Star Trek Convention - Saturday Night Live 

"Get a life!" *_sees how much people will pay for autographs_* "Star Trek means so much to me! It's so inspiring! I love you all!"

You can tell shatner meant every word of what he said.

Classic. I saw this when it first aired and I laughed my head off. And yes, I was an avid Trekkie at the time and went to conventions. This is funny because it is not too far from the truth!

Hahaha.. "He's dead, Jim!" would be an awesome single

"Move out of your parents' basements" - nice to see Shatner, a famously pompous actor, sending himself up in this brilliant (and savage) sketch (and I speak as a huge fan of STOS)

This skit was actually the mainstream origin of the insults "get a life" and "move out of your parents' basement". They later became commonplace but both basically started here.

Love it how he shows him the Contract, and he immediately changes his tune… 😂

Never missed a show as a kid. Out of all the T.V. shows I watched in my life of 63 years, Star Trek had the most impact and influence in my life. Even though he was reading from cue cards, Shatner's performance was top-notch here. Dana's feel for what his character should be like is fine tuned and hilarious. He is playing a pre-adolescent and pulling it off brilliantly at his age then of 31 years. Fun sketch. Cheers

Our fandom forefathers, I salute them.

Actually "The Enemy Within" was episode 5 and in that very same episode the "Evil" Kirk was too animal-like for such an intricate speech. They more likely meant to reference episode 33 Mirror, Mirror (or 34 if you count "The Cage")

Shatner knows how to do comedy.

As someone who attended more than a few conventions before it became so mainstream, this is accurate

“That Mare had a foal” ? 35 years on still one on SNL funniest show sketches..

One of the greatest SNL skits ever.

I’ve met William Shatner, (handshake), rode with george takei in an elevator at a Star Trek convention, talked with majel Barrett at a convention. Also met Michael Dorn and hung out with him where I worked in the aviation field. He was volunteering his time to fly a doctor and nurse around to help kids with cancer. He didn’t want to talk Star Trek too much but when I mentioned I knew some of the aircraft he owned etc (i saw him on discovery wings) he became the most friendly person. I was showing him one of our very expensive private jets. We were sitting in the cockpit together and in my mind I was imagining we were on board a shuttle together. I waved to him as I was helping guide his plane out and he gave me the old style romulan chest salute. So I got a little Star Trek out of it lol

Interesting that you can see Dana Carvey beginning to make the base of the character Garth here, with almost the exact voice and feel for the way the character would eventually be. This episode was filmed in December of '86, while the Garth character appears for the first time just over a year later, in '89. Just add the blonde wig, grunge look and some drum sticks and he's there!

Best skit on SNL. They've done some good ones that have come close, but this is the best in my opinion.

The guy running the convention probably said you won't get paid until you apologize.

That's totally brilliant. I love Shatner, there's just something about that man.

I felt sorry for Jon Lovitz. He had never kissed a girl

There actually EXISTS a single with a song He's Dead Jim on it.

His is exactly what Kirk would think.

Shatner is the best!

Kevin Nealon. The number of horses on the ranch. The questioning and reaction from him. In my Top 5 All Time for the show.

Finally on youtube!

Pfft, "Errand of Mercy" was episode 26, not episode 51. Boy, I really hope someone got fired for that blunder.

Trekkies are my favorite kind of nerd 😊😘❤

What's funny is that Star Trek basically started the concept of a collective 'fandom', and today conventions for every type of media rake in billions every year. 'Nerd culture' is so mainstream now. I get this is a skit but it threw so many people under the bus that run the entertainment industry now.

The brilliant william shatner

He's talking directly to us. Ouch. Now i'm offended. But fortunately i know how to cheer up I'll watch TOS again

I personally think this was one of the best sketches they ever did!

I'm one of those people who gives my colleagues a Vulcan salute when leaving work. Every day. Nobody gets it 😆

Brill, that was so close to the truth. Live long an prosper!......

When I first saw this, 20 years ago (online), somehow I didnt hear the laughing or I do not know, but I remember exactly, I thought it was real and that Bill Shatner is quite mean :DDDD

I know this was just a very good comedy sketch & it has me in stitches every time I see it, but I can't help but wonder if he has ever felt like saying that for real at one of those conventions? What he said about trekkies & their obsession with the show is probably very close to the truth. I like Star Trek as much as anyone else, but it is just a TV show, not a way of life! The late Leonard Nimoy even stated that many of fans at these conventions are a bit "out there". Either way, William Shatner was great in this & it's good to see someone who is able to poke fun at himself. I know he loves his fans really, so that added to the amusement.

William shatner biting the hand that feeds

That must be Shatner's fluffiest toupee. I'll bet even Alan Brady didn't have that one in his collection.

Shattner got it nailed! ^^

Hands up if you're here becauase of Rod Roddenberry being in the news this week feeling salty.

Is this always played in every star trek convention? You know as a disclaimer.

I’d kill to go to a Star Trek convention bro trekkies are like an elusive rare species now bruh

4:04 To ALL the Star Wars fans who send death threats to the cast and crew of the new movies.

I haven’t seen this for a long time but it’s as funny now as ever. It’s no secret that some of the principle actors had a love/hate relationship with Star Trek, they found themselves unemployable and type cast after the series ended. James Doohan for instance kept finding himself being cast as a Scotsman, he had a talent for mimicking accents but they only wanted a Scotsman. They were quite unprepared for the cult status of the show (which was essentially a short lived low budget production) and the devotion of the fans, they grew to like and embrace it, of course they were paid for appearances, why not? They have to live. James Doohan acknowledged that Star Trek gave him opportunities that he wouldn’t have otherwise had and was quite touched when fans said they went into engineering because of Scotty. So I’m sure they must’ve gone through the “go get a life phase” but they learned to live with it and eventually to live it...

