William Shatner vs. Alec Baldwin
Battle of the Brilliant, Bloated Meta-Masters

Even the most casual reader of Fametracker knows that we have a lot of love for William Shatner. We've got so much Shatner love that we had to put some in Tupperware containers and stick it in the fridge. We have so much love that we didn't even watch the recent Shatner roast on Comedy Central -- not because we can't stand to see him made fun of, but because we can't stand to see him made fun of by people who don't understand the nature of his intrinsic awesomeness, which seemed likely, given that the roster of roasters included Farrah Fawcett. Also, we just don't like to watch Andy Dick lick anyone.

So it is not lightly that we point out the similarities between Mr. Alec Baldwin and Mr. William Shatner.

At first glance, they might not seem to be fighting for the same niche: Shatner, after all, is a kind of meta-kitsch legend, firmly enthroned on Boston Legal, while Baldwin is this season's man for all movies (and one sitcom), showing up in his bloviating brilliance in The Departed and Running With Scissors, as well as stealing every scene he's in on 30 Rock.

Yet if you watch him on that sitcom, you start to see the similarities: the late-life bloatedness; the SNL-honed self-mocking; and the cunning, canny use of one's own persona as both set-up and punchline to a clever, masterly orchestrated ongoing joke.

Baldwin, who was known as a young man for being a fiery method actor, has come into his comedic own fairly late in life: popping up regularly (and shining) on SNL, and now providing an anchoring strength to Tina Fey's otherwise wobbly NBC show. (Tracy Morgan also steals a scene here and there, but neither he nor his character is liable to bring anchoring strength to anything.)

In short, what we're seeing now from Alec Baldwin at this late stage of the game is exactly the kind of expert jujitsu that Shatner's made a career of. Think about it: the phrase "The Baldwin brothers" became a national joke, but who's laughing now? Not Billy (disappeared), nor Stephen (imploded), nor Daniel (the opposite of imploded). But yessir, Alec is, and so are we. He's punted on playing the just-south-of-Dennis Quaid male leads and is now having the time of his career, hamming it up with shrugs and coy whispers. Baldwin's turn in The Departed outshines, in his brief onscreen moments, both Jack Nicholson and Marky Mark, and his cooing, creepy character on 30 Rock is the only thing keeping the show upright. (See Morgan, Tracy-related caveat, above.)

This isn't a case of the learner becoming the master, but rather a prince asserting himself as the next in line for the king's throne. No one, by definition, can out-Shatner Shatner. You might as well say you're going to outrun running, or outshine shininess itself. Shatner isn't just the president of this club -- he's also a client, and the star player, and the referee, and the ball. But Baldwin's learned something from Shatner about reinvention -- he's more likable and more entertaining than ever. He may not be outshining shininess, but he's still pretty damn shiny.

Advantage: Shatner, now and always