Yet, for the high-concept nature of science fiction, especially in The Original Series, a big performance was required. Hooker or Boston Legal, his performance is downright understated compared to that early work. A theater actor primarily, Shatner's style at the time was drawn from this tradition.
If one looks at Shatner's other most famous television roles, on The Twilight Zone, they can see a lot of Kirk in his performance. Shatner's performance is a major reason why Star Trek continued to grow in popularity after its cancellation. From today's standards, where television has a cinematic quality from performance to production, some of the choices Shatner made as Kirk may seem regrettable, but the opposite is true. In fairness to these too-harsh critics, some moments of Shatner's performance as Kirk are decidedly over-the-top.
Thanks in large part to an imitation made popular by comedian and actor Kevin Pollak, the casual Star Trek fan may think William Shatner was a 'bad' actor in The Original Series.
