Shatner speaks....

[Amaris]

It's never sat well with me how Shatner keeps saying "I don't know the man" about Takei! I mean he worked with him for three years on Trek then six movies! Yes, maybe he didn't become friends with him or get to know the man inside and out but he can't say I never knew him! Why not just say we never hit it off or he doesn't really like me as such...although I agree it's Takei that is and has been the hostile force in the feud and continues to make the problem worse!
JB

I think, from what I've read over the years, is that when Shatner says he doesn't know the man, he just means that he doesn't know the ins and outs of George's life. Yeah, he worked with him for 3 years, but George wasn't there full time. Shatner was the star, so he was there all of the time.

As for the six movies, same thing. We see the show and the movies as this solid, constant thing, when in reality they're all done in fits and starts, segmented over days, weeks, and months, on different shifts and timetables. You could have 3 people in the same room, and not one of them actually present with anyone else. That's the magic of good editing.

There's no real reason (beyond wanting our favorite people to get along) to expect Bill Shatner to be invested in George Takei's life. George should know better, but he baits Bill in order to look like he's giving him every chance in the world to be friends. I adore George Takei, but there's no way in hell he would ever be friends with Bill Shatner. It's a stunt.

 

[Green Shirt]

Shattner

Just wondering, is your repeated mispelling of "Shatner" some kind of in-joke I'm not aware of?

 

[Sybok Was Wrong]

Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, & to a lesser extent, Scotty--were no more than "Talking Props" for TOS.

TOS is about The stories, The Enterprise, and Kirk/Spock/McCoy.

TOS is the most iconic of the versions of "Star Trek". In truth--the supporting casts of TNG, DS9 & VOY contained much better, 3-dimensional, fleshed out characters.

There is nothing much to Sulu, Uhura & Chekov. Those actors had the benefit of riding on the charasma, appeal of Shatner, Nimoy & Kelley. There's a reason their 3 names are in the opening. After cancellation, the conventions deluded Takei, Nichols & Koenig into believing they were as important. They weren't.

Takei is bitter, and taking a joke too far at once. He's found an Avenue to keep his name in the media. It's funny in this age of social media how people you put on a pedestal or admire, show their true colors. I always thought Takei to be classier than he has.proven to be.

 

[bbailey861]

My take: long after the series was canceled, and the movies were getting started, Takei, Nichols, and Doohan decided retroactively that TOS should have been an egalitarian ensemble. And therefore Shatner was to blame for holding them down. They envied and resented the star precisely because they themselves were not star material.

At conventions, their egos were stoked up by fans who were really just happy to meet any original actor. Star Trek fans played up the "We love you!" thing because it was a feel-good interaction and it made for a better stage show. But it fed the myth that Takei, Nichols, and Doohan belonged on an equal footing with Shatner. And that fed the resentment.

I hope Shatner isn't too bothered by it, because the whole thing is stupid.

Perfectly put.

 

[Marsden]

It's never sat well with me how Shatner keeps saying "I don't know the man" about Takei! I mean he worked with him for three years on Trek then six movies! Yes, maybe he didn't become friends with him or get to know the man inside and out but he can't say I never knew him! Why not just say we never hit it off or he doesn't really like me as such...although I agree it's Takei that is and has been the hostile force in the feud and continues to make the problem worse!
JB

I think he's saying they are acquaintances, he recognizes him to see him, but they aren't friends, they don't do things together outside of their work which was many years ago now.

 

[stardream]

There is nothing much to Sulu, Uhura & Chekov.

This reminds me of an article I read sometime ago. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact title or the author but it was something along the lines of "Why you should read the Star Trek Novels'. One of the reasons was "Chekov is finally interesting!"

 

[Warped9]

There are plenty of people I've worked with over the years that I knew their names and knew them to talk to (about work mostly), but I didn't chum around with especially outside of work. It didn't I mean I had anything against them, but thats just the way it is. In fact over the years there are very few people I've befriended at work to the point of socializing with them outside of work and kept in touch with them after we no longer worked together.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

It's never sat well with me how Shatner keeps saying "I don't know the man" about Takei! I mean he worked with him for three years on Trek then six movies! Yes, maybe he didn't become friends with him or get to know the man inside and out but he can't say I never knew him! Why not just say we never hit it off or he doesn't really like me as such...although I agree it's Takei that is and has been the hostile force in the feud and continues to make the problem worse!
JB

Because he did not really know him; he was just a co-worker. It is the fan community--long misguided by some Roddenberry-endorsed "Star Trek family" myth (lie, actually) that convinced fans that the entire cast were "brothers (or sisters) from another mother," as the expression goes. Takei was hardly on set at all, took time off to shoot The Green Berets, was never in studio with Shatner during the recording sessions for TAS, and was largely a peripheral player during most of the movie productions.

Individually or collectively, that is not the grounds for even a chummy relationship. Shatner is correct.

As far as the convention appearances go in the 70's, I never heard negative things at appearances. In fact, I think you are right....didn't hear anything until the "tell alls".

I attended conventions before the idea of Phase II, the movies and tell-all books, and the trash talking was already in full motion. They were not arm in arm, walking down the street like the Marx Brothers or the Monkees. The "add on" players were filled with unjustified resentment early on in the Star Trek phenomenon.

