TJ Hooker Movie Update: Shatner Says It’s Time For Him To Be ‘Father Hooker’ July 14, 2009
by Anthony Pascale , Filed under: Shatner , trackback
Yesterday we ran a report about how the producer of the TJ Hooker: The Movie, was interested in bringing back members of the original cast of the 80s cop show, including William Shatner. Today Bill issued one of his enigmatic statements that indicated he is at least interested in a role, if not more. Details below.
Bill for TJ’s Daddy?
In both of our previous articles about the TJ Hooker movie, we suggested that Bill could potentially play the father of the new TJ Hooker, a role that is said to be an important part of the upcoming ‘action comedy.’ Just minutes ago, Bill sent out the following update on Twitter:
I’ve played Father Time long enough. Now it’s time to play Father Hooker. http://tinyurl.com/tjhooker
The link he sent out actually goes to yesterday’s TrekMovie.com story about the TJ Hooker movie. It isn’t exactly clear if Bill is just expressing an interest in the role, or if he is indicating that there are already talks underway. TrekMovie is trying to find out, and we will provide an update when we know. But with both Shatner and the producer seemingly of the same mind, things are looking good for Bill to end up in at least one feature film reboot from his past TV career.
Loading ...
Comments»
Shatner as TJ Hooker’s dad and Chris Pine as TJ Hooker!
First!?
Personally I think that since William Shatner wasn’t in Star Trek (BTW I agree with Roberto Orci that the hologram of William Shatner as Captain Kirk would have been awesome!) I think he should at least have the chance to play a part in TJ Hooker! Would be harsh for him to miss out on Both Star Trek and TJ Hooker, he’s Denny Crane for goodness sake, he’s not supposed to lose!
BRAD P., that would be funny if Chris Pine was T.J. Hooker . Pine could be speeding and crash his Dad’s (Shatner’s) corvette and a motorcycle cop that was chasing him could ask his name and he could say “Tiberious James Hooker!”
Good one, #3 Miek Ten
Shatner could have a granddaughter who sleeps around a lot….she becomes known as “that Hooker”
Every guy in town gets asked: Who was that hooker I saw you with last night?
Ahhh,….. whatever. I still love Shatner.
Would Heather Locklear also appear in the movie? That would be awesome.
I don’t care about the TJ Hooker movie, but I think The Shat should get the part of Father Hooker.
They should probably find a way to squeeze Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox in there somehow! :D
#2…
One Word…..AMEN.
1: “Shatner as TJ Hooker’s dad and Chris Pine as TJ Hooker!”
That’s hilarious. I would love to see that too.
Yes please- thank goodness. Let the Shat ham it up all he wants for TJ and keep him away from what is now a classily rebooted Trek.
#11 Nope lets have the best of both worlds and have him in TJ AND Trek.
The keep him away ‘tude is prejudice and not of the Star Trek spirit at all.
Hollyweird has become desperate to revive this crappy show.
By all means, use the services of Mr. Shatner while he’s still available. Although 20 years his junior, I become more aware each day how brief our time is in this universe.
#13 Bob
You’re entitled to your opinion, but in light of some of the stuff on the tubes/airwaves/Web these days – TJ Hooker is Shakespeare.
Or, to be more accurate – typical entertainment. Why bash one show when you could include thousands over the decades of prime time TV.
I’ve mellowed and generally find something to like in any of these vintage shows.
Life’s too short. Lighten up and enjoy.
Regards.
Well look at it this way: They are making a movie about the video game Asteroids. Why the hell not bring back TJ friggin’ Hooker. If Adrian Zmed is in it, I am watching. Mostly because of Bachlor Party and a little for Grease 2.
I actually really like that idea that was thrown out there, “THE SHAT” as father Hooker (maybe James Tiberius Hooker) and Chris Pine as TJ Hooker (Tiberius James Hooker)-lol
Seriously, I DO like the Pine idea!
Ahhhh… The age of the re-make.
Sorry Shat, I wont pay to see it.
The many repercussions of dying in ST: Generations.
Is this the only way you can get back on the silver screen? To parody yourself?
shatner should play a hooker in TJ hooker
3. Mike Ten
Since this is a comedy let push the Shatner/Pine angle!
There is an entire Star Trek fan base who woukd be at that one. The whole Star Trek movie introduction to Kirk could be restaged with a CIG “Young Shatner Hooker” chasing his son on a bike to the cliff face! Cue slap across the ears!
Then move 20 something years ahead when a drunken “Pine Hooker” is ticked off after a Bar fight by James Darren as “Captain Jim Corrigan” and sent off to Police Academy ……….
This could be as much fun as counting down to ST09!
This is just another sign that the “brain trust” in Hollywood has gone back to using lot’s of cocaine at developement meetings.. Because surely they can’t be this dumb.
Can they?
1: “Shatner as TJ Hooker’s dad and Chris Pine as TJ Hooker!”
That’s hilarious. I would love to see that too.
I 3rd that. That would be a great prelude to an appearance in the next Trek sequel!
If only he would go and see the damn movie. Thats gotta hurt JJ a bit.
Seriously- who care’s!! (still love Bill though!)
If there’s Pine again in a project that the Shat was in a couple of decades ago it would be too much for him :) That kind of stress at old age is not really good. Good joke though
Anyways, the show was crappy, and I won’t pay to see the feature film carved out of it. There are some funny indeas about Nimoy guest starring but he’s more clever than that…
For the last twenty years the Shat has played the buffoon and managed to lampoon his own image.
Now they want him in a comedy.
M’yeah……THAT he can do!
