William Shatner Looks Back at His Most Iconic Roles
Better Late Than Never, Series Premiere, Tuesday, August 23, 10/9c, NBC.
Star Trek (1966–69)
Captain James T. Kirk “never saw the universe as worrisome or dangerous,” Shatner says. “He greeted everything with wonder and awe, with eyes open and curious, whether it was a new planet or a new girlfriend. It’s what I loved most about him. Kirk was the human embodiment of [Star Trek creator] Gene Roddenberry’s vision of humanity.”
T.J. Hooker (1982–86)
“He was an old-school cop who just wanted to nail the perps, but he was struggling with this newfangled thing called Miranda rights,” Shatner says. “We dealt with prejudice and racial profiling in ways that are, unfortunately, still pretty damn timely today.”
3rd Rock From The Sun (1999–2000)
Shatner guested several times as the deliciously pompous overlord Big Giant Head. “Playing farce with John Lithgow was dangerous,” he says, “and it was the great joy of my career.”
The Practice/Boston Legal (2004–08)
As the brilliant and devilish Denny Crane, Shatner won two Emmys but should have had a third for Denny’s poignant descent into Alzheimer’s. “I tried to color every line with the sadness and horror and joy of a great man coming to the end of his road,” he says.
$h*! My Dad Says (2010–11)
Shatner played Ed Goodson, a patriarch so crass and un-PC he would have made Archie Bunker blush. “We literally invented each episode in front of the studio audience,” Shatner says. “There’s only one problem flying by the seat of your pants: Sometimes you end up naked.”
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