Slashdot Mirror
Walter Koenig Reprises His Role as Chekov
hords writes "Walter Koenig returns to the role of Lt. Pavel Chekov in an upcoming episode of Star Trek: New Voyages, a fan made series mentioned earlier on Slashdot. He will be re-imagining the role that made him famous. 'The folks from New Voyages approached and we started kicking around ideas for a Chekov story,' said Koenig. 'It occurred to me that what we were coming up with was what every actor dreams of: a second chance to get it right...it is almost beyond comprehension that this is happening so late in my life! Talk about belated reward!...I didn't believe I could ever again be this excited about performing a part...I guess it isn't so trite after all: perhaps, all good things do come to those who wait.' Amazingly enough they even got D.C. Fontana to write the episode!"
Don't get me wrong, he has nice comedic timing, but I can guess that if he has something to do with the script, it'll be more than 30 minutes of "Nuclear Wessels!"
Oh yeah, it's one of those cheap "Star Wreck" clones...
That of Bester in Babylon 5, I mean, it was far more complex and he really showed he could play a bad(ish.. depends on your POV) guy in sci-fi.
In SOVIET RUSSIA the hot grits profit you!
Anybody know how much he's getting paid?
In the Star Trek world, was Chekov related in any way to playwright Anton Chekov? I know they liked to toss around all sorts of literary allusions (including the famous "Shakespeare must be read in its original Klingon" line.
More power to these guys! Star Trek continues, despite its critics, to (as Vulcans like to say) "live long and prosper".
Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
death, taxes, and the attempted resurrection of Star Trek.
Please, just let it go. For the sake of humanity.
Whaa? You crazy. Kirk may have died (twice, IIRC) but William Shatner is doing pretty well with Boston Legal.
"For years, I struggled with reality... but I'm happy to say I finally won out over it." -- Elwood P. Dowd
Maybe if they got Ben Browder on board. Like the new season of Star Gate.....Or maybe Edward James Olmos....
It's either on the beat or off the beat, it's that easy.
I moderate therefore I rule!
--
wow, i am old!
The guy talks about franchise fatigue when in fact people are tired of the direction he took the show in.
No can be creatively energized forever and that's why you don't see the same people running the same franchises for 20 years.
DUDE, LET IT GO. STOP BEING THE !@#$%%^&* LORNE MICHAELS OF SCI-FI.
Ron Moore of Battlestar Galactica said on his blog that with Star Trek: Enterprise cancelled and no plans on any future series or movies, that Star Trek had returned once more to its fans. I can understand now what he meant. Back when TOS was cancelled, fan run magazines popped up with fan fiction. Now, in the 21st century, the same thing is happening, only it's changed along with the technology we now have access to. And I can't think of any better hands for Star Trek to be in at the moment, then its fans.
if we're going to quote the boss on this one:
we went down to the river
but i know the river is dry...
except for river, read "well".
if the answer isn't violence, neither is your silence / freedom of expression doesn't make it alright
Seriously it scared the hell out of me as a kid. Now when I watch it I'm just embarassed. Ah well.
Here was a good read I found not oo long ago about the choice to add W.K. to the series.
http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/chekov.asp
there is so much going on in your post with your name and your sig and... wow. just wow.
As a Trek fan all I can say is "power to those guys", I'm looking forward to check out their stuff once their server recovers, but...
:(
what are the legal ramifications of this? Isn't there some Big Corporation who owns the rights to the Star Trek names? If New Voyages makes it big I fear they'll be sued out of existance...
The filesystem is the package manager
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Denny Crane - CooCoo For Cocoa Puffs
William Shatner has been getting consistent work for many years now. He's had supporting roles in several very successful films, from Dodgeball to Miss Congeniality. He has won last year's Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor and is currently nominated for another Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his role in Boston Legal, a television show with bigger viewership than the original Star Trek ever got.
Any questions?
UNIX: A computer user is defined as a programmer. WINDOWS: A computer user is defined as a consumer.
It's dead, Jim.
You didn't like TNG or DSN, but did like Voyager?
Face it: you're not a nerd. You just like looking at Jeri.
Raise your children as if you were teaching them to raise your grandchildren, because you are.
I can barely stand to hear the words Star Trek, I can't imagine how he can.
The more you know, the less you understand.
PLEASE have him say "nuclear vessels" !
ROFLMAO!
Seriously, that was the best line in futurama episode!
btw why did they have "welshy" ? was it just a gag, or what?
That's what they said in the comentary. Since we've learned what the actor was suffering with before his death, I wonder if in a better state of mind he would have done it.
Blar.