Hollywood is unlikely to ever cast him in a drama again.
That starship has sailed!
Leslie Neilsen and William Shatner have managed, as old Canadian actors, to have a second career playing clowns!
Remember, once you play CLOWN you never live it DOWN!
22. ilkers
I’d never pay for a serious version but this is supposed to be a comedy.
We haven’t had a good old Copper Comedy since the Police Academy days (well maybe Naked Gun). If it’s done comic style with the Shat in it, it should be a look see.
15: Don’t be hatin’ a classic. If you think an Asteroids movie is absurd, remember, A View-Master movie adaption is in talks.
Aside: Godspeed to the crew of the S.S. Triangle.
And yes, #3’s idea is pure WIN.
I just love all the smarmy remarks on here. Yeah, it never gets old or anything…
Anyway, I hope TJ Hooker creator Rick Husky is involved in some way.
Well, #3, all you need to do is close the movie with TJ Hooker, Sr. (Shatner) and his lifelong friend Paul McGuire (Nimoy) sitting on a verandah, talking, laughing, and having a drink as the sun sets over the ocean…. Then it’s golden…
As long as they aim for that Lethal Weapon audience, T J Hooker: The Motion Picture should work well. But who should be the “buddy” for TJ Hooker, Jr. (Pine)?
#11 – Awesome!
Let the Shat and Pine work together in that other movie (I’d watch it!), and let Pine lead the class act that is now Trek on his own from now on.
After that, Denny Crane, The Motion Picture.
I grew up with Hooker – jeez, I even watched it before I became aware of ST. When I first watched TOS I was wondering whether that Kirk guy was being played by the same guy who used to play Hooker…:)
In short, I love Hooker. It’s wonderfully cheesy, it’s fun, it’s entertaining, and it’s never taken itself too seriously – some “modern” shows can take a leaf out of Hooker’s book in this regard.
I think a film with the original cast would be cool. Don’t know who should play Hooker, but I’m game for anyone other than Pine.
I hear they’re doing a Holmes and Yoyo movie. Makes as much sense to me.
*And if anyone here knows that reference you watched too much TV like me and you get a cigar.
who’s playing Adrian Zmed’s hair?
knock yourself out bill!!
Hmmm. With Zachary Quinto as Officer Vince Romano. It’s all coming together!
I think it would be a touching plot line to have the elder Hooker showing his son how to ride on car hoods. Perhaps they could find themselves on a car hood together trying to stop the bad guys. Makes me weepy just thinking about it.
Never watched TJ Hooker. Was a TOS fan. Also couldn’t get into the short lived Barbary Coast series with the Shat. Is that coming next? I’d rather see him in a Boston Legal movie. But if TJ Hooker is to be a comedy, he has already proven he can do that with Boston Legal. More power to him.
“Shatner and Pine together again, for the very first time. In 3D.”
Hooker Sr.: Somebody…help me off… thehoodofthiscar!
Hooker Jr.: Lighten up, cupcake!
actually Pine and Shat are in a movie togther. Quantum Quest: Cassini Space Odyssey…at least their voices will be together…along with Mark Hamill, James Earl Jones, Hayden Christensen(all the Skywalkers!) Sam L Jackson, Robert Picardo, Brent Spiner, and Neil Armstong!!
The story of a young photon forced from the sun on a journey of discovery!
WOW…TREK and WARS and a real astronaut… together at last!!
Due out 12-25-09 …AWESOME!!!
They can also cast George Takaie as the bad guy for Shatners Older T.J. Hey with George being the bad guy hating T.J Sr. There would be no acting required for Takaie. It would all be real. I can hear him say it now. Hookerrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.tj-hooker.com/multimedia/tj_snl.mov
one thing that gives pause for thought…
If Shatner plays the ORIGINAL TJ Hooker (and the new guy whoever they get plays his son) then wouldnt it have to be an action drama? (like the tv show or Lethal Weapon)
but If Shatner dosnt play the original Hooker…but is still the father of TJ Hooker (new guy) then i guess it can be a Starsky & Hutch style action comedy (as they seem to be planning)
i dont see how a fairly serious action drama show (as TJ Hooker was)can suddenly change its tone and be a slapstick style romp…itd be like NYPD Blue doing a Police Academy style movie and getting Dennis Franz to goof about
Twenty bucks says if Star Trek hadn’t been so successful, a TJ Hooker movie wouldn’t be considered now. Shatner probably pitched the idea himself.
Good to see that at least one set of producers appreciates what Shatner did for the respective franchise. I’d like to see Shatner as the original Hooker, with the movie being about his son, Tommy, aka TJ Hooker Jr.
It would be just like Shaft with Samuel L. Jackson. Richard Roundtree, the original Shaft, played his original character–Jackson’s uncle.
They did well.
I’m sorry to say I’ve never even seen this show before. I’ve always known OF it, though. Was it generally good?
31 = funny! nice trek connection with John Schuck too :)
Would be a shame IMO, if Shatner went out as TJ Hooker being his swan song instead of Kirk.
44–yes, it was a good show. It was a great role for Shatner. It wasn’t Kirk, but it was a very good character. Hooker was a no nonsense, old school, badass cop. He was experienced, taught at the academy, and set a great example for his young partner Romano.
The first 2 seasons are on DVD. Shatner was awesome in the role, and it actually had a longer run than Star Trek. If they are SMART, and don’t change the genre, they could have a REALLY good movie on their hands, especially with Shatner as the original TJ Hooker.
As others have said, this movie SHOULD target a Lethal Weapon type audience. If Shatner isn’t the Danny Glover type character, then someone else should be, while the title character (the original TJ Hooker’s son), could be the hotshot.
