I ran across this series of interviews of some folks involved with a variety of TV shows, including some sci-fi shows. I thought it had some interesting insights into some famous TV shows and people.

This is an interview with J. Michael Straczynski:
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/j-michael-straczynski#interview-clips

Walter Koenig:
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/walter-koenig#interview-clips

Jonathan Harris from Lost in Space:
https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/jonathan-harris#interview-clips

There's a lot more there, too.

JMS is a fantastic and engaging speaker. I've listened to all of his audio commentaries for the Babylon 5 episodes and he always has some great insight and perspectives to share.

I haven't listened to his commentaries on the DVDs, but I've enjoyed just about every interview I've seen him in

Walter Koenig talks about his role on B5, and I guess he was originally going to play a role in one episode, but had a heart attack and couldn't make the filming schedule, so JMS ended up giving him the Bester role later, for which Koenig was very happy - a recurring role vs. a one-time appearance.

Koenig also tells a story about how George Takei was angry with him during the original Star Trek, because Koenig got his lines in a few episodes. The thing is, Koenig got them because Takei was filming "The Green Beret" and filming ran over by 6 weeks, and he couldn't be on set for Star Trek. how can you be upset with another actor over that?

The more I learn about Takei, the less I think I would have liked to work with him. He seems very high maintenance to me. I feel similarly about James Doohan, may he rest in peace. From what I've heard, he was a really nice guy until he wasn't, and you never knew which Jimmy you were going to get. When I was a kid at a convention in 1976, a fan asked him a question he had already answered (people were coming and going throughout all the presentations), and Doohan shut him down hard. It was difficult for me to see, because I was a kid and loved the character of Scotty. It's challenging when you learn that actors are often not at all like their characters.

Yeah, it sounds like Shatner wasn't the only diva on that set. Koenig makes a similar observation of Mr. Doohan.

What better evidence can you have proving just how iconic a fictional character has become when fans have a hard time separating the actor from the character? There’s an X-Files message board on Facebook that I visit frequently and you’d be amazed at how many people there think that David Duchovny and Fox Mulder are the same person.

Nice find.


Wheels