TGIF! presents....Shatner's "Iron Man"!

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TGIF! presents....Shatner is "Iron Man"!

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Shatner? Captain Kirk? 80?

Missed your birthday last Wednesday, Bill. That's OK - wanted to let the hubbub die down a bit so you and I could enjoy the moment alone.

I love William Shatner. I may even put him right up there as my 2nd favorite all-around entertainer (2nd to Dean Martin). Loved him in Star Trek, on The Twilight Zone, Boston Legal, (never watched T.J. Hooker), like his Priceline commercials, love his "singing" renditions of popular songs. But what I like best about the man is he doesn't take life too seriously and has an innate ability to poke fun at himself. That's a rare quality. I don't know anyone else who transferred the Shakespearean acting technique to places it should not go - like television and movies. And Shatner has spawned a whole generation of impersonators, jokesters - all at his expense.

And does Shatner care? Fuck no. Here are a few clips you should watch if you're not familiar with the Man called Shatner:

1.) Worst fight scene ever. Capt. Kirk v. Gorn.
2.) Shatner singing "Rocket Man" on television.
3.) Shatner singing "Mr. Tambourine Man" - audio only.
4.) Shatner on the original Twilight Zone in episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet". Inarguably in the top 10 of all Twilight Zone episodes. Notice I said, "inarguably".
5.) Shatner doing his verison of the Cee Lo Green song, "Fuck You".
6.) Denny Crane meets the Chinese on Boston Legal.

Come on...all those clips beat the pants off Leonard Nimoy's (Shatner's close friend) song, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins". If that's not enough for you, check out William Shatner's website here.

Live long and prosper, Mr. Shatner.

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AirTran can lick my lingum.

If you're planning a flight on AirTran Airways anytime soon, don't bother booking through their website.

My brother and I recently purchased tickets for our June trip to Cali and we discovered AirTran now charges a "seat fee" . Cocksuckers. They've been doing this for a year and we've all heard rumblings about "added fees" airlines, so I wasn't surprised. Just taken aback. I was under the impression that my $265 flight (which is a good price) covered my seat on the plane? Makes sense? Nope. $20 seat fee each way.

Not on Priceline. The exact same flight via Priceline's website doesn't have the $20 seat fee. So I saved $40.

So the next time you think about flying with AirTran, go to Priceline first. Read here about some of the other ingenious ways airlines are trying to pinch you. And thanks, Mr. Shatner...live long and prosper.

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"It Was A Very Good Year". Written in 10 minutes. Bet you never heard it sung this way.

Ervin Drake wrote music and lyrics in 10 minutes. He turns 90 this month. Here's the story from the Wall Street Journal.

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The Last Dance. "Boston Legal" series finale? WTF?????

Let me clarify my expletive. I mean, "WTF", as in "I didn't know the series was ending"...WTF???

And it's ABC's fault. And it's ABC's shortsightedness that angers me.

According to show creator, David E. Kelly, it was ABC that pulled the plug. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec 7th, Kelly said that it was in fact ABC's decision to end Boston Legal. He also stated that executives did not want to commit to a fifth season, so he had to fight to bring it back for a short season of 13 episodes.

It's ratings weren't blockbuster, but it maintained the majority of its audience over its five-year run despite being switched four different times to different nights (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.) According to Nielsen Media Research, Boston Legal drew the richest viewing audience on television, based on the concentration of high income viewers in its young adult audience (Adult 18–49 index w/$100k+ annual income).

This explains John Larroquette's argument to a jury in the second to the last episode about how the elderly aren't seen as a viable market by the various networks. Course I didn't realize Boston Legal was on the chopping block; however, I did think it was a strange case for Larroquette's character to be arguing.

Read the Los Angeles Times review here. Also from YouTube, a compilation tribute to the show, as well as the series final balcony scene with James Spader and William Shatner.

I will miss you, Boston Legal - particularly the characters Alan and Denny, played by Spader and Shatner respectively. They seemed so real to me. And in all their triumphs and flaws I saw a bit of myself in each of them. And I fell in love with them.

Emmy Awards:

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series James Spader (2007, 2005, 2004*)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Christian Clemenson (as Jerry 'Hands' Espenson: 2006)
Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series Craig Hunter, Peter Kelsey, Clark King, William Butler (2006)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner (2005)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series William Shatner (2004*)

Golden Globe Awards:
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV William Shatner (2005)

*2004 awards were for The Practice but for the same character portrayed on Boston Legal.

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