It could work very well.
And I think Chris Pine would never take the part, but it would be a genius casting move for the producers. Pine took the challenge of stepping into the role of James Kirk, and didn’t make a mockery of it. He was not written as a comedic character. He was written as a serious character. He could play the son of TJ Hooker just as well.
I won’t pay to see it specifically, but I’d probably check it out on HBO eventually.
I think at this point in his career, this is the type of role (comedic and self-parodic) he can play well. I just hope they have the good sense to keep him off the hood of any cars.
Good for him. I love seeing Shatner in comedies. His part in that “Showtime” movie with Eddie Murphy and DeNiro was laugh-out-loud hilarious.
78, and still going strong. It gives one hope.
Me? I’m waiting for word on the “Barbary Coast” reboot.
#44, yes it was considered by many to be one of the best iconic shows ever on TV. Mash, All in the Family, I Love Lucy…TJ Hooker. Up there with the best.
#51
What are you smokin’???
OK…so I Love Lucy was not one of the best shows. Still pretty good for it’s day though.
In case the link was missed…
From SNL…
http://www.tj-hooker.com/multimedia/tj_snl.mov
I might go see it if he uses the old toupee.
Frank… think of how many shows have “borrowed” from the I Love Lucy format and style. It definitely is iconic of the era, and one of the top shows mentioned by anyone talking about classic TV.
oh wait. you were being sarcastic. I get it. :-)
Baballoo! Hey, don’t apologize for I Love Lucy. It’s the classic sitcom and Desi and Lucy pretty much created TV syndication. Let’s not forget that Desi(Arnaz)Lu(cille Ball produced four little shows, “Mannix”, “That Girl”, “Mission Impossible”, and that little thing called “Star Trek”. Lucy took a chance on Trek when no one else would. #14, I have to laugh, yes, TJ Hooker looks like Shakespeare compared to some stuff on TV. True. In my opinion anyhow.
I remember reading in “Inside Star Trek” that Luci first thought Star Trek was about celebrities traveling the South Pacific for fun and adventure until someone told her different.
#56—-”I might go see it if he uses the old toupee.”
I don’t think I could ever bring myself to request “two for TJ Hooker”…
I loved TJ Hooker! Maybe now they will release seasons 3 & 4 on DVD.
#50 “Good for him. I love seeing Shatner in comedies. His part in that “Showtime” movie with Eddie Murphy and DeNiro was laugh-out-loud hilarious.”
Agred. Who else would dare steal scenes from Eddie Murphy AND Robert DeNiro in one fell swoop? And he did it so brilliantly. Shat is da man!
11. Yes, jokes about Kirk sleeping with farm animals. To say nothing of the whole swollen hands thing. Very classy.
And to all you seriously suggesting Pine as Hooker–um, have you ever seen the show? (No, probably not, too young.) Do you even know what the premise is?
Seems the Shat is as desperate as ever
#60 … If you had to choose between buying 2 tickets to TJ Hooker, or having Shat in ST XII……which would you choose?
The only way I’d pay to see this is if Shatner were playing an actual hooker.
“Hello, I’m William Shatner – Male Prostitute.”
63–yes I have. But that doesn’t rule out Pine if Shatner plays the original TJ Hooker. I don’t really think a 50 something having Dad issues really works. But even though Pine is in his 20s, it’s not like he couldn’t play a cop in his 30s.
#65—” If you had to choose between buying 2 tickets to TJ Hooker, or having Shat in ST XII……which would you choose?”
Sadly, my lack of confidence in Bill’s ability to pull off a credible Jim Kirk at this point (assuming that is what he would be doing) leads me to choose the former which, of course, would be all over in a mere hour and a half.
I’ve already said goodbye to Shatner in a Star Trek movie…twice.
#63—”…have you ever seen the show? (No, probably not, too young.)”
Sadly, I am not too young to have been spared .
“Do you even know what the premise is?”
Let’s see, um…cliche cop show?
Aging veteran policeman…check.
Hotshot rookie…check.
Failed marriage…check.
Cornball jokes…check.
Ridiculous action sequences…check.
But solid parody material for sure.
Nomad – #64 – Shatner, desperate? That’s very unlikely.
But I guess having amassed all of your great success and vast wealth, you can throw stones.
#60 – Correction….the old toupee AND Shatner playing each character.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVMLivHTXac&feature=PlayList&p=14EACC3D799E5C5A&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=7
Pine would make a great comedic TJ.
Pine is the most memorable part of Smokin Aces. His introduction as a skiinhead hitman who has…ahem…a strange and funny conversation with Ben Affleck is classic.
#70
Hey, you don’t have to be a chicken to judge an egg!
#42 “i dont see how a fairly serious action drama show (as TJ Hooker was)can suddenly change its tone and be a slapstick style romp…itd be like NYPD Blue doing a Police Academy style movie and getting Dennis Franz to goof about”
Within any franchise, the tone can go from dark to light and back. In Trek, witness episodes like “The Trouble With Tribbles” or “A Piece of the Action”. Comedy doesn’t have to mean slapstick, but those ST:TOS episodes came pretty durn close.
Or look at some spinoffs from older TV shows: “Lou Grant” from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, or “Trapper John, MD” from “M*A*S*H”. Granted those went from comedic to dramatic, but there’s no real reason it can’t work the other way.
TJH Jr.: (leaps onto hood of moving car, slides off and under the wheels, bumpity-bump)
TJH Sr.: (facepalm)
-sigh- the stories emanating from this site sure have slowed down. My daily fix is wanting more.
