Customer Reviews

Get a Life!

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Wow! I sat down at a local bookstore waiting for my wife with "Get A Life" in my hands thinking I'd read a few pages to pass the time. 5 chapters later, my wife was waiting for me--I had to buy it and read the rest at home. This book makes me laugh out loud (aforementioned wife thinks I'm nuts). I'm happy to see that Mr. Shatner enjoys the love, affection, and Star Trek subculture which he had a hand in creating. His self-deprecating humor is funny and refreshing, his insights (and those he interviews) are heart-warming and dead-on. Kudos to Mr. Shatner!!!!! This book should be interesting to even "casual" Star Trek fans.

It took the death of James T. Kirk in Star Trek Generations for William Shatner to finally become -- oh no! -- a TREKKIE! In this candid and hilariously self-depreciating book, Shatner admits that, for all those years as a cast member, he had been totally clueless about what Trek fandom was all about. To find out, he dons a really tacky rubber alien mask in order to mingle anonymously with the crowd. (The book has photos of him wearing it -- I wonder how many fans will see them and think, "Oh no! I was standing right next to Bill and never even got his autograph!") When the undercover experiment is over, he has a new respect for what happens at a Trek convention. And when he asks the fans what to call the book, they suggest, "Get a Life!" So he did.

One of the funniest parts of the book is in the first chapter, where he describes going to a typical speaking engagement, from panic on the plane (this ex-starship captain hates flying!) to being met at the airport by an enthusiastic fan who invaribly can't find the car, then being driven at top speed to the convention, where he is smuggled in the back door past the smelly garbage dumpsters, through the hotel kitchen, then along the "secret" passageways used by the cleaning staff, to emerge backstage -- all choregraphed by security teams using codes like "The Eagle has landed" to try to keep his exact arrival time a secret from the crowd. Whew! No wonder he had to put on a mask to enter the real Trek universe! I, for one, am glad he did, because this is a very entertaining book.

William Shatner's love hate relationship with the show that made him famous or notorious depending on his mood under went a strange metamorphic change that came ironically after his character was killed off in Generations movie (Star Trek VII).

Shatner's book tell that story of his changing attitude toward Star Trek, its fanatic fans and the phenomenon that the show created all over the world. Its well written, often filled with humor as he reflects on what he have learned since his changed of heart. It also a great book since it deal with coming to terms with his past and how it was all catching up to him. I think Shatner finally began to realized that no matter what he does for the rest of his life, he will always be connected with Star Trek, always be known as "Captain James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise" and that the way it will be long after he's dead and buried.

So with that in mind, this book comes recommended. Its story of William Shatner and not Star Trek in general. He writes on his experiences regarding the phenomenon he helped create over 37 years ago and how he think about it when he wrote the book. (I thought his impression on autographs was very interesting.)

In this book, Star Trek's Captain Kirk sets out to understand the most baffling "Strange New World" of all, the world of Star Trek Fandom.After Kirk's cinematic death in "Generations" Shatner makes an effort to understand the bizarre sub culture that has made his career such a success.Long content to keep his association with Star Trek "on the clock", Shatner begins to don an alien mask and move incognito on convention floors. He begins to interview fans, convention organizers and merchants.As Shatner's understanding of Trek fandom mounts in the pages of the book, he becomes more and more in tune with a world that heretofore existed beneath his notice. His tales of revalation are often funny, sometimes touching, and always enteretaining.Shatner, in the twilight of his legendary career, sets out to undertand Trek Fandom, a phenomenon also in its twilight stage.This is one for posterity, and hilarity!

Like the two other volumes before it ("Star Trek Memories" and "Star Trek Movie Memories"), the third installment in the Shatner Chronicles is informing, intriguing, and funny.

Shatner and co-author Chris Kreski have painted a picture that may or may not truly reflect Shatner's views or life events, but is entertaining nevertheless. However, I did think it interesting that Shatner seemed open to teasing himself about his ego, his hamminess, his lack of technical abilities, and his reported stubborn arrogance.

The history of Trek conventions is very well told, and is an insightful look into the early days of Trek fandom, and what motivated fans to go to a convention in the days before corporate marketeering took control of such fan gatherings. Also recounted is the true, behind-the-scenes tale of the famous letter-writing campaign that saved Trek from cancellation after its second season, as well as the story behind the infamous skit on "Saturday Night Live" from which the book takes its title.

