The Appeal Of Chekov

[Spock's Barber]

According to what I’ve read, one of the reasons that the character of Chekov was created was to appeal to teenagers/young adults and draw them to view Star Trek.

Therein lies my quandary : Walter Koenig was cast in the role and even with his early Beatle type wig he seemed a little too old for the task.

Your thoughts?

 

[feek61]

I always liked Chekov and did feel like he added appeal to younger viewers; it certainly worked for me!

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I think his finest moment was his funniest, with Tamoon. I didn't enjoy hearing him in pain all the time.

Had TOS kept juggling the navigators you might've gotten more Riley or DeSalle in the process. Perhaps even Bailey could have returned, calmer and wiser.

Chekov was passed over for TAS. Had he began TOS earlier, perhaps they might have shut him out anyway. But every Saturday morning animated show seemed to require a pet, alien or wild card of some sort.

Koenig's the only surviving major TOS crewman I've yet to see in person. Perhaps one day.

While he wasn't Chekov on THE STARLOST, he played a decent antagonist there.....and earlier threatened James Caan of all people, when Koenig was ''Tiger'' on ALFRED HITCHCOCK presents. Digression ended.

 

[Spock's Barber]

Had TOS kept juggling the navigators you might've gotten more Riley or DeSalle in the process. Perhaps even Bailey could have returned, calmer and wiser.

…or this very quiet crewman could have gotten the navigator gig :

 

[Victoria]

At the time, it didn't occurred to me that Chekov was suppposed to be younger than the other cast members. To my 11 or 12 year old eyes, he looked just as old as the others.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

…or this very quiet crewman could have gotten the navigator gig :

Jim Goodwin?

My brother always referred to him as ''Needle Nose.''

 

[Spock's Barber]

At the time, it didn't occurred to me that Chekov was supposed to be younger than the other cast members. To my 11 or 12 year old eyes, he looked just as old as the others.

To my young eyes he always looked much older than me, especially when they did the hair combover to cover his thinning scalp.

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

According to what I’ve read, one of the reasons that the character of Chekov was created was to appeal to teenagers/young adults and draw them to view Star Trek.

Therein lies my quandary : Walter Koenig was cast in the role and even with his early Beatle type wig he seemed a little too old for the task.

Your thoughts?

I thought Chekov came in due to the popularity of the Monkeys, not the Beatles? Either way, 60's rock bands. Why was he absent from TAS? Also, he was 31 when he joined the cast. Some people are still youthful in their 30's, so I don't see a problem. Wasn't he a teenager or college kid in the 2009 film?

 

[Spock's Barber]

Jim Goodwin?

My brother always referred to him as ''Needle Nose.''

…or Bill Blackburn.

 

[Spock's Barber]

I’m just glad the TOS writers ditched the early, silly Chekov moments…

“The Garden of Eden was just outside Moscow.”

 

[Admiral Jean-Luc Picard]

I’m just glad the TOS writers ditched the early, silly Chekov moments…

“The Garden of Eden was just outside Moscow.”

I honestly loved those lines. I always took it to be Chekov trolling everyone, knowing they'd be too busy on work to argue.

 

[Spock's Barber]

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

I thought Chekov came in due to the popularity of the Monkeys, not the Beatles? Either way, 60's rock bands. Why was he absent from TAS? Also, he was 31 when he joined the cast. Some people are still youthful in their 30's, so I don't see a problem. Wasn't he a teenager or college kid in the 2009 film?

I believed it was debatable if Chekov was intended to be a stand-in / clone for Davy Jones of The Monkees..

I honestly loved those lines. I always took it to be Chekov trolling everyone, knowing they'd be too busy on work to argue.

Chekov had much pride in his culture, but he played it with such a high level of confidence, it suggested he was just playing around with his senior officers.

 

[sonak]

Chekov gets funny lines and he gives Sulu someone of similar rank and position to talk to on the bridge. Chekov’s role becomes even bigger in the original series’ movies, and he seems to have more screen time than Sulu and Uhura.

 

[Redfern]

...he seems to have more screen time than Sulu...

In a few episodes like "Trouble with Tribbles", he literally got lines originally scripted for Sulu because George Takei was busy with a role in the theatrical movie "The Green Berets" starring John Wayne. First learned of that in the early 70s when I read David Gerrold's ""Making of..." book.

 

[Henoch]

We were just one episode short of Chekov getting his promotion in season 3.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

Kirk let that dereliction of duty go.......not because Kirk realized he did the same thing in REQUIEM FOR METHUSELLAZZZZZZ, but because it was the third year and they forgot Kirky's ''do as I say, not do'' hypocrisy.

In a few episodes like "Trouble with Tribbles", he literally got lines originally scripted for Sulu because George Takei was busy with a role in the theatrical movie "The Green Berets" starring John Wayne.

And in doing so, he saved Sulu from the deep-voiced charms and hefty arms of Tamoon.

''One thing is certain,'' Spock might say of the above photos, ''both are, above all else, highly unthreatening.''

 

[Pauln6]

Although he was only in about 30 episodes, many of which he just spends sitting at the helm, I found Chekov more memorable than Sulu when I watched these episodes as a kid, although not a memorable as Rand. As an adult, looking back, Sulu is as cool as hell and highly competent, whereas Chekov is a bit of an educated idiot, more for comedy relief. So, if he was brought in to appeal more to a younger audience, mission accomplished, I guess! We loved Rand because she was so hilariously badly written compared to Jenna, Cally, Sarah Jane Smith, Leela, Wilma Deering, Princess Leia, Cassiopeia, and other contemporary sci fi heroines when I was growing up.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

We loved Rand because she was so hilariously badly written compared to Jenna, Cally, Sarah Jane Smith, Leela, Wilma Deering, Princess Leia, Cassiopeia, and other contemporary sci fi heroines when I was growing up.

I'm not sure that's so, but maybe you find Rand that way because she appears mainly when the series is finding its, shall we say, established legs.

I never cared for the comic strips' Wilma Deering as a boy, but when I was a little older, Erin Gray seemed even more (to reluctantly use an overrused phrase) meh. Her second NBC show? Same reaction.

 

[Pauln6]

I'm not sure that's so, buy maybe you find Rand that way because she appears mainly when the series is finding its, shall we say, established legs.

I never cared for the comic strips' Wilma Deering as a boy, but when I was a little older, Erin Grey seemed even more (to reluctantly use an overrused phrase) meh. Her second NBC show? Same reaction.

Rand in the first draft of City on the Edge of Forever could have been awesome but yeomen were largely useless, often being the only non officers and the only unarmed members of landing parties. Wilma Deering was terrible in the comic strip. Maybe not quite so bad in the Buster Crabbe series, but I was thinking more of Erin Gray. Rand was a bit more like Jo Grant - cute and not very bright.

I realise that Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and Scotty tended to save the day but was there an episode where Chekov was instrumental in helping? Way to Eden, maybe, albeit he was duped, so maybe not? He accidentally helped a couple of times either by dying or not dying but I don't recall him being effective...