William Shatner’s Raw Nerve
Shatner's Raw Nerve on Biography Channel
I’m a big fan of celebrity interviews. Whenever I have the chance, I watch The Actor’s Studio or Charlie Rose, or catch the latest Barbara Walters special. Then yesterday, I happened to be listening to the local public radio station, KPCC (89.3 FM), and heard an interview with the legendary William Shatner (Star Trek, Boston Legal, and Priceline spokesperson). Evidently he recently started an interview show on The Biography Channel. Well, I had to check it out.
It’s amazing! This is the interview show I’d been waiting for.
So often in an interview, just when the person being interviewed is about to share some deeper aspect of themselves, the interviewer changes the subject because they’ve got a list of questions to get through in a limited amount of time. William Shatner’s Raw Nerve, however, digs deep.
The chairs are uniquely positioned facing each other with opposite armrests touching so that Shatner and his guest are practically holding hands and staring eye-to-eye. He’s not holding any notes in his hand. He speaks very little. His only agenda is to really discover what makes a person tick. What have been their motivations and driving forces in their lives and careers. And what emerges are some amazing insights about life, relationships, and even spirituality. It’s only a 30 minute show, but in that half hour you feel like you’ve come to really know the person.
I was glad to hear that the show has been renewed for 13 more episodes. Check it out!
As of this writing, on the web you can view two full episodes (Judge Judy and Jenna Jameson). Others interviewed include Leonard Nimoy, Tim Allen, Jon Voight, Valerie Bertinelli, Fran Drescher, and many more.
not sure i like the positioning of chairs. albeit, i only saw snips of judge judge interview, still like charlie rose better….
Shatner had the idea for the positioning of the chairs. Listen to the interview with Shatner on KPCC. Personally, I like the more personal proximity.