HUGE Mr Sulu Spoiler

[borgboy]

You mean one that no one has any connection to, that they can easily dispatch when the fan base gets riled up? Like Carol Marcus?

Well, Carol Marcus wasn't entirely new technically, even though she didn't feel like the same person,even allowing for the AU, as in STII. She didn't win over fans but it was on the basis of her actual character not a minority status. I don't see Trek getting rid of Sulu due to homophobic backlash. I'm sure there will be some ugly internet comments, there always is, but I still don't see it being that big a problem. Sulu will get a subplot, but it's not going to be Gay Husbands in Space. We don't even know if an actor is being cast to play Sulu's husband. He'll probably just be mentioned in passing. It may well be a blink and miss it moment, such as Sulu mentioning that he misses his family in a one minute character moment.
I think it would be a huge betrayal of Trek's values if the concept of the closet still existed in 23 rd century Earth when humanity should have grown beyond homophobia along with racism and sexism.

 

[BillJ]

I don't see Trek getting rid of Sulu due to homophobic backlash.

Exactly.

 

[Saul]

So they make the character gay because the actor who used to play him is gay? I think it's a bit tactless and insensitive. If you are going to make a character gay I think they should choose another character. Why not Scotty or Bones or a new character.

 

[Pauln6]

Up to a point I agree with Takei. In his mind, Sulu was played straight. When he was drunk, he lunged for Uhura. He was turned on by Ilia's pheromones. However, just because a character likes women doesn't, mean they dislike men. If you show a character stating expressly that they dislike men or women then you are closing that door. One could argue that Beverly was implying that she wasn't into chicks when she rejected the Trill ambassador but even then she could just have been saying, "I'm not into THAT chick." Otherwise the door is always open to that possibility and you never have to make a big deal about it. Currently watching season one of Penny Dreadful and I'm struggling to keep up with all the door opening!

 

[Devon]

So they make the character gay because the actor who used to play him is gay? I think it's a bit tactless and insensitive. If you are going to make a character gay I think they should choose another character. Why not Scotty or Bones or a new character.

No.

 

[BillJ]

So they make the character gay because the actor who used to play him is gay? I think it's a bit tactless and insensitive. If you are going to make a character gay I think they should choose another character. Why not Scotty or Bones or a new character.

Because the rest of the characters were far more fleshed out where relationships were concerned.

 

[Phoenix219]

He says his first name in ST09 when Pike asks him where Crewman McKenna is.

Pike had a McKenna in his crew? Was it a female crew member? Sorry, STC fanboy moment.

 

[Kemaiku]

McKenna is also said to be suffering from Lungworm, which is what dogs get. So he's probably a canine species.

 

[Saul]

Because the rest of the characters were far more fleshed out where relationships were concerned.

Not really. Bones was divorced and God knows what Scotty is up to.

 

[Pauln6]

What is more interesting to me is that I had believed that if the main cast drifts away over time, one potential spin-off would be Sulu on the Excelsior. That has now taken on a whole other dimension.

 

[BillJ]

Not really. Bones was divorced and God know what Scotty is up to.

McCoy and Scott were always chasing the ladies in the Prime timeline. Sulu? Not so much.

 

[Saul]

McCoy and Scott were always chasing the ladies in the Prime timeline. Sulu? Not so much.

This is not the prime Universe. That's a whole nother argument.

 

[BillJ]

Whether Takei likes it or not, the way he and Roddenberry positioned Sulu in TOS made him the perfect candidate to be a gay character.

 

[BillJ]

This is not the prime Universe.

And? These are the same characters under different circumstance.

 

[Solarbaby]

I'm trying yo quote the Timo part of this. Didn't copy it all so Ive pasted. [Fixed. - M']

I wonder if Sulu can be allowed to be just gay, or whether he will have to do a transvestite stunt on the side?

I doubt the writers are so oblivious that they would do something clumsy like that.

Why assume because a person is gay they will cross dress? The large majority of transvestites are heterosexual males who do not dress for sexual thrills but because they simply like to dress.

 

[Pauln6]

And? These are the same characters under different circumstance.

Since homosexuality is most likely a combination of genetic factors and hormonal exposure in the womb, a genetically identical Sulu could indeed be the same person and be a lot gayer in this universe and vice versa. Epigentics be crazy!

 

[Skywalker]

This is not the prime Universe. That's a whole nother argument.

If it's a different universe, why can't Sulu be straight in one and gay in another? Why does it have to be someone else?

 

[BillJ]

If it's a different universe, why can't Sulu be straight in one and gay in another? Why does it have to be someone else?

Disclaimer: I am a huge TOS fan going back to 1975. I now count Sulu as being gay in the Prime timeline as well. It makes sense.

 

[Saul]

Whether Takei likes it or not, the way he and Roddenberry positioned Sulu in TOS made him the perfect candidate to be a gay character.

Just because he didn't chase women? There are gay men who chased women, got married to women before coming out as gay. Frankly, any character could be gay. Just because someone doesn't go after women doesn't mean they are gay. The opposite is also true.

And? These are the same characters under different circumstance.

These are characters written by different people with their own view of what the characters should be, not what they are.

My main problem with this is that they only made Sulu gay because George Takei is. If Takei hadn't come out would we be having this conversation? Making a character gay shouldn't be a cultural reference to the actor who previously played him. It should be a reference to a more open and free society. Actor's lives shouldn't inform the creative decisions on their characters.

 

[BillJ]

Making a character gay shouldn't be a cultural reference to the actor who previously played him.

Why not? It is obvious that the times did not allow Roddenberry and Takei to make Sulu gay. I see no better way to honor those who couldn't openly be who they were meant to be in those days.