Friday, October 16, 2009

William "Shatastic" Shatner collectibles by Rob Klein


Everyone collects something. No matter if they are square with that or not. Concerning toy collecting it’s not really about the toy, it’s about the object. The toy plays a small part to me, it's all about the packaging. Toys can represent much, providing a deep understanding about the TV show or film it is based off of on so many levels.

Take for example this item from William Shatner’s first successful TV series since Star Trek (1966-1967): T.J. Hooker. This artifact asks the question: Did the public need toys from TJ Hooker? Perhaps the toy licensors couldn’t decide either since for this 5 season Aaron Spelling produced Shatastic Saturday night cop show only spawned a handful of products and they were all hard to find. I looked for anything I could find all and only remember locating a few items such the dart guns and a die-cast police car that was so inaccurate from the actual black and white police car Hooker drove, I didn’t even want it. Luckily a model kit was produced that was perfectly detailed, and remains to be a great example of T.J. Hooker merchandise, not to mentioned a great example of a 80s model police car, complete with the blue and red gumball sirens on top.

This T.J. hooker racer was not on my radar in the 80s, I never saw it or knew of its existance, and thanks to ebay I now know of it. Who cares about the toy itself, the mere fact another item with William Shatner that was once available for purchase in a store makes the world a little brighter.

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