William Shatner’s new series ‘Better Late Than Never’ isn’t really reality, but is really funny.
Of course I was hooked on Better Late Than Never before I ever saw it. Who doesn’t want to watch William Shatner, Henry Winkler, George Foreman, and Terry Bradshaw explore Asia?
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The only concern I had about the show was that some of the obviously staged bits would take away from the fun, luckily that’s just not a problem. Better Late Than Never isn’t a scripted show, but it’s also not reality, and that’s just fine.
The show is obviously setting up Shatner and the crew, but since they are in on the joke it works. If you thought William Shatner couldn’t laugh at himself you were wrong!
SPOILER ALERT: This is a review, read on at your own spoilery peril.
The first episode focuses on the gang hitting Tokyo for food and fun. Right off the bat you see how the different personalities of the stars of the show are going to cause some hilarious conflicts.
William Shatner is taking the whole trip very seriously and has researched everything they are doing. Henry Winkler is positive about every experience and seems to want to take selfies with everyone in Asia. Terry Bradshaw is hamming up his Louisiana roots and country ways. (At one point Bradshaw says “I’ve been to New York City, I’ve been to Oklahoma City, I’ve been to Tulsa… I’ve been everywhere.) And George Foreman is, as you might have guessed, gentle and quiet.
We start off with the boys trying to make their way through a Tokyo train station while Henry Winkler signs autographs and takes pictures, much to the annoyance of Bradshaw and Shatner. Then we race off to a capsule hotel, and are treated to what will surely be the first of many Priceline jokes from Shatner.
Over a meal the men get deep talking about fear and death and Bradshaw reveals that they have a side bet going on which country Shatner will die in. The episode eventually ends on a more positive note with karaoke and a trip to Mt. Fuji.
It’s a standard staged reality show romp full of mishaps and goofy one liners, but it’s also simply fantastic. You aren’t going to find any Shakespeare in Better Late Than Never, but you will find fun.
If you’re looking for something to lighten up a Tuesday night you could do much worse than Better Late Than Never.
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