David Warner's GORKON

[rocketscientist]

Wow, Jack Palance as Gorkon. How cool would that have been? I would have also liked to see Charlton Heston in a ST movie, bless his departed self. -- RR

Heston would have been a good candidate for Gorkon as well.

I just rewatched Tim Burton's Batman for the first time in about five years over the weekend, so now I've got this hilarious mental image of Gorkon grabbing General Chang by the shoulders and saying "You... are my number one guy!"

Palance was amazing! You're right about Batman. He held his own in his scenes with Nicholson, because he was crazy and dangerous too! I think that was the beginning of his career renaissance, leading to City Slickers and his Oscar for the role of Curly.

What an amazing actor that guy was. He would've been great as Gorkon.

Heston could've done it too. He's played similar characters, even bad guys (not many though).

It's a real shame that they didn't have the budget to get Palance. Well, we did get Christopher Plummer, who's of the same caliber, so there's that.

 

[RobertScorpio]

Wow, Jack Palance as Gorkon. How cool would that have been? I would have also liked to see Charlton Heston in a ST movie, bless his departed self. -- RR

Heston would have been a good candidate for Gorkon as well.

I just rewatched Tim Burton's Batman for the first time in about five years over the weekend, so now I've got this hilarious mental image of Gorkon grabbing General Chang by the shoulders and saying "You... are my number one guy!"

Palance was amazing! You're right about Batman. He held his own in his scenes with Nicholson, because he was crazy and dangerous too! I think that was the beginning of his career renaissance, leading to City Slickers and his Oscar for the role of Curly.

What an amazing actor that guy was. He would've been great as Gorkon.

Heston could've done it too. He's played similar characters, even bad guys (not many though).

It's a real shame that they didn't have the budget to get Palance. Well, we did get Christopher Plummer, who's of the same caliber, so there's that.

Big Country is one of my favorite westerns, and Chuck Heston is the heavy in that as I recall..

Rob
Scorpio

 

[Kryton]

Jack Palance CRAPPED bigger than "Batman"!

 

[rocketscientist]

Heston would have been a good candidate for Gorkon as well.

I just rewatched Tim Burton's Batman for the first time in about five years over the weekend, so now I've got this hilarious mental image of Gorkon grabbing General Chang by the shoulders and saying "You... are my number one guy!"

Palance was amazing! You're right about Batman. He held his own in his scenes with Nicholson, because he was crazy and dangerous too! I think that was the beginning of his career renaissance, leading to City Slickers and his Oscar for the role of Curly.

What an amazing actor that guy was. He would've been great as Gorkon.

Heston could've done it too. He's played similar characters, even bad guys (not many though).

It's a real shame that they didn't have the budget to get Palance. Well, we did get Christopher Plummer, who's of the same caliber, so there's that.

Big Country is one of my favorite westerns, and Chuck Heston is the heavy in that as I recall..

Rob
Scorpio

That's a really good one. Yeah, Heston was the heavy, but he wasn't really evil.

There was one flick, an 80s movie, I believe, where he played a psycho Alaskan Irish Miner who terrorized Kim Basinger.

Anyway, the thing that the Gorkon role required was someone who could project authority and had a lot of presence. Heston could've easily done that. With Palance, though, you would've gotten that crazy/psycho element thrown in, with that wicked grin. That would've been great for Gorkon!

Warner was very good and I do believe he got the job done and it worked, but I do think Palance or Heston would've done better for that particular role.

 

[Smiley]

I liked Warner's performance as Gorkon. However, my favorite performance of his remains Jordan Perry.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Gorkon seems odd because he doesn't wear the standard Klingon armor. Of course, that's because TNG's Klingons were uninspired in the costume department, Lursa and Be'tor's cleavage baring aside.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I think people have been "spoiled" by TNG/DS9 Klingons. Warner's Gorkon seems more in line with guys like Kor and Koloth.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

Gorkon seems like a good combo of the two to me.

 

[EliyahuQeoni]

Warner's Gorkon is one of the highlights of the movie and much more interesting than the cookie-cutter Klingons of the TNG era.

 

[Red Ranger]

I think people have been "spoiled" by TNG/DS9 Klingons. Warner's Gorkon seems more in line with guys like Kor and Koloth.

I can see that, for sure. He was "kinder, gentler" seeming than the average Klingon. But as we've seen, you normally have to scheme to get to that position on the Klingon High Council, so I'm sure Gorkon was Machiavellian. -- RR

 

[Cap'n Caveman]

It's a real shame that they didn't have the budget to get Palance. Well, we did get Christopher Plummer, who's of the same caliber, so there's that.

Maybe Christopher Plummer wasn't that expensive to get? After all, he did STARCRASH about ten years earlier, and that had a budget of about 10 cents.

I thought Warner played his character nicely. I am really sick of all the Klingon posturing that goes on in the latter-day TV shows. Makes them look like a planet full of idiots.

 

[Kryton]

I do believe Shatner and Plummer were in the same Shakespeare troupe back in the '50s.

 

[rocketscientist]

It's a real shame that they didn't have the budget to get Palance. Well, we did get Christopher Plummer, who's of the same caliber, so there's that.

Maybe Christopher Plummer wasn't that expensive to get? After all, he did STARCRASH about ten years earlier, and that had a budget of about 10 cents.

Could be, but I doubt it. Plummer's had a very successful career and is still in big demand as a character actor.

I have a feeling that it was just the budget. Either that, or Palance wasn't avialable or didn't want to do it. He was definitely more popular than Warner at the time.

I thought Warner played his character nicely. I am really sick of all the Klingon posturing that goes on in the latter-day TV shows. Makes them look like a planet full of idiots.

I know what you mean. I think it got somewhat out of control as Berman-Trek went on. The Klingons just got kind of stereotyped imo.

It was refreshing to get a slightly more subdued take on them in TUC.

 

[cardinal biggles]

I think it got somewhat out of control as Berman-Trek went on. The Klingons just got kind of stereotyped imo.

Not stereotyped so much as homogenized. It happened to all of the cultures in Berman-era Trek; remember the crew's surprise at a Ferengi scientist in the TNG episode "Suspicions"? Just because they're money-grubbing capitalists doesn't mean they wouldn't have their own scientists (certainly looking to profit off their research).