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Nov 17 | Originally hired as co-executive producer to help with the second half of the show's first season, Kevin Murphy has now taken the reins of Caprica, the Battlestar Galactica prequel on Syfy, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He now serves as an executive producer along with Ronald D. Moore, David Eick and Jane Espenson and oversees the day-to-day functions of the show.

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Nov 12 | Star Trek star Zachary Quinto is loosely attached to star in the romantic dramedy Whirligig, reports Risky Business.Quinto would play the lead role in the independent Canadian film, which is aiming to shoot early next year. The movie centers on a man who, in a misguided attempt to woo an older woman, befriends the woman's adopted son.Chaz Thorne is directing the pic, based on a screenplay by Michael Amo, creator of the Canadian supernatural series "The Listener."

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Nov 11 | The CNS Foundation, is hosting an on-line charity auction at www.charitybuzz.com.   One of the items they are auctioning is a signed movie poster of the new Star Trek movie which has all the cast members and writers.  The president of our organization is Carol Abrams, JJ's mother,  and she arranged for the donation from Bad Robot Production Company.  J.J. Abrams is also a major donor to their organization. The funds raised will go to help find a cure to neurological disorders in children.  The auction link is here.

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Nov 10 | Candice Bergen, Charles Lisanby, Don Pardo, Gene Roddenberry, Tom and Dick Smothers and Bob Stewart have been selected as the next inductees into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame. They will be honored at a Jan. 20 ceremony at the Beverly Hills Hotel. "This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture, changed television for the better and entertained us royally while doing so," TV Academy Chairman-CEO John Shaffner said. More info at the Hollywood Reporter

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Nov 08 | Unreality-SF.net has interviewed Star Trerk author James Swallow about some of his upcoming projects. He talks about Titan: Synthesis and Seven Deadly Sins: The Slow Knife, as well as some forthcoming Doctor Who and Stargate stories.

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News Story

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John Cho Says Sulu is Not Just Japanese, But is a Pan-Asian Character

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By GustavoLeao / 06:30, 23 March 2008 / Star Trek: Nemesis

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New America Media posted a new interview with Star Trek actor John Cho, the new Sulu. Here is an excerpt.

You are playing (Hikaru) Sulu in the new Star Trek. How do you feel about playing a Japanese character, being a Korean American?

J.C: I'm insulted! [sarcastic]

No. I don't feel like it has any particular bearing on this role because he is Japanese American. I wouldn't take a part that is Japanese from Japan, or a recent Japanese immigrant, because I don't think there is a way that I could do that accent really effectively and convincingly.

As far as the surname goes and cultural background, I think it's irrelevant. I think it's more, "Can you be convincing as an actor?" Sometimes you're better off casting someone who is really from that culture because the role calls for an accent that's going to be convincing. But I talked to George (Takei, the actor who first played Sulu) about it, and he said that (Gene) Roddenberry's original intent was that everybody on the bridge of the Enterprise was supposed to represent the entire world. He said that Sulu was supposed to represent the continent of Asia. They didn't have a specific cultural origin for him before the show was cast. Then George was cast and they needed to come up with a name. Gene was looking at a map and saw the name Sulu Sea and it bordered multiple Asian countries, and he thought that this was kind of a Pan-Asian name. When they came up with a first name, George is Japanese American, so they give him the name Hikaru. But the intent was not really to create a Japanese-specific character, the intent was to create a Pan-Asian character.

The full interview is here.



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Don't forget... | Report this post to moderator
By: cdydatzigs (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:48:45 on Mar 24, 2008

Remember too, George played a Vietnamese in "Green Beret".

-- Steve

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-- Steve
"If a sixth Star Trek television series is ever realized, it will be set in the new universe." -- cdydatzigs, June 15, 2009.


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Sounds fair enough to me | Report this post to moderator
By: DavidDownUnder (Odo's file, contact) @ 01:44:45 on Mar 24, 2008

Of course, making TV in the '60s for the mainstream US audience they obviously needed to 'pin down' Sulu as a Japanese character every now and again, so tossing in a few scenes with a Samurai warrior and katana is helpful shorthand.

But Trek has never stuck to a single match of actor to 'Asian character'. In Voyager we had Harry Kim (Korean name, character born in South Carolina) played by Chinese-American actor Garrett Wang. In Enterprise, Hoshi Sato (Japanese name, character born in Kyoto) was played by Korean-American Linda Park.

But when they eventually get around to putting an Australian on a Trek bridge, he bloody better not be played by a New Zealander. Now THAT would be an insult. :>



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Katana KO | Report this post to moderator
By: TRexx (Odo's file, contact) @ 18:58:57 on Mar 23, 2008

Quote from Endeavour:
...although it seems on the show with all the swords, he was supposed to be Japanese!


In TOS "Day of the Dove", Sulu does carry a slender Japanese-style katana, while most of the other characters have Roman (gladius) swords. Sulu isn't seen using his blade in combat, he uses a karate-chop to knock out a Klingon.

