Slashdot Mirror
George Takei To Play Star Trek's Sulu Again
Tycoon Guy writes "TrekToday reports that George Takei has agreed to play Hikaru Sulu in an upcoming episode of the fan series Star Trek: New Voyages. He's the second actor from the original Star Trek series to come onboard; another episode will feature Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov. And here's what really makes this news great: Takei's episode will be written by none other than David Gerrold, the SF writer who also brought us Star Trek's Tribbles."
That looks worse than a spanish telenovella... But I guess the bad acting is just a stab at what the future will actually be like. Points for realism.
Hey, I could be wrong. Maybe that fan series will be the next Twin Peaks. But I'll not hazard a viewing.
Ex nihilo nihil fit.
im a fan of the series... but have you seen these things... acting worse than.... well, the original series.
ack, I'm so torn between cool that they are doing it and having fun, but geez.. no dignity. eh, then again, how cool is it that the actors are even interested... thats cool. but its going to be so bad.
eh, its cool. crap.
There's nothing Intelligent about Intelligent Design.
He was AWESOME last week on Stern as the announcer - I wish him well. 68 years old, just came out of the closet and then goes on The Howard Stern Show after a decade of ribbing... George Takei is Okay. RIP Rein LaBlanche.
This
George Takei is amazing. Now he's on Stern, where he came out of the closet.
i ns/2006/01/13/1137118970418.html
Stern asked him what positions he likes, and Takei went into it. Here's some proof: http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/stern-age-beg
Really funny. Takei sounds like a very earnest guy though -- it is great he gets to work on this stuff.
http://www.thebricktestament.com/the_law/when_to_
A) It keeps the community alive and series continuity going
B) Its just a good feeling that the older actors are willing to go back after all this time. Its a warm, fuzzy feeling.
John Lim (Hikaru Sulu in New Voyages) playing the character formally played by actor George Takei, was reportedly pissed. "It's obviously an anti-Chinese thing," he noted. Takei maintained that Sulu was indeed Japanese and not Chinese and that Mr. Lim was just miscast from the beginning.
. jpg
Lim suggested he was still open to reprise his role as Sulu in an upcoming New Voyages episode in which a future Sulu (Played by Takei) would meet his younger self in a time warp created by a worm hole.
http://www.startreknewvoyages.com/images/cast/lim
Sunny
Be my Friend
I tried to watch this. I really tried. But the acting was just so horrible...
Please please please, hire real actors for this thing. No more fans-as-armchair-actors, please....
The Final Fun Queer!
Sorry, that's bad. But I couldn't help meself.
I'll get me coat.
I wonder if modern television shows will have that effect. Will future generations look back at Gina Davis' character and say "Yep, that was the start of it". Did South Park make the concept of cursing and the mix of crude and intelligent humor acceptable? Did Will and Grace help the Gay Right's movement?
I look forward to 20 years from now when I'll be able to look back at the television programs of my youth and see the full, historic impact they might have had.
But as a person who preffered Star Trek TOS it is a pretty decent effort. They really try to recreate the feel of the original series.
The acting is... adequate? Passable. Yeah that is it, it is good enough.
If you like cheesy stuff and are fan of the old series give this a try. It won't be the next big thing but I seen far worse. That norwegian star trek/babylon 5 "comedy" for one.
At least this is in a proper language.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Star Trek didn't go anywhere, boldly or not, with this. Takei just came out in the last few months. Good for him, but it's not really shocking world news. When I heard this for the first time, I didn't freak out, I didn't applaud him. It was just another outing. It was at best some interesting tidbit.
Now, what have been really shocking or whatever it might have been, was if the creators of the original series knowingly and purposely hired Takei because he was gay and dedicated a episode to this aspect.
Star Trek shouldn't be applauded because they unknowingly had a gay helmsman, they should be remember for the other civil rights movement, such as having a character Uhura on board.
Now if he had come out during the first run of the series, it might have had an impact, in light of the show, in those years. Now, the original series is 30 years old.
I've heard from other sources that Paramount let them do this as long as they make no money from it. No Money period. Thats not just a profit, thats no income. As soon as they could be taking money from paramount, they get a call from the lawyers. I think thats why they dont even offer the episodes on dvd, because they would get have to charge, and then be stopped. So its costing them money probably. Which is why theres no money to hire other actors. It appears it's all just for love..
I've got terrible images of the Enterprise causing multiple pile-up driving at half the speed limit the wrong way down a space-highrway, as Sulu misses the one way signs due to his cataracts ...
