Superstar of the Year is William Shatner

Sometime during the summer, it became apparent to me who the Superstar of the Year would be this year. I had a couple of ideas, including Bruce Campbell. But at some point it became obvious that there was really only one choice for Superstar of the Year, and that person is none other than little Billy Shatner.


Shatner made a name for himself as a bad actor on a low rated TV show. Yet, despite his choppy dialogue, Shatner had the presence to gain a loyal following; a following which continued to grow after the cancellation of the series. If anybody else had been cast for the role of James Tiberius Kirk, would this short lived series have spawned eleven theatrical films, five spinoffs, countless parodies, and would it have become the most prominent icon of nerdom to this day?

Still the unintentionally comical actor of his youth, Shatner carried enough clout to land him the role of Officer T.J. Hooker in the show... T.J. Hooker.

Even his acting style itself became an icon, adding fuel to many parodies and comedy bits most predominantly throughout the 90s. The good humored Shatner was none too slow in catching on to this, seizing opportunities to portray himself as a comical figure.

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Shatner even recorded an album. His vocal style seemed to mirror his familiar manner of acting. Yet, despite the comical insinuations, it seemed to actually work as a unique yet catchy musical style.

But it was in recent years that Shatner has performed what I'd like to call the role of his lifetime. It may not be as iconic as his role as James Kirk, but he has certainly proven himself as a formidable actor far beyond his cult roles in Star Trek and T.J. Hooker, and beyond the "has been" syndrome of portraying himself in cameo roles. William Shatner's portrayal is both comical and tragic, as well as thought provoking, in the role of cigar smoking, mad-cow suffering, satirically conservative, aging, best friend of complimentary liberal Allan Shore, once bigshot has-been attorney, Denny Crane.

And on that note, I'd like to leave you with this thought: Captain Kirk is climbing a mountain. Why is he climbing a mountain?


Past Superstar of the Year Awards:

2008 - Alizee Jacotey
2007 - Peyton Manning
2006 - Chuck Norris