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George Takei Wanted EXCELSIOR Movies, Says ENT is Not Roddenberry's Vision

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By GustavoLeao / 01:36, 6 December 2004 / General Star Trek

STAR TREK actor George Takei ('Captain Sulu') was a guest on the british GMTV's breakfast show last week, promoting the third season of TOS on DVD. After the show, George took part in a web chat on the GMTV web site and here are a few excerpts from the chat transcript.

Q : Mr Takei, are you still lobbying Paramount for a series based on the EXCELSIOR or is this something you're no longer interested in doing?

George Takei : No, actually the campaign began with a group called the International Federation of Trekkers. The leader is located in Cleveland Ohio. I was very flattered, these people had a tremendous strategy - they marshalled the powers of the Internet and began a global campaign. I thought surely Paramount would follow up STAR TREK VI (which I personally subtitled Captain Sulu to the Rescue) with a series of Captain Sulu movies or mini-series. Particulary after Paramount invited fan feedback! I'm baffled that Paramount after they invited the suggestions to have turned a blind eye to what the fans truly want.

Q : Are you going to be making any future STAR TREK guest appearances?

George Takei : Not that I know of, but Paramount has a way of surprising me . One day I got a phone call from a friend who called to congratulate me about a guest appearance and I said I knew nothing about that. I asked him where he heard about that and he said on the Internet. And I said it was most likely fans wishful thinking and then hung up. Nevertheless I phoned my agent to check it out and asked him whether I was doing a guest shot on VOYAGER and he said no, not that I know of. Two weeks later I was working on a TV thing in Canada and my agent rang to tell me that the Internet was correct and I was doing a guest shot on VOYAGER!!! So I've been checking the Internet ever since.

Q : What are your thoughts about the current STAR TREK series?

George Takei : I don't think it's Gene [Roddenberry]'s vision, because he was forward-looking and this show is going backwards. He loved the shock of the new, unkown lifeforms, discoveries, challenges, all that is lost when you go backwards.

Q : You have a very distinctive voice. How about doing an audio series of the further adventures of Captain Sulu?

George Takei: I would love to do it. Ive done five audio novels of the ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN SULU and a publisher looks interested in doing another one so fingers crossed.

Q : Are you amazed at how long STAR TREK has endured? Do you think it will continue to do so in the future?

George Takei : I am amazed because it was such a struggle to stay on when we first ran. They were threatening cancellation after the first season, but given a reprieve by the letter writing of the fans. This 3rd season I owe to the fans. Those who discovered us in the 2nd season has made this all possible. That's another reason I do conventions - to say thank you.

Read the full transcript here



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RE: is this A HABIT AT PARAMOUNT?! | Report this post to moderator
By: Dukat (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 11:07:19 on Dec 06, 2004

The question should be is did George talk with his agent about signing deals without consulting him at all first? If he was so disengaged from the entire process, why would he ever expect Paramount to just be handing shows over to him.

Evil Evil Shatner. Even more reasons to hate him! He would be on Enterprise right now if when they first called him up he just showed up like a good soldier and didn't try to give them any pesky ideas about how he would appear or ask for the damn money!!

What is truly sad is that after the years and years of bitching and whining about Shatner that Takei has still never learned anything about how and why Shatner looked out for himself in the way that he did. Maybe Shatners overall interest in what he played, how he was portrayed, and what he was paid is the reason he is the success and as popular as he is today. Clearly he was the second most likely to be stereotyped after TOS-- yet he and Nimoy were the only ones able to work successfully outside of Trek on a regular basis.

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