He should be applauded for persuing his career in a time when Gay men weren't openly favored in Hollywood. He never came out, but he never let it stop him.
A gay man... acting?
I mean, ya, so what if the gay actor stereotype has been around since man invented fire... Star Trek was the first show to beam a gay man.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Paramount provided the original blueprints of TOS' sets.
In return, Paramount has borrowed a number of props from NY, including the Helmsman's pop-up console.
All in all, I think it could be profitable for Paramount.
Takei coming out was one of those well, geeze of course kind of moments. The big question is why he wasn't a blip on anybody's gaydar screen before. I always thought he kind of stood out, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why.
That said, the actors and the characters are two different things. Having a gay actor (especially a closeted one) play a straight character doesn't count as tackling gay issues. Star Trek in its later editions flirted with lesbian allusions, but so does a lot of porn that is intended for consumption by straight males. It's the idea of masculinity that is the third rail of culture. Most people treat it as too dangerous to go near.
I don't think male homosexuality had a place in Roddenberry's fantasy life. Judging from what he wrote about some of the Kirk-Spock fan fic, I don't think he liked the idea, although I think he was polite and careful not to dismiss the idea of people having gay Star Trek fantasies. Just not with his characters.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
TOS is dead. TNG is maybe dead. ENT is certainly dead. But people like Star Trek, and a new series would be welcomed by the audience, if it was good enough. The problem is not that the world is tired of Star Trek, the problem is that the last Star Trek series were not that good as the first ones (TOS and TNG). I agree with those guys at startrek.com that it is time for a new Star Trek series, in the style of TNG, with new actors and a new ship, set 20-30 years after TNG. Most of the galaxy is still unexplored!
I have seen one episode from this series (It also had an actor from the originial series). It was trash, poorly written, poorly acted and not very entertaining. As a contrast, I really enjoyed the parody "Star Wreck - In the Pirkinning". Stunning CGIs, great look and sound and quite funny story. The actors are mostly amateurs as well, but they seem to be just perfect for this film. I lift my hat to the makers of Star Wreck.
I like David Gerrold, and I've enjoyed some of his recent "lighter" SF books including his Dingilliad trilogy, but c'mon, the guy needs to get a move on and finish the next installment of his masterwork, A Method For Madness. I'm still trapped in the Amazon, wondering what happens next in the War Against The Chtorr.
Last I heard Sulu was still patrolling the Cardassian border in the U.S.S. Excelsior.
Maybe he has moved on to seek out new worlds, but he is definitely still kicking butt at 113+ years old!
He who knows best knows how little he knows. - Thomas Jefferson
Star Trek shouldn't be applauded because they unknowingly had a gay helmsman, they should be remember for the other civil rights movement, such as having a character Uhura on board.
What makes me sad is the fact the people have pointed this out... because I never gave it a second thought. I guess it's actually important... the simple fact that they bought all these people together in a situation where it simply was no big deal.
This is a tad off topic but I recently watched the Warner Brothers banned 11 cartoons. Some of these I actually saw as a kid living in the south... and at the time I would have seen them I had no idea they were attempting to poke fun at african americans... I just assumed there were cool cats and cool dogs in a city called Harlem who were big on skat and jazz. Watching them now makes me feel rather ill. I had to ask my self whether I wanted to archive them or not... but without things like this... big names in Warner Brother's animation... creating these strongly racist cartoons because it again was "no big deal"... without these things people like Martin Luther King, Jr. would have had nothing to complain about... and women like Whoopi Goldberg who grew up with Sherly Temple reruns wouldn't have been excited to see Star Trek and exclaim, "Momma, there's a black lady on tv... and she ain't no maid".
So yes... I feel ashamed when I have to think about the fact that "I love Lucy" of all things was groundbreaking... a mixed marriage between I presume an Irish Catholic and a Cuban-born musician. I feel even more ashamed when I have to think about the fact that Star Trek featured the first African American woman who wasn't a maid. But I can feel some pride in the fact that much was accomplished over a period of 40 years... though i'll be another 40 years before we as a people trully understand that we share a planet.
There is no sanctuary. There is no sanctuary. SHUT UP! There is no shut up. There is no shut up.
Shatner said this on Jimmy Kimmel's show (which is why nobody heard it) when asked if he had known, back in the '60s, that Takei was gay:
"Of course I knew... he kept setting his phaser on fabulous!"
