James Doohan - Star Trek (1966) Discussion

[–] Dark_Sithlord 8 years ago

I think so too. Doohan never really got his due on the show because he was overshadowed by the Big 3, but he was an integral part of that cast.

As an aside, I wish he had made amends with Shatner before he passed. Why carry that kind of grudge to the grave? I know it's really no one's business, but as a fan who grew up watching these guys, sometimes it feels like you want for them what they can't do for themselves...know what I mean?

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[–] KobiyashiMauru 8 years ago

Both James Doohan and George Takei didn't think much of the old Shat. Kinda makes you wonder what it was really like on the set! 

Luke Skywalker, your Mom was hawt! Darth Vader

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[–] rmontro 8 years ago

Both James Doohan and George Takei didn't think much of the old Shat. Kinda makes you wonder what it was really like on the set!

Shatner was the star. It's hard to say if he was really a problem or if some of the supporting actors merely resented it. Probably a bit of both. The rest of the cast probably would have preferred it to be more of an ensemble piece than it was.

Doohan was awesome as Scotty. Simon Pegg as Scotty in the new movies is the one recast I most dislike. You can't replace Doohan, I guess.

Kudos to George Takei also. Maybe my favorite moment in all of Trek is when the Excelsior is flying to the aid of the Enterprise in The Undiscovered Country. The helmsman says the ship is going to fly apart if they continue at that speed, and Sulu angrily growls "Fly her apart then"! I would have watched a movie or TV show starring Captain Sulu of the Excelsior.

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[–] kerryedavis 8 years ago

Yes, I've commented in the past on other threads, about that line by Sulu. Regardless of how the actors felt about each other, the amount of feeling in those few words - loyalty, duty, respect, even friendship - is huge.

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[–] grizzledgeezer 8 years ago

As the consensus is that Shatner was the principal source of friction, why should Doohan, Takei, et al, be obliged to "make amends"?

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[–] Dark_Sithlord 8 years ago

You think making amends is a one way street?

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[–] rmontro 8 years ago

As the consensus is that Shatner was the principal source of friction, why should Doohan, Takei, et al, be obliged to "make amends"?

Shatner may have been the source of most of the friction, but he was the star. Maybe he was an attention grabbing ham, but maybe that's part of what is needed to play a charismatic central character. Or if not needed, maybe it can come in handy.

To some extent, the others weren't really in a position to be a source of friction. Who can say what would have happened if their positions had been reversed?

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[–] KobiyashiMauru 8 years ago

If you watch TJ Hooker you kinda got that vibe about Shatner there also. Middle aged sex pot center of the universe thing. 💃💋

Luke Skywalker, your Mom was hawt! Darth Vader

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[–] arbilab 8 years ago

Emphasis on the "pot".

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[–] KobiyashiMauru 8 years ago

Guess he could afford to go to the more fancier restaurants by then. 🍖🍹🍰

Luke Skywalker, your Mom was hawt! Darth Vader

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[–] SaliceMcD 7 years ago

But not to buy a decent toupée?

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[–] 7 years ago

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[–] grizzledgeezer 7 years ago

I watched the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "To Catch a Butterfly" last night. It's one of a few good hour-long Hitchcocks. The story is startlingly nasty and violent, almost as if John Meston (who wrote some of the sickest Gunsmoke episodes) had been called in.

It starred Bradford Dillman, a far-better actor than William Shatner. When the point in the story arrives where he reveals why he's afraid of confronting other people, he pulls it off convincingly.

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[–] Jay_Jay1234 7 years ago

I agree with you. I don’t know what Doohan said about Shatner but I heard Takei on The Howard Stern Show say Bill had an inflated ego. He said that his main gripe with Shatner was that he didn’t use his star power to fight for the rest of the cast. He said that Shatner could have stood up for them multiple times in contract negotiations and didn’t. He said Leonard did.

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[–] kerryedavis 7 years ago

I don't know that it makes sense to expect/require any other actor to have an affirmative obligation to help the other actors around them. What may be happening the most is that Shatner is being compared unfavorably to Nimoy, because Nimoy chose to do that. If Nimoy hadn't either, I suspect neither of them would have been scorned the way only Shatner came to be. And that does seem unfair to Shatner.

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[–] grizzledgeezer 7 years ago

I don't know that it makes sense to expect/require any other actor to have an affirmative obligation to help the other actors around them.

It makes perfect sense. They're working together, on a group project, which (hopefully) everyone involved will want to be as good as possible.

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[–] kerryedavis 7 years ago

My point remains that Shatner is likely being mostly compared unfavorably to Nimoy, who did something he didn't have to do. If Nimoy hadn't either, I don't think either of them would receive the scorn that Shatner alone receives in contrast. I would say nobody expected it of either of them, at first, but when Nimoy started doing it on his own, somehow people felt Shatner was then obligated to do the same. That isn't really fair of them.

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[–] Jay_Jay1234 7 years ago

I don't know that it makes sense to expect/require any other actor to have an affirmative obligation to help the other actors around them.

It’s definitely not required. George was basically saying that Shatner made it obvious that the other actors were beneath him. He couldn’t care less whether they were there or not. He didn’t work with them other than required rehearsing. Shatner basically ignored them.

And that does seem unfair to Shatner.

You’d have to hear the interview. Whether it’s unfair or not, George didn’t like him because of the way Shatner carried himself. He mentioned something about Shatner fighting for lines that were written for Nimoy and didn’t hide his disdain that the Spock character was very popular. The gist of what I got from the interview was Shatner believed he was the star of the show and separated himself from the rest of the cast. The rest of the cast knew it was more of an ensemble show with Spock, Kirk and Bones being the leads.

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[–] glynnpadraic 7 years ago

He was verry good

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[–] arbilab 7 years ago

My 14kt ears tell me Doohan was many/most of the offscreen voices, sans brougue of coors.

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[–] 7 years ago

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