He plays the role of an evil Psi-Corp officer, Bester. I think he's pretty damn good in that one. Check out Babylon 5, it's quite excellent... I mean the entire plotline which unveils.
Somewhat off topic, but I was starshocked when I went to Circut City recently, and they had the original series on DVD for $129. I though, well, that's for the complete show, but it was one season. WTF. TNG is priced the same per season. I wouldn't mind owning these, but I'm not going to pay the rate of a newly released movie in widescreen enhanced def, for a forty year old TV series in low def TV format (I have an Infocus ScreenPlay projector and 6 ft wide screen).
Well, the market is supposed to set the price, but the price on these old TV shows on DVD are way overpriced, IMO, and I'm not buying. These old TV shows are worth about the same or less to me as a discounted old movie at Walmart, nowhere near $390 for 3 seasons of Star Trek. Maybe 1/4th that amount.
This ad space for rent.
I saw it at a used bookstore with Walter's face on it and thought "huh, guess I'll read it".
It was really, really bad.
For those who haven't seen this...
the adventures of the starship exeter. The "Tressaurian Intersection" looks good. Ep 1 was good, but this one looks even better, judging from the teaser...
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
Don't forget his musical career :)
Relevant section:
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
I've often wondered whether the role of Chekov contributed to the end of the cold war. The convergence of humankind is somewhat analogous to the Federation and Klingons in TNG, although not to the extent that humans are united in the original series.
I've also wondered if the addition of a Russian officer in the original series, in the 60's, was mere coincidence? If so, that's one hell of a coincidence!
Didn't he do a "reality show" recently?
The best thing about so-called reality TV programming is the reveal (which is never revealed to the viewer). The reveal is that the viewer is the sucker, not the supposed, on-screen sucker. Think about it.
Dear Wil,
/. post, I wonder if you have ever considered wrestling control of the character Wesley Crusher from those who have helped make your early life difficult. Have you ever considered using your own judgement to tell a story about this young man from an idealized future in a way that *you* see fit? The guy you like to call "William Fucking Shatner" has penned a number of books about Kirk. I think John De Lance has also written a novel about Q. You are an accomplished writter now, with two successful books to your credit and a number of magazine columns. What's to stop you from picking up a pen (or keyboard/laptop) and re-imagining Wesley Crusher in a way that isn't limited by political correctness, TV ratings, or studio beurocracy? In "Just a Geek", you seemed to have made peace with the tomultuous legacy Wesley have left you. But you still seemed some what regretful of the fact your left-on-the-cutting-room-floor cameo would be the last time you would bring Wesley to life. If you can pull it off, I think I wouldn't be the only one to find a Wesley Crusher novel told by the man who gave him life to be very worth reading. Please think about it.
Since discovering you as a blogger and an author, I've begun to know you as more than just Wesley Crusher. First up, despite the cheese dick writers at TNG who had no clue how to develope your character, I've always apploaded the role you portrayed. In the real world where mediocrity often rule over those who dared to dream or excel, Wesley Crusher was one of the few shining examples where the geek spirit was truly celebrated. For me, personally, you made it okay to be smart. After reading "Just a Geek", I think that aspect of Wesley Crusher is something you can truly identify with. The compeling story in your book about your own internal relationship with a controvertial fictional persona you helped create as an actor fleshed both of you out in a way Trek and Hollywood never could.
In the context of this
Stay sentient. Don't drink bad milk.
Whaa? You crazy. Kirk may have died (twice, IIRC) but William Shatner is doing pretty well with Boston Legal.
And All Bran adverts in the UK..
Fry: Melllvar, you can't let a TV show be your whole life. You can do anything you want. Look at Walter Koenig. After Star Trek, he became an actor!
Koenig: Not just an actor but a well rounded person! With my own friends, credit cards, keys...
Not meaning to troll or anything, but I started browsing through Wikipedia to find out more about New Voyages. And guess what, even the original entry from June 2nd already included these "news"...
Bitten Apples are still better than dirty Windows...
Yeah, but about his role as T.J. Hooker? Or his dramatic work as Host of Rescue 911?
Voyager was my favourite too.
Enterprise started off a quite weak, but eventually found its rhythm and captured my imagination as the Xindi story line got into full swing. The way they closed it down at the end though was a crying shame. It wasn't a conclusion, it was a hatchet job, and an insult to the Star Trek legacy.
That's not meant to be funny; William Shatner really is doing All Bran adverts here in the UK.
If I have nothing to hide, you have no reason to search me
I don't understand.
I like goofy Shatner! He knows he's a big goofball and he has fun with it. The guy always makes me laugh.