–grin–
74 – i see what your saying Dunsel
but if they gonna go down the Starsky & Hutch route for the movie…full on slapstick which will more than likely be set in the ripe for ridicule 1980s and having Shatner as Hookers father then itd be a reboot…not a continuation of the tv series set present day with Shatner as the original Hooker mentoring his son
although the 2004 Starsky & Hutch was made as a prequel to the original series…much like TOS and the new Star Trek movie, the origins of S&H and how they met had never been explored so they went with that…but added over the top comedy plus a confusing cameo for Glazer and Soul (did the future S&H get thrown back to the 70s via some red matter?)
action comedy? No, thank you. Bill, stay away from this crap.
#78
Yeah, you’re right, since there are SO MANY dramatic roles being offered to him!
i remember a friend of mine who was a big Hooker fan (TJ Hooker…not the other kind:)…anyway he was obviously aware of shatner being captain star trek but just wasnt in to it at all and hadnt seen any of the films and just the odd ep before switching over etc…he only really knew Shatner as Hooker…whenever i mentioned shatner hed go ‘TJ Hooker’…hes gonna be so pumped for this movie…
i guess a similar thing happened with Patrick Stewart in that yeah he was Captain of the Enterprise but some people really only came to know him as Proff X…
oh and they simply must incorperate the theme tune in there and that bit at the end with Hooker running and running and running in the shadows until at last its revealed as shatner
man there is SO MUCH they can rip into – the roof jumps, hanging on a car hood/airplane, the hairdos, Zmed, the opening credits, etc etc
its gonna be so much fun if they get it right….a Starksky & Hutch style Hooker movie will be pretty damn big i think…i mean what did S&H do? around $200m ww? (ok not star trek big then lol)
#79 you had me laughing like crazy, god bless you :)
Glad you got a laugh!
#79 “Yeah, you’re right, since there are SO MANY dramatic roles being offered to him!”
It’s the whole “action comedy” thing that makes me uncomfortable :)
#83
Yes, I can see that! Shatner is unlikely to do much of the action and his buffoonish performance as Denny Crane proves he can do comedy…..where’s the problem?
As it’s had more time to percolate… it’s clear that unlike the crap Starsky & Hutch movie… if written well, TJ Hooker: The Motion Picture could actually be really funny… and not just two actors using their catalog of strange facial expressions to pass for acting.
TJH:TMP writers need to aim for Lethal Weapon and Rush Hour type action-comedy.
Ah, yes, even better that TJ Junior (Tommy)’s partner be a guy like John Cho who can do martial arts… with George Takei as an evil Asian gang lord. If the producers could have Pine/Cho as the leads, with Shatner and Takei as the “old wisemen”… this thing will be box office gold for the stunt casting alone!
Plus, action comedy is the perfect format to do this. Just give all 4 of them a % of the take… then they’d do it. Fun release, great way to put the Shatner/Takei feud to rest once and for all, too.
#77 – “…but if they gonna go down the Starsky & Hutch route for the movie…”
I can’t really address that, as I never saw the S&H movie. I was actually mildly fond of the series, and I assiduously avoided the film – not becuase I disliked the idea of a “comedy” version, but rather because I find the performers who took the project approximately as entertaining as a root canal minus the anesthetic.
#84 “his buffoonish performance as Denny Crane”
You mean his 2 time Emmy winning performance? Denny was more than just a buffoon. True, he was used for laughs more often than not, but the Alzheimer’s storyline was also very moving at times. There were moments of drama for Shatner to play during BL’s 5 year run, usually when Denny would confess his vulnerability and his fears to Alan or Shirley. And I recall those bringing tears to my eyes several times. I’m sure I was not the only one. Shatner is a good enough actor to handle a broad range of roles.
#87—I never could get into BL, but alot of people (mostly much older than me) really enjoyed it. I do think that was the perfect role for Shatner at the perfect time.
No matter what anyone thinks of him, he has portrayed some memorable (to various degrees) television characters:
James T. Kirk
TJ Hooker
Denny Crane
(and let’s not forget) The Priceline Negotiator
#88
And let’s not forget Shatner’s outstanding work playing Jeff Cable on Barbary Coast!!
Closettrekker, how could you ever forget THAT piece of work??!!
#89—Honestly never saw it.
Wasn’t that some sort of “Wild Wild West” ripoff?
Now THAT was definitely a time in his life when Bill Shatner desperately needed a paycheck.
” #84 “his buffoonish performance as Denny Crane”
You mean his 2 time Emmy winning performance? Denny was more than just a buffoon. ”
Agreed. So sad to see such un-informed opinions by those who clearly never saw the show. Forgive me if I lend a bit more credence to Shatner’s peers in the industry…you know, the ones that awarded him the emmys?
#90
Yeah, it was on for one season back in 1975 followed up by the epic Kingdom of the Spiders in 1977!
If Star Trek” the Motion Picture hadn’t come along in 1979, it would have been very interesting to see what would have happened to Mr. Shatner’s “career”!
#91 “never saw the show”
Wrong! I watched every episode of Boston Legal, not for the Shat, but for James Spader’s wonderful performance! The Shat was merely adequate in his role!
And don’t be fooled by who wins awards…..ever since Art Carney won an Oscar for Harry+Tonto beating out Jack Nicholson in The Last Detail, I’ve learned not to trust them!
The idea of having a lack of confidence in Shatner’s ability to play Kirk is mindboggling. The guy CREATED THE CHARACTER. He MADE Kirk the legendary character he became. And let’s face it, he’s more on the top of his game than ever, receiving yet ANOTHER Emmy nomination.
Of COURSE he can play Kirk again. He just hasn’t been given the chance.
There HAVE been episodes of Boston Legal where Denny was more than comic relief and Shatner had to do more serious acting, and THOSE were the best episodes of them all.
The man is a BRILLIANT actor. There’s a reason he has been in the business this long.
Sorry, I meant Chinatown, not Last Detail!
#92 “it would have been very interesting to see what would have happened to Mr. Shatner’s ‘career’!”
No one, including Shatner, has ever tried to deny that he owes his success to Star Trek. And let’s not forget that Star Trek owes at least part of its success to him! But it’s what’s he has managed to do with that success that is nothing short of amazing. He hasn’t appeared in Star Trek in 15 years, and here he is, arguably more famous than ever before. How many other nearly-80 year old actors can you think of who even approach his level of success? Whether performing an award winning role, doing charity work, expressing his creativity in new ways as he did in Has Been, or simply having a little fun with his own image and cashing in as the spokesman for Priceline, the man is a prime example of living life to the fullest.
And I disagree that he was “merely adequate” in BL. I thought he was terrific, as did many others, obviously. As I said, he was equally capable of getting laughs and great sympathy.
Harry, your attempts to belittle Shatner’s career are, as Spock might say, “shadows without substance.” ;-)
Shatner_Fan_Prime
I’ll give one thing to you, you’re persistent!
I admire your diligence in standing up for the Shat! Good for you!
#93—”The idea of having a lack of confidence in Shatner’s ability to play Kirk is mindboggling.”
I happen to think his portrayals of Kirk became cheapened over the years, and that they were far from the quality of his earlier work with the character.
“The guy CREATED THE CHARACTER. He MADE Kirk the legendary character he became.”
He also turned the character into a caricature in later years, as far as I’m concerned.
TOS-TVH=William Shatner as James T. Kirk=great
TFF-GEN=James T. Kirk as William Shatner=not so good
“Of COURSE he can play Kirk again. He just hasn’t been given the chance. ”
He was given the chance in TFF, TUC, and GEN. Although Nick Meyer managed to get a decent performance out of him in TUC, it is flanked by two awful pieces of work with the character, IMO.
There is nothing out there which suggests to me that he would play the role any better now than he did 15 years ago.
And look, in my opinion, he played the character very well for about 20 years—and that’s more than just pretty damned good…but that’s a far cry from believing that he can still deliver JTK convincingly. I’m sorry.
“…he’s more on the top of his game than ever”
Well, I think he was most on top of his game in the early-mid 80’s, when he was churning out feature films left and right—-but I don’t deny either his talent or his deserved success. I just don’t think I want to see him don a Starfleet uniform again. I don’t need to. I remember him as JTK perfectly well, and quite fondly, but I do so in spite of his later performances in the role—not because of them.
#97
Closettrekker, I agree with your assessment! That’s exactly how I feel!
Father Hooker? More like Great Grandfather Hooker! Seriously though, I think he should do a cameo (like in the Starsky & Hutch movie). If he wants to do more, that might be cool. Pine should at least do a cameo! Also like Sulu as the bad guy! You guys are hilarious…
97: “He was given the chance in TFF, TUC, and GEN. Although Nick Meyer managed to get a decent performance out of him in TUC, it is flanked by two awful pieces of work with the character, IMO.”
In all fairness, TFF was Shatner’s project of him directing himself, and although I love Shatner, I think it’s also fair to say he probably doesn’t do his best work either when he’s in charge of himself or a weak director is in charge of him. At least in later years beyond TOS.
And Generations sucked all the way around the block. It was a lousy movie with lousy writing and perhaps the most pathetic death scene I have ever seen for so great a character as Kirk.
#100—”…it’s also fair to say he probably doesn’t do his best work either when he’s in charge of himself or a weak director is in charge of him.”
I’ll agree with that assessment.
“And Generations sucked all the way around the block. It was a lousy movie with lousy writing and perhaps the most pathetic death scene I have ever seen for so great a character as Kirk.”
Again—agreed, but I think Shatner’s ‘tongue-in-cheek performance’ was right on par with every bit of that.
That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that he would deliver something on the level of what I grew up seeing decades ago out of him and, by extension, the character.
I just think that his time with Trek has come and gone for the better.
Some of you here love Shatner no matter what and that’s fine, but here’s another consideration nagging at some of us:
I loved Shatner in TOS, thought he did an AMAZING job! Gre up adorong his performance as Kirk. Then, as Closettrekker said in the above post, by TVH on he seemed to be “phoning it in”………but here’s the part that really irritates me:
To have someone portray a fictional role model who you practically worshipped, only many years later to act like a buffoon/clown (yes, my opinion) almost seems to take away, or shall we say diminish if not tarnish, what our original perception was…..it’s hard to accept being shown the cracks in your hero’s armour!
I guess to grow up admiring someone for the image they put forward, only to find that the emperor has no clothes….well, that is unsettling to say the least!
And even accepting that they have gone on to a second career by lampooning their own image is ok, please don’t suggest that they can wash away the silliness and step back into hero mode again. That particular starship has long since sailed!
Make that “Grew up adoring”
Damn typonians!
oh and number 24 Shatner just garnerd ANOTHER best suporting actor in a DRAMATIC SERIES this morning for his role in Boston Legal.
so your full of it saying he will never be in any other Dramatic parts again.
101: “That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence that he would deliver something on the level of what I grew up seeing decades ago out of him and, by extension, the character.”