 

[J.T.B.]

There are plenty of people I've worked with over the years that I knew their names and knew them to talk to (about work mostly), but I didn't chum around with especially outside of work. It didn't I mean I had anything against them, but thats just the way it is. In fact over the years there are very few people I've befriended at work to the point of socializing with them outside of work and kept in touch with them after we no longer worked together.

That's how I see it. I don't know the details of the "feud," but what Shatner said rings true. Some co-workers you get friendly with, some you never do, but your working relationship can be just fine either way. I think most people who have moved on to different jobs maintain close ties with only a very small number of former co-workers over the years, and the longer the time elapsed, the smaller the number.

Fans may expect TV casts to be tight-knit groups of friends, but that doesn't mean it's a realistic expectation. Personally I can't imagine why anyone would care whether actors on a show are friends behind the scenes or not, because it makes no difference to what's on screen.

 

[suarezguy]

Semi off-topic but I thought Kirk/Spock/McCoy actually had the most scenes together as a trio in season 1 (before Kelley was added to the opening credits).

I also think Nimoy as Spock was the most responsible for the success of the show.

There is nothing much to Sulu, Uhura & Chekov. Those actors had the benefit of riding on the charasma, appeal of Shatner, Nimoy & Kelley.

They weren't given much to work with but that's at least partly due to Shatner insisting and pushing that he was The Star and focus, the writers might have gradually given them more if Shatner wasn't so insistent.

 

[Amaris]

Semi off-topic but I thought Kirk/Spock/McCoy actually had the most scenes together as a trio in season 1 (before Kelley was added to the opening credits).

I also think Nimoy as Spock was the most responsible for the success of the show.

There is nothing much to Sulu, Uhura & Chekov. Those actors had the benefit of riding on the charasma, appeal of Shatner, Nimoy & Kelley.

They weren't given much to work with but that's at least partly due to Shatner insisting and pushing that he was The Star and focus, the writers might have gradually given them more if Shatner wasn't so insistent.

Except Shatner was the star and the focus. When it comes down to it, are you giving more time to the helmsman so he can plot in a new course, or are you giving the lead actor, the one drawing in the viewers, a little more time for an extra line? It's not that difficult a decision to make.

 

[Jonas Grumby]

There are plenty of people I've worked with over the years that I knew their names and knew them to talk to (about work mostly), but I didn't chum around with especially outside of work. It didn't I mean I had anything against them, but thats just the way it is. In fact over the years there are very few people I've befriended at work to the point of socializing with them outside of work and kept in touch with them after we no longer worked together.

Same here. And, frankly, if were to get a wedding invitation or some such from one of those people a couple of decades down the line, I'd think it rather bizarre.

 

[DarthPipes]

Are the cast members of DS9 on good terms with one another?

From what I've heard, they were more just a professional ensemble. They got along well and worked well together, but they didn't bond the way the TNG cast did. And that's fine. I think casts being friends outside of work is more the exception than the rule, anyway.

Alexander Siddig and Nana Visitor got divorced after the run of the show, but I have no idea if that was amicable or not. I'd imagine they have to get along to a certain extent, since they have a child together.

I remember reading a TV Guide article around the time that DS9 went off the air that stated there were a number of close individual relationships between various cast members. Brooks and Lofton had a real father/son-type relationship. Auberjonois and Shimerman became friends. I think Siddig and Meaney might have been too...there's an amusing story about Meaney taking Siddig to his favorite Irish pub. And of course, Siddig and Vistor were married for a few years.

TNG seems to be the show where the whole cast had a very strong relationship with one another.

 

[LeadHead]

I really wish they'd just call it quits on this. Whatever Shatner may or may not have done (We weren't there, shouldn't say things with certainty) was a long time ago.

Things like this speak to the maturity of those involved, almost every time Ive seen Takei interviewed, he's thrown in some dig at Shatner.

Enough is enough.

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Semi off-topic but I thought Kirk/Spock/McCoy actually had the most scenes together as a trio in season 1 (before Kelley was added to the opening credits).

I also think Nimoy as Spock was the most responsible for the success of the show.

There is nothing much to Sulu, Uhura & Chekov. Those actors had the benefit of riding on the charasma, appeal of Shatner, Nimoy & Kelley.

They weren't given much to work with but that's at least partly due to Shatner insisting and pushing that he was The Star and focus, the writers might have gradually given them more if Shatner wasn't so insistent.

Except Shatner was the star and the focus. When it comes down to it, are you giving more time to the helmsman so he can plot in a new course, or are you giving the lead actor, the one drawing in the viewers, a little more time for an extra line? It's not that difficult a decision to make.

There's no denying Shatner was the star and focus--that is a fact not only from the producers' intent, but a basic observation, just as its a fact the "add on" actors were not intended to be more than positions more tied to a function than being on track for great character growth.

Star Trek's success or audience appeal was not resting on the shoulders of Takei, Nicholls, Doohan, et al.

 

[Amaris]

Exactly.

