Petty Drama on the Sets of People’s Favorite Nostalgic TV Shows

Petty Drama on the Sets of People’s Favorite Nostalgic TV Shows

Larry Holzwarth - August 30, 2022

Petty Drama on the Sets of People’s Favorite Nostalgic TV Shows
George Takei (Sulu) and Shatner nursed a grudge in the media for years after their involvement with Star Trek ended. NBC Television

There were other squabbles on the Star Trek set as well

Most of the long-lived feud between William Shatner and George Takei, who played Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek, developed after the show ended, but its roots were in the original series. Their feud is so well-known it is discussed by fans and media with virtually every public appearance involving Star Trek by either party. Both actors have garnered a great deal of publicity from the feud, and continue to do so more than half a century after it began. Takei has often accused Shatner of bringing up the feud to generate publicity for his many projects, telling The New York Times “…whenever he needs a little publicity for a project, he pumps up the so-called controversy between us”. Shatner has frequently responded in kind, including, “…the only time he gets press is when he talks bad about me”.

Petty Drama on the Sets of People’s Favorite Nostalgic TV Shows
Members of the crew of Starship Enterprise visit Nasa’s Shuttle Enterprise, with William Shatner noticeably absent. NASA

It began on the set of Star Trek and its roots were in the emerging feud between Shatner and Nimoy, at least according to Takei. It began in 1966 when Shatner, using his contractually guaranteed option, canceled an on-set photo shoot which was to have featured Spock, after delaying that day’s filming schedule for several hours. According to Takei the rest of the cast agreed with him, recognizing Shatner as “…someone who is not a team player…” who “…likes to have the camera on him[self] all the time”. During the short filming of Star Trek the feud remained relatively unknown off set. It emerged among the general public during the run up to Star Trek: The Motion Picture and has remained a major portion of Star Trek lore ever since, with little evidence of it abating in the future.

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