Well if he does end up in the next movie, I think whoever is directing ought to take Nick Meyer’s advice on how to handle Mr. Shatner. From Meyer’s “The View From the Bridge” @ http://trekmovie.com/2009/06/22/exclusive-excerpt-from-upcoming-nicholas-meyer-star-trek-memoir/:
The first time Shatner delivered “Here it comes,” his sneer dripped off the lens. “Bill,” says I, “this guy is some kind of über genius. You telegraph like that, he’s gonna raise his shields in a second. Let’s try it again.”
The second take was similarly heavyhanded but, as it happened, no good for sound. (A stratagem I had contrived beforehand.) The third take, I think the focus was soft—and so on. Eventually Shatner became bored and when he got bored he got good. He dropped the attitudes he was prone to strike and instead became Kirk, with no trimmings. It was a good trick to stumble on and it happened early enough in the shoot that I was able to make good use of it throughout. (The only difficulty was ensuring that Shatner, who got better with every take, did not have to appear in a two-shot with someone who was at his best on take one and thereafter deteriorated.) When all’s said and done, however, a director can only do so much; Shatner’s triumph in the movie is his own, the product of his own intuition and his gift.
And since when is playing a man who is suffering from early stages of Alzheimer Disease, playing a clown.
Deep Down Denny Crane Knew he had it for a good run of the series, but did not want to admit that is what it was, so his character tries to play off the signs, while everyone around him knew what was really happening with him.
There is a reason why he has been nominated so many times in the Dramatic catagory for this character, and its not cause he is playing a clown.
True he has been in some stinkers over the post trek years, but boston legal has shown when given great scripts, great direction he is one of the finest televison actors of his generation.
one final post on this subject, i had the pleasure of being in a scene(albiet in the background) for an episode of boston legal durring its final season, and the guy is on of the most proffesional actors while at work.
#105—Yeah, I read the article too. It’s actually pretty old news. Meyer first revealed that (although not quite in so much detail) years ago.
“Well if he does end up in the next movie…”
Then Orci, Kurtzman, and Lindelof (who have already committed to writing the sequel, regardless of who ends up directing it) will most likely have some explaining to do.
Lindelof has come out and made the statement that they are finished with time travel (which they feel has served its purpose)—so that rules out moving the story to a point where either Shatner could portray the altered Kirk at a later stage in life, or Prime Kirk somehow appears in the altered timeline at an age where Shatner could plausibly portray him in the first place.
And given their professed devotion to MWI/QM as applied to present and future Trek under their guidance, they cannot credibly suggest communication and/or travel between parallel universes (without betraying MWI)—-ruling out any appearance of an older MU Kirk portrayed by Shatner.
The only seemingly feasible ways to do it would be to either recycle the previous idea of the Kirk hologram (which would beg the question by viewers as to how it got there in the first place without being a part of the story in ST09, to say nothing of why it would somehow fit this story better than it did ST09), or to have Shatner appear as a character other than Jim Kirk.
Needless to say, it (an “organic” Shatner appearance in the sequel) isn’t a likely scenario to begin with.
It appears as if that particular starship has already left orbit, regardless of any nostalgia-inspired desire on the part of the writers to work it in….unless this is somehow going to be a re-imagining of “The Deadly Years”! :)
108: “The only seemingly feasible ways to do it would be to either recycle the previous idea of the Kirk hologram (which would beg the question by viewers as to how it got there in the first place without being a part of the story in ST09, to say nothing of why it would somehow fit this story better than it did ST09)”
They could do the hologram route turning him into an interactive hologram like Jor El in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, perhaps as a gift Spock Prime gives to Kirk Pine, which Spock saved for the right moment to present. But yes, it ought to be organic and an important part of the story in the same way that Spock Prime was an important part of the story in Trek ‘09. I would think it would be used at least 3 times during the movie for an important reason each time.
I think that would be a good way to do it, because I certainly don’t want to see any more convoluted time travel stories. I bought it this time because I understood the reasoning behind the trick, but no more please.
And I would rather not see Shatner in a Trek movie at all, if the only other way of having him in the film was to play some other part. You can do that to Mark Lenard, but you can’t do that to William Shatner. It just wouldn’t feel right.
#40, ha, that would be funny to have George play the bad guy in Hooker movie, that would be a real hoot…Shat was awesome in TOS, but I thought he was pretty bad in TJ…
closettreker, thats actually a pretty feasable idea you said, i wonder if the writers (given the fact they are fans of TOS) have given anythought about possibly reimagineing an episode like the deadly years, the cool thing about something like that is it wouldnt have to be just limited to shatner perhaps even change members of the landing party and make it possible for other original cast members who are still alive to come back(since unfortunately jimmy doohan and de kelley are no longer with us)
people should bring that up as a possibilty if they are ever at a con where the writters or jj or any of the creative people behind the scenes might be.
“102. Harry Ballz – July 16, 2009
Some of you here love Shatner no matter what and that’s fine, but here’s another consideration nagging at some of us:”
Harry …
Some of you hate Shatner no matter what …
#112
My gawd, man, didn’t you read the rest of my post ? At least I tried to explain my perception of the older Shatner! I don’t “hate Shatner”, I just don’t think he should come back as Kirk any more. Sheesh!
If there was one thing about Generations that didn’t fail, it was the opening scene in the 23rd century. Shatner upstaged Stewart in that movie. The problem with the nexus stuff was more that the character wasn’t written as Kirk. It could have been any generic character that just happened to be there. Even the backstory, where they made up that whole stupid Antonia thing, was a waste.
It’s a movie–you have a bigger budget–ever think of writing a scene for Joan Collins?
