Having grown up in a Star Trek household from way back, I'm fairly familiar with a lot of the catch phrases from the original series, which ran from 1966 to 1969. Here are six that still make their way into conversation around here:
1. "Beam me up, Scotty." Gracing bumper stickers and coffee mugs everywhere, and often followed by "There's no intelligent life down here," this is likely the most recognizable phrase from the series. Here's the thing, though. According to Wikipedia, the exact phrase was never actually spoken in any Star Trek television episode or film. Capt. Kirk comes closest to saying the phrase in the episode, "The Gamesters of Triskelion" ("Scotty, beam us up"); in the animated episodes "The Lorelei Signal" and "The Infinite Vulcan" ("Beam us up, Scotty"); in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home("Scotty, beam me up"); and in Star Trek Generations ("Beam them out of there, Scotty.")
In response to my last Star Trek post, a reader pointed out some more casting rumors for us. According to TrekMovie.com, actor Paul McGillion has auditioned for the role of Montgomery Scott originally played by the late James Doohan in the 1966 to 1969 Star Trek television series.
The Canadian actor already plays a Scottish character on Stargate Atlantis, so adopting the accent wouldn't be a new thing for him. He's even gotten an endorsement from Chris Doohan, son of James.
I haven't watched Stargate Atlantis, so I can't comment on whether he's a good choice for the role or not. If he gets the role, then time will tell. What do you think?
Some of the Star Trek actors' ashes were launched from the New Mexico desert today with the ashes of about two-hundred other individuals, including Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper. The rockets were launched by the wives of both men, Suzan Cooper and Wende Doohan.
Doohan was born in 1920 in Canada and fought in World War II, losing a finger as a result of injuries he suffered on D-Day. In the late '40s, he trained as an actor at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. He's appeared in countless movie and TV roles, but of course we'll all remember him as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott.
Gene Roddenberry, the late creator of Star Trek, also had his ashes launched into space in 1997.
I'd have to say I barely remember this show. It's one of those times where I actually remember the title more than the show itself. It had something to do with outer space.
BCI Eclipse has announced that they are going to release a complete DVD set for the 70s CBS Saturday morning kids series Jason of Star Command. The show starred James Doohan, Susan Pratt, Sid Haig, Charlie Dell, and Craig Littler as the title character. It lasted two years.
One interesting side note: Littler's IMdB entry says that he was the guy who said the words "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?" in the commercials. But what about this guy?