Shatner tells several funny tales that (suppossedly) really happened in his life, that remind one of a humorous disaster in which Kirk deadpans a "Why me?" through the hilariaous moment before the commercial break (such as being buried in tribbles). In one such story, Shatner tells the tale of being on a Greek isle, miles away from civilization, and seeing a Trek slogan scratched on a ruined Greek edifice: "Star Trek Lives!" True or not, the humor is fun.

Shatner comes off as a good guy and a straight shooter, which is no big surprise (it is, after all, his book, written from his point of view). Still, one telling moment has to be when Shatner discusses how fans are being duped by unscrupulous dealers who trade in fake autographs. Shatner and his interviewees rail against the practice, and rightfully so. However, I felt there was more than altuism behind the actor's outrage. Little mentioned is the fact that Shatner takes a cut from the "official" autograph salesmen.

I also had to wonder why De Kelley was not interviewed for the book, or even mentioned all that much. Nimoy, Takei, and even the actors on other Treks have a say here about conventions or just fans in general, but not Kelley. He passed about the time the book was released, and even so, his perspective as the third corner of the "triad" of Kirk, Spock and McCoy was sorely missed. If he could not give a direct interview, surely Shatner could have at least recounted a tale of Kelley's reaction to a Trek convention or the fans. Reportedly, Kelley spoke with Nimoy on the phone a while before his death, and the topic of Trek's popularity was something they discussed (De summed it up as, "Y'know? We were good!"). Yet, Kelley is not featured in the book at all.

In any case, the book is a fun read for the history aspect alone, and some of the interviews are interesting as well. Trek fans will appreciate the effort, and hearing about some of the most common questions fans have, why they dress up as Trek characters and aliens, and other revelations about Shatner's encounters with Trek fandom on the convention circuit.

First of all let it be said that I'm not a "trekkie-er". I picked this book up because I'd heard somewhere that it was good. Somewhat to my suprise, I found it a funny and interesting read. It explains some of the apparent "weirdness" of Star Trek conventions. I could never comprehend how the show had *so many* fans, but now I think I have some idea of why it is so popular.

Shatner was a self-admitted 'clueless' person at the centre of Trekdom when he started this book, and not quite so clueless at the end. It's a light-weight read in a lot of ways, and easy and quick to get through. If you want to get some idea of what motivates people to go to conventions that are larger than many towns (I've never been to one - but they look like worth going to in the USA, if only to see the dress-up), then pick this up.

I read this book and find it to be a very good book. I loved the pokes at Nimoy and found the story about the elephant to be equaly funny!

Funny, witty, creative, insightful, deep hearted, informative..etc. So many differnet terms you can use to describe this very enjoyable write up by the former Admiral Kirk himself.

This late 1990's book takes the reader through a wide variety of emotions, knowledge and underground information when dealing with all things that go on at the various and too many to count "Star Trek Conventions" around the country and even the world. William Shatner has always been facinated by the type of people that show up at the various conventions, dressed up like characters on the show and worshipping every word he has to say as if it was from the mighty ship captain himself. But one thing Mr. Shatner never did, was actually focus on what was going on around him. He would fly into the location, quickly be escorted in right before he was to speak, do his 45 minute talk to the crowd quickly, wave goodbye and get his pay check and head back home and do it again when he was up to it. That was all it was to him. But suddenly the Captain was killed off in Star Trek: Generations and had no more TV shows to do. Now he was being booked to more conventions then ever, and thats when he realized, that he had never even understood the people that he was addressing all of these times. That was until he decided to write this book and quite a book it is.

You will go through the entire gambit of emotions with this book. It is never nasty or spiteful. If anything William is very humble and seems to be genuine in his hopes to learn about the fans and the conventions that he has always thought was just full of crazy fans who need to "Get a Life" as he famously said on the just as famous Saturday Night Live skit so many years ago. Mr. Shatner has a way of being friendly, down to Earth and talks in this book not as a serious author, but as the same William Shatner we have always seen and heard everytime we see him. He learns everything there is to learn about the people who go to these conventions. The types of things they buy. The types of costumes they wear. The history of how the conventions started in the first place. Talks a lot about things that he himself has to deal with when associating with the fans. Answers a lot of questions he has been asked over the years. And even has some very touching and deep moments when some of the fans are explaining why they love Star Trek so much. It is quite surprising when you hear some of the answers they give and how much the show and entire series really means to them.

