Any time, and we mean any time, Kirk is possessed, or replaced by an alternative version, or mind-controlled, or what have you, what subtlety Shatner is capable of goes right out the window. Were we to list every instance in which Shatner's dialing it up to 11 makes us want to cover our eyes, we'd have a whole 'nother list on our hands. Instead of listing them all, then, let's go with the most egregiously cringey examples. There's the Dark Kirk formed by a transporter accident in The Enemy Within: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bZKEhgieoc There's the mind-controlled Kirk fearing he's lost control of his ship in And The Children Shall Lead: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvRBDQqSmY Then, we have the mind-controlled Kirk made to act like a horse, as well as dance, slap himself, and (gasp!) kiss a black woman in Plato's Stepchildren: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avTfiRccYIA And finally, just to beat said horse to death, here's the mirror universe version of Kirk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XKGqxnZC08 (Sorry, this was the only version available. Cute video, though, eh?) In short, Shatner is a very subtle actor - except when he's not. Then he just makes you want to bury your head in a bucket of sand until the pain goes away.
Tony Whitt has previously written TV, DVD, and comic reviews for CINESCAPE, NOW PLAYING, and iF MAGAZINE. His weekly COMICSCAPE columns from the early 2000s can still be found archived on Mania.com. He has also written a book of gay-themed short stories titled CRESCENT CITY CONNECTIONS, available on Amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle format. Whitt currently lives and works in Chicago, Illinois.
