It's a big week for William Shatner. Two days after being named as a Hall of Fame inductee by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (related story), he has been accorded with a somewhat more dubious honor: the target of a nationally televised roast on Comedy Central.

"The Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner" is scheduled to tape in August in Los Angeles, and will air on the cable network Sunday, August 20, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. (That's the night thousands of us will be traveling home from Creation's 40th Anniversary convention in Las Vegas, so don't forget to set your TiVo or VCR!)

"It takes a real man to follow Pamela Anderson [last year's target] into the Roast pit and William Shatner is truly a hero among men," said Elizabeth Porter, senior vice president, specials and talent for Comedy Central. "By the end of this year's Roast, Shatner may wish he was in a galaxy far, far away." (Mixing metaphors somewhat, but oh well.)

As today's press release from the network states, "William Shatner has cultivated a career that has spanned over 50 years as Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning actor, director, producer, screenwriter, recording artist and author. He is one of pop culture's most recognizable figures and has also established himself as a major Hollywood philanthropist."

So what's there to make fun of?

[Oh, and on a slightly related topic, we can neither confirm nor deny rumors that Matt Damon is being considered for the role of the younger James T. Kirk in the upcoming J.J. Abrams-produced "Star Trek XI," per "The Insider" on Yahoo! Entertainment. There's an obvious gap between the "consider" phase and the "confirmed" phase, so until there is some official word, we will treat it as "interesting speculation."]