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William Shatner wonderfully spoofed 'T.J. Hooker' in this 1986 'SNL' sketch
T.J. Hooker can spend all day — or two — atop the hood of a car.
T.J. Hooker was a man of action. Heck, in the opening credits the tough veteran cop hops atop a moving school bus, leaps between two buildings, rolls across a rooftop, sprints with his nightstick… and leaps atop the hood of a car.
In fact, T.J. often belly flopped atop the hood of a moving vehicle. He was as comfortable on the front of an American motor vehicle as a surfer is atop his board. This skill in particular was noted by Saturday Night Live, which parodied the hit TV show in a 1986 comedy sketch. This was a particularly memorable episode, the one in which Shatner told Trekkies in another skit to "Get a life!"
While William Shatner might strech belief as a stuntman, he certainly possesses a self-depricating sense of humor. In his Hooker costume, Shatner spends two straight days on the hood of a speeding car. He writes a letter up there. He sleeps up there.
Dana Carvey, sporting a lion-size wig, takes the Adrian Zmed role, while Victoria Jackson plays Stacy, the Heather Locklear character. Stacy worries about T.J., until Vince reminds her, "T.J. has been riding hoods since before you were a campfire girl!"
"They ran out of gas alright, only I slept through two fill-ups," T.J. explains in the end. Watch the funny spoof below.
