Could Trek pull a Bond

[Eric R.]

007 is over 40 years old now and 6 actors have played the lead role. As well as others who have played the minors ones. Now I was wondering if Trek could pull a Bond and recast some its major roles with new actors, especially the TOS era ones. If so who today could play the main rolls.

[Ineti]

I think the general Trek fandom would have a collective cow if Paramount tried to recast roles near and dear to so many. Can you really see anyone else playing Kirk than Shatner? Stewart as Picard? Brooks as Sisko? I don't see it happening. Just MHO, of course.

[Balok]

Bond pulled it off once, successfully, and therefore they can pull it off as often as they need to. I think it worked for them because people liked the character as much as or more than the actor, but regardless, they established a precedent: they cast someone new in the role. It also worked because fans realized that the one character *was* the franchise: if they weren't willing to accept a new actor, there would be no more Bond stories. Oh, there might be similar stories about some other spy, but they wouldn't be *James Bond* stories.

Trek, I think, can't do that. First of all, they've established a precedent of using new actors and new characters for a new series. Second, they've established that "Star Trek" is about the setting -- the events, moral messages, and suchlike -- more than it is about the characters. No single character, or actor, is irreplaceable.

[Phantom]

As much a fan as I am of Commander Bond, I feel that it is beginning to 'feel' its age as well. The stories of late haven't been that great, we exhausted Flemmings stories with Goldeneye. I think Bond could do with some R&R, if not retirement.

So, to answer the question posed...No. Trek has gone on almost as long as Bond and is showing the same old age. Changing actors would do little, if nothing to save the franchise. As been stated here before, what is needed is new blood on the writing and production side of things.

[qerlin]

"Can you really see anyone else playing Kirk than Shatner?"

Absolutely.

[Ergi]

Originally posted by qerlin
"Can you really see anyone else playing Kirk than Shatner?"

Absolutely.

I wouldn't like the idea of anybody else playing the known star trek characters. But since you have no objections, who do you think would be suited best for playing Kirk (or the other characters)?

[Flamestrike]

Well, I'd personally rather see ANY male actor play Kirk than Shatner... Shatner is immenantly replaceable. He's a hack, and lost whatever charm he had in between Undiscovered Country and Generations. I suspect that he used it all up in Wrath of Khan, but that's just me.

[REG]

IMHO, I cannot really see anyone else playing Captain Kirk except William Shatner, at least not in my lifetime. I'd rather be dead if that ever happens.

[Admiral Wolf]

Some of you guys need to look past Shatner "the man" and look at the question for what it is...Shatner as KIRK.

like him in real life or not...Shatner "the actor" made Kirk what he is...no one else (now) would have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling off Kirk...because they would have to try to be Shatner.

Everytime we saw "the new guy" trying to be Kirk, we'd say..."he's not doing Kirk right"...like it or not Shatner did Kirk very well....a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-to-hell-with-the-rules-I'll-pull-this-off-somehow type of character...done in the Shatner way.

I'm not all that fond of Shatner, however I have always loved the way he did Kirk.

There is no other Kirk, IMHO.

[C5]

Well judging from the fuss there is amongst the fans about continuity in Enterprise, I can only imagine what would happen if recasting TOS was attempted...

[Flamestrike]

Originally posted by Admiral Wolf
Some of you guys need to look past Shatner "the man" and look at the question for what it is...Shatner as KIRK.

like him in real life or not...Shatner "the actor" made Kirk what he is...no one else (now) would have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling off Kirk...because they would have to try to be Shatner.

Everytime we saw "the new guy" trying to be Kirk, we'd say..."he's not doing Kirk right"...like it or not Shatner did Kirk very well....a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-to-hell-with-the-rules-I'll-pull-this-off-somehow type of character...done in the Shatner way.

I'm not all that fond of Shatner, however I have always loved the way he did Kirk.

There is no other Kirk, IMHO.

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but your arguement stands on whether you liked Kirk in the first place... Personally, I never liked kirk period, let alone shatner as Kirk. I never hated him, but I never liked in either. Maybe another actor could inject some appeal into him, who knows?

Give me Captain Pike any day of the week, or Sulu, Picard or Sisko, for that matter.

[REG]

It could but he won't be the original.

It's like trying to replace J.R.R. Tolkien with Robert Jordan, Roger Moore with Val Kilmer (in the Saint), Pierce Brosnan with Sean Connery, etc.

Besides, Nicholas Meyer have a secret tip for directing William Shatner as Kirk: do as many takes as you can with his scene until he gets tired, and that's when he do his serious acting.