(Stolen from his Wikipedia page:)
"I'm not a Starfleet commander, or T.J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-170... (some audience members say "1"), or own a phaser. I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock (picture of Dr. Benjamin Spock is shown on screen behind him). And no, I've never had green alien sex, but I'm sure it'd be quite an evening. (Pomp and Circumstance begins playing.) I speak English and French, not Klingon! I drink Labatt's, not Romulan ale! And when someone says to me 'live long and prosper', I seriously mean it when I say, 'get a life'. My doctor's name is not McCoy, it's Ginsberg (nude picture of Dr. Ginsberg shown on screen). And tribbles were puppets, not real animals. PUPPETS! And when I speak, I never, ever talk like Every. Word. Is. Its. Own. Sentence. I live in California, but I was raised in Montreal. And I believe in priceline.com, where you never have to pay full price for airline tickets, hotels, and car rentals! I've appeared onstage at Stratford, at Carnegie Hall, Albert Hall, and the Monkland Theatre in NDG. And, yes, I've gone where no man has gone before, but... I was in Mexico and her father gave me permission! My name is William Shatner, and I am Canadian!"
--from a Just for Laughs appearance; a parody of the popular Molson Canadian Commercial entitled "I Am Canadian".
We apologize for the inconvenience.
from Wikipedia :"has the joke goes, Nietzsche detested Nationalism, Socialism, Germans and mass movements, so naturally he was adopted as the intellectual mascot of the National Socialist German Workers' Party." He was also far from being a racist, believing that the "vigour" of any population could only be increased by mixing with others."
Morden gets a bit more development in that Technomage series.
Everybody had reasons and history for why they did stuff. The Bester character kept Garibaldi under his thumb because he was in such a perfect position to hear stuff. What malice there was was incidental, just bad blood between them.
Overall Walter Koenig, is the only real actor to come out of the series. Later work by almost the whole cast had a 'Phone it in' feel. See Nimoy's role in Brave New World, (it stank on ice)
Sorry about the writing. Robot fingers, you know? Cliff Steele in DOOM PATROL #23
Damn straight. Let's put the angst back into space-travel. Next stop, Dostoyevsky...
Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
First I heard about this and, to be perfectly honest, thank fuck. Now they can include the Q Continuum into the old school trek... well, they'd better coz Q'S DA MAN.
What did you miss everything after about the 2nd season? That was the most developing character in the series. Evil cutthroat politician to Reluctant Messiah, Wiseman, and Saint in three seasons. I always thought the Narn where based on Muslims. Scary on the surface but truly a noble people.
Funny how this has turned into a Babylon 5 conversation, I can't associate Walter Koenig with Star Trek anymore.
500% of the profits!
If I remember correctly, he said:
"We still have the mundane to deal with."
She responded:
"Can I do it?"
And we see the body floating out in hyperspace.
I talk about stuff.
I wonder if they can just 'cook the books' as Paramount and the other studios are famous for so that they can get rich while 'technically' the movie won't make any money because while the gross profits were huge, they swell the expenses to compensate so there is no net profit.
Long Live, and Prosper. --And I mean that with all my heart!
But please. . .
Get good writers, directors and lighting crew. Please.
Fan-made works often have little quality control because fans are usually operating from a state of unconditional love for their obsession. (Bless 'em!) Thing is, 'unconditional' doesn't cut it at the movies, because good work only happens under GOOD conditions, which means fans need to stay critically objective as well as just enthusiastic.
But I'll be crossing my fingers! Good luck, guys!
-FL
I've put up a mirror of the image. Seems that either ezboard doesn't really have much bandwidth, or the image is hosted on somebody's Nintendo-modded PC.
teaser image
Wer mit Ungeheuern kämpft, mag zusehn, dass er nicht dabei zum Ungeheuer wird. --Nietzsche
could this be the beginning of the ad-hoc movement that Cory Doctorow predicted in "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom"?
May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
I was working as an usher at the AMC theater in Burbank, California (back in 1989) when I ran into him. Even though I was a "nobody", he spent quite a bit of time talking to me about one of my favorite things: Star Trek. :)
I'm sure the talk involved nothing new for him, but he humored me anyway. He displayed none of the "I'm an actor, so I'm better than you" mentality, which seems so common among actors.
An all-around nice guy!
In this kind of semi-hobbyist context, the easiest way is to simply pay everyone a huge salary. That's money straight out of profits. This trick is also applied by a number of "charitable" non-profit organizations.
Those Star Wars fan films exist at the behest of Lucasfilm. That permission can be withdrawn at any time and one can lose their permission to legally redistribute the fan films. This is part of the power a copyright holder gets--the power to set terms for derivative works. Sometimes this power is used for maximizing benefit for the many (such as the GNU GPL's implementation of copyleft which aims to preserve the freedom to share and modify for all recipients of the covered program), most of the time it is not.
