Yes Doohans a liar, the wacky stuff on twitter's someone else, Wheaton, Takei, Keonig, Nicholls, Nimoy, Grace, Yvonne, various guest stars, the fans are all lying. Except for the ones who say nice things about Shatner.
Takei's Claims About Shatner
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Yes Doohans a liar, the wacky stuff on twitter's someone else, Wheaton, Takei, Keonig, Nichols, Nimoy, Grace, Yvonne, various guest stars, the fans are all lying. Except for the ones who say nice things about Shatner.
I don't recall Grace ever attacking Bill. If she did, that's just sad for her. She had bigger fish to fry, if her main story was true ("the executive" who was almost certainly GR), and frankly she was in no position to burn bridges.
And more broadly: It's not that the bad-mouthers are always lying. It's that they've been ungracious and mean-spirited to a fare thee well. They raised petty, public attacks to an art form. They did it to ride on Shatner's coattails in the fame ecology. They've conducted themselves— especially Takei— with all the charm, and the precise motivation, of whale lice. They suck.
What I'm saying is, we don't know what's true and what's not. I can tell you my experience with Herb Jefferson Jr. He was a total dick to me at a con. Yet everydamned person I met who spoke with him calls him the sweetest guy. He was having a bad day.Yes Doohans a liar, the wacky stuff on twitter's someone else, Wheaton, Takei, Keonig, Nicholls, Nimoy, Grace, Yvonne, various guest stars, the fans are all lying. Except for the ones who say nice things about Shatner.
Don't get me started on Robert Vaughn or Lou Ferrigno. Bob Culp was a dream, though. Humans, amirite?
Doohan, by the way, loathed Shatner. So yeah, that colored everything he said. I don't believe a word. Wheaton has a book to promote and the original series cast was pretty negative towards TNG. I can see Shatner being dismissive, he probably saw his ongoing popularity threatened. I don't defend that, he probably was a jerk. Nimoy was a dick to Bill Mumy too. But nobody badmouths Nimoy.
The other three? Agendas all.
I can pretty much guarantee that Shatner would probably never have mentioned the bottom four on his own. The series ended and if it were like any other 60's TV show, it would have been gone from national airwaves by the mid-70's, hanging around on a few outliers until the nostalgia stations showed up. By then, he would have done guest appearances, a few series and kept on working as a character actor. "I did that space show in the 60's which I thought would have panned out but it didn't so I did movies and a few other series until that cop show took off."
Let's put it this way: Shatner never brings up Adrian Zmed. Why? Because Zmed never talks shit. These people are people they worked with. The job's done, he moves on. If the Bottom Four didn't need stuff to talk about to keep them relevant, he'd never say anything about them.
Off topic, but I "love" Adrian Zmed. When they cut him from T.J. Hooker to get a cheaper final season on film, the show lost its charm. Zmed brought the chemistry and fun that gave Shatner's role a much-needed springboard. When he left, I was shocked to discover how important he'd been.
I don't think they cut Zmed, he was off to Dance Fever when they did that fifth year, replacing Denny Terrio. The final episode of the 4th season changed the format by moving Hooker to Chicago after giving him his detective shield back. Zmed wasn't part of the new format, so he probably just moved on. Then when they brought the series back to the original format for CBS Late Night, he was already committed. I'm sure they said "meh, let's not replace him and save some bucks" but a line or two sayig he went to law school or something would have been appreciated. He was a huge part of the series: the second frigging lead.
But James MacArthur didn't leave Hawaii Five-O with any explanation either.
(THREAD DRIFT AHOY!!!!)
Adrian Zmed, nice callback.
George had the perfect opportunity to be the bigger man and end this nonsense by congratulating Shatner on his spaceflight last year, but he took the low road then too. Sad.
I remember watching the show as a kid, I had the biggest crush on Adrian Zmed.
Those two videos, posted by the OP, are fascinating, even though neither one is recent. I was already well aware of Takei's background as well as the feud, but The Feed video was still informative. "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!" Wow. I had not seen that before. That roast looks like cheesy entertainment. Maybe I'll check it out.
In the Archives of American Television video, Takei said complimentary things about Shatner's acting skills and performances. In that interview, Takei came across as someone who gave his honest and balanced assessment of Shatner.
I generally don't have a problem with Takei or any other Star Trek personnel recounting their experiences on the set. I appreciate when these people share their accounts of what went on behind the scenes.
I find it telling that Nimoy, TOS's other big star, gained the respect and/or affection of Takei and other TOS coworkers, unlike Shatner.
In the Archives of American Television video, Takei said complimentary things about Shatner's acting skills and performances. In that interview, Takei came across as someone who gave his honest and balanced assessment of Shatner.
I generally don't have a problem with Takei or any other Star Trek personnel recounting their experiences on the set. I appreciate when these people share their accounts of what went on behind the scenes.
I find it telling that Nimoy, TOS's other big star, gained the respect and/or affection of Takei and other TOS coworkers, unlike Shatner.
Yes they are.
For what it's worth, director Joseph Pevney said in a Starlog interview that he quit the show because of a lack of teamwork and discipline. He mentions character names, not actor names, so make what you will of it:
“I couldn’t enjoy working on Star Trek any more,” Pevney says. “The show’s whole character had changed for me. ... When Gene Coon left the show, much of the discipline had gone. From the time I made Arena to the time I did my last show, there was a hell of a difference. If you run both of those episodes, you’ll see that there’s a difference in performance quality, changes which give you a sense of the overbearing captain and Spock. In addition, there’s a kind of challenging between the two of them on screen. Now, this is OK in life and in rehearsal, but it shouldn’t be there on the screen. When we started Star Trek, teamwork was the key word. Nobody was more important than anybody else. The captain was the captain, but the actor was no more important than any of the others. So, as a result of the changes, the atmosphere, feeling of teamwork and whole Trek quality diminished.”
