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Ask William Shatner
At long last William Shatner has volunteered himself to be strapped into the Slashdot Interviewee Victim Chair. You know the gig: Post your questions for the man, the moderators do their thing, and in a week or so we post the answers. So here's your chance to ask questions to the star of Iron Chef USA, Miss Congeniality and TJ Hooker!
He once said on Letterman:
"Because I...can't remember....my....lines..."
The Onion AV Club just had an interview with Shatner. Besides being rather interesting, it's a list of questions that you can avoid reasking.
GET YOUR WEAPONS READY! --DR.LIGHT
Big Giant Head (Shatner): I thought I saw something on the wing, but noone believed me.
High Commander (Lithgow): The same thing happened to me!
Hands down, the funniest moment ever on broadcast television. I missed half of the episode, clutching my sides in laughter. No one else in the room got it... Their loss. =)
How's my programming? Call 1-800-DEV-NULL
Actually, he spent a great deal of time at the Toronto Shakespeare Company. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in fact. All joking aside, Shatner was considered a hot property at that time. His first big break was when Plummer was sick one night, and he had to do the Hamlet role. Audiences said he was magnificent. Serious roles like The Brothers Karamazov followed. He was nabbed for Star Trek because of his classical theater rep, and if you've ever watched the old episodes, some of his performances were damn good. He's went the Leslie Nielson route now, and doing a lot of comedy, but drama was originally his forte.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
Well, let me clarify:
Directors do have creative some degree of creative control, and they are able to influence the tone and mood of their episodes. You wouldn't see an X-files director bringing the same style to, say, Hidden Hills...though it would make for an interesting story!
I know what you're talking about, in reference to shot composition and whatnot. That's usually all the director. Lighting, however, is all the Director of Photography. Usually the DP on a TV show that uses the same sets will have preset lighting (that's why the bridge and Ready Room always look the same, for instance) because it saves time. But! When a creative director tells the DP that he's going for something very dark and moody, or very bright and joyful, the DP will usually jump at the chance to do something creative...as long as it doesn't take too much time.
If I made it sound like TV directors are just point-and-shoot people, I really did them a grave disservice. They are afforded creative freedoms, and encouraged to make an episode their own, to be sure...just as long as it doesn't take too much time.