To be Takei

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

What an interesting guy and boy does he hate William Shatner. And the feeling is mutual.

This was a really good look at the life of George Takei to coincide of his making of his musical Allegiance and is available for streaming on Netflix. (Yes, I'm streaming again after I lost all the recorded shows on my DVR)

It was quite the comprehensive look, everything from his internment in Arkansas to getting started in television to his current life. I don't think his partner Brad ever looked comfortable on camera.

There was a ton of information in the film I was surprised to find out, especially his running for councilman here in Los Angeles.

I say check it out. Mainly, because there is a sword fight and lots of Slash fiction featuring Nimoy and Shatner.

[Drunk Monk]

I had this queued in my iTunes for some time because it got good reviews and being Asian, I can totally relate to B.D. Wong's and John Cho's comments about how Sulu was a pioneering Asian male actor. I even referenced this in an article I wrote back in 2000 (see concluding paragraph <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=280">http://www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/art ... rticle=280</a><!-- m -->). And given my childhood Asian male role models were Sulu and Bruce Lee (actually there were a ton of Hong Kong action stars too, but that wasn't until later and no one outside the Kung Fu circles knew who I was talking about). I read the Variety listings every month for the changes with Netflix and was excited to see it was coming this month, and have been waiting for it to show up on the New Releases section, but it still hasn't. So many thanks to you Greg, for pointing out that it was now available.

The doc was decent and I agree with Greg on the whole. I do remember when Takei got involved with politics. Actually, so did Checkov, which is why he wasn't involved with the ST animated series. Erickson, the three-armed red alien replaced him. Koenig's appearance in this doc was sad, as despite all of Takei's liver spots, he's still in great shape for his age, while Koenig looked really old. Nichelle still looked good and showed off her eye-crossing skills. Shatner and Nimoy, well, we've seen them recently and they've kept up. As for the infamous Shatner/Takei feud, there's certainly a lot more to that then they present to the public. They are the most successful of the ST crew, even counting the successive generations. I suspect there's some ghastly skeleton in that closet, pun fully intended.

As for his homosexuality, I remember thinking how odd Takei's acting style was - how hammy - but then all of the original Star Trek cast were total hams. That's what made it work so well. I also remember when he busted out the cape for ST3 and sashayed through that film like he was sauntering down Castro street. I remember thinking 'Naaaaah. srsly? Say it ain't so.' Not that I have any issue with homosexuality, mind you. After working for years at AFS on Folsom with PPFY, well.... nuf said there, right? But still, it bummed me out at the time. After all, that was the 80s, long before Glee.

The internment stuff was interesting to me too personally, as some of my family went through that. Some were even paid restitution. Most of my family was in Hawaii, which was isolated in its own weird way. There were still a lot of WWII stories. My grandmother was a teacher and the teachers and religious leaders were shut down first on Hawaii. But my grandfather was a commander of the 100th, an all-Japanese battalion, so my immediate family had some unique privilege. My mom remembers Pearl Harbor (the repercussions from the blasts cracked her fishtank at home, which was far from the docks) and still has a few Hawaii dollars in a safe deposit box, special marked money used during WWII just in case Hawaii was ever taken.

I would have liked to have seen a little more on Takei's struggles as an Asian actor. Takei's work for the gay community is inspiring, but there are far more gays on TV than Asian males today. It was great seeing him in those old TV shows. I saw the Twilight Zone episode he was in last year. I must look up those Mission Impossible and Hawaii 5-0 eps (MI = Season 1: Episode 10 'The Carriers, H50 = Season 8: Episode 5 'Death's Name is SAM' - thank you, internetz!).

[Greg_phpbb3_import1]

Don't Judge me. Too late.

It was like wandering around the house and finding a new door, behind which were things you never knew existed.

[Drunk Monk]

Pester you. Definitely. It's a major Dm pastime.

Edit you. Also definitely. Well, that's DM & CF, but whenever you start rambling on about Bieber posters, DM releases the BUTCHER (that's DM's pet name for CF).

But never judge you. It's okay to be Takei.

I watched Death's Name is SAM last night. I had forgotten how silly the original H50 was. That show had the most Asian on TV ever (probably still holds that record for a U.S. show). They're all in gaudy Hawaiian shirts so it doesn't count. But as my family was from there, we watched a lot of that. My folks would always recognize places. Now, it's amusing as it's so retro - pay phones, real locations, computers using reel-to-reel and punchcards. It struck me a lot like the original TV Batman in style and pacing, only taking itself way too seriously. Sulu is awesome in his cameo. He's recruited by the 50 squad to infiltrate a terrorist cell - the Cambasiaorsomething Liberation Front (CLF). There's this plan to assassinate the president of this mythical Asian nation using a weapon called SAM. 50 gets hip when one of the terrorists get caught smuggling a pipe with Soviet writing, which happens to be one of five parts of a heat-seeking missile (no it's not - it's just a pipe). The terrorist gets in an accident and takes a cynanide pill. The CLF are all white people but the leader is the one and only John Colicos, one of the best commanders in the Klingon fleet. It's a lot about Sulu. He really hogs all the action. When the storyline leaves his character, I was like srsly? No remorse? Oh whatev McGarrett, you're such an A-hole. But still, a great ep and fun flashback.

I caught the Twilight Zone ep a few months ago when binging on that show (it started like this, looking up the Elizabeth Montgomery TZ ep which is a super great one) The Encounter isn't very surreal as TZ eps go. It's a study in racism, two men, Sulu and a WWII vet, locked in an attic with a Samurai sword. It's really intense and showcases Sulu well.

I'll watch that MI ep very soon. Any excuse to watch the IMF in action. I love the original MI. That, TZ and Star Trek take up all of my old show guilty rewatching pleasures. Even though I know so many of those eps by heart, I still can't resist rewatching them.

[Drunk Monk]

In the Carriers, Rollin, Cinnamon, Barney and Sulu are part of the IMF team to...wait for it.... infiltrate a terrorist cell. It's in some foreign eastern country, probably Russia, where they call each other 'comrade' (maybe they named the country and I missed it). There's a special gated location that simulates a U.S. town to train terrorists for deep cover as Americans. It's a great ep, but I luv MI. That old skool tech - reel-to-reel tape, metal keys that can be duped by pressing them into playdoh, small suitcases that can smuggle a complete blow torch kit and a huge lockpicking set. This is first season too, so it's Briggs, who I always preferred over Phelps. The cast is awesome - they are all masters of being on the edge, playing it cool when they are freaking out inside. Rollin works a nervous cig better than anyone in TV. Barney is the epitome of coolness under extreme pressure. And Cinnamon is one of the greatest femme fatale spies ever, right up there with Emma Peel. The line that To Be Takei poaches off this episode where Sulu confesses that he's not cut out for the IMF is the best line of the ep. It's something every guest IMF member should say because the IMF is totally bad ass but super cool about it all the time.

Ok, I'm done with my Sulu review. Almost went back for Ninja Cheerleaders too, (strangely overlooked by TBT but not by DOOM - <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://brotherhoodofdoom.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=110&p=4567&hilit=cheerleaders#p4567">viewtopic.php?f=11&t=110&p=4567&hilit=cheerleaders#p4567</a><!-- l -->) but I'm done now. After seeing To Be Takei, I recommend checking out the TW and MI eps too.