"Arena" was the 19th episode. So, according to Pevney, Shatner went through (at least) most of the first season before starting to assert his power on the show. But he was cast as the top star, When pressed, Roddenberry told Nimoy that Bill was the star. And Bill had a five-percent ownership stake in the show. Of course he was "more important." It shouldn't be surprising that once the show got rolling, Shatner settled in and started making more of the artistic decisions. And directors felt a commensurate reduction in their own power.
Also, I don't recall any scene where Kirk and Spock are "challenging" each other in a way that's out of character or inappropriate to the story.
Big mistake giving up that %. Imagine if Shatner had kept it. How much would have he been worth now? Saying that it might not have carried onto the other series.
I never heard of Shatner's ownership stake extending beyond TOS. But Roddenberry's did, so I guess it's a question. Apparently they both got a payday in the 1980s after threatening to sue for it.
That's total news to me. My info is faintly remembered; is yours at a higher confidence level?
Well, Roddenberry created it, so I imagine he would retain his ownership stake until and unless he sold. Shatner was an actor in the series, the series ended and I'm sure his ownership percentage applied only to the TV series he signed up for. If a revival series would have been a reality, he probably would have negotiated another percentage deal. He lost his percentage to his ex and nobody expected it to be worth anything. I suppose if he had a crystal ball, he would have reconsidered that, but according to Shatner himself, he was strapped after the series ended thanks to his split. When it came time to do the films, I'm sure he got himself a good payday and a slice of the merch containing his likeness.
Just a guess tho, I don't know anything.
I want to hear about that one! I, Spy is brilliant (though I first encountered Culp on Greatest American Hero, which was pretty good).
During their tenure together on Lost in Space?
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Exactly. The TOS losers who whined about Shatner only exposed how petty they were/are, and revealed an astonishing level of ignorance about the business they chose to work in. Shatner was the star of TOS, which was supposed to focus on said star and make money, not run as a charity organization or on the nonexistent, convention-era "lift all boats" belief held by Takei, Nichols, et al.
They--and their supporters--seem to forget that of all TOS cast members, Shatner was the most experienced actor who was considered a rising star / serious actor pre-WNMHGB. No one was saying that about Doohan, Nichols, Takei, et al. I post that as a reminder that his role in the series was (in part) a reflection of that status--why he was tapped to be the star, and that did not extend to the day players.
Selective hatred, since Nimoy certainly worked / milked the TOS situation for his own benefit and was not knocking down Desilu doors to advocate on behalf of the whiners. It was Nimoy Business First. Nimoy's position shortchanged the whiners as much as Shatner, and aside from Nimoy arguing in favor of the whiners being hired for TAS, when the movies were produced, his interests in his pay, and wanting to direct was not Nimoy carrying the whiners on his shoulders or balancing the scales.
It was all about Nimoy's best interests (otherwise, the whiners would have enjoyed greater participation in the films he helmed--beyond the length and involvement seen in cut scenes).
That did not happen because "the good one" was not going to cause any rumblings at Paramount just for that quartet, and they realized it, yet it was all about Shatner. Takei is pretty much guaranteeing that his headstone will read "Obsession and Jealousy are not Accomplishments, but the Mark of a Loser."
I'd like to hear that story if possible. I know there are at least a couple of vintage photos of TOS and LIS actors attending the same event(s) in the 1960s. Maybe it was the Emmy Awards.
I've enjoyed his work, but he's no saint. Shatner took Putin's money as an RT-America propogandist up until a week after the invasion began. I'll always appreciate his roles, especially Star Trek, of course, but he picked the wrong team and he didn't have to. Since 2014, working for the Russians was unconscionable. It says a lot about his character. It should be remembered.
I know Takei is full of crap too. He enjoys the attention. Trying to pick a side between these to old crabs with their peculiar sense of the past isn't worth it. They don't need the attention.
Culp was a sweetheart. I was at a local con and he was sitting at his table with no line. He saw me, got up from his chair and smiled, extending his hand: "Hi! I'm Robert." I shook his hand and grinned. He and I chatted for like 5 minutes. He signed a copy of one of his scripts. He asked me to pick my favorite. I grabbed "Home to Judgment" and he was really happy with that choice as it was his and Cosby's favorite episode of the run. He then asked me about my life, what I do, if I was married/had kids and what brought me to the convention. He was still a working actor with a semi-regular run on "Everybody Loves Raymond." He didn't feel like some of the outta work actors trying to make some extra scratch. When he died, I was devastated because he was a 100% genuine human being who was as interested in my life as I was in his.
According to Mumy, they both appeared at a charity event during the runs of their shows (or he saw him at the beach - I may be confusing his interviews). Mumy approached Nimoy and said something like "we have something in common, we both do science fiction shows." By Mumy's account, Nimoy kind of grunted and brushed him off. For whatever it's worth.During their tenure together on Lost in Space?
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We were just talking about folks of the 60s and which ones were really nice and which were jerks. It's great to know Culp is really a good guy. Especially since he regularly makes my daughter's "Top four hunks of the year" list (along with other nice guys like Herb Alpert, Brian Kelly, and Tony Randall).
Yeah, who knows. I will say that the folks writing The Expanse were quite gracious when I introduced myself saying, "Hey -- we're both on the Hugo ballot together!"
Of course, the next year I did a panel with Daniel Abraham at Worldcon and went the whole hour without remembering who he was. To be fair, I don't think he remembered me either...
