RIP "Chekov"

[MU82]

Walter Koenig, a mainstay of the "Star Trek" franchise as Pavel Chekov, the Russian navigator aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, died on Sunday at his home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 90.

The death was confirmed by his agent, Zachery McGinnis.

Ensign Pavel Chekov — who arrived at the beginning of the show's second season, in the fall of 1967 — was conceived as a solution to a demographic problem. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek," had been told that young viewers considered the show's leads, William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), who were both 35 when the series began, practically middle-aged.

So Chekov was positioned as a younger type — Mr. Koenig was 30 when he was cast — complete with a mop-top haircut that the producers hoped would remind adolescent girls of Davy Jones of the Monkees, the popular TV-generated rock band.

His character also represented a future beyond the Cold War's balance of atomic terror, one in which a Russian officer could be serving under a captain from Iowa as a unified humanity explores the stars.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/26/arts/television/walter-koenig-chekov-star-trek-dead.html?

He was a pretty bad actor, but his character was fun. I remember my Russian instructor at Marquette (that's right, I took Russian) making fun of his fake accent.

[Uncle Rico]

Walter Koenig, a mainstay of the "Star Trek" franchise as Pavel Chekov, the Russian navigator aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, died on Sunday at his home in the North Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was 90.

The death was confirmed by his agent, Zachery McGinnis.

Ensign Pavel Chekov — who arrived at the beginning of the show's second season, in the fall of 1967 — was conceived as a solution to a demographic problem. Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek," had been told that young viewers considered the show's leads, William Shatner (Captain Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Mr. Spock), who were both 35 when the series began, practically middle-aged.

So Chekov was positioned as a younger type — Mr. Koenig was 30 when he was cast — complete with a mop-top haircut that the producers hoped would remind adolescent girls of Davy Jones of the Monkees, the popular TV-generated rock band.

His character also represented a future beyond the Cold War's balance of atomic terror, one in which a Russian officer could be serving under a captain from Iowa as a unified humanity explores the stars.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/26/arts/television/walter-koenig-chekov-star-trek-dead.html?

He was a pretty bad actor, but his character was fun. I remember my Russian instructor at Marquette (that's right, I took Russian) making fun of his fake accent.

Vaxxed?

[tower912]

We can Chekov another one.

[muwarrior69]

Only Shatner and Takei remain from the original series.

[Uncle Rico]

Only Shatner and Takei remain from the original series.

Probably not vaxxed

[TallTitan34]

Probably not vaxxed

Wrong.

[Uncle Rico]

Wrong.

I believe original canon had Kirk dying from a vaccine for space syphilis

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

Probably not vaxxed

Yes, known conservative George Takei.

[MU82]

When we want some mindless entertainment, we've been watching The Last Ship on Netflix. I think it was a Fox series from 5-10 years ago? The premise is that there is a pandemic that has wiped out much of the world's population; a scientist on a U.S. Navy ship has come up with a cure, and they are trying to distribute it, and there is drama at every turn.

That ship's captain, played by the late Eric Dane, is just like Shatner's Kirk, right down to the over-the-top melodramatic turn. There's so much illogical stuff in the plots, including the captain, his first officer and the medical person all going ashore at the same time. And you always know who's gonna die in an episode, just like you always knew the nobodies in the red shirts were gonna die on Star Trek.

It's not very good, but it's an easy watch when we just want 40 minutes that aren't heavy.

[Uncle Rico]

Yes, known conservative George Takei.

Takei should be sent back to China

[ATL MU Warrior]

When we want some mindless entertainment, we've been watching The Last Ship on Netflix. I think it was a Fox series from 5-10 years ago? The premise is that there is a pandemic that has wiped out much of the world's population; a scientist on a U.S. Navy ship has come up with a cure, and they are trying to distribute it, and there is drama at every turn.

That ship's captain, played by the late Eric Dane, is just like Shatner's Kirk, right down to the over-the-top melodramatic turn. There's so much illogical stuff in the plots, including the captain, his first officer and the medical person all going ashore at the same time. And you always know who's gonna die in an episode, just like you always knew the nobodies in the red shirts were gonna die on Star Trek.

It's not very good, but it's an easy watch when we just want 40 minutes that aren't heavy.

Excellent book, sh!tty (probably) TV show

[MU82]

Excellent book, sh!tty (probably) TV show

Didn't know it was a book (but probably should have). I'll check it out - thanks for the recommendation.

I wouldn't call the show sh!tty. But it's closer to sh!tty than good.

I just thought it was funny how many similarities it had to Star Trek.