The Nowhere Man himself has joined the big-screen Star Trek movie.
Bruce Greenwood will play Christopher Pike, the eventually-wheelchair bound first captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.* You might remember the character of Captain Pike from the original pilot of Star Trek (before William Shatner joined the show), and then the two-part episode made from the original pilot, "The Menagerie." By that time, Pike was in a wheelchair, trapped on some planet led by aliens with giant heads. Jeffrey Hunter played him on the TV show.
Greenwood also played Mitch Yost on HBO's short-lived drama John From Cincinnati. So he'll be going from floating beaming up.
I'm trying to figure out if this time line makes any sense though, and maybe you Trekkers can help me out. Greenwood is a lot older (51) than the actors playing young Kirk and young Spock. Will that make sense? Is Pike 20-25 years older than Kirk and Spock? I guess I shouldn't question such things in a movie where they shoot lasers and teleport from one place to the other in mere seconds. Plus they have Leonard Nimoy playing older Spock, so who knows how they're going to do that.**
* Oops, hope that wasn't a spoiler.
** I'm guessing...time travel?
Press Kits Unwrapped: The Prisoner
Ask TV Squad: Eureka, The Prisoner and more!
TV Squad Ten: Cartoon women who should have Playboy centerfolds
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-08-2007 @ 3:38PM
Samuel Mcconnell said...
Sure it does. Spock and Pike served together on the Enterprise for 11 years before Pike was promoted and Kirk took command of the Enterprise, and he commanded the Enterprise for a few years before that. (It has even been suggested that Pike was the first officer of Robert April, the first captain of the Enterprise, which would have placed Pike on the Enterprise for 20 years.)
Spock's physical age doesn't matter because Vulcans age much slower than humans. In 2369, the 133 year old Spock looked just like a 62 year old Leonard Nemoy.
Reply
11-08-2007 @ 3:50PM
Jason Blosser said...
Samuel:
Thank you for pointing out Capt. April. The uninitiated often refer to Pike as the first captain of the Enterprise, but it is now considered canon that Robert April was the first captain. See the Star Trek Omnipedia by Michael and Denise Okuda for reference. Gene Rodenberry's photo is used to Capt. April.
Reply
11-08-2007 @ 4:15PM
RT said...
Great addition to the cast. Greenwood is a very underrated actor. Should have gotten an Oscar nod for his portrayal of JFK in "Thirteen Days."
Reply
11-08-2007 @ 4:52PM
Tele-Toby said...
I've liked Greenwood since he appeared on 'St. Elsewhere' and he's adept at switching easily from heroic to villainous roles. So I'm glad to hear that he'll have a major role in the Trek mythos!
Reply
11-08-2007 @ 6:40PM
Rebecca said...
I know Bruce Greenwood is a great actor and all, but isn't he a little old for the role? I mean, Jeffrey Hunter was 39 when he originated the role. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the Trek community!
Reply
11-08-2007 @ 7:41PM
Victoria said...
He may be a great actor and all but he's not handsome enough to play Capt. Pike who was a hunk in the original series before he became wheelchair bound. I'd have chosen Julian McMahon if he wasn't busy. He's a better choice to me.
Reply
11-09-2007 @ 12:37AM
Oreo said...
If Pike being the "first" captain is a spoiler 40+ years later then it's a spoiler to say that King Kong dies, and Godzilla will always live. :)
And Pike should be older, it makes sense to me. And I think time travel is involved but Spock, in TNG era, could be telling a story of what happened 100 years ago in the pre TOS era.
Reply
11-09-2007 @ 10:54AM
eric f. said...
Nowhere Man was one of my favorite shows. I didn't think anyone remembered it, but you're tv people...I should have known.
Reply
11-09-2007 @ 10:54AM
eric f. said...
Nowhere Man was one of my favorite shows. I didn't think anyone remembered it, but you're tv people...I should have known.
Reply
11-26-2007 @ 10:16PM
Vlasta Filipasic said...
Hello! I think Bruce Greenwood is an excellent choice for the new Star Trek movie! I've discovered how great an actor he was since just recently viewing the Nowhere Man series DVD compilation! What are you all worried about?
He looks young for 51 and he deserves to have some bigger title roles and gain more respect and recognition as an extremely versatile actor! He's also got a great "radio" voice and uses it creatively for foreign accents in different films. Check out his website! I look forward to seeing him act in the new movie!
Reply