By Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press
TORONTO - We all know William Shatner is weird, and clearly he does, too.
Why else would he have been tapped to host a show called "William Shatner's Weird or What?" quips the "Star Trek" icon-turned-Priceline pitchman.
"Some people think that I — as a performer — am weird or what," the amiable Shatner says in a recent conference call from Los Angeles.
"Unbelievable. What's the explanation for that?"
The Canadian screen legend has no qualms about poking fun at himself and his cornball reputation, even embracing it as host of the History Television series with his own tongue-in-cheek take on real-life mystifying events.
Debuting on Wednesday, each episode of "William Shatner's Weird or What?" attempts to explain the seemingly inexplicable. Stories range from paranormal phenomena to puzzling natural disasters.
In the first episode, a whimsical Shatner reveals that a nine-kilogram chunk of ice one day crashed through the roof of a woman's house, landing on her kitchen floor.
"Oh no, this ice was not nice," Shatner intones as he dons oven mitts to pick up a frozen, bowling ball-sized lump for the camera.
Another episode profiles a woman who was shot in the chest but survived because she had breast implants, says producer Charles Tremayne, joining the conference call from New York.
Shatner deadpans: "We're recommending for policemen to have breast implants for protection."
The 79-year-old Montreal native is clearly enjoying himself, and just happens to be embarking on one of the busiest periods of his lengthy career.
In addition to serving as host and executive producer of "William Shatner's Weird or What?" he's gearing up for a return to network prime time as the star of the upcoming CBS sitcom "$#*! My Dad Says." Then there's his upcoming behind-the-headlines series, "Aftermath with William Shatner," and his ongoing celebrity-interview series, "Shatner's Raw Nerve."
All that is in addition to producing and writing the documentary, "The Captains" for his own production company and running a horse farm.
"Shows like 'Weird or What?' keep me busy. But I like it that way, I'm really enjoying it," he says.
Shatner says he doesn't have to look far to find something bewildering and wondrous in the world.
"Almost everything that takes place is weird — whether it's a social transaction or a physical event. Anything that we perceive is, in its final analysis, kind of weird because there are ramifications that we don't even know. The possibilities that are suggested in quantum physics tells us that everything that we're looking at may not be in fact there, so the underlying nature of being is weird."
Tremayne says Shatner displays a genuine fascination for everyday things that most people take for granted, recalling a conversation in which the former Capt. Kirk marvelled at a drinking glass.
"Just think about being able to see through material," Shatner interjects, later admitting to believing in extra-terrestrial life and experiencing eerie coincidences he found inexplicable.
"You can see through glass! We've long since lost our amazement. It's silica and other things, but it's solid material and we can see through it. How is that possible? Actually, how is it possible?"
"To bring that amazement to the audience, to bring back that sense of awe and wonder with fun was what we were attempting to do."
"William Shatner's Weird or What?" debuts Wednesday on History Television.