This is a must read to anyone who is into Star Trek, gone to a convention or just enjoys learning more about the Star Trek fan base and history. It is quite informative and just very interesting. William even goes undercover in a mask at various points so no one will know that thier beloved captain is walking amongst them and has some interesting revelations as he observes first hand what is going on at the various tables, shows and speaker sessions that each convention is made up of. I really couldn't put this book down. The moment I started reading it I was hooked and I'm not even that big a Trekie. I never even been to a convention and still haven't even seen every episode. But something drew me into this book which really just had a very high intrest level that won't bore you for a moment. The interviews are short and sweet and the humor constant and even gets in a few moments to poke fun at a certain Mr. Nemoy who Shatner has kept close contact with over the years.

I really was quite surprised in all honesty at how good this book was. We all know the image we have of Shatner. Being a hammy, over acting so and so who steals lines, talks in huge pauses and seems to eat up the screen time. And he freely admits to or even tries to explain all of these views people have on him without holding back any shame of admiting truths or non-truths to us. But after reading this book you are almost humbled and regretful that you even thought of him in that way. He truly shows a new side of him that you never expected. It is not often that actors on a TV show would even care to learn more about their fans or the people that worship them so dearly. I will definitely be reading this book again soon enough just to see what I missed and to laugh yet again. Some of the stories and situations are just laugh out loud moments that you can't believe you are reading. He doesn't hold anything back and you really get a new respect for the man we had watched in various movies and television episodes over the years. Most of all he has always cherished and loved the fact that he played Captain Kirk and doesn't run away from the fact of what people percieve him as any longer.

Anyone who is into Star Trek or even those non-Trek fans who want just a nice light read when they have read all the deep Non-Fiction pieces out there.. has to read this book. I can promise you, it will be a pure enjoyment and enlightening experience that will break some of the images and stereotypes the majority of people have had over the fanatic fans who frequent these conventions. The only complaint I had was I wanted even more. It just never seemed enough. The captain may have died in the movies but this book is proof enough he isn't going anywhere any time soon. He will be with the Trek fans for a very long time to come. And I think we should all be very nervous for that fact as he will be watching from now on.

The book title comes from a bit William Shatner performed on Saturday Night Live where he bellows out the line when the audience at a Star Trek convention gets a little....well, out of the galaxy.

It started an oftentimes silly debate on whether Shatner actually meant what he said, with fans lining up in several camps of thought. Shatner had avoided appearing at the ever-popular conventions and books by other castmembers were none-to-kind at times to the fine captain.

But as anything in the entertainment business, never means never doubt that things can change. Shatner agreed to promote Star Trek Generations through a series a speaking engagements. And this is where his humor takes over.

Shatner takes a basic premise - chronicling the phenomena of Star Trek through fans, castmembers, memorabilia dealers and convention promoters - and turns it into an event shrouded in mystery; he dons a monster outfit and sets out to interview folks at the conventions.

The pictures are priceless and the text not only gives the reader a true appreciation on what the series has meant to so many people, but how the research gave Shatner a vehicle to come to terms with the legacy he left through the TV series and movies.

"Trust me, I know exactly how lucky I am... there's not a day that goes by where I don't look up into the heavens and say, 'Thank you.'"

Are these the words of an egomaniac? Not quite: it's a quote from William Shatner's mea culpa, "Get a Life!" In the past, Shatner was undoubtedly an arrogant S.O.B., hogging screen time from his costars and telling Trekkers to "get a life" in a "Saturday Night Live" skit (hence the title). But in the last few years, Shatner has realized the parody of himself he's become, and decided he was the one who needed to "get a life." This book chronicles Shatner's efforts to learn more about Trek fans (and himself), often with riotous results.

"Get a Life!" makes great casual reading, due to its segmented formatting and conversational tone. After a fairly lengthy history of Star Trek conventions (undoubtedly written by co-author Chris Kreski, but skillfully integrated with Shatner's first-person narrative), the book segues into a series of anecdotes, interviews, and sidebars. It's alternately fun (Shatner's encounters with an elephant and a skunk will make you laugh out loud), informative (the section on autograph forgery should be required reading not only for Trekkers, but any autograph collector), and even moving (particularly the interviews with the "Cat Man" and the anonymous fan with multiple personalities). Shatner even tackles the topic of his own idiosyncratic acting style, interrogating actor Kevin Pollak on how to perform the perfect Kirk impersonation.

"Get a Life!" completes the process of self-discovery begun in Shatner and Kreski's previous collaborations ("Star Trek Memories" and "Star Trek Movie Memories"). This one tops them both in terms of candor and entertainment value, and should win over all but the most recalcitrant Kirk-haters.