I'm sure others have noticed this also, but Shatner's acting changed quite a lot after season 1. He was quite subdued and far less emotional in the beginning, but had almost completely changed his acting style by season 3. I always blamed it on exhaustion from working the long hours to make the series and, as a result, he got sloppy but I have also heard he changed deliberately also. I really didn't care for his acting nearly as much after season 1 of TOS. It sort of returned to the subdued state during STTMP and was somewhat good still in TWOK, but way out of synch in the movies following those. Any ideas?
Shatner's acting change after 1st season
- Thread starter billsantos
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Many accounts portray the third season as a pretty depressing time to be on the show. There was a feeling of futility and hopelessness after years of backbreaking work.
In the later episodes Nimoy looked to be going through the motions at times (see Gamesters for example). Shatner went the other way, perhaps trying too hard to inject some life into the frequently dull final season.
IMO, the only actor that never gave up was De Kelley. Consistently brilliant as Bones from start to finish.
In the later episodes Nimoy looked to be going through the motions at times (see Gamesters for example). Shatner went the other way, perhaps trying too hard to inject some life into the frequently dull final season.
IMO, the only actor that never gave up was De Kelley. Consistently brilliant as Bones from start to finish.
During the filming of an episode in 1967 -- some sources say "Arena," others "The Apple" -- Shatner was too close to a special-effects explosion on stage, which caused a serious case of tinnitus. I've always figured that the reason his performance style became "bigger" after that was that it was hard to give a nuanced performance when he was trying to hear himself over the loud ringing in his ears.
As for his acting being more subdued in the first two movies, probably the directors are responsible for that. Nicholas Meyer has talked about how he ran Shatner through many takes of each scene during TWOK, waiting until he got tired of it and stopped trying so hard to Act, so that he gave a more subdued and unaffected performance. (Although that doesn't explain "KHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!") I don't know specifics of how Robert Wise handled Shatner, but Wise did seem to favor a rather subdued tone all around in his genre films.
As for his acting being more subdued in the first two movies, probably the directors are responsible for that. Nicholas Meyer has talked about how he ran Shatner through many takes of each scene during TWOK, waiting until he got tired of it and stopped trying so hard to Act, so that he gave a more subdued and unaffected performance. (Although that doesn't explain "KHAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN!!!!!!") I don't know specifics of how Robert Wise handled Shatner, but Wise did seem to favor a rather subdued tone all around in his genre films.
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I prefer first season Kirk to any later versions.
As much as I love Kelley, he can be seen on occasion with his lips moving to the lines of the other characters. There was a wonderful article published back in the 70's that stated that McCoy only exhibited six facial expressions. I've never fact-checked that, but it wouldn't surprise me.
In TMP he was not so much subdued as wooden. I've always thought it was because of Wise's direction. And Christopher already mentioned Meyer's strategy of tiring Shatner out with multiple takes until he toned his acting down a bit..
I do prefer 1st season TOS Shatner as well.
The whole feel of the show changes mid-first season.
Especially the Coon humor "contribution." And giving us a family of regulars rather than more numerous occasional crewpeople (Riley, Boma, etc.)
I digress. Shatner changes along with it as they get in a groove of making Trek shows rather than sci-fi set in the Trek universe.
Especially the Coon humor "contribution." And giving us a family of regulars rather than more numerous occasional crewpeople (Riley, Boma, etc.)
I digress. Shatner changes along with it as they get in a groove of making Trek shows rather than sci-fi set in the Trek universe.
Arena was filmed in November 1966.
But there is also speculation that the Tinitus explosion was way later, from "Requium for Methuselah".
Arena sure makes sense, though.
Oh, it's definitely changed. Have you seen much of his pre-Trek work? He was a lot more relaxed and naturalistic than he tended to be post-Trek.
There were no explosions in that episode.
Shatner was great in the 1st season. In the 2nd season, there is definitely a shift. Part of it had to be ego. The series was renewed and there was lots of optimism that the show would hit its stride and be a major hit. And there was also the fact that Spock was a more popular character than Kirk (based on the amount of fan mail). Maybe Shatner tried to make up for it, in addition to insisting on script rewrites to give himself more lines.
Into the 3rd season, it was already clear that the series wasn't going to be renewed. As others have already mentioned, the mood on the set was depressing compared to how it had been. I think that the directing probably suffered... and perhaps reining in Shatner wasn't as much of a focus, allowing him to over act.
I wasn't a fan of TJ Hooker, but I did catch a few episodes. Shatner was more subdued than he was in Star Trek, although you could still see his overacting tendencies. Later on, I think he just got better with experience. He was terrific in Generations, IMHO. As for his work on Boston Legal, I think the character was just written that way... and it was easy for Shatner to draw upon it. He has the instinct for acting BIG.
Into the 3rd season, it was already clear that the series wasn't going to be renewed. As others have already mentioned, the mood on the set was depressing compared to how it had been. I think that the directing probably suffered... and perhaps reining in Shatner wasn't as much of a focus, allowing him to over act.
I wasn't a fan of TJ Hooker, but I did catch a few episodes. Shatner was more subdued than he was in Star Trek, although you could still see his overacting tendencies. Later on, I think he just got better with experience. He was terrific in Generations, IMHO. As for his work on Boston Legal, I think the character was just written that way... and it was easy for Shatner to draw upon it. He has the instinct for acting BIG.
As for Tinnitus, I'm a sufferer... and for most people, it's just a background ringing or "static". It doesn't make you shout louder to overcome it! If it was that loud, you'd go insane.
For Shatner, reportedly, his tinnitus did become very severe, a lot worse than a typical case. He's said that it almost drove him to suicide until he underwent treatment for it.
And I didn't say it made him shout, I said maybe it interfered with his hearing or concentration enough that it wasn't as easy for him to gauge the level of his performance.
Like so many shows, TOS seems to have started as an ensemble type production. Perhaps because the writers were exploring new characters and situations? By season 2, the Big Three had been established and really it was the big 2 with Kirk and Spock in a death match for supremacy. By season 3, the air had gone out of the balloon, everybody knew the show wasn't being renewed, Nimoy was from what I gathered drinking himself into oblivion, Fred Freiberger was feeling his way along (unlike some fans I don't see him as incompetent or stupid) with some hits and some misses. Boredom, ego insecurities and perhaps a genuine feeling that the only way to liven up dreck like "Spock's Brain" and "and the Children Shall Lead", etc...was to go over the top. I think the combination of a new show runner and rotating directors really meant there was a power vacuum for him to work in. I have occasional bouts of mild tinnitus and I can understand how awful it could be, but I really doubt if that's any more than a contributory cause of the acting style. If you can find a copy of the 1970 TV production of the "Andersonville Trial", you can see him doing some outstanding work under the direction of George C. Scott. Also he was playing off an incredibly talented cast of actors including Richard Basehart and Jack Cassidy who obviously were delighted to be able to get away from the drudgery of weekly series work and sink their teeth into something a lot meatier. It would be easy to just say Shatner's ego got totally out of control and blame it all on that, but I just can't see it as being that simple.
Admittedly my greatest exposure to Shatner's pre-Trek work is (like a great many people's I'd imagine) his Twilight Zone appearences. I have seen the one about the devil head that spits out predictions and found that performance fairly restrained. But it seems like in Terror at 30,000 feet he ends up going for the ham fairly quickly. However even if his earlier work is as you say, I do not know that it invalidates my theory. After all younger actors, especially if not the star of a piece are usually given much less freedom by the director. Also perhaps in the case of some of his earlier work perhaps he felt the material was more "worthy" of him, resulting in a "better" performance.
Ultimately while it may be valid to say that his acting grew more broad post Trek, I personally do not feel there was that much of a wholesale change between season 1 and seasons 2 and 3 in his style. Looking at the number of very very broad moments such as are on display in say The Man Trap, and I think it makes it clear that Shatner was good when he wanted to be good, and had help to reign in his more hammy instincts.
M'eh -- I always thought he went from a serious and entertaining approach in the first season to a poor man's John Wayne by the third. His infamous pivot and halting speech habit reminds me a lot of Wayne's performances after he had a lung removed, developed a gut, and couldn't get the lines out in one breath anymore -- even his expressions in Generations are Wayne-like, and his death there is practically out of "The Cowboys."
I occasionally notice some of the moments that Shatner seems to crib from older actors, too. I was watching "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" recently and watched a young James Stewart deliver some very Kirk-like lines in the climax of the film and realized some of the similarities in his mannerisms and inflection to Shatner's rendition of an exhausted Kirk mustering some great rousing speech in the earlier Trek seasons. But I think by the end of the 60s, Shatner gave up being influenced by the performances he saw in his youth and moved more toward the more over-the-top approaches he is famous for.
I occasionally notice some of the moments that Shatner seems to crib from older actors, too. I was watching "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" recently and watched a young James Stewart deliver some very Kirk-like lines in the climax of the film and realized some of the similarities in his mannerisms and inflection to Shatner's rendition of an exhausted Kirk mustering some great rousing speech in the earlier Trek seasons. But I think by the end of the 60s, Shatner gave up being influenced by the performances he saw in his youth and moved more toward the more over-the-top approaches he is famous for.
A tone and performance I preferred over the latter two seasons.
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