William Shatner Show 'Invasion Iowa' Airs This March
Mock Movie Is Reality TV Show
POSTED: 10:10 am CST March 4, 2005
UPDATED: 12:35 pm CST March 4, 2005
RIVERSIDE, Iowa -- A television show that tricks residents in an Iowa town into thinking they're part of a sci-fi movie airs at the end of March.
William Shatner and a Hollywood entourage came to Riverside, Iowa, to film a sci-fi movie -- at least that was what the community thought.
The filming in September was actually a comedy spoof as part of an upcoming TV show called "Invasion Iowa." The program features the residents as the butt of the joke.
Riverside's claim to fame is the future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk, of "Star Trek."
When Shatner was not filming, he was getting the residents to buy into even more of the joke by selling them green, yellow and red berets. Residents were told the hats were meant to mirror a person's mood.
"They're not hats, they're shats," said one woman at the filming.
The show airs on Spike TV starting at 8 p.m. March 29 through April 1.
Shatner and his co-producers donated $100,000 to Riverside for community projects. The cast and crew also passed the hat and collected $12,000 for a book fund at Riverside Elementary School.
