Putting the Shatner "ego issue" from TOS to rest

[Gov Kodos]

1001001 wrote:

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Good Lord, Man!



I'm talking about THE Doctor. No offense to my man Kirk, but the Doctor operates on a whole other level.

Of course, JMHO.

Oh, that one, Doc Adams from Gunsmoke.

[Maurice]

Nah, the real Doc is Howard McNear! He originated the role.

[Gov Kodos]

So, like Karl Urban as Kor, then?

[1001001]

Actually, I was referring to Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

I thought that was obvious...

[CoveTom]

Doc Brown from Back to the Future. Hands down.

[Lance]

You know, I really think I agree that the Shatner ego issue has been overplayed over the years. My theory is that Shatner had no idea what he was doing: it's well documented he used to take the directors aside and say "Wouldn't it be better if Kirk came to this realisation?", which was really just him beefing up his role as lead actor, putting Kirk front and centre. Where I say he probably didn't even realise is that actors don't tend to read any lines other than their own. Shatner probably hadn't a clue that when he did this, he was actually taking away Sulu's Big Moment In The Script, or he was taking away Uhura's Big Moment In The Script, or he was taking away Scotty's Big Moment In The Script (etc). So naturally, the other actors would seethe that their one (and possibly their only) substantial line in the script had been stolen by Shatner, while Shatner himself probably assumed they had another scene somewhere else in the script. In some cases, he'd inadvertently taken away Sulu's only line in the episode or whatever, but he was probably clueless that this is what he'd done.

[ZapBrannigan]

Lance wrote:

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Shatner himself probably assumed they had another scene somewhere else in the script. In some cases, he'd inadvertently taken away Sulu's only line in the episode or whatever, but he was probably clueless that this is what he'd done.

I'm not quite on board with that. It's true that actors with a whole script to learn every week can only learn their own parts. But Shatner had a deliberate policy preference that STAR TREK was to be a straight-to-the-point, hero-driven show, not a meandering ensemble piece.

It was always "We tell stories about people," but for Shatner, people meant Kirk and this week's aliens, not the functionaries who take Kirk's orders.

And STAR TREK was cast with that common '60s TV philosophy in mind. The little people were never intended to carry the show. That's why (for instance) Roddenberry could give the recurring female roles exclusively to women he was having sex with. Barrett, Nichols, and Whitney were all putting out for him, and it showed. They were very limited actors.

If TREK had been designed as an ensemble, it would have needed somebody good taking Kirk's orders, an actress with talent and charisma like Marianna Hill. The supporting cast Shatner actually got is precisely what vindicates his hero-driven story preference.