On the Itchy and Scratchy CD-ROM, is there a way out of the dungeon without using the wizard key?

I found that very amusing. I never realised for many years that his capabilities as an actor went so far into comedy. The much later life and very popular series he was in on TV was the first time i heard of his comedy.

😂🤣😂 Totally spot on simply a bunch of sad individuals. 😂🤣😂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Got to love William Shatner “GET A LIFE”

Jim Downey over the PA in the beginning announcing DeForest Kelley’s book :) and Shatner making fun of himself by changing his tune after looking at the money he gets for appearing at the convention. Classic stuff

I’ve watched this sketch enough times that I know that the episode he was re-enacting was “The Enemy Within”.

One of my favourites.

The part where the producer is shoving the contract in his face is priceless :D:D

sense of humour,... nice :) dont tell him I have everything released on VHS, what do I do with it all??? Time for Ebay i think...

Just to nerd out here, Enemy Within was episode 6.

Yes, you in the back. Yeah, what’s the deal with that Rocket Man song you did?

"GET A LIFE!"

It's just a TV show, damnit! It's just a TV SHOW!

A true classic

This is why Shatner is a legend doing stuff like this

Brilliant!!

RIP Phil 💖

Top 3 all time for SNL.

*He has a point you know !!* 😅

It took a while but studio finally cashed in on the fandom and Hollywood learned their lesson. From Comic-Con to Marvel Studios to Comic-Con to Disney to Comic-Con

Galaxy Quest

Spot on ;)

SNL also did a good send up of Game of Thrones fans.

My mom used to tell me "Get out of your parent's basement and grow the hell up!". Thanks, mom...

Is there any intelligent life forms out there? Warp speed. Beam me up. Captain Kirk to bridge "get a Life" cracked me up...🤣💫✨👽👽

Its so funny to me that no one mentions ""Galaxy Quest" which clearly must stem from that SNL skit?

The irony of all this is that the SNL writers who wrote this speech for Shatner were probably the biggest Star Trek nerds there ever were. So as much as Star Trek fans were pissed off at the time about this, it was friendly fire at the end of the day :D

i wish we couldve seen mcoys hit single

Still better than The Big Bang Theory

What does "I Grock Spock" mean?

LOL

A memorable skit worth rewatching regularly over the years. But if he had really been impersonating Captain Kirk, then he would have stood his ground and hit them with the "no blah blah blah" speech...and walked out.

He's wearing my Grok spock T-shirt!! Nice!

Hey, boys! Go make some difference somewhere and leave me alone!

'There is a whole world out there'. Now after ca. 70 years tv not true anymore. Just a recycled reality. But besides, the best treatment about conventions might be 'galaxy quest'.

There hasn't been a true ST Convention in more than 20 years!

"Touch Grass"

Hilarious...

This hurt me

Harry potter at 4.38🤣🤣🤣🤣

Very funny sketch! I suppose now Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Carl Urban have taken on the convention circuit for the original series characters.

This might be the actual moment where any future criticism of Shatner becomes irrelevant and he ascends to cultural icon status

Haha is that the dude from Wayne's World? Can't remember his name for the life of me...

Did this air before or after Galaxy Quest came out?

What is a funny sketch here is reality on those Minecraft conventions today...

04:05

did dana carvey fail the spock salute

hes right

there's no life without #StraTrek, . . its not jst a #TvShow! ;)

so SNL said it before Bill Maher! This is the truth!

Us Star Wars nerds are not like that. We are cool because we are in tune with the Force. "Pulls out plastic lightsaber." jk

Still relevant.

that cut like a bat'leth..

Methinks the promoter reminded Shatner of his fee...

It’s sad how SNL comedy isn’t like the SNL comedy that was back in the “80s” and “90s” because of how comedy is these days 😞

Shatner like- apologised for this skit or another, cause without the fans/cons he’d probably be homeless- bro was living in a truck after Star Trek got cancelled lol. Also I’ve heard an array of personal experiences meeting him and he’s 92 going to cons to this day and taking the time to talk to fans so he really does seem to care to some extent.

Great Bill Shatner, he have really alot of Humor, he was joking about hisself, he really play himself, i adore Star Trek, i am a hardcore Trekkie, but what he said its true, its just a TV Show, the nerds there at this kind of conventions are to fanatic and analize every scenes of TOS, they cannot return in reality, Star Trek Universe with all spin offs, except DISCO, is wonderful and i love it, i have so much merchendise, uniforms, ship models, Phasers,.... But after i watch a Star Trek movie or a TV Show, i turn off the TV and be back in the real World. Young people and older Trekkies too, live and enjoy your life, never forget Star Trek, i will never forget it, its a part of my life, but just a part, there are alot of Real topics and problems at daily life, Star Trek is a wonderful Sifi fairy tail, but its just a fairy tale, when the TV Show is over, i think a little bit about it, but then i return back to reality. Thanks alot for uploading, its super funny, Bill was much younger that time, nice to see him. Live long and prosper 🖖 Regards from Vienna, Austria 🇦🇹

i think it was this sketch that was the wakeup call that star trek fans needed back in the day. now if only SNL can do one for the bronie's that's just as effective