Dear Mr. Shatner,
Thank you for those three years you performed on a television series called Star Trek. You helped bring to life on of the most important television franchises in human history, and a very important part of my life. You see I’m a geek, and us geeks are really fond of Star Trek. Though it’s camp, cheesy, and over the top, it’s a series that was an important part of my childhood. Whether it was the campy original or the more serious spinoff.
Here you are now, in your old age, a retired Starfleet Captain1, who’s trying to (la)forge a relationship with his adult sons. Sure, I thought your only son, David, was killed by Doc Brown, but we all know that the Captain was a ladies’ man.
Okay, I’m going to stop pretending that this is part of the Star Trek universe.
Shit My Dad Says is pretty fucking bad. I will not refer to it as S#*! My Dad Says, because that’s just moronic, we’re in the 21st century, we can say the word shit on television. Sure, Shatner can be funny, but he’s neither enough of a straight man nor funny enough to be the lead in a sitcom. He’s not suited for the role. The dialogue is weak, it seems like the writers are just trying to cram in as many punchlines as they can, but they’re not funny.
There was only one mildly funny scene in the entire episode, that was when Shatner was at the Ministry renewing his licence. Even that wasn’t that funny.
In conclusion, if I want funny Shatner, I’ll just watch Star Trek IV The Voyage Home, or listen to his record Has Been.
- He was demoted from Admiral, see Star Trek IV. [↩]
I don’t think they call it a Ministry in the US :)
But yeah, I agree with you on this one. Shit My Dad Says plays a bit too much like a mid-90s sitcom… like Just Shoot Me or Spin City. I think as an art form the sitcom is past that at this point.