By GustavoLeao / 21:28, 10 May 2005 / General Star Trek

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CNN Showbiz Tonight just aired a live interview with STAR TREK actor Walter Koenig ('Pavel Chekov'). Here is a transcript from the interview :

A.J. HAMMER: Tonight another SHOWBIZ sit down. It's part of our final trek special series. When the current STAR TREK TV show ENTERPRISE goes off the air this Friday, it's going to be the first time in 18 years that there's going to be no new STAR TREK on the small screen. And as of now, there are no new STAR TREK movies in the planning.

KARYN BRYANT: All this week we are bringing you interviews with the STAR TREK stars, past and present, spanning the last 40 years. SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's David Haffenreffer is back here on the bridge with tonight's final trek. David.

DAVID HAFFENREFFER: It does feel like the bridge, just a little bit. STAR TREK certainly boldly went where no one had ever gone before in so many ways. The original series that aired from 1966 until 1969 featured one of most racially and ethnically diverse casts ever seen on television up to that point. Joining us now live from Los Angeles is Walter Koenig who played 'Ensign Pavel Chekov'. Walter, welcome to the program.

WALTER KOENIG: Thank you. Nice to be here.

HAFFENREFFER: Take us back, right back to the mid 1960s. Your character 'Chekov' was a Russian, certainly right in the middle of the cold war there. Did that read sort of odd to you when you first got hired for that role?

KOENIG: No. I thought was great. I thought it was an opportunity to harken back to my heritage as a matter of fact. My folks were Russian. And I thought it was a nice opportunity to pay some tribute to my family heritage.

HAFFENREFFER: But originally Chekov was not supposed to be Russian, right? It was supposed to - cast originally as what?

KOENIG: I guess a kind of - a Monkee, an English Monkee character. You know. That's what they had in mind.

HAFFENREFFER: All right, now hypothetically speaking, if you could beam back 40 years ago, say and have somebody tell you that 40 years from then you would still be talking about STAR TREK, what would you say?

KOENIG: It is absolutely extraordinary. It's one of those phenomenon that really stand alone. All the hyperbole you can muster would not really describe what it has been like to live with a particular show and a particular character for this - these many years. It is really amazing.

HAFFENREFFER: Was it true that you were hired in part to appeal to the audience that was so in love with the Monkees at the time, Davey Jones' character in particular.

KOENIG: That's what I was talking about. Yeah they were looking for somebody who would have the same appeal as Davey Jones, looking to capture the 8 to 14-year-olds. And that's what most of my mail was, from 8 to 14-year-olds.

HAFFENREFFER: Did that mean you were consequently a bit of a heartthrob as well as the time?

KOENIG: Well, it is not for me to say.

HAFFENREFFER: Let the fan club decide that one, right.

KOENIG: Yeah.

HAFFENREFFER: We had Nichelle Nichols (story) on last night and she was kind enough to talk about the cast in general and about how you guys all got along so well. Do you still stay in touch with any of the cast members from THE ORIGINAL SERIES?

KOENIG: As a matter of fact, I had dinner with both George Takei, who I think will be on tomorrow night and Nichelle and Nichelle who was on last night. We had dinner over the weekend. So we do get a chance to trade stories and remember the past and look forward to the future, which is the thing that we all try to underscore is the future.

HAFFENREFFER: We've got people coming on all week as you mentioned. George is coming on tomorrow night. We're asking everybody the same final set of questions here. So I'm just going to throw them right at you. Here we go, the favorite trek character besides your own?

KOENIG: Well, I think -- I think Leonard Nimoy's interpretation of 'Spock' was really quite brilliant. I think anybody -- I think all of us could have been played by other characters. All of our characters could have been played by other actors with the exception of Leonard. Nobody could have done 'Mr. Spock' quite as well as Leonard did. I think that's a singular character and one that will remain in television lore for generations and generations.

HAFFENREFFER: Walter Koenig, thank you for being with us tonight. We appreciate it.

KOENIG: My pleasure.

HAFFENREFFER: And tomorrow, the final trek continues as SHOWBIZ TONIGHT salutes STAR TREK with special guest Anthony Montgomery from STAR TREK ENTERPRISE and Mr. Sulu himself, George Takei. Then Thursday, the NEXT GENERATION's LeVar Burton beams up for a chat. The final frontier ends this Friday for STAR TREK ENTERPRISE in a two-hour series finale on UPN.

The original report can be found at CNN.

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