The same situation exists for Paramount and Star Trek--Star Trek New Voyages is legally made and distributed so long as Paramount does not deem it a threat (like the Borg when people beam on board one of their cubes and walk around carrying big guns). And this doesn't even begin to get into trademark issues.
For copyright law, all the real power is with the copyright holders unless the fan film is a parody (which Star Trek New Voyages is not). I'd hardly call such a situation "safe" for the fan filmmakers. Even the permission Star Trek New Voyages receives appears to be selective and revocable.
Our copyright and trademark laws don't have to work this way, but they are structured to give more power to businesses. Multinational corporate publishers like Lucasfilm and Paramount have the means to sue and have lobbied the US Congress to make sure that copyright law is on their side. If you look at this in terms of one or two particular instances where smaller filmmakers get the permission they seek (for now), you're missing the point. Richard Stallman has been talking about a more sanely structured copyright regime, one which draws a clear line between commercial and non-commercial activity. Examples like Star Wars fan films and Star Trek New Voyages have a profound effect on his thinking. He ends up arguing for allowing all sorts of non-commercial activity that most copyright regimes prohibit by default.
Digital Citizen
He's doing them in Canada, too.
I am downloading New Voyages episodes using the torrents. Episode 2 is availble as an iso, but the DVd image for Episode 1 is in an RAR file. Is there any open source utility unrar utility? Any why does anyone use RAR when there are other more open compression formats that are presumably as good or better?
I agree. Many of the best moments in B5 related to the established supporting roles rather than the main players like Sheridan and Delenn. Bester was perhaps first among them (though a certain Ranger gave him a run for his money). The Core Is Mother, The Core Is Father was one of the most interesting episodes, and the depth Koenig brought to a character that only actually appeared in a handful of episodes during the five series was remarkable.
Part of me thinks it's a shame they never made Whatever Happened To Mr Bester, to resolve the Bester-Garibaldi storyline where you can work out what happened but you don't know how. Perhaps that's a trademark of the show -- you have to read between the lines, but if you do, there isn't much that isn't tidied up by the end -- but there was so much scope for an episode where Bester was viewed from both sides that it seems a missed opportunity. In another lifetime, perhaps...
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
They're running in Canada, too. Can never figure out if I should laugh or cringe.
I used up all my sick days, so I'm calling in dead.
This is really pretty good news. I noticed that there was distinct difference in some episodes I liked, and realized that they were written to emphsize the "people" problems and psychological adjustments of the characters rather than just the technology or new worlds/experiences aspects. Then I noticed that these episodes were almost always written by Dorothy (D. C.) Fontana. She also contributed some of the absolute best episodes of "Police Woman" with Angie Dickenson. If Walter and D.C. are enthused about this project, I look forward to seeing it.
"The mind works quicker than you think!"
Is it legal for fans to just pick up and make new episodes of Star Trek? I figured there'd be copyright problems and such.
;-)
I've always wanted to make Back to the Future IV but I figured I wasn't allowed to. That would be cool if I could do that.
(If anyone wants to fund back to the future IV, reply to this post and we'll be in touch
...next time, use a spell checker!
Is this the one where he's mispronouncing yogurt (er, yoghurt)? I was in London a couple of weeks ago and saw that. As an American, I guess I didn't quite get the humor - his pronunciation sounded just fine to me. =]
If I remember correctly from the audio commentary for the (AWESOME) mirror universe Enterprise episodes, the New Voyages crew loaned Paramount the motorized pop-up Viewmaster thing for the bridge of the Defiant.
Assuming I'm not completely making that up, it sounds like relations between the two groups are pretty good.
"...always new atoms but always doing the same dance, remembering what the dance was yesterday." -Richard Feynman
> That's not meant to be funny; William Shatner really is doing All Bran adverts here in the UK.
:)
"Promise?"
If all you can fucking do is nit-pick spelling, you're one lame mother fucker... Get off your anonymous coward ass and contribute something meaningful.
I've been trying and trying to download these episodes, but all the mirrors are down, and the trackers are down for the torrents.
Look, it's a Western in space!
Not enough evil midget geniuses, though.
In TOS he was 30 playing a 20-something Ensign Chekov, now he's almost 70, how's he going to play a 20 or 30-something Lt Chekov?
Yes, I've probably seen every episode and movie of TOS and B5 with Koenig in them and his work is very good. I just have to throw out the idea that it could be a bring in the big names stunt as was done with Enterprise in an attempt to draw back more viewers after it was moved to Friday where it had to compete with SG-1, not a good idea since enough people wanted to watch both. Is he going to stay with New Voyages or will it be a few guest staring appearances for the show's publicity?