But anyway, Shatner as Kirk in Trek VI and Generations was fine. The guy is still turning in emmy nominated performances. To say he couldn’t do the role that he created is ridiculous. It’s a question of giving him the chance, and a good script to work with.
There are many problems with Trek. Shatner’s ability to play Kirk isn’t one of them.
The bottom line is that in this first movie, a false sense of hope for Shatner’s appearance was given by the producers. We all know how that worked out.
Abrams also flat out said that he wasn’t ruling out the possibility of Shatner in Trek XII. So despite any statement about no more time travel, it’s not impossible. Granted, Abrams has zero credibility when it comes to delivering Shatner in a Trek movie, but I at least hold out some hope that he won’t repeat his mistakes. At least maybe this time, Abrams will just deal with it early to avoid the bitterness from this film which exists despite the movie’s success.
#114—”There are many problems with Trek. Shatner’s ability to play Kirk isn’t one of them.”
If you liked his last three portrayals of the character, then of course— to you it was not a problem.
“…a false sense of hope for Shatner’s appearance was given by the producers. ”
Or a sense of dread at the prospect of such an appearance in a film which the producers wanted mainstream audiences to take seriously …depending upon to whom you spoke at the time.
“… Abrams has zero credibility when it comes to delivering Shatner in a Trek movie…”
Yes—we’ve all seen your suggestions that the producers were somehow dishonest. I guess you’ve narrowed it down to Abrams alone now, huh?
If I say that I like someone in particular, and go on to say that I am going on a trip and would like to find a way to take that person along—-only to discover later that there is not enough room in the car for said person, in which case I say that said person regrettably cannot come——do I suddenly have “zero credibility”? What kind of sh!t is that?
Whether you want to do something or not, it has to work in order to get it done. Discovering that something you wish to do isn’t going to work does not affect your “credibility”. In fact, deciding not to force such a thing demonstrates objectivity.
There is nothing wrong with Abrams claiming that he wanted to find a role for Bill, and no reason to question his sincerity in that. But ultimately, such a role had to work with the story at hand. If anything were to come off out of place or seemingly forced—-it isn’t pinned on the writers/executive producers (who did create a scene for Bill), but upon the director. He is the one held solely responsible for the end product.
I loved the movie (saw it four times), and an appearance by Shatner in the film could not possibly have made my experience with it any better. It would have either had no effect for me, or it would have made it worse.
I have no reason to believe that Abrams was unjustified in determining that Shatner’s presence was not beneficial to the story he wished to tell.
We’ve said our goodbyes to Bill in a Starfleet uniform….twice. I didn’t need to do it again.
” I at least hold out some hope that he won’t repeat his mistakes.”
Since he ultimately determined that the appearance wouldn’t be right for the story, I would say he avoided a mistake.
Ooooh, Closettrekker, you’re COOKIN’ today!
#102 “And even accepting that they have gone on to a second career by lampooning their own image is ok, please don’t suggest that they can wash away the silliness and step back into hero mode again.”
Oh, but I will suggest it! It’s called ACTING. A good actor can play different roles, whether comedic or dramatic. Michael Keaton was hilarious as Beetlejuice. A year later he was serious (and awesome) as my favorite screen Batman. I’ve never bought the argument by some that Shatner couldn’t switch back to drama after doing comedy. That’s having a pretty limited vision, IMO.
At this point it’s not worth debating! The chance for Shat to reprise his classic role is gone. I would’ve loved to see it, but it’s too late now. But I still think he should be offered some role in ST XII. Perhaps a poignant scene where Shat (as Tiberius Kirk) relays some advice to Pine.
The REAL question is whether a T.J. Hooker movie will make more money than “Star Trek”.
#118 “whether a T.J Hooker movie will make more money than “Star Trek”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…………(wipes tear)…….Oh, GOOD one!!
#118—”The REAL question is whether a T.J. Hooker movie will make more money than “Star Trek”. ”
Assuming you’re serious, what makes that the REAL question?
It most likely wouldn’t need to do so in order to be deemed successful.
I suspect a TJ Hooker feature would make more money than Star Trek did (last weekend).
#121, LOL, considering Trek is making less than $99K/day now, that would not be hard.
I think we can safely say it will not make the $104 million “Harry Potter” made it’s opening day yesterday, or Transformer’s opening day gross.
Then again, there’s no accounting for taste. Hooker did run for two more seasons than Trek did and generally had higher ratings.
The REAL question is, which is more popular, Kirk or Hooker? Only the box office can decide that. Yes Trek was considered by Paramount to successful before it grossed $200M worldwide, but it certainly isn’t as popular as Transformers or Harry Potter, or even UP.
“Hooker did run for two more seasons than Trek did and generally had higher ratings.”
Well, it only ran in primetime for 3 seasons before being cancelled by ABC, and then had its final season on CBS in a latenight slot.
That’s 4 seasons to Star Trek’s 3, and 90 episodes to Star Trek’s 79 (not including the original pilot which did not air in its initial run).
And Trek is unique in that its popularity developed far more in syndication than during its initial run. To this day (and its syndication peak is long gone), Star Trek (TOS) is being shown on television every year just about everywhere you go in the United States.
I’m afraid one cannot say the same for “TJ Hooker”…
A better rating system in the mid-80’s ensured that ABC and CBS knew that there was an audience for Hooker and what demographic that was, even if those ratings were only primetime worthy for the first two seasons.
I think it is ridiculous to suggest that there is even a chance that ‘TJ Hooker’ is more popular than ‘Star Trek’.
