Where: The Biography Channel (in HD)
When: Tuesday night 10/9C
Host: William Shatner
Guests: Jenna Jameson, Tim Allen, Valerie Bertinelli, Judge Judy, Scott Baio, Kelsey Grammer, Drew Carey, Jimmy Kimmel, Jon Voight, Fran Drescher, Wayne Brady, Leonard Nimoy, and more
SoSF Rating = 4/5
Critics all over the spectrum have been raving about William Shatner’s newest television venture on the Biography Channel called “Shatner’s Raw Nerve.” “Dizzying yet effective” (Syracuse.com), “He just keeps going” (The New York Times) and “Shatner purrs and probes” (Newsday)…are just a few of the statements from critics across the country about Mr. Shatner and his latest reinvention of himself — A TV Interviewer.
No sooner had Bill’s Emmy winning “Boston Legal” aired its series finale and the veritable 76 year old actor was back in new and rare form on a different network, a new and different project and a unique set. Shat is Back, and this time he is touching that last raw nerve.
Each week Bill sits in a cozy, finished basement-like environment in a close-knit, one-on-one 30 minute conversation with some of today’s best known award-winning stars of TV, film and stage. However, Bill’s talk show isn’t really a talk show, it’s more like Dr. Phil without all that hack’s B.S. and more intense as Shat dispenses with the small talk and gets right into questions about the guest’s private life, pains and joys, what they were feeling when an important event, be it bad or good, was happening in their life and so forth.
So far he has talked to Jimmy Kimmel about life with an old-country Italian family when he was growing up, the loss of his grandfather (Jimmy’s dearest father figure). He delved into Kelsey Grammer’s feelings about loosing a father he barely knew. His easy-going, laid-back style of conversation allowed Valerie Bertinelli to reveal her infidelity, the inner demons that she has battled and is successfully overcoming and Jenna Jameson talks about what it is really like to be the world’s number one porn star and how it isn’t always what it’s cracked-up to be; that there are deep personal sacrifices that come with it. One of the most interesting moments was Bill’s discussion with Tim Allen about his drug conviction and imprisonment as a young man just beginning his career as a stand-up comedian. One of the most anticipated guests to be coming soon to the show is Bill’s long time friend and second-in-command, Leonard Nimoy.
Watching Bill interact with some of your favorite stars won’t always provide one of those jaw-dropping moments, but it will certainly entertain, enlighten, reveal and allow you to see yet another side of its host that one rarely has gotten to see over the 50+ year career of this brilliant and charismatic performer called William Shatner. Don’t get me wrong, the show isn’t about Bill at all. Shat is the perfect host, always steering the camera back to his guest and spotlighing them, however, there is little doubt about who is in charge and center-stage. The man himself!
Bill, you have done it again and you continue to amaze, surprise and foil your critics. One thing is for sure, you have this writer’s admiration once again.