Shatner and Charlie Brooker on HIGNFY now

[rogerzilla]

Including Shatner's rendition of Elton John's "Rocket Man". 

[Wowbagger]

I knew who Charlie Brooker was but I didn't recognise the other guy.

[pcolbeck]

Even you must recognize Bill Shatner WoW ...

[Wowbagger]

No, I didn't.

I get this all the time. I know the name and I know it's associated with Star Trek (I always get confused between that and Star Wars and I even saw the first Star Wars film when it came out).

I've never watched Star Trek. After HIGNFY was over Dez played a clip from an early episode and I wouldn't have known that it was the same guy almost 50 years later.

I recognise the character Spock but I couldn't tell you the name of the actor that plays him. I think I had always vaguely assumed that that was William Shatner.

[rogerzilla]

Shatner is a legend, not necessarily for playing Kirk but for his bizarre career since.  His spoken-word albums are notorious.

[LindaG]

Spock was played by Derek Nimmo

[delthebike]

Spock was played by Derek Nimmo

I thought it was Gyles Brandreth. 

[LEE]

Possibly the funniest HIGNFY I can remember.  It takes a lot to make Hislop, Merton and Brooker laugh like that...even if it wasn't always intentionally.

I think it affected that part of my brain known as "Shatner's Bassoon".

[Wowbagger]

I actually found it rather dull: the end of the programme seemed to come without anything having happened.

It was pretty obvious that the others regarded him as a larger-than-life character, of course none of which I "got".

[rogerzilla]

This is the "performance" that really started the legend:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/DvQwXOCKNLY&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/DvQwXOCKNLY&rel=1</a>

[Rhys W]

I always thought Charlton Brooker looked a bit like a young William Shatner (before he grew that floppy quiff). In fact, the only time I've had a comment removed from the Guardian's website was when I remarked that Brooker looked like a 'constipated William Shatner".

[her_welshness]

Possibly the funniest HIGNFY I can remember.  It takes a lot to make Hislop, Merton and Brooker laugh like that...even if it wasn't always intentionally.

I think it affected that part of my brain known as "Shatner's Bassoon".

+ 1. Wait until Sunday for the full extended brilliance. Can't wait.

[StuAff]

That. Was. Brilliant.

[Kim]

I've never watched Star Trek.

 

[Wowbagger]

I've never watched Star Trek.

 

I find it quite surprising that people are surprised by this.

I've never watched any of the so-called "soaps" either.

I've just never wanted to.

I would imagine that there are quite a few people on this forum who have never tuned into radio 3, or sat up half the night trying to find the best move in a postal chess game, or practiced the piano for 4 hours a day every day for years, or spent the entire night trying to catch carp, or ... or ...

Life's too short to fit everything in and my philosophy is that I'd rather be doing something than watching someone else doing something. I've also had a pretty strong anti-herd mentality - if most people are doing it, especially when it comes to stuff like television, there's a fair chance that they are being unwittingly coerced into doing it for some unseen force's ulterior motive. Big brother and all that. (OK, I'm on an internet forum which is probably being monitored as we speak by the CIA, MI6 and Al Qaeda, all trying to find out who the real subversives are. Well, yes, it's probably me and they can all fuck off! At least I'm not on bloody facebook.)

[Rhys W]

Comparing the original Star Trek series to Eastenders/Emmerdale/Coronation Street... not really a valid comparison. I regard watching Star Trek in the 70s as an influence that led me to study for a physics PhD, of equal importance as Horizon episodes when Steven Hawking could still just about speak, Michael Rodd/William Woolard-era Tomorrow's World and James Burke's commentaries on the final Apollo missions.

[Wowbagger]

Well, it's chacun a son goût, n'est-ce-pas?

[Kim]

Yeah, as one of the last generation that were still allowed to think that space travel was cool, I grew up on Star Trek.  Sure, it was naff, but in those days a science fiction fan would take what they were given.  While many of my contemporaries may not have enjoyed or made any kind of effort to watch it, it's generally reasonable to assume that they'll have experienced enough of it to understand the "Beam me up Scotty" level references that pervade popular culture.

