Comments

My wife and I were recently discussing how much Shatner has impressed us recently with his acting. He lost a lot of credibility post-Startrek and at one point came across as somewhat of an embarrasment. But if you haven't yet, observe his newfound talent in Boston Legal. He has a dry wit that works very well.

Between himself and John Travolta, there is good evidence that comebacks do happen!

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 9, 2006 10:53 AM

Sorry, did I mis-hear: "Being an Ichan is overblown" ?!

Try to listen to some CD's that William Shatner recorded in the 60's (and Leonard Nimmoy's too). I'm sure they were well-intentioned but they fall into the, "so bad they approach genius" status. His "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" is... well... judge for yourselves. But on a positive note, his recent "Has Been" CD contains a genuinely excellent cover of "Common People" with Joe Jackson assisting.

Posted by Mark J Foscoe at February 9, 2006 11:10 AM

I agree Mark - icon & Shatner to me mix like oil and water - love the way celebrities rake public welfare for $Zillions then whine about "... loss of privacy ...". Bring it on I say - stake out my house and office while paying me big bucks for being a media "icon".

Posted by Sean at February 9, 2006 11:24 AM

Shatner, believe it or not, probably does fall into an iconic category, for his Star Trek fame alone. Although, he is perhaps iconic more to boomers and geezers than he is to anyone else! But if you watch him in Boston Legal, I think that you'd agree that his performance is credible, if not down right good.

Is David Hasselhof iconic? Or is he simply moronic? Hasselhof sings too, doesn't he? Perhaps he and Shatner should perform a duet. Now that would be something to see/hear.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 9, 2006 12:08 PM

I agree Tom - "icon" status - guess I'm envious of the big bucks part - need to be creative enough to do the same and play media to advantage - not like "Million Little Pieces" tho ...

Posted by Sean at February 9, 2006 12:33 PM

Yep - it's all being part of pop culture and catching the wave. Timing is everything. All we can do is maintain a presence on the sidelines so that, one day, we'll be sent into the game and get noticed (more for likeability than talent - the X factor). I've been waiting to be discovered for too many years now. Perhaps Hollyweird beckons before Bellingham? Not! Hillary Swank is from Bellingham!

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 9, 2006 12:50 PM

...million dollar baby rather than million little pieces.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 9, 2006 12:51 PM

Amazing that you mentioned Hillary - I have such a crush on Ms. Swank - apparently she's known as "the body" in Tinseltown - be interesting to see who she post-Lowe hooks up with ...

Posted by Sean at February 9, 2006 12:53 PM

Well, I certainly share your attraction to her. I certainly hope to see her around when she returns to Bellingham to get back to her humble beginnings.

Posted by Tom O'Leary at February 9, 2006 12:57 PM

Should say "if" she moves on beyond Mr. Lowe and vice versa - they may get back together in NYC - maybe she'll visit the olde trailer park in B'ham - amazing 2 Acad awards and still being so young.

Posted by Sean at February 9, 2006 1:00 PM

I love that quote "Being an icon is overblown. Remember, an icon is moved by a mouse." Too good to be true!

Posted by K.Sriram at February 9, 2006 10:40 PM

Those are funny, and great, quotes!

Posted by Marianne Powers at February 10, 2006 12:53 AM

Nice quote the one about the aliens. The only problem is when you face a group of little green men who tries to impose their credos by any means.

Posted by Francisco Fernández at February 10, 2006 3:29 AM

Mere confirmation that being in an iconic series 40 years ago gives you no right to pronounce on anything else - hate to say it, but what colour is the sky in Bill's world ?

Posted by Mick Coleman at February 10, 2006 4:42 AM

In an interview with Metro a few weeks back (London's free newspaper), Mr Shatner did point out his records were mickey takes, but the Americans didn't get the joke.

If you want to hear the original source of the joke, listen to Peter Sellers (the ONLY Inspector Cluseau) perform "Hard Day's Night" as Richard III.

Ross

Posted by Ross Hall at February 14, 2006 10:00 AM

Imagine the drag-and-drop enterprise. "Moved by an icon" becomes a powerful metaphor with an object-oriented GUI, rather than a database form.

"Moved by an icon" could also mean moved by star CEOs, a weak concept.

Posted by David Locke at February 19, 2006 2:24 AM

Icons organize themselves across the Long Tail. One person's icon is unknown to another as icons are cultural constructs. The Long Tial orgainzes cultures into discrete containers. An icon can be found inside each of those containers.

Posted by David Locke at February 19, 2006 2:28 AM