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Seeing as William Shatner has a pretty respectable TV gig these days, you'd think he could finally take a hiatus from some of his revenue-generating "side projects" (e.g. The William Shatner Sci-Fi DVD Club), and, more importantly, spare us from the endless stream of press releases in our inbox alerting us to the latest crackpot scheme cooked up to promote them. No such luck:

William Shatner knows how hard it is to become a bona-fide science fiction star. That's why he's making it a little bit easier for the next generation of would-be Captain Kirks. William Shatner announced today that he is holding an on-line contest to find the most talented sci-fi personality in the United States. [...]

Unlike hit TV shows American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance, which focus on contestants that have one particular kind of talent, William Shatner encourages a much broader range of applicants. Aspiring actors can submit a tape of themselves re-enacting a memorable sci-fi role or performing something new. Young directors and film makers can create a sci-fi short or a brief homage to Bill's career that demonstrates why they should win. Budding film critics can showcase their insight in a taped movie review.

The grand prize winner will receive a large cash award and will be named the Official Spokesperson for the William Shatner Science Fiction DVD Club.

Clicking through to the contest website reveals the "large cash award" to be $1000, which, in light of the recent gains in strength of the Intergalactic Currency Unit, seems a little meager to us. That's to say nothing of the fact that the winner will be signing themselves over to Shatner's employ, and could be called upon at any moment to fulfill their "Official DVD Club Spokesperson" duties. Still, we'd hate to discourage any budding, uh, "sci-fi personalities" from entering the contest, especially after having checked out the caliber of the submissions thusfar.

SCI-FI VIDEO BONUS: We saw nothing in the release about nominating procedures, but we'd like to submit Darth Vader being a smartass nevertheless.