The 84 year old William Shatner is at it again, this time with big plans to create his own special to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of ‘Star Trek‘ next year, which he seems intent on doing no matter what. Originally, it sounded like he wanted to do a special that really stayed true to the tone of the original series, stating:

“The 50th anniversary show would be about the ideas that Star Trek dramatized.”

After having no luck selling his special to anyone, it seems Shatner set his sights a little lower, disregarding whatever special Paramount is working on because, in his words:

“I’m attempting to sell a 50th anniversary show, but so far I’ve had very little luck. Maybe because Paramount’s going to do their own – but I don’t know how they can do their own without me. I’ve never been contacted.

Now it seems he would be willing to do just about anything to get his special made, even if it skews against everything we know about ‘Star Trek.’

“I’ve been actively trying to do a 50th anniversary show … We had a big company say: ‘What about a musical or a music variety show?’ That got some traction – but nothing’s come of it yet.”

That’s right, Shatner is so desperate for the spotlight on the 50th Anniversary of ‘Star Trek’ that he’s even willing to put on a ‘Star Trek’ music/variety show. And let us keep in mind, the man who wants to “honor” ‘Star Trek’ is also the man who admits that he has never seen a lot of the original episodes, and has never watched any of the newer movies, or even ‘The Next Generation’ series.

“I haven’t watched myself on Star Trek, except when forced to because I’m directing something. So there are many, many of the episodes that I did all those years ago that I have never watched, and that goes for every iteration of Star Trek … I just haven’t had the time.

“The people on Star Trek: The Next Generation are friends of mine, and they kid me about the fact that I have never really seen a full-length Next Generation.”

So how exactly does he plan on putting on a special honoring 50 years of ‘Star Trek’ when he has barely been paying attention all these years? True, he did help launch the franchise, and has been especially loyal to the fanbase and his audience, but that does not mean he IS ‘Star Trek.’ The series has lived on quite well without him, and his attitude that there can be no special without him speaks volumes about his vanity. So please, Mr. Shatner, give up on this insane quest, and go find some other way to fuel your ego.

Source: The Guardian