William Shatner’s new talk show, Shatner’s Raw Nerve, premieres December 2nd on The Biography Channel with interviews of Valerie Bertinelli and Tim Allen at 10 PM Eastern Time. Bio has supplied TrekMovie with a special sneak peek of the Bertinelli episode, and next week’s Jimmy Kimmel interview.
Review – Raw Nerve
In Raw Nerve, Shatner displays two talents required of a good interviewer. First, he is a good listener. Second, he adds something of his own experience to the interview. Both the listening and the sharing of his own experiences helps Raw Nerve seem less like a talk show, and more like listening to a conversation. In fact, the energetic and realistic conversational feel is one of Raw Nerve’s best features. When Shatner discusses sin and divorce, the definition of addiction, and insecurity with Valerie Bertinelli, it is a revealing discussion that is unlike most television talk shows. The most refreshing thing about Raw Nerve is that the celebrities are not there selling something (at least not overtly) so the show has none of the scripted or commercialistic feeling of The Tonight Show or Late Show With David Letterman. Raw Nerve features more casual conversations than other chat shows, but still has humor and energy despite its longer format.
In the documentary William Shatner in Concert, Shatner’s son-in-law describes how the Bill has a genuine enthusiasm for life’s most everyday experiences (he comments that Shatner gets excited about how GREAT…this lemonade…IS!). Shatner brings that same enthusiasm to his talk show, but he also brings a wisdom that can only come from a lifetime of experiences. Before his death this year, George Carlin said "A 20 year old has a limited amount of data they’ve experienced, either seeing or listening to the world. At 70 it’s a much richer storage area, the matrix inside is more textured, and has more contours to it." Actor, director, writer, widower, divorcee, activist, singer, ad man, father, and grandfather. Shatner has that textured matrix that Carlin speaks of, and it shows during the interviews with Bertinelli and Kimmel. He never lets the interview become about himself, yet he does offer his own experiences occasionally to help guide the conversation.
Shatner doesn’t let his guests get away with easy answers, which makes for some revealing moments truly hit a ‘raw nerve.’ For example, when talking about addiction, Shatner shares with Bertinelli that he had married an alcoholic, yet didn’t appreciate addiction or its affects. His listening and compassionate responses help Bertinelli explain why she doesn’t feel her relationship with food was ever an addiction. They also talk about how divorce represents pain and a destruction of a dream. Much like the themes of Shatner’s Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, he asks Bertinelli some tough questions about pain and forgiveness. Shatner’s style encourages his guests to both provide thoughtful answers and to even ask him questions, which again adds to that conversational feel.
Fans of Shatner will learn some interesting things about the man, as well as his guests. The format of Raw Nerve allows for comparisons of Shatner’s experiences with those of his guests. For example, while Bertinelli has learned how to avoid grudges, Shatner reveals that he hasn’t really learned this yet. When the two discuss her marital infidelity, it seems that Shatner wants her to define the cause as being something outside herself, yet she won’t have any of those kind of "excuses" for her own bad behavior. When Jimmy Kimmel discusses how he enjoys awkward moments when performing and thrives on this, Shatner discusses that he tries to avoid such situations. The only time that I was disappointed was when Shatner doesn’t question Kimmel about Kimmel’s theories about divorce and parenting (which basically could be interpreted to be that Kimmel thinks divorced parents are better parents). It would have made for an excellent conversation.
Yet, Raw Nerve is replete with excellent conversations. For fans of Shatner, you will learn more about the actor as a person. For fans of the various guests, there is much good information and conversation to enjoy. Raw Nerve is like sitting at a restaurant and being invited to listen to a really good conversation at the next table. In just these two episodes, the Shat discusses sin, divorce, addiction, parenting, forgiveness, and spirituality. I can’t wait to see more of the Shat, especially his interview with Leonard Nimoy.
CLICK to see preview of Bertinelli on Shatner’s Raw Nerve
Shatner Previews his show
Shatner devotes this week’s Shatner Project blog to previewing the Bertinelli episode of Raw Nerve
Shatner’s Raw Nerve premiers tonight, December 2nd, on the Bio channel at 10 PM (9 Central). More info at biography.com/shatner.
Raw Nerve episode guide
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December 2 10/9 C: Valerie Bertinelli
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December 2 10:30/9:30 C: Tim Allen (Trek Connection: Allen was the star of Galaxy Quest)
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December 9 10/9 C: Jenna Jameson
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December 9 10:30/9:30 C: Jimmy Kimmel
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December 16: 10/9 C: Kelsey Grammer (Trek Connection: Grammer played Captain Morgan Bateson in TNG episode "Cause and Effect")
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December 23 10/9 C: Judge Judy
Hmmm. I’m more interested in this now; I like conversational talk shows (I used to be addicted to the Charlie Rose show, back in the day, and followed Bob Costas likewise). I may give it a peek when it comes on; thanks for the review!
