatner says

Legendary TV, movie personality brings one-man show to Wharton

Posted
Scrolling through William Shatner’s IMDb profile is like studying the pop culture fossil record — an assertion he all but confirms after I tell him, in a bold understatement, that he’s had a long career.

“I’ve been around so long,” he said, “I’ve solidified.”

Shatner, 81, has worked consistently in film and television for over 60 years, including the ‘60s seminal sci-fi series “Star Trek,” the ‘80s crap-tastic cop show “T.J. Hooker,” the ‘00s procedural law dramedy “Boston Legal” and, most recently, the low-rated sitcom “$#*! My Dad Says.” And Thursday, the actor formerly known as Captain Kirk brings his one-man show, “Shatner’s World: We Just Live in It,” to the Wharton Center for an evening of … well, maybe it’s best to let him explain it.

“I talk about music, comedy, horses, motorcycles, love, death,” he said by phone from Los Angeles.  “All the amusing things that I want to talk about. Expect to be entertained, expect to laugh and expect to be made to think.”

Wait, did he sneak motorcycles in there?

“Adds to the mystery, doesn’t it?” he said coyly. 

The 90-minute show is part autobiography, part performance piece and part philosophical exposition about his take on life. And he does like to keep you guessing, jumping in our interview from the state of science fiction to science fact to state-sanctioned same-sex marriages. 

On how advances in filmmaking technology have made science fiction more palatable:  

“(Computer-generated imagery) has grown to such an extent that it has changed the face of sci fi. When I was doing ‘Star Trek,’ the sets and special effects were so primitive that they were negligible. Now it’s hard to tell the difference between CGI and real life — CGI has made sci fi real. What used to be Cecil B. DeMille and 10,000 extras is now all done on a computer.” 

On the possibility of one day being beamed up by a real-life transporter: 

“They seem to have been able to move a molecule from one electrical point to another, and if you can move one molecule, eventually you’ll be able to move billions.” (He’s talking about a 2007 teleportation experiment by a researcher from the University of Vienna that was reportedly successful at transferring quantum information about 88 miles between two of the Canary Islands off the African coast.) 

On his straight “Boston Legal” character, Denny Crane, infamously marrying his straight friend/partner, played by James Spader, in the show’s final episode: 

“I’m pro-love. (Our characters) did it for tax reasons, but if gay people want to make it official and have (their union) blessed by the state, I’m for that.”

Besides the occasional spoken word tour, these days Shatner mostly does voice work, cameos and walk-on roles that riff on his “Star Trek” fame or his stilted … pattern … of line delivery. Although the art of self-parody can be traced (at least) back to Chaucer, Shatner is probably the poster child for it. Interestingly, his particular brand of good-natured humor may have played a vital role in the de-nerdifying of sci fi, particularly when it comes to his own brand. “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the sequel to the reboot of the franchise Shatner launched, is anticipated to be one of the summer’s biggest hits — its 2009 predecessor netted $385 million worldwide on a budget of $150 million. 

He may not pop up in the new incarnation of the film series, but with “Shatner’s World,” he’s proving that he’s not quite ready to be mothballed yet. So what does the classically trained actor/director/writer/singer see as his legacy to the entertainment world?   

“The basic form of entertainment has never varied,” Shatner said. “Around the campfire, people told stories and listeners had to use their imaginations. As a result, the theater of the mind is limitless. Words evoke something in your head that is entirely your own — that’s the basis of entertainment. It’s the actor connecting with the audience. And that’s what will happen at the Wharton Center.”

“Shatner’s World: We Just Live In It”
7:30 p.m.
Jan. 24
$78-$38
Wharton Center
(800) WHARTON
whartoncenter.com

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here




Connect with us