Shatner's 'Invasion Iowa' reality show a hit in Riverside

      RIVERSIDE (GTNS) ? "I was so relieved when I learned it was a reality show ? that this was not going to be a cheap movie," said Brooke Lemke, cast member of "Invasion Iowa," the sci-fi movie that wasn't.

      Lemke, who played Linda in William Shatner's elaborate hoax that turned out to be a mini-reality series for Spike TV, was among the local cast and crew who watched the first two episodes of the show March 6.

      The verdict on it was unanimous: It's funny.

      Actually, it's a bit more than that, or as another cast member put it, "It's no cheesy movie that no one will see."

      According to Spike TV, there will be an 82 million-person worldwide audience for the show, which, said Steve Miller of Riverside, "makes it bigger than a film."

      Based on the content of the first two episodes of the five-hour series, "Invasion Iowa" is neither condescending nor mean-spirited.

      Many of the Riverside residents who ended up in the "cast" are essentially playing straight men to the professional actors.

      Of course, Shatner is at the center, albeit a completely nutty center that toys with, but never falls victim to, self-parody. Throughout "Invasion," the Riverside actors steal a few scenes, too.

      Mayor Bill Poch's admission that he is mayor because no one else wanted the job is an untoppable introduction. So is his, "six months," reply to Shatner's chatty, "So how long have you been mayor?" The exchange of glances and resulting silence between the two is classic.

      In a way, so is Diane Schultz's victory cheer that was repeated a few times. Quite a few times.

      Schultz laughed as loud as everyone else over it.

      "If I can take, so can everyone else," she said.

      "How many towns get a chance to do something like this," asked Miller. "Especially since Riverside is famous as the birthplace of a man who will never exist."

      Miller was on the Riverside City Council 20 years ago when he suggested it become the birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, the lead character in the 1960s television show "Star Trek." Show creator Gene Roddenbury gave permission, and Trek Fest followed.

      Shatner played Kirk in "Star Trek" and, March 6, Carol Riggan of Riverside said that for 20 years, "we wanted Shatner to come here. Well, he finally came."

      For the complete story, read the March 17 Fairfield Ledger.