Willliam Shatner, Chuggin' On Through Time. Do you Still Love him?

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As many of you did, I watched William Shatner in Star Trek (The Original Series) ever since I was a kid in diapers. His interpretation and the writing of great science fiction authors created the character that would be my mentor, my social advisor, and my conscience: Good old Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Kids tend to mimick what they see on TV - and I honestly couldn't find any women who could fulfill the task. Television's women were soft, weak, servile, and pretty. The closest I could come to liking a woman on TV was the fun "Addams Family" character, "Morticia", played by Carolyn Jones. So what was I? A Goth Geek in search of a better, sexier role model than Mrs. Brady. In stepped lithe, handsome William Shatner as James T. Kirk, who wasn't afraid of his sexuality! He had lots of friends, and tripped the light fantastic in space. What better a role model? I relied upon his confidence to get myself through puberty, and found myself becoming a Gothy Star Trek Geek. "So what?" I thought, little knowing that such geekdom would later pervade my high school life. Oh, it wasn't so bad. There were publicity photos that I had glued to my wall, one signed by Shatner and given to me as an ultimate friend's bond. I swear, I kissed it before going to sleep every night. The jibes of others didn't matter - hairpiece? What hairpiece? I was in love with Captain James T. Kirk, not William Shatner. When the movies came out there was renewed respect for Star Trek - it was almost becoming acceptable. No longer was I the geek who actually enjoyed seeing Shatner in a computer or margarine commercial, low, "Kingdom of The Spiders" wasn't such a bomb, and Shatner was in the movies again. It was almost scary. Shatner as Kirk, again. What wonders didn't abound?! My interest in Shatner's career blossomed when I discovered his work on "The Twilight Zone", "Judgement at Nuremberg" and "The Brothers Karamazov". By then I knew he was a consummate actor and also a practical joker. Finally the best thing to happen to me was that two authors decided to write a biography of him, and there I found out all I really didn't need to know. I loved every minute of it. Time and time again, Shatner has surprised us with his work. The Star Trek movies did well, even if his directorial debut was a colossal tragedy of budgeting and story choices. It just proved to me that The Shat is best at acting and comedy - noted for his performance on "Saturday Night Live", Shatner honed himself in preparation to go big time. He made it back to TV in a big way with "Boston Legal". I couldn't be happier. Some say Shatner is an ugly little old fat man. They still make jokes about his hair, (some of it was pretty good) and others just mimic his speech (some of that has been fantastic) but most seem to be settling down to the fact that Shatner is and will always be Shatner. Others are still in the "James T. Kirk mode". They can't rest until they see James T. Kirk, one more time. I'm sorry to say that we will probably only see Kirk in retirement, chugging a Romulan ale and telling stories to the Cadets at the Academy. I do not look for that James T. Kirk anymore. I don't think of him as a mentor these days. I look back at him and think, "By God, I am many years older than the James T. Kirk of yesteryear..." Look at him way back when. So young, so marvelous. Then I realize William Shatner's talent in portraying him, and I can't help but sigh. I still fall in love with James T. Kirk when I see him on the screen, and Shatner continues to make me laugh.