A Hooker movie will tank/flop/bomb, just like Land of the Lost earlier this summer. These tv remakes are almost never hits, the MI series being a rare exception. But, hey, if it give The Shat another chance to ham it up on the big screen, I’ll go see it.
#124 “The Shat another chance to ham it up on the big screen”
Why do some of you people insist on slamming Shatner every chance you get? He is, without a doubt, one of the finest actors to ever grace the silver screen! He is adept at both drama AND comedy! Lay off the Shat!
Well, Harry, somehow I doubt the writers of the TJ Hooker parody are going to offer The Shat a chance to return to his Shakespearean roots. I could be mistaken, however.
Shatner_Fan_Prime
okay, sarcasm doesn’t work! I’ll have to see if you’ll nibble at something more subtle! :>)
How about a Star Trek/Boston Legal/TJ Hooker crossover?
Abrams can re-imagine “Court-Martial”, and Denny Crane can take the place of Samuel T. Cogley in defending Kirk…and sometime during the confrontation between Kirk and the villain, said villain could attempt to escape in a shuttle—-and both Kirk and Denny Crane could jump on the hood of the shuttle while Quinto and Heather Locklear (who sleeps with both Kirk and Crane along the way) try to prevent the bay doors from opening.
I’m telling you…that’s box office gold!!! :)
123. Closettrekker wrote:“I think it is ridiculous to suggest that there is even a chance that ‘TJ Hooker’ is more popular than ‘Star Trek’.”
I do too. Who said that?
But if box office is all that’s required for success, here’s a scenario:
If almost every Star Trek fan (at least the TOS ones) go see a T.J. Hooker film just to see William Shatner in it, that gets them a solid box office foundation right there.
Then, they cast a big star (Will Smith?) who will also attract a certain amount of box office, give Heather Lockleer a cameo, plus add the original fans of Hooker who were neither Trek fans nor Shatner fans and there’s your success.
If it beats Star Trek’s B.O. (by some fluke), then there’s your popularity.
It’s all perception. As of right now? No, by all empirical evidence Hooker is not currently as popular as Trek. But prior to 6 months ago, Star Trek wasn’t very popular since Enterprise either.
Stick in a nude scene with Heather Locklear (playing soccer with them) and you’ve got box-office gold!
#129—” Who said that?”
Well, if your question is really ‘who suggested that there was a chance that TJ Hooker was more popular than Kirk?’ , then the answer is: you did, as I understood it.
I realize that I actually typed “Star Trek” instead of “Kirk” by mistake, but the reply was meant to be to post #122.
Your contention was that a question exists as to whether TJ Hooker is more popular than Kirk, and then went on to cite the run and comparative popularity of Hooker vs. Trek as the basis for such a question.
(from post #122)
“The REAL question is, which is more popular, Kirk or Hooker? Only the box office can decide that.”
If you think it is as ridiculous a suggestion as I do, then why would it be a question at all—-much less the “real” question?lol
“If it beats Star Trek’s B.O. (by some fluke), then there’s your popularity.”
Even then, I wouldn’t concede that.
That would suggest only that the two individual films’ popularity would be in favor of the TJ Hooker comedy—-not that the two characters of Hooker and Kirk would necessarily favor the former.
“…prior to 6 months ago, Star Trek wasn’t very popular…either.”
I think that would be discounting staying power and cultural icon status.
Star Trek featuring Kirk has spanned 79 epsiodes and 8 feature films, as well as spawning 4 live action spinoffs, 22 animated episodes, about a thousand books, and 3 other spinoff films—all over a period of more than 43 years (all of which have seen the original 79 episodes in successful syndication).
TJ Hooker lasted for three seasons in prime time on ABC, one on late night CBS (for a grand total of less than 90 hours of mid-80’s television), and a few years in syndication (of which there has been none at all in the last 4 years, and prior to 2005, very little at all).
It’s not even close. This movie could have to do TDK-type numbers and I still wouldn’t consider the prospect of that character being more popular than Kirk.
To stick with your example scenario, what that would mean to me is that Will Smith is simply more popular than Pine—and that’s hardly the same thing as saying that TJ Hooker is more popular than Kirk.
#131 – I don’t debate Trek’s relative historical popularity at all. As for what I said was “there is no accounting for taste”. Hooker did better than Trek did during its run. I did not qualify it further. Obviously what I think of Hooker and Trek and what the majority of Neisen families thought of them are completely different. In the end, the only point I was trying to make was this:
popularity=what have you done lately
One can say “Star Trek” IS more popular, but that can all change overnight, by any estimation.
I seriously doubt Hooker could spin off a whole new franchise that would compete with Star Trek on any level, then again, I would not have thought some transforming toys incorporated into an insipid plot would out-gross some of the biggest and most revered franchises of all time either.
“…then again, I would not have thought some transforming toys incorporated into an insipid plot would out-gross some of the biggest and most revered franchises of all time either.”
Isn’t that the truth?
It’s as if Michael Bay said to us all, “If you think I’ve blown stuff up before—what until you see what I’ve done now.”
My boys can’t get enough of that sort of thing, and their demographic always seems to speak the loudest at the box office.
Chris Pine is NOT an all-purpose Shatner replacement. Chris Pine is not T.J. Hooker. Chris Pine is not Denny Crane.
T.J. Hooker is an energetic 50-year-old guy, who looks like he thinks he looks a lot younger. There are actors who fit that description but not Chris Pine.
#134. – not if they do an origin story of Hooker. Remember until recently Kirk was an energetic 35+ year old guy with a gut and a speech impediment.
I would like to see Chris Pine is a re-make of the 1973 classic, “IMPULSE.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7EIL1AhN2Q