The weird and wonderful world of William Shatner's Christmas movies

From cheesy holiday romances to Christmas horror to animated movies, Shatner Claus is here

Image: The Everett Collection

Shatner Claus is nothing new to the world. If you want to spend the holiday with Star Trek captain, you've got lots of opportunities. He even gave us a spirited, very… enthusiastic version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" recently. Yes, he's called Shatner Claus fondly.

But let's talk about his Christmas movies. As in, plural. Boy, is there a range to choose from.

Some actors tend to stick to one kind, sappy-sweet holiday romances, slapstick Christmas comedies, tear-jerking tales of yule… but not our Captain Kirk. He's even been part of the TV special Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Music Tale, playing a network executive (skip to about five minutes in).

So here they are, from Hallmark candy to holiday horror.

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1. A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

 

When you look for William Shatner holiday movies, this is the most well-known and probably the most memorable. This horror anthology takes us through four short horror stories with Shatner working as a local deejay on Christmas Eve to connect them all. It's fun to take a break from the zombie elves and Krampus demons to see an increasingly boozy Shatner commenting in his warm and cozy Christmas booth. He even gets a serious moment later in the film that tugs at the heartstrings before plunging us back into the jingle-gore. From vintage specials to cheesy Hallmark movies to holiday slashers, Shatner Klaus delivers.

Watch the trailer

Image: Everett Collection

2. Stalking Santa (2006)

 

The title makes it sound like a Hitchcock film, but it's actually a mockumentary-style comedy about a man (yes, a grown man) who is a "Santologist." He dedicates his life and work to finding out if Santa exists. Part The Office, part X-Files, and narrated by William Shatner, this is a wonderfully weird break from all the greeting-card schmoop. Shatner's voice leads us through this fourth-wall comedy and hey, the studio uploaded the whole thing to YouTube. Merry Christmas.

Watch the trailer


3. Just in Time for Christmas (2015)

 

Just In Time For Christmas tells the story of a girl who's given the choice between an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime dream job offer… and her generic handsome Hallmark movie boyfriend. Luckily she has William Shatner as the magical driver of a time-traveling carriage who can show her the future of her choices. Also, Shatner has a beard that looks like a billy goat, but we don't hate it. The plot is as classic Hallmark as it comes, but Christopher Lloyd shows up and Shatner's role is delightfully bizarre enough to be worth a watch.

Watch the trailer

Image: Everett Collection


4. Gotta Catch Santa Claus (2008)

 

Gotta Catch Santa Claus is a seemingly low-budget animated movie about kids trying to kidnap Santa Claus and hold a press conference to prove his existence. There's also a giant ice demon of some kind and snowmen who talk like Joe Pesci. Shanter voices Kris Kringle himself and finally earns the mantle of Shatner Klaus. As low-budget and odd as it seems, it might be just the right kind of movie to watch with other Shatner fans and some spiked eggnog.

Watch the trailer

Image: Everett Collection


5. A Carol Christmas (2003)

 

As far as Hallmark Christmas movies go, this one is as basic as it gets. And it's a retelling of a Christmas Carol, so it's even more familiar already. Tori Spelling plays a talk show host, Carol, who doesn't get the spirit of Christmas. She's visited by three ghosts, yadda yadda yadda. Still, even as basic as this movie is, Shatner playing the Ghost of Christmas Present can't help but warm our icy hearts. He's a nice dose of heart and comfort in this movie.

Watch the Shatner scene

Image: RHI Entertainment and Distribution


6. The Christmas Tree (1958)

 

This holiday TV movie featured Shatner eight years before Star Trek hit the airwaves. The star-studded cast included Jessica Tandy, Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West herself) and Carol Channing in one of her first TV appearances. However, it is incredibly difficult to find anything about this special. It seems to have been lost to time. If you have anything on it, by all means, share the Shatner goodness with the rest of us.

Image: Everett Collection

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13 Comments

SparkleMotion 11 months ago
I've never seen any of these, but he's great! I actually prefer him in interviews even though he's a great actor. He's really funny and insightful at the same time when just talking (interviews). 👍
Runeshaper 11 months ago
He's a talented man. It's GREAT to see him in Christmas movies (-:
Pacificsun 11 months ago
For all the mileage Weigel's (MeTV & H&I) has earned from the franchise WS kicked off drawing viewers into their network. They ought to set aside at least an evening's worth of time sampling some of these Holiday specials. "Fans" will be lamenting his passing, and yet here's something to do to recognize him in the flesh!
Rick 11 months ago
Per IMDB, the 1958 TV movie "The Christmas Tree" is based on Charles Finger's story "An Affair at the Inn." The Library of Congress lists that as a 31 page illustrated book, of which only 210 copies were printed (at least of the edition the library of congress has, and they have two copies of it): https://catalog.loc.gov/vwebv/holdingsInfo?searchId=12359&recCount=100&recPointer=6&bibId=4113544&searchType=7&resultPointer=0 So whoever can get to the Library of Congress soon, let us know what the story's about!
Bapa1 11 months ago
Have never seen any of these, but am now interested. The Shatner RULES!!
LoveMETV22 11 months ago
Enjoy the story. Especially with the extra links added to watch the trailers. Hope MeTV could add links to Stories/even Quizzes on occasion if they're available and add interest to the story or quiz on the whole.
MarkSpeck 59 months ago
Let's not forget Shatner singing "Holly Jolly Christmas" on Boston Legal!
RobCertSDSCascap 60 months ago
#5- You had me until Tori Spelling.
NEXT!
ScarlettKaiju 60 months ago
He also voiced an incapacitated St. Nick on THE EEK! THE CAT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. It's well worth checking out.
15inchBlackandWhite 60 months ago
That looks like Tom Poston with him in that last one.
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