Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 13, 1995 TAG: 9506130032
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: IAN SPELLING
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
What is it? The correct pronunciation of George Takei's last name, which is Tuh-kay.
``People want to give the `ei' a Germanic pronunciation, like Einstein,'' explains the actor, laughing his familiar deep laugh during a phone conversation from his Los Angeles home.
``Tuh-kai is a legitimate Japanese word and translates into English as `expensive.'
``If anyone cares to call me that, fine. Tuh-kay, by the way, doesn't translate into `cheap.'
``Takei means `warriors' well,' so my family suspects our ancestors ran the local pub for the samurai.''
This tidbit is one of the few that fans of Capt. Sulu didn't read about in his recent autobiography, ``To the Stars'' (Pocket Books, 1994).
The book, which recalls the actor's Enterprise adventures, also reveals much about the Takei family's past as Japanese-Americans interred in camps during World War II.
``I'm pleased with the way the book was received, and it's still going strong,'' Takei says. ``I was able to use my `Star Trek' [renown] to get more people aware of the interment of Japanese-Americans during the war.''
In December, Archway Books will release a young-adult version of ``To the Stars.''
``I'm absolutely delighted,'' Takei says. ``We have to let our young people know what happened so nothing like it ever happens again.''
Takei and books, particularly audiobooks, go together well these days. The actor joined Nichelle Nichols and Walter Koenig in reading chapters of ``The Nitpicker's Guide to Star Trek,'' due from AudioScope in July.
``Envoy,'' the latest in the audionovel-only series titled ``Capt. Sulu's Adventures'' (Simon & Schuster Audio) is out now and selling well.
Then there's a six-part series of Sherlock Holmes audionovels, to which Takei lends his voice. AudioScope will release the tapes later this summer.
``It's Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes come to life,'' says the 56-year-old actor. ``I've always enjoyed the stories, and it was fun to break free of Sulu for a while and read all these different characters.''
Sulu, of course, wasn't on hand for ``Generations'' (1994), though his daughter Demora was. Takei says he was not impressed by the film.
``It was blandly going where the original cast had been before,'' he says. ``When you compare Spock's [Leonard Nimoy] death with Kirk's [William Shatner], it's night and day.
``Spock's was a noble sacrifice, a painful loss. `Generations' had Kirk in this strange netherworld with no one there to grieve over him.''
The Enterprise crash in ``Generations,'' he contends, paled in comparison to the one in ``Trek III'' (1984).
``In `Generations' it was like a noisy roller-coaster ride, whereas in `Trek III' the Enterprise goes down in a streak of flame, with everyone looking grief-stricken and Kirk asking, `What have I done?'
``That was much more effective.''
And what of Demora?
``That was a wonderful idea, but it just feeds into my campaign for a Capt. Sulu [TV or film] series,'' he says.
``How did Demora come about?'' he adds, suggesting one possible story line that would address one of the many long-unanswered questions about Sulu. ``Who's her mother? There are many Sulu stories to be told.''
CON CALENDAR
June 23-25
Big Bang at the Odeum Expo in Villa Park, Ill., featuring John de Lancie and Robert O'Reilly. (June 24-25 only; call 708-529-7318.)
Creation ``X-Files'' Convention at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Wash. (June 24 only; call 818-409-0960.)
Creation at the Conference Center in Monterey, Calif., featuring Garrett Wang. (June 25 only; call 818-409-0960.)
Horizon at the Royal Dublin Society in Dublin, Ireland, featuring Denise Crosby and Armin Shimerman. (June 24-25; call 818-841-TREK.)
TREK/SCI-FI ALERT
If you have Trek or science-fiction news or trivia to share - or if you have questions relating to ``Star Trek'' - write to Ian Spelling, in care of the Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. Be sure to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you would like a reply.
by CNB