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MovieMantz Rantz: Kirk To Sulu: 'Get Over It!'
by Scott Mantz, Access Hollywood movie guru
The "Star Trek" universe just about imploded this week when William Shatner went online -- and on the record -- about not being invited to the wedding of George Takei, who played helmsman Sulu on the original "Trek" series and the first six "Trek" movies.
While fans would love to believe that Kirk, Spock and the rest of the Enterprise crew were one big happy family, that wasn't the case. But this is nothing new to the fans who attended "Star Trek" conventions over the years or to anyone who read "Star Trek Memories" -- Shatner's first memoir about the groundbreaking TV show that ran for three short seasons on NBC between 1966 and 1969.
Back in the day, when "Star Trek" was struggling in the ratings, many of the cast members resented Shatner for stealing dialogue and camera time that allegedly should have gone to them.
So this week, the Tribble...er, I mean, the cat's out of the bag -- and I know I'm gonna sound biased here, since Captain Kirk is one of my heroes, but I don't blame Shatner one bit for speaking out.
The three main stars of the original "Star Trek" were William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy (Spock) and DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy).
The others -- George Takei (Sulu), Walter Koenig (Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) and James Doohan (Scotty) -- were SUPPORTING players. There were times when they had only a few lines, and there were some episodes in which they didn't appear at all.
But starting in the mid-'70s, they all got very BIG heads at the conventions, which is what happens when adoring fans tell you how great you are for more than 30 years.
I don't doubt for a moment that Shatner was a raging egotist who loved being the center of attention, and maybe he did steal lines from the lesser stars.
But he apologized profusely back in the '90s, and he even put his apology in writing in "Star Trek Memories."
Besides, it's a foregone conclusion that "Star Trek" would not have been the show it was without Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley, but it would have done just fine without Takei, Koenig, Nichols and Doohan. Sorry, I love them all, but it's true.
So maybe -- just maybe -- it's time for Takei and the others to GET OVER IT.
That's hard to say, because "Star Trek" changed my life. I can honestly say that if it wasn't for "Star Trek," I never would have moved to Los Angeles and pursued a career in Hollywood. That's why it breaks my heart to see all this mudslinging between actors whose characters meant so much to me.
But don't you think that the others are just a little jealous that Shatner was able to reinvent himself MANY times over and win TWO Emmys at this stage of his life? The others were typecast as their Trek characters and never moved beyond the show that they did for three seasons back in the '60s.
As Spock would say, "Live Long and Prosper" -- not "Live Long and Hold a Friggin' Grudge!"
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