Cheers.

It was not until much later that I began to feel as though Shatner was underperforming as James Kirk. His performances, IMO, were great right up until STV. From that point, I think he really “phoned-in” his last three performances as the hero, Jim Kirk. I have always described it as being more Kirk-as-Shatner, as opposed to Shatner-as-Kirk. To me, there is a considerable dropoff in quality.

No matter what, I will always admire Shatner’s Kirk from 1965-1986, and that’s a pretty damned good run.

He was a bit “over the top” at times, in terms of melodrama, but he always sold the scene to us, the audience. Shatner’s acting is honestly one of the most enjoyable aspects of TOS, for me. When Shatner’s on screen, I’m never taken out of the scene by weak or ambivalent acting. Though, at times, I may have thought to myself, “Gosh, that Captain sure is melodramatic,” I always thought of that man as “Captain Kirk,” and never as “William Shatner playing Captain Kirk.”

So, Captain Kirk was a melodramatic Starship Captain. Which was great! It made him that much more enjoyable to be around. What a character!!

At any rate, the bottom line is that Shatner always SOLD the part. He kept all of the actors in the moment and made the whole, damned thing seem REAL.

That’s a good performance, no matter what anyone says.

There is no higher compliment than to be told, on a Star Trek board no less, that one’s logic is impeccable. Thank you!

I really think that is how this will play out, and it will be fun!

Iowagirl is wise. We hear her words.

#58
- …it would truly be one of the best moments in the legacy’s history, and wouldn’t hurt the movie a bit, if done correctly. He’s a class act. -

Amen.

#59
- …so maybe the “Kirk Walk” is really the Shatner walk? -

Tah Dah! Remember, so far our dear Bill has been the only person to portray Kirk, leading to the assumption that his mannerisms and quirks eventually became Kirk’s. Or show me Roddenberry’s memo saying: Kirk should prance about while only swiveling his forearms about his hips, unless he’s about to make a decision – in that case, he’s supposed to stop dead and additionally square his shoulders. :)