Looking forward to this. All the reviews have been very positive.
Jenna Jameson? That should be interesting!
cool! I Like The Interviews he has lined up!
Shat’s lived a lot of life, probably done his share of therapy, LGAT and other new age stuff. This should be a great show.
I am looking forward for what Jenna Jameson is going to do…err… say.
I can’t wait to see George Takei show up. That is going to be classic.
Shatner + Takei will be classic
Eh, I give this show 1 month.
Shatner and Chris Pine? That would be good, if not contrived!
Shatner and JJ Abrams….”So, JJ, why didn’t you put me in the movie?”
Is it known yet when the Leonard Nimoy episode will air? I have to admit, that’s the only one I’m interested in.
I’m definitely going to watch, as I’ve said before Mind Meld was a great DVD. Shatner just has one of those immediately recognizable, soothing, interesting voices. He could be a very good, serious, interviewer, and is very well spoken and experienced.
As for that clip, Valerie is way too loud and abnoxious. Also, the chair setup is really dumb, Shatner looks very uncomfortable.
The Tim Allen, Kimmel, Kelsey Grammer, and of course Nimoy interviews should be very cool. Takei is a possibility it appears. I hope it really catches on, because I think this is the perfect and most natural vehicle for Bill.
Jeff Abrams would be fun , a director /producer with many current and popular tv series and movie . Chris Pine as the growing and rising star . Yes !
Bill and George ! This is the sad one ! Bill is a big celebrity – George is a good actor who recently has a role in Heroes ?! And these two stars are much too old to have this fight ! I hope it happens , and Bill should finish the interview with a make up kiss on Georges cheek ! Two very much loved Actors at the end of the career ride !
Takie would be the highest rated episode of this show, for sure! No doubt that Bill already knows this.
Kirk should interview evil Transporter Kirk for big ratings.
Shatner a widow? Perhaps a widower was intended?
#17: Uh oh, here we go again :)
14 & 15:
That would be great! Takei vs. Shatner, round whatever on Raw Nerve.
#16-
“IIIIIIIIIIIII’M… William… SHAT-NEEEEEEEERRRRRR!!!”
Watching it now, it’s very interesting. I really had no interest in Valerie Bertinelli but find myself enjoying their conversation and how each of them are questioning the other. It’s great to see other sides of people you really only know from entertainment shows and whatnot.
I really hope this catches on, it’s a great concept and very well-executed. GO BILL!
What the heck is the “Biography Channel?”
Is it accessible via the web?
Yeah, I don’t even get the Biography Channel. Must be a Satellite thing
Just watched it. Great show. Shatner is a great interviewer….
Watched it. Was great. Think they could have made some mention of Tim Allen’s homage to Shatner in Galaxy Quest. What a deep person the Shat is.
Tuned in faithfully, per the Shatcember™ agenda as outlined here at trekmovies dot com dot org.
Anyone else catch the Trek bio prior to this? I BILLieve™ that this was from 1994 just about the premiere of “Generations”.
Outside of the propogandist element of that “new movie”, I did BILLieve™ that this would have been good tutorial for any of the actors in the new movie – including SIr JJ himself.
AS for Raw Nerve… Had you told me, in 1982, over 25 years later… old h69 would be watching Captain James T Kirk interview Mrs. Eddie Van Halen… about ANYTHING, let alone her leaving the guy and how she cheated on him. wow.
We continue to live our lives, time marches on of course. From tha spermatozoa to tha rotted elderly corpse, having mattered to everyone to not even having been a footnote in history. MY aren’t we self-important?
Outside of those who love us, celebrity being an extension of that…. lifespan measured simply by the number of beats of the heart, and if you think about it, time actually irrelavant.
If only our loved ones…
THE WOMEN!!
=h=
Sounds great, thanks John.
Unfortunately, I don’t have access to that Bio Channel in Germany (do I?), so I appreciate any updates here on this site.
I really, really like Tim Allen. Was hoping Galaxy Quest would come up.
#26
BILLieve!
#17
Thanks for the reply.
#18
Very funny! Thanks!
I really hope this show takes off big-time. It’s been decades since the talk show involved talk… instead of sales. Letterman used to refuse to show movie clips. Now, he just offers pat “Wow! Great movie!” responses. The interviews too often tend to be gag-ridden. That’s fine, but a real conversation is nice, too… somewhere on the tube.
