The forgotten comedy in which William Shatner parodied his Star Trek character

William Shatner started his career as a promising young actor in the company of the prestigious Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. But when, despite strong notices for his performances, he failed to rise to stardom like his fellow Canadian Christopher Plummer, Shatner lowered his sights and embraced the philosophy of a working actor. This is not a punch. He shone in his “The Twilight Zone” episodes and was excellent as a racist interloper who unleashes violence on the black residents of a small town in Roger Corman’s “The Intruder.” But he also took so many guest roles on television that he ran the risk of depressing his value because of his ubiquity.

Three seasons and several great episodes of “Star Trek” fixed it up for Shatner, but throughout the 1970s he became closely associated with a kind of ridiculously serious, lightly parodied demeanor. The ne plus ultra of Serious Shatner may be his portrayal of vet Rack Hansen in the slick 1977 exploitation film “Kingdom of the Spiders.” The film works as intended, but you’ll be laughing your way through it as Shatner wrestles with a biblical stream of tarantulas. (It’s like the feature film version of Indiana Jones beating the creepy crawlies off Satipo’s back in “Raiders of the Lost Ark”).

Eventually, Shatner realized he’d fallen deep into self-parody and decided he wanted in on the fun. In 1982, he found the perfect project to scratch the silly itch.

“Fly!” is one of the funniest and most quotable comedies ever made, but “Airplane II: The Sequel” is mostly remembered as a pale imitation, if it’s remembered at all. Why is that? Initially, Paramount greenlit the film without the involvement or approval of the original film’s creative team (David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker). Second…it’s just not very fun.

When “Airplane II: The Sequel” works, which is rare, it’s usually when William Shatner is on screen as Alpha Beta Lunar Base Commander Buck Murdock. He is this film’s version of Robert Stack’s Rex Kramer; he also hates Robert Hays’ Ted Striker, and mercurially tries to guide the protagonist’s malfunctioning passenger space shuttle to a safe landing on the moon.

The whole point of having Shatner in the film is to relentlessly riff on “Star Trek” (easy enough for Paramount since it owns the property). There’s a race for voice-activated doors (the base’s officers have to make the “Star Trek” door sound to open them), and a moment where Shatner, inexplicably using a submarine periscope to eyeball the gunners’ progress, spies Starship Enterprise. His biggest laugh, however, has little to do with “Star Trek.” When he is informed that their base does not have a tower, only a bridge, he storms out from behind a video screen, which turns out to be a door. It’s much more fun when you see it.

The dweeby act suited Shatner. It also led to him playing for yuks in TV shows like “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “Boston Legal,” as well as movies like “Free Enterprise” and “Miss Congeniality.”