I’d also just like to note that George Takei took Sulu very seriously – as one of the few non-Europeans in a commanding role on TV. Having been in the internment camps for Japaese-Americans during WWII, he took very seriously any chance he could get to further integration into all levels, and saw Sulu as a prime opportunity. He was very frustrated with anything that got in the way of that, and if Shatner was holding Sulu back, I’m not surprised it would annoy Takei. (The fact that Takei is gay may have helped augment his desire for a genuine display of cultural/racial egalitarianism on ‘Star Trek’, I don’t know.)

BTW, Leonard Nimoy can be seen on LA area local-channel KDOC 56 (4pm)..as Paris on “Mission Impossible”. That was his follow-up gig, after Star Trek. I’m digging the MI episodes, because that is the PERFECT metaphor for Science Research.

“Your mission, Jim..if you should decide to accept it [ take on Cosmology & String Theory ]..is to discredit all nay-sayers, & be the “Big Aristotle [ solve the "Theory of Everything" ]”

[ followed by a 30 sec video "flash" of ..//whateve//r ]

I have a Nimoy/Shatner compilation CD and in the liner notes there is a quote from Shatner to the effect of ‘music is one of the most important parts of my life; unfortunately, I can’t sing’. I think that he’s doing this stuff tongue-in-cheek.

He’s an interesting sort of guy. Apparently Takei and Doohan (and, I think, Koenig) hated his guts. Takei alleged that Sulu’s relatively slow rise in rank was down to Shatner (note to Mr. Takei; you may be taking this stuff too seriously).

What is this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoKbHs1LheA&search=kate%20bush

on her toes

http://www.shatnerhasbeen.com/

Here’s the kicker—it’s actually quite good. Really. This is in fact more surreal than Leonard Nimoy singing about Bilbo Baggins.

http://www.alteringtime.com/features/misc/?p=baggins

Try to beat that. You can’t. I win.

that’s the stewart griffin version, for all you fans

“Welcome to Miserable Melodies! Warning: Some material on this site has been known to disturb household pets and some reptiles.”

——-

Some Selected Miserable Melodies from the site (mostly in the worst rating category)

Ashcroft, John: Let The Mighty Eagle Soar SOURCE: CNN.com
“Ashcroft sings-U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft ended a speech at a Charlotte, North Carolina seminary with a rousing rendition of a song he wrote called ‘Let The Eagles Soar’ (February 25).
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/ashkroft-eaglesoar.ram
Rating: Awful

Foster-Jenkins, Florence: Queen of Night
“For Madame Jenkins’ shortcomings as an artiste were nothing short of awesome. A dumpy coloratura soprano, her voice was not even mediocre – it was preposterous! She clucked and squawked, trumpeted and quavered. She couldn’t carry a tune. Her sense of rhythm was uncertain. In the treacherous upper registers, her voice often vanished into thin air, leaving an audience with its ear cocked for notes with which she might just as well have never taxed her throat. One critic dolefully described her as ‘the first lady of the sliding scale.’ Peevishly remarked another: ‘She sounds like a cuckoo in its cups.’”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/ffjenkins-queenofnight.ram
Rating: Auditory Torture

Iglesias, Enrique: Rhythm Divine
“This is a live performance of Enrique Iglesias where his microphone is isolated, much like the Linda McCartney Hey Jude auditory torture. I guess we know Enrique is human, after all.”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/iglesias.ram
Rating: Auditory Torture

Ono, Yoko: Don’t Worry
“The full name of this is “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For Her Hand In The Snow)” and what this means – I have no idea. This one really scares animals and be careful; it might make your head spin.”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/yoko-dontworry.ram
Rating: Auditory Torture

Portsmouth Sinfonia: Also Sprach Zarathustra
“This orchestra, made half of professional musicians, and half of amateurs, really slaughters this one.”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/portsmouth-also.ram
Rating: Auditory Torture

Reynolds, Burt: I Didn’t Shake The World Today
“He didn’t shake the world with this song or the album for that matter. ”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/breynolds-didntshake.ram
Rating: Auditory Torture

Shatner, William: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
“Picture yourself in a studio with an actor…this is another William Shatner classic. ”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/shatner-lucysky.ram
Rating: Auditory Torture

Zonk, Harry: For What It’s Worth
“This is pretty hysterical. A guy is tap dancing to an instrumental version of Buffalo Springfield’s ‘For What It’s Worth.’”
http://www.miserablemelodies.com/ram/zonk-forwhatitsworth.ram
Rating: Really Bad

http://www.penduluminc.com/cdart/shatner.htm

And that is precisely his gift. William Shatner is inside your head now. Your only hope is to surrender to him, to give yourself to him, to love him. The alternative is madness, unending madness, as the boundary between art and reality, between fiction and truth, crumbles down around you, leaving you alone and naked in the icy void of your consciousness.

Face not this fate, Sean Carroll. Join William Shatner. He can make you more powerful than you could ever understand.