I was made to watch soaps (typically Eastenders) by my family.  It was like being stuck in an endless stream of DS9 Ferengi episodes.   


As for the herd mentality thing, I'm inclined to agree, and it's for this reason that I've made a conscious effort to never read or watch Harry Potter.  (Indeed, I'm still suspicious that the whole phenomenon was made up one day while I wasn't in the room as some sort of elaborate prank.  Or that one day everyone who's read Harry Potter will wake up and discover they've gone blind, and I'll be ready with the tinned food and triffid guns.)  The only detriment to my life that I've noticed so far is that I missed out on a whole load of Stephen Fry squee a few years ago, that vast swathes of highly rated fan fiction are largely meaningless, and that I occasionally amuse people with that blank look my friend Helen used to get when you'd talk about photon torpedoes or Wesley Fucking Crusher.

[Wowbagger]

I miss out on lots of cultural references too. Although I haven't watched him for a while, Rory Bremner quite often falls flat for me because I've no idea who he's parodying. Similarly, RZ's clip above, showing a young William Shatner smoking was completely lost on me. I understand that he was doing something with a song by Elton John but I wasn't familiar with the song.

To be honest, I don't think I'd have recognised the bloke in that clip as Shatner, having only really seen him as a fattish oldish bloke on HIGNFY.

I read a Harry Potter book just to see what all the fuss was about and because my younger daughter nagged me to. I wasn't terribly impressed - it seemed to me that Rowling nicked too many ideas straight from Tolkien. Under my daughter's guidance I also read some Philip Pullman, whose work I thought was several leagues above Rowling's.

[Clare]

That was the funniest HIGNFY I have seen in a long time.

[Kim]

Of course, being with barakta, I'm used to a mismatch of cultural references (she missed out on or has a distorted view of pretty much everything music, radio or pre early 90s popular culture, but has read pretty much everything I've never got round to reading).  I occasionally introduce her to the worthwhile ones^[1], or handwave them for the benefit of simple understanding.  I'm not sure I could adequately explain the inherent comedy value of Shatner, though.

Rory Bremner quite often falls flat for me because I've no idea who he's parodying.

I thought that was normal...  (Not a slur on Mr Bremner's skills, although if you ask me his career took a dive as soon as John Major ceased to be in the public spotlight.)


Back on topic, HIGNFY downloaded and squirrelled away for later moments of boredom.  I'm off to bed.



_{[1] Mental note: Find out if she's seen Fly Away Home}

[Fixedwheelnut]

That was the funniest HIGNFY I have seen in a long time.

  Ditto    Can't wait for the extended version

[Exit Stage Left]

I've never watched Star Trek.

 

I find it quite surprising that people are surprised by this.

I've never watched any of the so-called "soaps" either.

I've just never wanted to.

I would imagine that there are quite a few people on this forum who have never tuned into radio 3, or sat up half the night trying to find the best move in a postal chess game, or practiced the piano for 4 hours a day every day for years, or spent the entire night trying to catch carp, or ... or ...

Life's too short to fit everything in and my philosophy is that I'd rather be doing something than watching someone else doing something. I've also had a pretty strong anti-herd mentality - if most people are doing it, especially when it comes to stuff like television, there's a fair chance that they are being unwittingly coerced into doing it for some unseen force's ulterior motive. Big brother and all that. (OK, I'm on an internet forum which is probably being monitored as we speak by the CIA, MI6 and Al Qaeda, all trying to find out who the real subversives are. Well, yes, it's probably me and they can all fuck off! At least I'm not on bloody facebook.)

This is Wowbagger's Rutger Hauer moment,and he's not even aware of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTzA_xesrL8

[Fixedwheelnut]

This is Wowbagger's Rutger Hauer moment,and he's not even aware of it.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/ZTzA_xesrL8&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/ZTzA_xesrL8&rel=1</a>

 Blade Cycler 

[clarion]

Wow, Rowling may have mocked things from Tolkein, but that sounds like you were happy enough to read Tolkein.  Are you aware just how much he stole from William Morris?  And does it actually make a difference?