Top 50 Shatner Moments in Trek, pt. 2: 40 - 31

Let us continue our overview of the Shatner-iest moments in Star Trek. See here for #s 50-41. Let us begin!

40. 

"I think it's time we did a little simple and plain communicating. 

Tonight." 

"Errand of Mercy"

This episode in general works on many levels, and Kirk - contrasted against the grinning placid Orgainians and his counterport Kor, not to mention good ol' emotionless Spock - gets ample chance to shine. But the staccato way he delivers this line ("I - think - it's time we - did a little - simple - and plain - communicating. (beat) Tonight." Which in his accent sounds almost like "ta-night") earned it a spot in our countdown.

I've wondered a few times in getting this post together whether my dearly departed buddy (and eternal Shatner/ TOS fan) Klum is influencing these selections. This (and several from last time, and more to come) was always one he did perfectly/ referenced often. 

Anyway, this is not a delivery I hear people mention much. But it's worth pointing out/ puzzling over/ imitating over and over again. 

39.

"Are You All Right?"

"I, Mudd"

Ditto, this. "I, Mudd" is one of those episodes you love in junior high and then less and less as time goes on. In my case I seem to be coming round to really enjoying it again. My first list didn't have this one on it, but my parents were in town recently, and I watched it with them. After the fake-bomb goes off (apologies - I just could not get the perfect screencap, so I settled for the above) Kirk goes up to Norman and asks him in that drawl "Are you all right?" The absurdity of the situation, and his serious pose of the question amuse me muchly. Shatner rules. 

38. 

"Let's Get Out of Here"

"The Return of the Archons" 

Let's consider this a representational example of all (but one) Kirk's many "Let's get out of here!"s throughout the series.

This episode (my favorite) never gets old; its set-up is so perfect. Kirk's reactions to everything on Beta III from when they land to when they get into the hotel are great. Actually, throughout the episode. Kirk's attitude on Beta III is the essence of the character/ a template for modern man.

And while we're here, I can always hear Klum in my head whenever Kirk says it. "Motherfucker, you hear everyone else pronouncing it 'Lan-dru' but you just keep on saying Laaahndru..."

37. 

"McCoy! LEONARD McCoy? Stay right here! Spock! SPO-C-K!!"

"City on the Edge of Forever"

Everyone falls over themselves in praising this episode - and rightly so - or holding it up as an example of when TOS "got serious." But tucked right into the big drama at episode's end is the greatest Kirk-calls-to-Spock-and-Bones moment of them all. (And, this happened an awful lot on the show; they loved saying each other's names. And in Shatner's case, bellowing or barking them.) 

So let's set the scene. After traveling through time and space to await the arrival of McCoy - something they are not at all positive will even happen or that they will be present for - Kirk's special lady friend casually mentions "McCoy." Kirk does the double shoulder grab and unleashes the first part of the quote. Then, this glorious business happens in slow-motion as his face and throat grapple with the name of his first officer and best friend:

He then goes charging across the road screaming "SPOOOOOOOCCCCCCK!!" I mean, it's just perfect. That it doesn't mar or belittle the earned drama/ pathos around it is icing on the cake. 

36. 

"There's no serum! There are no miracles! There's no immortality here! ALL THIS IS FOR NOTHING!"

"The Omega Glory"

Oh, we'll definitely be back for this episode. But Kirk's eruption here mid-episode is, decibels-wise, one of his eruption-iest of the whole franchise. 

35. 

"Free-fall!" 

"Wolf in the Fold"

Ye gods... so much craziness happens in this episode that one could easily forget this glorious moment in the turbolift when the Jack the Ripper ghost that's assumed control of the Enterprise (...somehow) throws them into (as Shatner announces) freefall. The drama comes out of nowhere, spikes with typical Shatner intensity, then is passed and no one speaks of it again (or thinks twice about taking the turbolift.)

In short, it makes no sense for the story/ is kind of lame. But Shatner sells it like he's been handed the Glengarry leads. 

34. 

"Turnabout Intruder" trailer

This episode! Holy moley. But the trailer, there, is a work of genius. How many times do they say "mutiny" in there? It never stops cracking me up. Seriously - I just hit play and had to stop when all the "mutiny"s start. ("We're talking about mutiny, Scotty..." says Bones. Oh! Are you??? I'd never have guessed. ENOUGH TO CONVICT YOU AS MUTINEERS AND YOU ARE SO CHARGED...) 

So perhaps it is not Shatner who earns this place in the countdown, but whomever edited together that trailer. Still, it wouldn't work without all the Shatnerism on display. (That "security guaarrrrrggggh!" bit is glorious, as well.

Oh, I mentioned a blocking moment in my last post. This is the episode. The script called for Kirk to turn right or left (I forget) but the only problem was there was a wall there and not a door. When Shatner protested, the director snapped at him, and Shatner - like the rest of the crew, dealing with the emotional and professional exhaustion of having been cancelled by the network - just said eff it and did it, leaving us with a wonderfully weird moment where the Captain (obviously under the control of Janice Lester who doesn't know where the doors are) turns and starts to walk at full stride into the wall. The scene cuts before he smashes into it, but there it is. 

33. 

Kirk with Chekov 

"Day of the Dove"

Here's how Shatner reacts to Chekov trying to out-Shatner him.

After Shatner beats him, he does the double-shoulder grab and sudden head-turn, scoops him up off the ground, delivering a crazed monologue, and walking so as to stay in frame as long as awkwardly possible.

As far as Shatner moments go, these few in the corridor are about as representational as can be. 

"Is this what's in store for us, from here on? Violence? HATRED?!"

32.

"Here's one thing you can be sure of, mister." 

"Balance of Terror"

It's not all going to be silly/ crazy Shatner moments in this countdown. Here's the first of the serious ones. Shatner's whole attitude throughout "Balance of Terror" is great, but this sudden, swift slapdown of this guy's bigoted cracking wise about Spock is even greater. 

When The Big Book of Shatner is finally and definitively written, his attitude in this episode (and "Archons") will be the light that leads the wise men to the manger.

And finally:

31.

CAPTAIN'S LOG mix 

I often joke about the guy at Starfleet who has to enter Shatner's Captain's Logs into the Starfleet Archives. What does he think when stuff like this is transmitted back to Earth from deep space?

"When a man of Scotty's years falls in love, the loneliness of his life is suddenly revealed to him. His whole heart once throbbed only to the ship's engines. He could talk only to the ship. Now he can see nothing but the woman." 

("The Lights of Zetar")

Or how about:

"Stardate... Armageddon. We must find a way to defeat the alien force of hate that has taken over the Enterprise. Stop the war now, or spend eternity in futile bloody violence." 

("Day of the Dove")

Does he (or she) stop and think "Is... Is he talking about Vietnam? What is this?" Or how about:

"Captain's log, no stardate. For us, time does not exist..." 

("City on the Edge of Forever")

I mean, how does he even make that entry? The eternal majesty. (And that entry just dangles there, too, like that's all he had to say. Just letting you know!)


Just a few examples. What are some others?

~

We'll be back on the morrow - tell your friends!