Wow, I hadn't gotten around to watching the Shatner video below. But I just did. And I was a little speechless, cause.. well. Was it supposed to be serious?!? Or was the humor so dry I just didn't get it??
Then I watched this one immediately after. And I just couldn't watch it, cause I'm trying so hard not to burst out laughing that everyone else here at work must be wondering what the hell I'm doing in my cubicle.
Genius, pure genius. It's great that the Family Guy writers have such an obscure knowledge of pop culture.
"Was it supposed to be serious?!? Or was the humor so dry I just didn't get it??"
Ah, the great riddle of our times, my friend! The question is, what, in Shatner's mind, did he THINK he was doing? And, I mean, what kind of planning went into this? They must have had to spend some time figuring out what he was going to be doing in order to achieve that amazing "triple-Shatner" effect. So what, exactly, were they GOING for? Up to a certain point, it was still possible to think that, however poorly, he was trying his best to do an effectively "dramatic" reading of the song - until the third Shatner showed up. I mean, was that supposed to be like the "drunken Rocket Man" or something? In the end, there is really only one way you can categorize this performance: SHATNER.
I don't think Shatner (AKA The Shat) ever does anything completely seriously.
Family Guy always has the greatest clips. I would love to be a writer for that show. I bet they just sit around all day and try to find the most ridiculous to make fun of and the most obscure things to reference.
I think Shatner took it seriously at the time of the performance. Since then he has learned a mastery of kitsch and post-modernist irony and he can now go back and retroactively say, "No I wasn't being serious." He was though. I would strongly recommend his recent Ben Folds produced album Common People without caveat.
But if he was truly trying to be serious, then why would he take a big hit of his cigarette, tilt his head back and intone "And I'm gonna be...HIGH...as a kite by then"?
As for Shatner's newest album, Herr Zrbo talks about it all the time and he's actually played some of it for me!
Wow, I hadn't gotten around to watching the Shatner video below. But I just did. And I was a little speechless, cause.. well. Was it supposed to be serious?!? Or was the humor so dry I just didn't get it??
ReplyDeleteThen I watched this one immediately after. And I just couldn't watch it, cause I'm trying so hard not to burst out laughing that everyone else here at work must be wondering what the hell I'm doing in my cubicle.
Genius, pure genius. It's great that the Family Guy writers have such an obscure knowledge of pop culture.
"Was it supposed to be serious?!? Or was the humor so dry I just didn't get it??"
ReplyDeleteAh, the great riddle of our times, my friend! The question is, what, in Shatner's mind, did he THINK he was doing? And, I mean, what kind of planning went into this? They must have had to spend some time figuring out what he was going to be doing in order to achieve that amazing "triple-Shatner" effect. So what, exactly, were they GOING for? Up to a certain point, it was still possible to think that, however poorly, he was trying his best to do an effectively "dramatic" reading of the song - until the third Shatner showed up. I mean, was that supposed to be like the "drunken Rocket Man" or something? In the end, there is really only one way you can categorize this performance: SHATNER.
I don't think Shatner (AKA The Shat) ever does anything completely seriously.
ReplyDeleteFamily Guy always has the greatest clips. I would love to be a writer for that show. I bet they just sit around all day and try to find the most ridiculous to make fun of and the most obscure things to reference.
PS: Stewie Rocks!
I think Shatner took it seriously at the time of the performance. Since then he has learned a mastery of kitsch and post-modernist irony and he can now go back and retroactively say, "No I wasn't being serious." He was though. I would strongly recommend his recent Ben Folds produced album Common People without caveat.
ReplyDeleteBut if he was truly trying to be serious, then why would he take a big hit of his cigarette, tilt his head back and intone "And I'm gonna be...HIGH...as a kite by then"?
ReplyDeleteAs for Shatner's newest album, Herr Zrbo talks about it all the time and he's actually played some of it for me!