Must...talk...like...this!

When most people think about actors, they've usually got the award-winning superstars in mind. In so doing, they often overlook other equally talented, but underappreciated thespians. Which is a cool word, by the way. It almost sounds like an insult, even though it's really nothing of the sort. That aside, I have nothing against the likes of Tom Hanks. But I'd have to question anyone who believes he deserves those oscars any more than someone like William Shatner. Sure, William may have trouble pronouncing difficult words such as sabotage. He might also have trouble dealing with criticisms about his acting (here again), but that only stands to reason. After all, Shatner practically founded his own separate style of acting that is still used, abused and mocked to this day. I'm talking about the stilted, dramatic speeches he first pioneered as Captain James T. Kirk. It should be noted that this technique was also the greatest part of Adam West's acting arsenal when he portrayed the old Batman. This slow manner of speaking allowed the two of them to maximize their screen time on their own respective shows, and added a whole 'nother layer of cheese to the proceedings. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

Let's not forget that Shatner's career went far beyond the original Star Trek. Of course, in some cases, I would rather just forget it, but I'll get to that in due time. Fresh from Star Trek's 'success', William Shatner swept smoothly into the role of detective T. J. Hooker on his self-named show. I'll forgive you if you've never seen T.J. Hooker; you're not the only one. However, it did at least allow Shatner to get out of that tacky yellow Starfleet shirt. Although it's not like he didn't manage to do that in most episodes of Star Trek anyway. After T.J. Hooker and a rapidly (and blessedly) forgotten singing career, Shatner boldly took his career to where few awesome actors have gone before: Wendy's commercials. And frankly, I can see why few actors would want anything to do with this chain. I'll just chalk this up to the whole underappreciated thing. If Shatner were given his due, he would still be starring as the host of Iron Chef USA.

You might be wondering what I'm getting at by reciting a highly biased biography of Shatner's career. As I mentioned above, I believe Shatner deserves every bit as much recognition for his acting as people like Tom Hanks have received. Now, I'm not gonna try to claim that Shatner has an equivalently wide dramatic range or an ability to act out different emotions in a credible or genuine fashion. But in my view, that's not the point. If I want to see genuine emotions and such, I don't need to turn to actors. Speaking personally, I am very much amused by Shatner's blatant overacting and the cheesiness therein. To be honest, I find it much more engrossing than many of Hanks' serious roles. I'm not saying that Shatner is the better actor, only that I find him to be more entertaining. And that should count for something. If not an oscar, Shatner should receive some other sort of award. Preferably shaped like a block of cheese. Of course, he would probably claim that the whole ceremony was sabotaged.

Finally, I should mention that this quote was yet another suggestion from my overseas contact. He both suggested the topic and the link that I've already featured several times. If I haven't convinced you to visit it yet, I suggest you do so now. If you scroll down the page, you'll find a few sound files showcasing Shatner's rather unique pronounciation for sabotage and his response when anyone calls him on it. Enjoy.

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