"Mr. Sulu! Set a course for Uranus!"
That's all I've got....=)
With the first link, the chain is forged.
If by Tribbles you mean Martian Flat Cats,
and by David Gerrold you mean Robert Heinlein...
You decide...
kulakovich
Okay.... Gotta get the first part off my chest.
(flamebait post)
All you folks who think this fan series is unwatchable and horrible have been too spoiled by Hollywood's offerings and need way too much eye candy (IMO) to suspend your disbelief.
I'd hate to hear what you folks have to say about classic Dr. Who...
(/flamebait post)
That aside, I've been keeping up with New Voyages for the past year and I think they're heading into a critical point in their existance.
The first movie seemed warmly received and did look a bit amateurish. The second was a vast improvement along with some real characters who played minor roles in the Trek series.
The third, they're all slap happy patting themselves on the back for netting Walter Koenig and at least it's in post production.
They're talking episode 4 and 5 now plus George Takei and they've lost Jack Marshall who I got the impression was one of the key guys who helped launch it and see it through, making it a reality.
From what I've experienced with people who take on a venture with moderate success in the beginning, I'd say it would be possible and probable that they're riding the high of all the media attention garnered so far. They're likely so busy spinning new deals that attention to things such as pre and post production, volunteer/cast/crew relations and all those minor details like the proverbial sidewalk sweeping, bottle washing and etc are falling by the wayside. I'd suspect they're in danger of having the whole thing fall in on itself.
For the sake of this fan who actually enjoys New Voyages, I'm hoping Jack Marshall wasn't the only driving unifying force that kept everything together.
Please folks, let it die with what little dignity it still has left.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
What distribution? Their mirrors have ignored them.
-The BitTorrent page doesn't work.
-The Official site decided to renumber the episodes by making their pilot episode 0. Meanwhile their mirrors still use the original numbering scheme.
-You can only get the latest episode ("To Serve All My Day's") from ONE site: Official site. And yes, it's crawling.
The kicker is that I told the webmaster about all this a week ago.
Obama's legacy: (N)othing (S)ecure (A)nywhere and (T)error (S)imulation (A)dministration
The new episode will be called "Brokeback Planet" after the awarding movie movie. Commander Sulu returns to Star Fleet HQ in San Francisco (some things dont change in three centuries) for his annual fling with an old classmate.
DS9 was the only Trek series where I thought I might be looking at real human beings. Other Trek series treated their characters as if they were greedless, religionless, sexless robots incapable of even the slightest moral failing or ambiguity.
And it was also the only Trek series to acknowledge what holodecks would REALLY be used for.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Sexless robots?
Dr Soong would remind you that Data was "Fully Functional".
As would Tasha Yar.
There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order- Ed Howdershelt Via Tass
Wandering the galaxy bringing self-righteous Federation "enlightenment" to the universe with bombastic speeches isn't exploration--it's hubris and arrogance.
Trek writers needed to spend some time exploring the concept of "character development." They might have learned that real characters EVOLVE over time (and Rikers's expanading waistline doesn't count).
Not that chracter development matters much when all your characters are stock and one-dimensional to begin with. You'd think that, in all that technobabble, they would have picked up the term "multi-dimensional" at some point.
-Eric
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Alternatively, they could decide that all of Enterprise was non-canon and redo the timeline under the original premise - no transporters, translators, and without every darn TOS race they could squeeze in. With new writers.
Kevin Smith has offered several times to write a new Trek series. Give Smith a crack at this. Make sure Berman and Braga are kept as far away as possible from it. Maybe even allow some humor in the series...what a concept!
My idea of what Enterprise should have been would be a return to the '60s idea of the future from TOS. Captain Archer should be a free-lovin', two fisted prototype for Kirk. T'Pol should be Spock with tits and sexual tension between her and Archer. (Never, EVER allow this to be consummated.) The visual look of the show should be TOS with better production values and '60s retro-futurism. Miniskirted uniforms for female crew members! Bio-engineered Klingons without silly putty on their foreheads! It would rock.
Imagine all that and Kevin Smith directing. Now that is something I'd watch religiously.
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
What do you expect, I'm stuck in the Amazon...
There are no loopholes. It's either legal or it's not.
I think Queer Eye for the Straight Guy should do a special with George Takei at a Star Trek Convention. Most of the guys I've talked to at Star Trek conventions seem like nice people, but some of them would definitely benefit from being shot with a phaser set on "fabulous."