In "Shore Leave", Sulu's thoughts cause the creation of a samurai warrior.


Image
Sulu unwittingly conjures a samurai in "Shore Leave"


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  • RE: Katana KO | Report this post to moderator
    By: Keoki (Odo's file, contact) @ 05:42:28 on Mar 24, 2008

    Quote:
    In TOS "Day of the Dove", Sulu does carry a slender Japanese-style katana, while most of the other characters have Roman (gladius) swords. Sulu isn't seen using his blade in combat, he uses a karate-chop to knock out a Klingon.

    While I agree with you that Sulu was presented as more Japanese than anything else, tour particular point just doesn't make sense. In "The Naked Time," he wielded a rapier Musketeer-style. Does this mean he's part French, as well?

    Quote:
    In "Shore Leave", Sulu's thoughts cause the creation of a samurai warrior.
    a samurai in "Shore Leave"

    And, of course, only Japanese people ever think about samurai, right (wink, wink)?

    If I'm not mistaken, I seem to remember reading that George Takei said Sulu was supposed to be part Japanese and part Chinese, born in San Francisco. But I'd be hard-pressed to recall where I read that.

    --------

    Jesus Saves... no one dares charge him full price


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    • RE: Katana KO | Report this post to moderator
      By: TRexx (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:11:23 on Mar 24, 2008 | Edit History (1)

      Quote from Karaoke:
      While I agree with you that Sulu was presented as more Japanese than anything else, tour particular point just doesn't make sense.


      Without the recognizable cultural symbols, how could you agree that Sulu is "presented as more Japanese than anything else"? Wouldn't you otherwise be required to assess his heritage only by the color of his skin or the shape of his eyes?

      TOS gives African native Uhura a zebra-skin bedspread. This too is no coincidence. Even Spock's alien heritage doesn't rely on his physical appearance -- Vulcans get their own cultural identity, also in the form of unique weapons, wardrobe, etc.

      As noted in another post here, these are "helpful shorthand", for relevant characterizations.


      --------

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As Long as we're on the Subject... | Report this post to moderator
By: IamKirok!!! (Odo's file, contact) @ 12:03:00 on Mar 23, 2008

Won't just about everyone be multiethnic by then, anyway?


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  • RE: As Long as we're on the Subject... | Report this post to moderator
    By: Endeavour (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:19:05 on Mar 23, 2008

    Wasn't Sulu supposed to be from San Francisco, so he's an American...

    ...although it seems on the show with all the swords, he was supposed to be Japanese


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    • RE: As Long as we're on the Subject... | Report this post to moderator
      By: OV-101 (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:34:22 on Mar 23, 2008

      If your born in San Francisco you can be whatever you want. That's the message I get. I don't see a discontinuity here. You can be of Japanese descent without actually being born there. What about his parents? Where are they supposed to be from?

      --------

      "Life's tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."
      -- John Wayne

      "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
      --Dr. Leonard McCoy

      "I'm a politician, which means I am a cheat and a liar, and when I am not kissing babies I am stealing their lollipops."
      -- Jeffrey Pelt, The Hunt for Red October

      "Liberals, Intellectuals, Peacemongers, IDIOTS!!!!"
      - General Decker, Mars Attacks

      "It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
      - Q from Q Who


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      • RE: As Long as we're on the Subject... | Report this post to moderator
        By: IamKirok!!! (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:53:10 on Mar 23, 2008

        In "The Naked Time" the script called for a Samurai sword, but Takei himself lobbied for it to be a European fencing sword, trying successfully to steer away from the Asian stereotype.

        I never had any other impression of Sulu other than that he was a of Japanese descent. Wasn't until Trek 4 that we knew he was from Frisco, right?


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        • RE: As Long as we're on the Subject... | Report this post to moderator
          By: OV-101 (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:04:16 on Mar 24, 2008

          That is correct. I think that what I was trying to point out. As far as the character is concerned he IS of Japanese descent. Being born in SFO does not change that. Of course, Gene's vision of the future is that ethnicity was not relevant. That fact that we are all humans is.

          --------

          "Life's tough. It's tougher if you're stupid."
          -- John Wayne

          "Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."
          --Dr. Leonard McCoy

          "I'm a politician, which means I am a cheat and a liar, and when I am not kissing babies I am stealing their lollipops."
          -- Jeffrey Pelt, The Hunt for Red October

          "Liberals, Intellectuals, Peacemongers, IDIOTS!!!!"
          - General Decker, Mars Attacks

          "It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires, both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid."
          - Q from Q Who


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Oh oh | Report this post to moderator
By: vyger (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 08:52:27 on Mar 23, 2008

All hands, brace for fanboy attack.

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"I’m worried about an opponent who uses nation-building and the military in the same sentence."
George W. Bush, 2000

Get busy living, or get busy dying.
Scott's Journal


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