I recently attended "Shatfest" hosted by Oakland, CA's Parkway Theater (http://www.picturepubpizza.com/), an annual tribute to William Shatner. It was a freeking riot. The Parkway is set up like a lounge with couches and tables instead of the usual theater setup. They have a kitchen with a full menu, and serve beer and wine. Anyway, while we were waiting for our food to be served, they showed a black-and-white episode of "The Man from UNCLE" that featured both Shatner and Leonard Nimoy a year before they did "Star Trek". Next, they silently ran a segment of a Star Trek episode while belly dancers danced on the stage in front of the screen. The segment they chose featured an "alien" gal dancing in front to Kirk and Mr. Spock, and it blended perfectly with the live show. Surreal!!! Next they had a Shatner trivia quiz awarding prizes that included a picture of Captain Kirk signed by Shatner. This was followed by a video of Shatner performing Elton John's "Rocket Man", a level of "rank" seldom achieved by mere mortals. But the piece-de-resistance was the screening of "Impulse". Now I pride myself as being an aficionado of horrible, rank films, so I can confidently report that this is the BEST horrible, terrible, rank movie I've ever experienced. "Robot Monsters", "CC and Company", "Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell" are A-Card movies compared to this one. The Shatner ham has never glistened and dripped like this before or since. Adding to the fun is Harold Sakata ("Odd Job" from "Goldfinger") playing an itinerant karate instructor looking for a big score. The entire audience was in continuous hysterics for an hour and a half. Actually, that's not true. A gal at my table who'd immigrated from China five years ago took the movie literally, and was totally bewildered by the reaction of the audience. I tried to explain it to her, but.......how can you explain nonsense like this? Which of course added to the fun. Anyway, a memorable movie!!
