William Shatner still conquering new frontiers

"Galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young.'' — an aging James T. Kirk in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan''

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Midmorning on the "Boston Legal'' set, where Denny Crane is proposing marriage to a sexy Montana cattle rancher. She'll think about it, she says.

With each take, more dimensions emerge in Shatner's performance. This is not a man known for subtlety, but he should be. He lends personality to Denny's nose, eyes, lips as he tries to release the ache of a fading giant trying to get the girl. By the final take, the scene is heart-wrenching.

The mutual devotion between Denny and James Spader's Alan Shore is extraordinary. Rare is the honest male TV friendship; most buddy scenes are dispatched with testosterone and awkwardness. But Denny and Alan are like lovers without the attraction; they share everything and work to understand each other — not unlike another deep friendship, that of Kirk and Spock.

"I personally have never had a friend in reality like the ones I have chosen to act in fiction — the total honesty, the total commiseration,'' Shatner says. "I would suggest that that kind of male friendship doesn't exist very much.''

Shatner makes acting choices that hammer home the depth of the Denny-Alan bond — like gazing directly at Spader during their balcony scenes at show's end and speaking gently rather than deploying Denny's usual bluster.

"There's no toxic sexuality involved. It's a friendship based entirely on communication and empathy,'' Shatner says. "It's this emotional attachment — this looking into the eyes and saying, ‘Tell me.'''

Why does Denny Crane work so well? Some of it is David E. Kelley's writing, but some is sheer Shatnerness.

"He brings to the moment everything you know about him,'' says David Fisher, who collaborated with Shatner on the new autobiography. "He's not a fresh face. We know who William Shatner is, as an audience. We know what he's been through. We know the ridicule he's received, we know the plaudits he's received. He's been part of our lives for so long.''

Shatner as Kirk may be a memory. While Leonard Nimoy will be featured as an aging Spock in J.J. Abrams' reboot of the "Trek'' franchise next year, Shatner isn't coming aboard; his character died in 1994's "Star Trek Generations'' and will be played in the new film by the young actor Chris Pine.

Other than that, all things seem possible, from racing horses to developing a pet project called "Shiva Club,'' which follows two young comedian wannabes who, trying to network, crash the wake of an old-school Jewish comic.

"I have all of the hungers and passions and desires of when I was 20,'' Shatner says. "There's nothing I can't do.''

Back in Shatner's office post-sushi, I ask about the paths he has chosen, about how his professional life became this unique seriocomic balance and how he manages to be a performer who is lampooned yet still respected deeply. He smiles, then frowns. "I just did what was necessary,'' he says.

I leave Shatner playing with a new iPhone his assistant has procured for him. I key in the Google Maps coordinates for his office and he marvels, impressed at yet another fascinating thing the world has coughed up. "This is really fun,'' he says, tapping away. "I'll figure it out.'' Which, these days, you could say about anything in his world.

After all this time, he lives life like he's gonna die, because he's gonna. But when the time finally comes to take that trip, don't be surprised if William Shatner tries to name his own price.

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