Fans lobby Paramount urging George Takei as next series lead
By Thomas Lee
After the success of numerous reincarnations, the Star Trek franchise may once again get a new captain and boldly go where no man has gone before. The uncharted territory this time could revolve around an Asian American commander, Captain Hikaru Sulu (George Takei) of the original Star Trek TV series.
Paramount Pictures has yet to produce the series but is being put under extreme pressure by fans to bring Takei and other original series cast members back to television. Thousands of fans have rallied together to launch a crusade entitled the “Excelsior Campaign” to ensure that Takei would be the captain of the next Star Trek spin-off, when and if Paramount decides to produce one. The campaign is named after the starship of Captain Sulu, the U.S.S. Excelsior.
Star Trek fans are not the only ones eager to see Takei back in uniform. The Asian American community has joined in on this attempt to bring a lead Asian American actor to series television. The Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) endorsed the 5,000-member campaign on April 17 in its continuing effort to deliver more diversity to television. MANAA was a major contributor to the “End the White Washing of Television” campaign which resulted in networks promising to incorporate more minority characters into their shows as well as CBS, FOX, and NBC hiring Vice Presidents of Diversity.
“Asian Americans have rare opportunities to see people like themselves in the media,” said MANAA co-founder Guy Aoki, explaining the reasons why his organization has endorsed the campaign.
“People need to see themselves acknowledged in television shows,” he said. “When people feel they don’t belong, they look for signs to give them acknowledgement. Even some small sign like a TV character gives them hope.”
“One of the difficulties [the Asian American community has had] is putting Asians in lead roles. It’s pretty rare,” said John Tateishi, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League. Tateishi said that Takei has tremendous appeal, not only to Asian Americans but to other segments of the population as well. “George has a lot of respect in the L.A. community and has done a lot to benefit the Asian American community,” he said. “He shows respect for Asian Americans and cares about their needs. He has never taken any roles that depict Asians in a negative way. If anyone can make [this series] work, George can.”
Media watchers have often criticized the lack of an Asian American hero, saying Asian actors onscreen in the past have primarily been martial arts imports from Hong Kong like Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
Aoki said Takei would provide a positive role model for Asian Americans as well as others. “We will finally get an Asian American hero and role model not related to martial arts. Minorities don’t really get a chance to be the hero onscreen,” he said.
Excelsior Campaign manager Russ Haslage is confident about the chances of success. His organization has already sent out thousands of letters to Paramount executives urging them to make this project a reality. The letter-writing drive was accompanied by rallies in front of Paramount studios and television affiliates across the U.S. and Canada on April 22.
Haslage said he hopes Paramount realizes the significance of having an Asian American lead and the Asian fan base it could bring. “We hope Paramount considers very seriously the desires of those in the Asian American community who have expressed their support,” he added.
Besides providing a role model for Asian Americans, Aoki also said he believes the success of a series with Takei at the helm could open doors for other projects involving Asian American lead roles. “The success of this series would encourage other networks to cast Asian Americans in leads of other series. It wouldn’t hurt. It puts more exposure out there,” Aoki said.
The desire to see Takei return to Star Trek seems to be growing. It has already spawned a novel about the adventures of Captain Sulu, and author John Ordover of Pocket Books has offered to pen another Sulu story if the demand is high enough. Ordover will write the novel if he receives 1,000 letters of request by May 1.
Aoki says he is confident that Asian Americans would embrace Takei’s character based on past fan reactions to Takei’s role. He said Takei’s role is one in which Asian Americans would be proud to be associated with and will respect. “Asians are too often portrayed as villains, sidekicks, and the ones people are supposed to hate or the ones people are supposed to laugh at,” he explained. “Star Trek VI presented one of the most positive images of an Asian American ever in the media.”