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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!"
Indeed. He did a great job on B5, in a much more serious role.
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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.
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
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.
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.
Relevant section:
Those who sacrifice security to condemn liberty deserve to repeat history or something. - Benjamin Santayana
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..
Oh, absolutely he did. Bester is one of my favorite characters of all-time.
Sure, he was a cold, calculating, (evil?) manipulator, but the episodes that involved his wife (captured and 'altered' by the shadows) really brought the depth into the character. It'd be interesting to talk to Mr. Koenig and find out what "made Bester tick" when he was acting the part.
There were both greatscripts and great acting in B5...
N.
"Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." - Charles de Gaulle
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...
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 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.
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.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
Sounds like there's some bad blood there.
"OH SHIT, THERE'S A HORSE IN THE HOSPITAL!"
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
Read Warped Factors if you want a good account of why Koenig hated Shatner.
William Shatner managed to make enemies of most of the cast of TOS. While he was friends with Nimoy and Kelly, the rest of the cast hated Shatner. James Doohan refused to speak to Shatner even to the last days of his life.
BTW - Koenig really is Russian. His grandparents were Russian Jews from Vilna, Lithuania.
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