Get a Life!

Based on the William Shatner book of the same name, "Get A Life!" is a two-pronged looked at the Star Trek phenomenon. One prong works very well, while the other one fails pretty much miserably:

-The parts of the show that focus on the Trek conventions and the fans that populate them are very interesting, humorous, and touching all at the same time. Fellow Trek fans will relate to many of the stories told and identify with the people telling them. Plus, it is just fun to see all the great costumes!

-However, the parts of this documentary where Shatner tries to "figure out" the philosophical meanings of Star Trek are boring and fall completely flat. It doesn't help matters that we all know by now that Shatner is such a clown that to take him seriously on anything is ludicrous (!).

Had this been a documentary entitled something like "Star Trek: The Conventions" and stripped of all Shatner's musings, it would have been a much better overall experience. As it is, "Get A Life" is only so-so, with moments of pure fun/emotion off-balanced by philosophical ramblings.

I completely enjoyed this documentary, so was a little surprised by some of the negative reviews of it. It certainly did NOT put down Star Trek fans in any way. While not a "Trekkie" myself, I have loved the shows in all their variations. I was one of the fortunate kids who was 8-10 when the first Star Trek series was on air. I doubt I realized at that tender age the message that Roddenberry was trying to impart in his writing, but even being that young my psyche recognized that there was an inherent "goodness" about what the characters were doing. I think that Mr. Shatner did an excellent job with this documentary explaining why this phenomenon has survived for 45 years. The long term Trek fans recognize this "goodness" as well. In a world increasingly filled with terrorist attacks and those in elected office who cannot find a way to communicate, the Trek fans around the world have a "family" they can turn to who share a common interest and resolve - that people are good at heart and can find a way to get along and that we are all one Earth family. Those that have come to the conventions for decades have formed a second family and lifelong friends. How can that possibly be a bad thing? I'm sure it seems eccentric to some but when you consider all the horrible things going on in our world, this gathering of people interested in friendship and family is refreshing and this documentary did an excellent job communicating that.

Let me tell ya - Prior to viewing "Get A Life!" I actually had some real respect for actor, William Shatner and I really thought that he was an "OK" dude for playing the character of Captain Kirk in TV's "Star Trek".

But, now - After having to endure this hideous vanity production, I view the self-satisfied Shatner as being nothing but a totally despicable S.O.B. and I can only hope that there are others out there who now see him in the same sort of contemptuous light, as well. (And, with that, they no longer have any sort of regard for this self-loving oaf in any way at all)

Shatner made this documentary to squeeze some more money out of the Star Trek fans. In the first 20 minutes, several nice people are interviewed only to be ridiculed by Shatner's voice over and cut scenes. He obviously does not live by the phrase, "you don't bite the hand that feeds you".

If you love Star Trek I encourage you to continue, but I have no respect for the actor/director William Shatner. The people interviewed in this film should file a class action lawsuit against his actions. They were interviewed by a camera crew only to have Shatner add his voice over later making sport of the very people who make the Star Trek fiction a life of reality.

The title of this documentary is taken from one of the funniest Saturday Night Live" skits of the 1980s--the one where William Shatner addresses a groups of Trekkies and tells them to 'get a life'! It's an excellent title to this Shatner-hosted show, as it explores Star Trek fandom as well as tries to draw some meaning to all this.

Now I mentioned in the summary that it was more enjoyable than the documentary "Trekkies" and I think this is true for two main reasons. First, I really liked all the touching vignettes in "Get a Life". While I would have STILL preferred more of these, much of "Get a Life" nearly brings you to tears even if you are not a Star Trek fan. Second, it does offer a bit more depth than just folks attending conventions and obsessing about the Trek. Shatner and others try to find a deeper meaning and often parallels to Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey" are discussed. In other words, how are traditional mythology and Star Trek obsession similar?

Overall, this is clearly a show that would appeal most to Star Trek fans, but even to the casual and non-obsessed fan (like myself) it has a lot of appeal. Well worth seeing.