Shatner takes on the weird and wonderful

Is William Shatner weird or what? That's a question to which he wants the answer — especially as it is the name of his new show.

As Charles Tremayne, executive vice-president of programming at Cineflex, puts it they came up with the idea for a new series called Weird or What? in a bar and decided only one man could host a show contrasting science and fiction.

But perhaps one of the weird things — to be blunt — is adjusting to Shatner's physical presence. To see him live at the MIPTV entertainment content fair in Cannes last week promoting his show is to be reminded that he has come a long way from Captain James Kirk and the Starship Enterprise.

The lean frame then, spookily reproduced in a photo in a MIPTV magazine in an unrelated report, is a far cry from his moon face and, to put it politely, well-rounded appearance these days.

He is definitely more Boston Legal than Star Trek, though much more casually dressed than in either.

 

But the programme guys seem to be right: who better to host a programme ranging from medical oddities, mysterious disappearances and mystical monster attacks to historical wonders, paranormal phenomena and bizarre natural disasters?

As Spock might say, this is logical because this is the leader in Star Trek, who boldly went where no man had gone before. He has the right deep, soothing voice to take us into solving the mysteries of the weird and wonderful.

Diversity

He is an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, described as "one of the greatest pop culture icons of the 21st century", his musings on Twitter — @WilliamShatner — confirm his diversity and he even has Dr Spock (Leonard Nimoy) following him.

The show reflects his later-day quirkiness, shown so well on Boston Legal.

As host and executive producer of Weird or What? he tackles topics such as human feet in running shoes turning up along the Vancouver shoreline. The answer, after the show's investigations, tied in with suicides from bridges.

In another episode, a 15-year-old boy manages to lift a car crushing a man. The answer is an adrenaline surge, which the show manages to recreate.

Shatner argues that the series is not just about highlighting the weird but trying to explain in clear terms what happened and what caused it. That is: separating the science from the science fiction.

"Our show is weird and wonderful," he says. "It's also wacky. If the mystery of the world around us interests you, then this is your adventure."

One intriguing event Shatner recounts at the launch is how a window cleaner, Al Moreno, fell 47 stories and survived when the cables snapped on his platform in New York in December, 2007. His brother Edgar fell from the platform and died on impact. Somehow Al stayed on the platform and lived.

The programme examines the various theories about what saved him. The show is full of these challenging events.

"It's a weird world out there — and I love it," says Shatner. He has the normally cynical entertainment press corps close to drooling and gets three extended rounds of clapping at the start of the Cannes launch.

‘Should be terrific'

"My dramatic life may have followed science fiction — but I've always been interested in why and how," he says.

"[This series] is a light-hearted journey, but we discover the truth along the way. It should be a terrific show. I believe it will be.

"Mysteries abound and we try to find and explain them. There is a whole world out there we know little about."

And harking back and contrasting with his science fiction days, he says: "I became absolutely intrigued by the drama that lies in reality."

Shatner and Tremayne hope the show will have "universal appeal". But then, thanks to Star Trek, the universe has already become Shatner's oyster.