Star Trek legend Walter Koenig takes Star Trek Generations to task for the poor way the movie killed off William Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk.
Summary
- Walter Koenig criticizes Star Trek Generations for its treatment of Captain Kirk’s death, calling it a “travesty.”
- Despite their personal differences, Koenig passionately defends Kirk and William Shatner’s portrayal of the character.
- Koenig’s joining The 7th Rule podcast to review his episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series is generating excitement among fans and has already exceeded its fundraising goal.
Star Trek: The Original Series icon Walter Koenig takes Star Trek Generations to task for how the film killed off Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), which Koenig called “a travesty.” Koenig appeared in Star Trek Generations’ prologue as Pavel Chekov, alongside Shatner’s Kirk and James Doohan’s Scotty, to pass the torch to the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation, who took over the Star Trek movie franchise, But Koenig was not only less than pleased with Chekov’s token role in the film but also with the way Star Trek Generations handled Kirk’s demise.
In an interview with TrekMovie to promote his joining The 7th Rule podcast to review his episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series, Walter Koenig didn’t hold back about his feelings toward Captain Kirk’s death in Star Trek Generations. Koenig’s spirited defense of Kirk is especially noteworthy since he and William Shatner are famously not the closest of friends. However, Walter feels Kirk and Shatner deserved more and better. Check out his quote below:
“I think it was a travesty! And you’ll forgive me for this harangue, I thought it was a travesty the way they killed Captain Kirk. It was so incidental: ‘Oh, by the way, you’re dead.; He should have died heroically, I mean really heroically. He deserves it! And Mr. Shatner brought a great deal to that part. He was incredibly good-looking, he was a damn good actor,. totally committed to what he was doing. Don’t talk to me about overreacting, that’s crap. What are you looking for? You’re looking for a ventriloquist, somebody whose lips don’t move? You’re looking for somebody who imbues the character, who embraces the situation, who gives us all, who exposes who he is. And Bill Shatner brought that to the part every time… I’m tired of hearing—I go off and I apologize, I’m tired of hearing about bad acting, overacting, I think that’s bull.”
Walter Koenig Is Joining The 7th Rule Podcast To Watch His Star Trek Episodes
It will be the first time he’s seen Star Trek: The Original Series since it first aired.
Walter Koenig joining The 7th Rule podcast with Cirroc Lofton and Ryan T. Husk is a big deal, and The 7th Rule has set up an Indiegogo campaign so fans can not only support Walter Koenig’s venture into podcasting but also earn unique benefits and perks. The 7th Rule with Walter Koenig’s Indiegogo campaign has already been a huge success by raising 211% of its flexible goal, but there is still time as of this writing for fans to join in on the fun. The 7th Rule with Walter Koenig kicks off at the start of 2024 and will review an episode each week, starting with Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, which is when Walter joined the show as Ensign Pavel Chekov.
One of Walter Koenig’s favorite Star Trek episodes is TOS season 2, episode 6, “Spectre of the Gun.”
Walter Koenig is a witty raconteur who is bound to take fans down memory lane as he watches his classic episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series. As evidenced by his defense of William Shatner’s Captain Kirk, Koenig shoots straight with his opinions, even though he and William Shatner have never seen eye-to-eye. It’s that type of candid honesty that fans can expect from The 7th Rule with Walter Koenig. Perhaps, if the podcast is as successful as expected, Walter Koenig and The 7th Rule can even review the Star Trek movies, including Star Trek Generations.