Anyway, Shatner really seems in his element.
#12
Regarding the chair set-up, I noticed this time that the arrangement looks like the letter S. Pretty clever these natives! But I agree he does look uncomfortable.
How come Chris Pine isn’t in this show???????
C’mon JJ find a way to get him in this!!!!!!!
I watched the interviews last night and I have to say that I thought it was really good. I used to love Bob Costas when he was on, and Shatner definately takes that line when he talks with his guests. He listens and responds with candid personal thoughts that allow the guest to open up more than on the regular “talk show circuit”. His interview with Tim Allen was especially revealing as he spoke with him about addiction and loss, as well as his feelings about his youth. Thank god this isn’t just another fluff show about what movie some actor is coming out with or a gossip show. It’s nice when you can really get into someone’s head and bring out things that just wouldn’t be spoken of, unless by the star’s publisher.
I think it’s great to hear how successful, and famouse people became that way, how they deal with the highs and lows of celebrity. I also like hearing about how they became who they are today. I truly think you can learn from people’s experiences, and with Shatner, he really brings that out in his guests.
I have Mind-Meld, which was his first attempt at this format, and I thought he was excellent. I figured he was so good because he was interviewing his best friend Leonard Nimoy, but now I see that he’s that way with everyone.
Good job Shatner! I’m so glad to see that you can continue to keep reinventing yourself with such success. I wish you all the best and will look forward to seeing these shows for years to come.
Thanks for the write-up. I was really not interested in this at all, but the format seems rather interesting.
Great concept, wonderfully executed. The setup of the chairs is very intimate and conducive to good conversation. I would love to have a setup like that in my apartment. lol
#27 … If no one YouTubes the Nimoy episode in a respectable amount of time, I’d be happy to mail it to ya.
Or have Closet deliver it, if you prefer!
#22 & #23…..Biography Channel is a cable service staple here in the Philadelphia area. I’ve been watching it for years.
I do wish Shatner and Takei would settle their differences. I am quite uncomfortable with how Shatner has handled all of this. I think it has hurt his reputation considerably.
They both need to rise above this. In my mind celebrity requires good role models, and unfortunately we haven’t seen much of this from a number of celebrities recently. I can’t imagine either of them wish to be associated with the current trend towards reckless and selfish behaviour.
I liked it alot.
I saw the Valerie Bertinelli, & Tim Allen epdisoes.
Lookikng forward to Jenna Jameson, & Jimmy Kimmel too.
Hmmmmm…do you “have” to only watch the episodes live at the day/time scheduled, with no option to watch after the airdate/time? That sucks.
I was hoping to watch them later. Or am I not seeing the option to view currently aired shows?
It’s stupid how they have the chairs arranged.
I think the length of the show is too short for the type of interviewing Shatner is conducting. He appears to zero in on a topic and dig deep, but can’t get to very many subjects in a half hour.
42
I agree with that. And I still say a missed opportunity for some fascinating stuff by now talking about how Tim Allen clearly was doing some Shatner in “Galaxy Quest”. We didn’t even bring that up?
I would LOVE to see Shatner on Heroes as a villain. He could have the ability to suck all the air out of the room any time he did a dramatic pause.
:)
jk
Would love to see him on there though.
True , Shatner does fall into all of the labels that you mentioned …Actor, director, writer, widower, divorcee, activist, singer, ad man, father, and grandfather. But you forgot one … businessman . He has always kept up with the times and knew how to sell himself no matter which decade you speak of. Quite a few actors his age are retired or washed up but Shatner refuses to lie down.
#36
Thanks a lot, my friend. I‘ll take you up on your kind offer if YouTube fails.
Closet delivering it seems risky – he’ll probably fiddle about it on his trip to Germany so that I’ll receive it with all the Shatner scenes garbled…;)
#46—-I actually have both episodes on TiVo. I haven’t watched either of them yet, though, and probably will not until this weekend. You’ll probably have seen it on YouTube by then.
I expect it to be very good. I think Bill will thrive in that environment. I hope it does well. Shatner should definitely be a talk show host.
“…he’ll probably fiddle about it on his trip to Germany so that I’ll receive it with all the Shatner scenes garbled.”
Lol. I would never do that, especially knowing your affinity for all things Shatner.
#47
– Lol. I would never do that, especially knowing your affinity for all things Shatner. –
Somehow I’ve always known that deep down beneath your posts’ shell beats a gentle heart…:)
#48 … VERY deep down! Buried alive … buried alive …