When he was the attorney on TV he was great...
I was never a fan of the TJ Hooker role. Tried to play that too straight for what he was and was becoming. And some of the Trek movies were just so bad. But he really cemented a career (and apparently had great fun doing it) playing Denny Crane on Boston Legal. That was a fun show. Shatner stole that show over and over and over again.
“You know the old joke, Alan? Man shows up at the pearly gates, sees this guy in a pinstripe suit and a briefcase, a cigar, prancing about. He says to Saint Peter, ‘Who’s that guy?’ Saint Peter says, ‘Ah, that’s just God. Thinks he’s Denny Crane.’”
“Alan, c’mon, we hate all our clients. It’s good to hate, allows us to overcharge and still sleep at night.”