For the Love of William Shatner...

“Get a life, will you people. I mean, for crying out loud, it’s just a TV show. I mean, look at you, look at the way you’re dressed. You’ve turned an enjoyable little job that I did as a lark for a few years into a colossal waste of time. I mean, how old are you people? What have you done with yourselves? You, you must be almost 30. Have you ever kissed a girl? I didn’t think so. There’s a whole world out there. When I was your age, I didn’t watch television, I lived! So, move out of your parents’ basements and get your own apartments and grow the hell up. It’s just a TV show, dammit, it’s just a TV show.”

-- William Shatner, to a crowd of “Star Trek” “fans” during a sketch on Saturday Night Live in Dec. 1986

Words to live by if I’ve ever heard them.

I was only 15 when those words were uttered on television. And it was probably another five years or so before I actually heard them, in that prehistoric time without the Internet or YouTube to share them.

And yet, it seems as if people still haven’t gotten the message: It’s one thing to be a fan, it’s an entirely another when you make it a part of your life.

I’m not talking about the occasional CosPlay outing. This past weekend at San Diego Comic-Con, one of the world’s largest gatherings of comics and pop culture, thousands of people in costumes roamed the convention floor.

That was for one weekend. Now that the weekend is over, most of them will put their costumes away until Halloween (or the next convention) and they move on with their lives. It’s a fun little game of dress up.

But when it stops being dress up, and starts being more, that’s where Shatner’s words echo in my ears.

Where, in fact, does one draw the line between dress up and obsession? Where do you draw the line between having a little fun and growing up and maturing? Where do you draw the line between the costume and real life?

See, that’s the thing. It’s just a costume. Just like it was just a costume for the actors who some of these people are trying to emulate. Only difference was the actor got paid. It was their job.

It was cute at first, seeing people dress up as Klingons or members of the Enterprise. But then they started speaking Klingon. And getting married, with the entire ceremony conducted in Klingon.

I’ll admit, I’m more of a “Star Wars” guy anyway (yes, that’s R2-D2 beeping from my phone, I admit it), so seeing members of the 501^st, the group of people who dress up as Stormtroopers, doesn’t bother me as much as some.

But when I see cars with personalized license plates that declare themselves “Jedi,” that’s taking it a bit far. (And, yes, I saw one this past week in Moreno Valley. It was Jedi and the guy’s first name. He had an R2-D2 decal on his back window, along with one that proclaimed his other vehicle was an X-Wing Fighter.)

So, for the lucky ones who attended Comic-Con: I'm glad you got the chance to let your geek flag fly. Dress up in your crazy costumes, wait in line for hours for panels and pick up all the exclusive swag you can. Wish I could've been there to join you (probably not in costume).

Just do us all a favor, now that it’s over, pack the costume away for a while. And remember real life.

I know it’s fun – and necessary -- to escape some times, but there are greater problems in our world right now than busting ghosts, setting your phasers to stun or defending the world from Cylons.