To go from the coolest space captain in the known universe to a cranky old man… this is the fate of William Shatner. The former Captain Kirk has signed on to star in the TV version of popular Twitter account (I know, I know) Shit My Dad Says. The Twitter feed, for those who are unaware, is by 29-year old Justin Halpern, who ‘moved back in’ with his parents last year and started the account as a way of documenting all the wacky stuff his 73 year old father would say. Here’s one of the latest bon mots:
“Nah, we don’t celebrate it. Don’t know who St. Valentine was, don’t give a shit, and doubt he wants people screwing in his memory.”
I don’t follow the feed so I don’t know if Dad has upped the ante with the recent news that he’s been optioned as a TV show.
With Shatner onboard the show, which is likely to be renamed Stuff My Dad Says, has been greenlit to pilot. Halpern helped write the pilot, which could be funny enough – this concept is really just a more benign All in the Family, after all – but there’s one thing I don’t like here:
Shatner.
Besides the fact that I hate seeing one of my childhood heroes end up in the crotchety dad role on a sitcom, I think he’s just wrong. Ed Asner, a la Up? That’s right. Shatner’s too big for the role, and he’ll play it pissy, not cranky, and there’s a huge difference between the two. Obviously this character is Archie Bunker 2010, and he needs some of Carol O’Connnor’s regular guy persona. Shatner’s no regular guy.