Everybody loves Jason Nesmith.
At least, thats what Jason Nesmith thinks.
But behind the closed door of a mens room stall, Nesmith learns the truth.
The bathroom conversation is also one of many moments inGalaxy Questdrawn from the actual lives ofStar Trekcast members.
The scene inGalaxy Questcertainly plays on Shatners outsized sense of self-importance.
You stole all my best lines, you cut me out of episode two entirely!
Those charges also stem from actualStar Trekhistory.
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Shatners script hijacking is one of many examples of his clashes with co-stars.
He was self-involved, Takei toldThe Guardian.
He enjoyed being the center of attention.
He wanted everyone to kowtow to him.
Takei may be the most vocal of Shatners detractors but he was hardly alone.
According to his bookBoldly Go,Nichelle Nichols told Shatner that the others found him cold and arrogant.
Galaxy Questreflects Shatners attitude in his treatment of his castmates and fans.
He emerges into the movie declaring your captain is here!
without even acknowledging that he made everyone wait for an hour.
Furthermore, Jason is played by Tim Allen, an actor who also has a reputation for irritating others.
Never made eye contact, never said anything.
It was so uncomfortable, she charged.
Maybe those shared difficulties help explain whyGalaxy Questgets the Shatner appeal so well.
Thus theres a vulnerability to Jason that makes him compelling, even when hes being an arrogant jerk.
Jason is tragic because he needs the very people to whom he condescends.
But he needs them to be the person he wants to be: Commander Taggart.
Shatner also undid Kirks death inGenerationsfora wonderfully unhinged set of novelsand, to this day, grouches thatJ.J.
Abramsbrought Nimoys Spock back, but not his Kirk, in the reboot films.
That pride and natural bluster is evident onscreen in his every outing as Kirk.
Sure, Shatners idiosyncratic line deliveries have long since become a punchline, but theyre effective nonetheless.
And more often than not, its fantastic.
Just look at the reaction he has when Decker challenges Kirk inThe Motion Picture.
I stand corrected, confesses Kirk.
In fact, all of theTOSmovies are about how old and out of step Kirk is.
Sure, Kirk beginsStar Trek V, the one Shatner himself directed, free soloing El Capitan.
But he still almost falls to his death after getting interrogated by a cool Spock in hoverboots.
Seeing how his actions affect others changes Jason.
He realizes he needs to be more like Taggart instead of Nesmith.
Now in his 90s, its unlikely that Shatner will have a similar come-to-Sha Ka Ree moment.