F7 doesn't work, ignore spelling and grammar
Hey all,
I'm a regular at the NV forum (a little Googling will help you find it; won't link it to avoid another slashdotting), and I thought that I'd give some details here.
Here are the questions (and presumptions) that I see most often asked (and made), and I'll try to answer them.
Won't NV get sued by Paramount?
Nope, because they allow it as long as they make no profit. All of this is payed for from the pockets of all the volunteers that make this.
How good is it?
Honestly, avoid the first episode if you are skeptical. The second one was great, and well worth watching. Bare in mind though that the second episode (In Harm's Way) was intended to be a great big "everthing and the kitchen sink" spectacular story, and now they are going to calm down on the flashbacks and tie-ins and gimmicks and time travel, and get back to some good 'ol TOS. Oh, and brush up on your "Doomsday Machine", "City on the Edge of Forever", and "The Cage" (or "The Menagerie 1&2" will work too).
What's with Kirk's hair?
Mr. Cawley, who plays Kirk, is a professional Elvis impersonator (giggle) and that job is what keeps NV funded, so don't knock it. It'll be cut and such for episode three.
Isn't Walter Koenig a little old for playing Chekov circa TOS?
Um... duh. The role of Chekov at his expected age will be played by their new Chekov actor, Andy Bray (perfect casting; he looks nearly perfect). Somehow he'll get old or something (they are holding out) and then Koenig's Chekov will have to deal with that or something. Pardon my ambiguity, but they want to keep it hush hush and I'm on the outside.
So will this story involve time travel or rehashes or holodeck fantasies or some other stupid plotpoint?
;)
No. It's being kept secret, but Jack has promised that it won't be that stuff. Nor will it be "The Deadly Years II".
I don't like the recasting. I can't picture anyone else in the roles.
This is common, and I guess that I can only suggest to open your mind. These guys are trying their best, and they are amateurs so keep the criticism constructive.
Who the hell is Lt. DeSalle?
DeSalle, who is played by Ron Boyd, is a character whipped up to replace Sulu in the first episode when the Sulu actor split just before production. He's developing into an interesting character, and will probably have some rivalry with Sulu (now being played in this and future episodes by John Lim).
What happened to Yeoman Rand? She was only ever the Captain's eyecandy, not a Lt. or a helmsman
;) ). Personally, I like the change.
Yeah. For those of you who skip Episode I (I suggest it if you have low tolerance of amateur productions), Rand got a promotion during the beginning of this fourth season. They decided to "reinvent" the character as a little more useful and intelligent (and a redhead
Wow.... the actor who played Scotty made a hell of an improvement from episode I to episode II!
Yeah... probably 'cause it's not the same actor. Right before episode I started production, the Scotty actor bailed, and Jack Marshall, the Director/Executive Producer had to hop in the role (and he looks nothing like Scotty, FYI). Since then Charles Root has adopted the role and is doing a bang-up job of it too.
Will there ever be a crossover episode with the other fan films like Starship Exeter or Star Trek: Hidden Frontier?
Well, with Exeter it's kinda iffy since they have totally different goals and such. (NV is trying to bring TOS into the 90's and slowly set it up for The Motion Picture and the following series, and Exeter is trying to be as sixties nostalgic as possible and doesn't look to be including any future stuff anytime soon, not to mention totally against recasting).
However, James Cawley (NV's Kirk) is playin
Silicon & Charybdis McLuhan Kildall Papert Kay
It was a gag partly because Dames Doohan refused to be on the show. James's response was "No way."
I heard this from one of the series's writers (who also showed a rough cut of Route of All Evil) at a convention before the show aired.
Agreed. I recently purchased the complete Lost in Space (three seasons) for $120. That's about the same number of episodes as the original Star Trek.
Well, I took a quick look at the imdb link. DC Fontana seems to be one of the writers/story editors behind classic Star Trek as well as a whole ton of big sci-fi movies and series. Cool thread, thanks for starting it. I learned something.
Am I the only star treck fan out there that thinks this is some of the worst acting imaginable? And the writing is unbelievably bad. The special affects are not as good as they did in the 1960s. What a bunch of over rated crap. This thing is embarrassing.
The woman manipulated by the Shadows was actually Bester's lover, not his wife. His marriage was arranged by the Psi Corps, and his wife was still safe and sound back home.
Picture ... ... ... ... ...
... ... ... ...
yourself
in a boat on
a
river,
With tangerine
trees
and
marmalade skies
test