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Walter Koenig Reprises His Role as Chekov

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-creepy-at-all dept.

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!"

9 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. They missed out one role I really enjoyed.. by clifforch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

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    1. Re:They missed out one role I really enjoyed.. by tillemetry · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I disagree. Bester messed up Garibaldi pretty good, and seemed to take a little too much joy in it. The sadistic streak made the character believable. If you followed B5, and looked at Bester, Chekov didn't even cross your mind. I thought it was great.

      Always thought the tip of the hat to Alfred Bester (whose book The Demolished Man laid out a lot of the "telepath lore") was a brillant move by the writers. Okay, they stole, but they gave the author credit at the same time. It was great.

    2. Re:They missed out one role I really enjoyed.. by Digital+Pizza · · Score: 4, Interesting

      His portrayal of Bester actually made me forget all about Chekov, to the point that when I see Walter Koenig I think "Bester" instead of "Chekov". Considering how deeply the 'Trek characters have been driven into our memories over the decades, that's quite a testimony to his acting ability.

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  2. Interesting sidenote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    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

  3. Not trying to be a spoilsport but... by HishamMuhammad · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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... :(

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  4. Price of Star Trek DVDs by cjsm · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

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  5. Wil Wheaton, please read this post..... by tloh · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Dear Wil,

    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 /. 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.

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  6. Re:Always thought he was underappreciated... by dabigpaybackski · · Score: 5, Interesting
    He did an interview on Coast to Coast AM a few weeks ago, during which he gave his assessment of the old Star Trek cast. What I found most illustrative was his admonishment to "read between the lines" as he read through the roster, conspicuously omitting the name of William Shatner. When the host, George Noory, rather ham-handedly asked for Koenig's opinion of Shatner, Koenig gently reminded him again to "read between the lines."

    Sounds like there's some bad blood there.

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  7. There was never just simple evil on B5 by infonography · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Nobody did anything because they were evil. Well may just Emperor Cartagia, but he was nuts in a Caligula sort of way. Morden was a spiritual disciple of the Shadows. Who to human eyes where the ultimate Bug Eyed Monsters, were not really such bad guys. Their Nietzsche-esque strength thru war had the same misinterpretation the Nazi had.

    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)

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