Garrett Wang, who is best known for playing the eternally low-ranking Ensign Kim in Star Trek: Voyager, disclosed in the Delta Flyer Podcast that he creates with fellow Voyager alum Robert Duncan McNeill, that back when Voyager was in production in the 1990s, he almost ran over the legendary actor, Harrison Ford.
In recounting this near-disaster, Wang described driving through the Paramount Studios’ parking lot, he recalled speeding around a bend and Harrison Ford appeared out of nowhere, right in front of Wang’s car ‘I’m actually speeding around the parking lot, and I come around this one bend and this guy in a suit walks between two cars, right in front of my car, so I slam on my breaks,’ Wang said.
Ensign Kim
When he realized who the gentleman in the suit actually was, Wang’s first thought was “Oh my god, I almost killed Han Solo!” I would have been hated by nerds everywhere.”
Thankfully, no one was hurt in this parking lot episode, but think about this for a minute in a geeky nerdy way…had Star Trek’s Ensign Kim actually hit and harmed or killed Star Wars’ Han Solo, the eternal debate between fans of the two franchises could be decidedly more belligerent. As it is, many fans debate on social media which fictional universe is better, Star Trek or Star Wars. That debate is, and should be, ongoing and be both passionate and logical.
Han Solo
This reminds me of a comment made by George Takei (Hikaru Sulu from the original Enterprise) some years ago, where he said, in effect, that Star Trek and Star Wars fans should unite in a grand Star Alliance to fight the real enemy: The Twilight Franchise! I thought that was a hilarious comment, especially as, having seen the first of the Twilight movies, and going “ugh, glittering vampires?”
Regardless, it is a good thing that Ensign Kim did not run over Han Solo and Indiana Jones. The fictional movie world is a better place with Han alive. BTW, have you seen the recent Star Wars movies…?
First impressions here without spoiling much, of Star Trek; Discovery, which I began watching from the POV of a long-time Trek fan.
Discovering Star Trek: Discovery
I just began watching Star Trek: Discovery. Yes, I know, for a guy touting himself as a Geek, to just now start watching what is turning out to be a very interesting, very geek-worthy Star Trek show is scandalous.
Before you start slinging bat’leths at me, let me hasten to explain…
You see, I am rather stodgy and old-fashioned when it comes to certain things. When I first heard that CBS All Access was a paid subscription for the new STAR TREK series, my proletarian sensibilities were upset. In the old days (and, as you all know, “in the old days” is grumpy old man talk), we could watch Star Trek with only an antenna…and then with a cable hookup…and then through Netflix, and so on. You see, it took me a while to decide that it was ok, that the Alpha Quadrant would not collapse into a tizzy if I actually subscribed (with money) to the new CBS access to see my new Star Trek show.
Star Trek Discovery-Cast
Plus, from talking with fellow Trekker fans at the recent Emerald City Comic-Con, and getting-first hand reviews from real people who also shelled out good money to meet George Takei, well, that helped convince me. I had heard bits and pieces over time from fellow geeks at work, and, frankly, the news that Sir Patrick Stewart himself is getting a new show titled “Picard,” well, that sealed the deal for this geek!
So now, I have duly subscribed to the Old Gods of CBS All Access, and am now five episodes into the first season. My thoughts on what I have taken in so far? Well, WOW!
Star Trek Discovery
I had heard that CBS was putting a lot of money into the production values for the show, based on the idea that a lot of Trek fans would pony up money to see it, and you can really see the quality in the props and special effects. Top notch! Each episode looks like a mini-movie, and the acting is also quite good.
I’m going to give my first impressions here without spoiling much, I hope. The first two episodes had me scratching my head a bit, since I knew the show is named after a Federation vessel (Discovery-named, as I later learned, from the ship in 2001: Space Odyssey), yet the main ship in the opening episodes is the USS Shenzhou, captained by Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Crazy Rich Asians) as Captain Philippa Georgiou. First Officer is a woman named Micheal Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green (Walking Dead). While this show, now that I am into it by five episodes, plays homage to all of the previous Star Trek shows, is unique in several ways. Our main character, Burnham, is not a starship captain. The show opens with a ship that is not the ship of the show’s name, and the show leaves a few questions in my mind.
Among those questions (again, trying to not spoil things here): What is up with how the Klingons look? This is at least the third iteration of the physical appearance of Klingons across the various shows and movies. Will ST: Discovery eventually explain this? Also, we see a lot of advanced tech on board Discovery that was not seen on Kirk’s Enterprise. Now, obviously, the special effects of the mid-late 1960s were inferior to what we have today, but if this new show is supposed to hold onto the continuity and the canon of the overall Trek Universe, we will need to have some explanations. From some brief readings online (https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/10/23/star-trek-discoverys-holodeck-has-fans-freaking-out and https://www.polygon.com/2017/5/18/15658904/star-trek-discovery-klingon) some of my questions and concerns have been alleviated, but I am a continuity and canon geek for my fictional universes, and I want clarity!
Before I go away to watch the next episode, I will say, that the references to historical figures (like Jonathan Archer) and “current” people like Christopher Pike and certain Vulcans and their family members do send the true Trek fan in to fits of geeky ecstasy. If you are a Trek fan, then this is a series worth checking out. More reports on the show as I progress through the episodes.
This should, happen: Kevin Smith, Uber-geek an media maker, is saying that DC may allow the movie superhero characters (like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman) interact with the TV DC Superheroes (like Arrow, Flash, Supergirl).
Melissa Benoist as the new Supergirl
This needs to happen! In my humble, but correct opinion, DC has largely flubbed their movies, while hitting home runs with their television shows. Marvel has crushed DC in the theaters (Nolan’s Batman flicks notwithstanding), and, with the Netflix shows like Daredevil, is threatening to take over TV as well. DC needs to create a shared movie AND TV universe where there is ONE actor playing the Flash, not two, and we can see Supergirl really interacting with her cousin (i.e. the same guy we see duking it out with Batman in the movies).
Check out Kevin Smith’s thoughts at the link below:
