Raw Nerve Recap: Kevin Pollak & Carl Reiner

Well, since I don't have cable and rely on dvds & streaming video for my TV consumption, I've fallen quite behind with Season 3 of Shatner' Raw Nerve.  This year I've missed Carol Burnett, Rick Springfield, Penny Marshall, Florence Henderson, and a few others.  But I was damn sure not going to miss Kevin Pollak!  Pollak, of course, has built a career out of impersonations of Peter Falk, Christopher Walken, and our boy Bill.

And on his stand-up album, What Are The Chances, Pollak has a rather funny track in which he recounts the lunch meeting he had with Shatner to discuss the "Boxed In" episode of HBO's Perversions of Science.  A meeting that eventually degenerates into Pollak "doing Shatner" for Shatner.  For The Shat's point of view on that encounter check out the clip below.

So, of course! when I heard that Pollak was doing Bill's Raw Nerve I got pretty gosh darn excited.  Would we finally get to witness Pollak "doinng Shatner" for Shatner?

No.  Unfortunately, that bit of wishful thinking was just not meant to be.  Instead, we actually got a rather dull episode.  The first half of the show dealt mostly with how Pollak discovered comedy via Bill Cosby records.  How "College was just High School with ash trays" and the "School of Hard Knocks" was where he was supposed to grab his education.  The second half of the show detailed the destruction of Pollak's first marriage and the birth of his relationship with his new lady.  He's never been happier, blah, blah, blah.  I'm sounding a bit harsh...I'm just so frustrated about the elephant in the room!  Do Shatner!

The Carl Reiner episode was much more fulfilling with lots of neat little tidbits from both parties.  Shatner opens the interview with, "What is comedy?"  Reiner's cute response is "...seeing the truth, bending it a little."  And then they go on to have a rather interesting philosophical conversation.  Reiner admits that Mel Brooks is the funniest man he knows because he's "very, very, very, very, very well read and bright.  And neurotic."  He talks about how the Dick Van Dyke show spawned from a failed pilot about himself.  And Shatner and Reiner discuss the loss of both their wives.  Shatner at one point admits, "I talk to my dead wife frequently."  This leads to a quick discussion about the afterlife or the lack thereof.  And Shatner agrees with Reiner that god is a creation of man.  Pretty heavy stuff for a program that lasts just over twenty minutes.  I could have easily hung around for a full hour.  But that's the thing about Raw Nerve.  Shatner gives you just a taste of these personalities.

This weekend is the Scott Bakula episode.  Don't want to miss that.  Quantum Leap.  Lord of Illusions.  Necessary Roughness.  Some of my childhood classics.

Richard Matheson & Fangoria #301

Shatner fans should check out this month's issue of Fangoria for an excellent interview with "Living Legend" Richard Matheson.  Obviously, we all know that Matheson is the man responsible for two of the greatest Twilight Zones ever produced (Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, Nick of Time) and the classic TOS Kirk vs. Kirk episode, The Enemy Within.  But you might not know how Nixon screwed over his Dracula adaptation.  Or how Val Lewton's classic Cat People inspired one of classic Gremlin on the Wing scares.  Or how Basil Rathbone inspired a few grisly anecdontes in his latest novel Other Kingdoms.  Or even what he really thinks about the many incarnations of his apocalyptic novel I Am Legend...let's just say he's a little more than frustrated--and don't even get him started on Richard Kelly's The Box!

Special Shat Bonus:

Toy company Bif Bang Pow! (http://www.bifbangpow.com/) have put out two more Shat-tastic Twilight Zone items that are definitely going to make fine additions to this Shat Attacker's collection.  Honestly, how can you not own a life-size Mystic Seer with working coin mechanism.  $249.99 is just chump change for us devotees.

1 Month Till "International Talk Like William Shatner Day!"

We are not only one month away till The Shat turns 80, but we're also just one month away till the 3rd Annual "International Talk Like William Shatner Day."  Don't know what I'm talking about?  Well, here's voice genius Maurice LaMarche (aka The Brain from Pinky & The Brain) to explain things:

And last year, LaMarche and fellow Shat aficionado Kevin Pollock celebrated with a "Shat Off."  

Just more fantastic Shat madness to mull over.  I don't know, I'd really like to participate but I have no talent in this arena.  Maybe I could get my buddy Satnam to do a video during Shat Attack 4.  He's an actor, and a huge fan of the classic Shat flick Impulse...hmmm, maybe if we bend his arm a little.

Poster Premiere!

There it is!  Bask in its glory!

Geez, where to begin?  How to explain such madness?  Designed by Paul L. Petzrick, the poster for Shat Attack 4: The Revenge was concocted late one night over the course of several texts between Paul and myself.  The last two posters Paul did for Shat Attack were inspired by the Star Trek II (UK Quad) and Star Trek III posters, but rather than go for the obvious Voyage Home homage...well, I just thought Jaws 4: The Revenge!

I'm still working on the line-up for this year's party, but Shat Attack 4 is gonna have a lot of Horror on display.  We've got Ray Bradbury Theater, a couple Thriller episodes, and I've finally scored a bootleg for the awesomely terrible Horror at 37,000 Feet.  So with that kinda Shat Crazy about to be unleashed upon our audience--well, if you've seen Jaws 4 then maybe you just get it.  A terrible movie, but for the 13 year old boy inside it's a fantastic viewing experience.  It's got The Last Starfighter, Oscar winner Michael Caine & his paycheck, and Mario Van Peebles' ridiculous Jamaican.  It's goof, but it's fantastic.  And that's what I want from Shat Attack 4.  

The great thing is, Paul really seemed inspired this year.  It took him just a few days to whip up the poster, but he wasn't done.  Two days later, he sent me a link to his Jaws/Star Trek IV video mashup.

As of this date, the Shat Attack 4 mashup has reached 501 views.  That is amazing to me and fills this Shat Attacker with great joy.  The video premiered on the other great Shatner Loving blog Look At His Butt! (http://www.lookathisbutt.blogspot.com/)  And Trekmovie.com recently included a brief synopsis of Shat Attack as well as the video as part of their regular Shat Watch article (http://trekmovie.com/2011/02/11/shatwatch-bill-jams-with-rockers-new-negotiator-ads-grills-florence-henderson-solicits-american-pickers-more/).  So as you can see, Shat Attack is sweeping the nation.  Next year, we might even have a proper venue...

Anyway, just 12 Days till Shat Attack 4.  Lotta prep work to be done.

FYI, Paul's previous Shat Attack posters: