Reader Comments

Muuurrn from Russia, with love sez....
It's pretty clear that Takei speaks about DS9 in not too favourable light, and no doubt that Gene would have hated DS9, does that make that DS9 bad? Is Gene the supreme authority of fine taste in the universe? Probably not, DS9 was my favourite Trek by far, for all the things Gene didn't want in track, the realism (or pessimism, call it what you like), character conflicts, extensive plots, realistic and multi-dimensional characters, critical analysis of man's qualities and so on. You could definitely say it's the least Trek of all Trek, it doesn't Trek that much now does it? It kind of hangs still in the Bajoran Sector, does that make it any worse? I'd say it doesn't, Takei and Roddenberry'd say it does. But I'd take it over plastic larger-than-life heroes, implausible eigenplots and humans stroking their own ego in their own media.
11/15/2009 12:12:53 AM

Pierce from Ireland sez....
Takei didn't say DS9 was a poor-quality show he simply said: "DEEP SPACE NINE....was the polar opposite of Gene’s philosophy and vision of the future, so STAR TREK lost it’s way". This is very true if you watch the original series episode 'Day of the Dove', whose music actually was used in the DS9 opening theme! The primary effect of any piece of entertainment, in my opinion, is to provide insight into the human condition. Roddenberry himself states as much in the foreword to the 'Next Generation Technical Manual. In this DS9 was reasonably successful (certainly moreso than Voyager!) though it's producers had better success with their ideas when they re-imaged Battlestar Galactica. George Takei is an actor, so as always the quality of the script will concern him as much as the message Star Trek was created to deliver.
5/19/2009 7:44:59 AM

Odo from Bajor sez....
Liberal-loving, not-living-in-reality Sulu had to fire a shot at the best Star Trek ever, DS9? Why? Is he jealous? Why after his success (in which he owes EVERYTHING to Trek) would he feel the need to fire an un-derserving shot? I have lost all respect for the man.
7/21/2008 9:25:30 PM

Odo from Bajor sez....
Liberal-loving, not-living-in-reality Sulu had to fire a shot at the best Star Trek ever, DS9? Why? Is he jealous? Why after his success (in which he owes EVERYTHING to Trek) would he feel the need to fire an un-derserving shot? I have lost all respect for the man.
7/21/2008 9:24:29 PM

Neville Ross from neville6000.deviantart.com sez....
Oy...not this again! George HAD a Excelsior show in the PS2/XBOX game Star Trek: Shattered Universe, in which you play a starfighter pilot on board the Excelsior as it travels through the Mirror Universe kicking butt all the way to a dimension point that will take the Excelsior back to the late 23rd Century. The game-which I did play, and get SOME enjoyment out of-was not that great, and didn't do well (maybe the makers should have got Chris & Erin Roberts to port over the game engine used in Starlancer, or maybe just make over Starlancer into Shattered Universe.) As for DS9 not being really Star Trek-like: I'm sorry, but Gene had too much of a Pollyanna vision in his declining years, and this made Next Generation a bit too silly for most fans, resulting in DS9. Frankly, I think Gene should have just contributed the basic outline for Next Generation, and left the funning of the show to David Gerrold, Dorothy Fontana, and Michael Piller, settling for an older statesman role overseeing the show-it would have saved his health considerably.
11/26/2007 8:50:15 PM

Les from Scotland sez....
It's dead Jim..... Maybe Enterprise flopped in the US but I am certain it was very popular over here! Good to see GT in Heroes!
11/22/2007 1:23:56 PM

steve adams from burbank Ca sez....
Ds9 was a great show,,, I'm sure George didn't really watch it like an average veiwer would. ^ I would have liked to have seen the Excelsior series workout instead of this stupid decision of going back to Kirk and Spock. ^ I would have loved to see a Ds9/ Voyager film. But as George says "the studio dosn care what the fans want anymore". I think this will come back to bite them in Dec 08. ^ The yound demo that Abhrams thinks he's going to bring in dosnt exsist. ^ Its the core fans you need to please. ^ Going backward is the wrong direction Abhrams.
11/20/2007 10:00:29 PM

Rhett Coates from West Point, Virginia sez....
George is apparently (and from all appearances) one of the most graceous and courteous actors in the entire entertainment industry. At conventions, he seems to be -- like the late Jimmy Doohan -- everyone's friend. That says a lot about his character, OFF stage, too. I would enjoy seeing George reprise the role of Hikaru Sulu in any S.T. adventure, just like he described such as story could be written to allow for the passage of time, developments between TOS era and TNG era, etc. As for DS9 and ENT, I enjoyed them both -- even with DS9's far darker take on the Gene Roddenberry universe, it was compelling drama, in episode after episode. THE CHARACTERS made that come alive, in that way. ST:Enterprise came alive during the 4th Season, when S.T. fans from TOS era took over the production, and made the show a true prequel to TOS -- complete with tie-ins to long-discussed discrepancies DURING The Original Series. I feel that show could have become another TOS-like series if Manny Coto & Co. had been allowed to keep going for a fifth season, and Paramount would likely have been astonished at the viewership had UPN actually advertised the show like Sci Fi Network is doing now. CHEERS, George. Your role on HEROES is also astonishing, and just as much FUN as Sulu was during all your years on Star Trek (yes, we noted -- with great delight -- the liscense plate on the back of the black car in your debut episode on Heroes: NCC-1701). THANK YOU for sharing your God-given gift of the talent of acting with the rest of us, in optimism and hope for humanity's potential -- on Star Trek AND on Heroes!
11/20/2007 4:40:01 PM

Muldfeld from North America sez....
I'm very sorry Mr. Takei hasn't properly given Deep Space Nine a chance because it's far closer to human nature and the pivotal issues of history which have only been brought to the forefront by the mainstream media after 9/11. Issues of religious faith, occupation (whether by America in Iraq, Israel in Palestine and Lebanon, Vichy France, or historic colonialism for centuries), terrorism, identity politics (through Odo, who illustrates, what I, as a Muslim, go through), war, religion, and the causes of conflict (with the Founders' brutality and aggression stemming from their insecurity, as with Stalin's Soviet Union's desire for a buffer zone, and persecution complex, as with Israel). Even the causes of conflict were not shown to emerge purely from evil, but conflicting interests. Gul Dukat wasn't evil and didn't even hate Bajorans as much as many other Cardassians, but did evil things. This showed how the cruelest acts can come from those who seem nice to some, especially their families, whether Osama bin Ladin, Milosevic, Hitler, or George W. Bush (who loves his family, but cares little for anyone outside his social circle, especially the poor). Deep Space Nine was the first show to get to the root causes of why there's so much trouble in the world. The original series, much of TNG (except a few episodes, especially Melinda Snodgrass' fantastic Season 3 episode on terrorism), and all other Trek series didn't dare move away from having perfect heroes facing petty alien races. In those lesser series, the conflict didn't confront the viewer who identified with the hero, but was among "the other". Deep Space Nine put the moral conflict among our beloved heroes, including Gul Dukat, and showed us how terrible even the viewer can be. It's sad that Mr. Takei has only viewed these series superficially. Deep Space Nine helped inspire Battlestar Galactica, which is the most politically insightful and dramatically realistic show, as well as later seasons of The 4400. Shows like these can have more positive effect on the culture than all non-DS9 Trek series!
11/20/2007 3:16:54 PM

RNS from Conn,USA sez....
To the point.paramount studio felt uncomfortable with Goerge Takei living a gay life style,every fans knew he secrets even at convention he would bla,bla,bla for a while and than in a hurry go to the bathroom watch the white mens pipi."oh boy" this guy was funny.anyway he is a great actor and should be giving the respect as a human being.
11/20/2007 11:19:30 AM

Tim from NY sez....
Nice interview (despite Takei's faulty recollections...DS9 was in the planning during Roddenberry's lifetime, the Captain Sulu campaign was very minor and not better-received by fans than the idiotic Shatner campaign is being received now, and Takei himself appeared on the first series to be made without Roddenberry's involvement), but I have to ask: Did anyone proofread it? Herb Solo should be Herb Solow, and Whales should be Wales...unless you're talking about a relative of Han Solo who works with whales.
11/20/2007 10:07:16 AM

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