 

[Noname Given]

Semi off-topic but I thought Kirk/Spock/McCoy actually had the most scenes together as a trio in season 1 (before Kelley was added to the opening credits).

I also think Nimoy as Spock was the most responsible for the success of the show.



They weren't given much to work with but that's at least partly due to Shatner insisting and pushing that he was The Star and focus, the writers might have gradually given them more if Shatner wasn't so insistent.

Except Shatner was the star and the focus. When it comes down to it, are you giving more time to the helmsman so he can plot in a new course, or are you giving the lead actor, the one drawing in the viewers, a little more time for an extra line? It's not that difficult a decision to make.

There's no denying Shatner was the star and focus--that is a fact not only from the producers' intent, but a basic observation, just as its a fact the "add on" actors were not intended to be more than positions more tied to a function than being on track for great character growth.

Star Trek's success or audience appeal was not resting on the shoulders of Takei, Nicholls, Doohan, et al.

^^^
This. And if someone wants an example, take TOS' "The Doomsday Machine". The Communications officer for that ENTIRE episode is a character named Lt. Palmer played by actress Elizabeth Rogers. Nichelle Nichols (as Uhura) is never once seen or mentioned. Are STS fans outraged by this, and as a result does the episode languish as 'one of the worst' (like say "And the Children Shall Lead")? Nope. It's consistently rated as one of the better TOS episodes (in many fan's 'Top Ten' lists - including mine.

If that isn't a prime example of how much Nichelle Nichols (and Uhura) actually meant to a person's enjoyment of a given Star trek episode, or the series in general, I don't know what is.

 

[Ryan Thomas Riddle]

Roddenberry.com just published Takei's response:

TAKEI RESPONDS TO AUDIENCE QUESTION ABOUT "FEUD" ONSTAGE AT STAR TREK LAS VEGAS CONVENTION

(Context: Audience member asks Takei if he did or did not turn down appearing on Shatner's TV show, Raw Nerve. [In fairness, we vacillated on posting, but felt since we posted Shatner's response it was only responsible to post Takei's as well. Feel free to skip if you're sick of the back-and-forth. We wish we could have.]).

"No he didn't, as a matter of fact he really wanted me on the show. He first had his assistant call, and I said, 'Well this is an intriguing opportunity, but let's think about it,' and I thought you know, he's got a bone to pick with me and doing his show, meant I'm going in through a show that he controls. He is the host, he is the producer, he does the editing, he has complete control. And I didn't trust him, so I passed on it. And then he had a producer of the show call, and for the same reason, I passed on it.

And finally, Bill himself called, and I explained to him, 'You know, ordinarily, I would love to do a show with you and talk about whatever differences we've had over the years. But I don't want to do it on a show where you control everything because you are partisan in this, and if it were a show where we had a neutral host, then I would happily do that. And so I passed on it.

The thing is that this invitation came up two months after the wedding. We sent him an invitation, and like I did right here, we had an AP interview, in which we told, he asked. 'Have you invited all of the Star Trek colleagues?" And I said well you know, Walter is our Best Man, Nichelle is our - the term is usually Matron of Honor, but Nichelle said, 'I am not a Matron. If Walter can be the Best Man, why can't I be the Best Lady?', and we said, 'Of course you are!', and so she was our Best Lady. Because of that, we didn't want any of our Star Trek family people to feel [left out].

So we sent to invitations to everybody, and unfortunately, Leonard said, 'I can't come because I have an important meeting in New York at the time.' Which we all understood, we all have careers and they take us out of town. But we never heard from Bill, but that is classic Bill. He never attends anything that we do. Whether it's me or Deforest or Jimmy or Walter, or Nichelle, and so we thought, 'Bill's not coming.'

So two months after the wedding, he goes on YouTube to rant and rave about our not sending him an invitation to our wedding, we were absolutely baffled, we did send him an invitation and if he really wanted to come that badly - why didn't he call us before the wedding? That's the logical thing to do, certainly Mr. Spock would have done that. But he didn't, and then if he were unhappy about that, why not do it privately, instead of going on YouTube? We were absolutely baffled by that, and then the day after that we were driving down Sunset Blvd. and there was this big billboard, advertising William Shatner's talk show, Raw Nerve.

And I said, that to Brad, 'That's why he ranted and raved about not getting an invitation to the wedding. And now he's telling everybody that he doesn't know me! Well why would you have to go to the wedding of someone he doesn't know, and complained about it two months later? It's crazy. It really doesn't make any sense. So you know, that's our Captain Kirk.

Not our Captain Kirk, that's our Bill Shatner. Captain Kirk is s much more logical man, so that's the story behind our difference, and I as I said, I sent him an invitation to the opening of Allegiance and Howard Stern has accepted - he is coming to the opening of Allegiance... and Bill Shatner has an invitation too, and we've not heard from him. But it's following that classic pattern. We shall see on the night of November 8th. "

 

[Warped9]

Did Shatner in fact rant publically about not getting an invitation?

 

[The Old Mixer]

If Shatner did go out of his way to assert himself as The Star during the making of TOS, it would have been with an eye on making sure that his position wasn't usurped by his very popular co-star. In that situation, Takei et al. would have been justifiably beneath his notice.