George Takes On Shat

I saw George Takei's autobiography To The Stars in the library so I checked it out. I've read a lot about the making of Star Trek, including books by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy, but I thought it would be fun to see the view from a lower-ranked actor.  It came out in the mid-90s, so Takei has plenty of perspective on the show, but the memory of the movies were still fresh.

Of course, it's not all Star Trek.  There's a lot about growing up Japanese in America--including life in an internment camp--and plenty about Takei's political activities, but that's not why I read the book, and that's not why anyone published it.  The subtitle gives it away: The Autobiography Of George Takei, Star Trek's Mr. Sulu.  And Takei spends more time on the ST than any other subject.

He was an actor doing parts here and there, so getting a series was a big deal.  Getting what he saw as a quality show was even better (though he predicted to James Doohan that it would be gone soon because TV doesn't go for quality). Then, after it was canceled, seeing it rise again and become one of the most popular and successful franchises of all time was amazing.  But it was more than just about an acting job.  Takei saw himself as an actor, certainly, but also a representive of Asians, who were usually shown as devious figures, menials, or buffoons.  Sulu was a noble, intelligent crew member and Takei was proud of the part.

He kept pushing, hoping Sulu would be given more to do, but it wasn't easy since he wasn't one of the leads.  Still, he occasionally had good moments and even big scenes.  Gene Roddenberry and some of the writers tried to help him out, but when shooting on John Wayne's The Green Berets went long, Takei missed the first few weeks of Star Trek's season two and saw some great Sulu stuff go to the new character Pavel Chekov.

When the movie series started almost a decade after the show was canceled, Takei once again fought for his character--and his salary when he thought they were taking him for granted.  Unfortunately, one of his big scenes in Star Trek IV, where he meets a six-year-old on the street of San Francisco who turns out to be his great-great-grandfather, was cut when the child actor got too pouty and didn't want to perform.  Takei's main concern during the movie years seems to have been getting Sulu promoted so he could command his own ship.  After all, if he was so good at what he did, he wouldn't stay at the same job for years and years.  The idea was considered for several movies, and finally on Star Trek VI his wish was granted. It may have shown him advancing, and made him and those he represented proud, but others have wondered why he'd ever want to leave the bridge of the Enterprise where all the action is.

The most enjoyable part of the book--and what has made it somewhat notorious--is his hatred of William Shatner. Takei admired him as an actor but there was nothing else about him he seems to have approved of.  Takei has kind words and plenty of stories to tell about the rest of the cast, whom he clearly loved, but every fifteen pages or so he goes off on another tirade about Captain Kirk.

From the moment Shatner walked on the set when they were shooting the pilot, he was the center of attention, joking around, talking loudly, giggling, making it clear he was the star.  This might have been okay if it weren't for what Takei claims was his insecurity, and lack of feelings.  Everything had to be about Shatner. (Takei claims he's not alone in this feeling, and recounts rants against Shatner from actors like James Doohan.) Often an early draft of a script would give a good moment or line to one of the supporting characters.  Then through some process, initiated by Shatner according to Takei, the line would either disappear or become Captain Kirk's.  When they were making the movies, and there was plenty of time to compose each shot, there would be hushed conferences with Shatner and the director and suddenly new angles were chosen that favored the Captain.  In Star Trek II, there was a scene where Kirk was to tell Sulu he'd been promoted to captain, but Shatner played it so indifferently, as if it were a minor annoyance that Kirk could hardly be bothered with, that the scene was cut and Sulu's promotion had to wait for another day.

Takei's displeasure goes further. He claims Shatner would miss big events that the rest of the cast would attend if it weren't about him.  And he wouldn't contribute money for gifts and such that the rest of the cast paid for.  He was unpleasant on the set to guests.  Takei even has a story about a fire burning down the New York backlot set while they were shooting at Paramount, and publicists rushing Shatner to the scene with a hose so they could pretend he took charge of putting out the fire.  Really, if there's any reason to read this book, it's for the poetic passages of ire that attack the Shat.

I can understand why Takei takes it that way, though Shatner is only acting like a lot of other stars, going back to well before TV or even movies. (And make no mistake, Shatner was a star with a future in the mid-60s, while the rest of the cast had far lesser places in show biz--that's not an excuse for being shallow or petty, but it is a reason that these actors should understand how lucky they are.) Stars tend to be quite jealous of their fame.  It can go so far as to be self-defeating--making the show smaller to make themselves seem bigger--but as far as they're concerned, everyone else wants to steal the show from them, so it's their job to protect themselves.  In a way the joke was on Shatner, since he may have been the protagonist of Star Trek, but Leonard Nimoy stole the show.

Shatner, made aware of the impression others had, has since written about this divide, and even tried to address it.  But what's most fascinating is, as far as I can tell from Takei, he probably wasn't even aware of what he was doing.  And it worked, in its own way.  Takei wrote an autobiography and what I remember best about it is the image of the man who played Captain Kirk.