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April 07, 2008

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Oh, excellent. Indeed, what a classy guy. TNG was my first Star Trek. I was an adolescent when it premiered, and it was one show my whole family could agree on watching together. So it holds a place in my heart, and Picard is my captain. I'm very proud to say that now. :)

Wow. I am impressed.

I think the reporter got off lightly. Stewart created a memorable character in Captain Picard, whatever anyone may think of Star Trek in general and ST:TNG in particular. I think he's also prepared to give the show credit for giving him greater exposure and so a chance at more offers to do interesting parts.

I don't demand that actors in SF shows love SF or even respect it - they're professionals doing a job, and being an actor sometimes means holding your nose and taking the work. If Stewart just took the ST:TNG gig for the money and exposure, and that's given him a way to support his family and the freedom to do Shakespeare at the Chichester Festival, good for him. He could even think the show was weird and the fans are weird (I certainly am!), and as long as he didn't go out of his way to be rude or to make fun, Shatner-style, of the people whose viewing delivers the ratings and justifies his salary, it wouldn't disturb me much.

So I think it's extra-classy of him to go beyond being polite, which is really all that's required, and to make a public point of being passionate about his respect for both the show and its fans. He didn't have to go there; he could easily have just deflected the reporter's idiocy. It makes me happy when people whose professional skills I deeply admire turn out to be worthy of personal respect as well. That's not always the case.

I just did some checking about Stewart on imdb.com. According to them, he is a fan of Red Dwarf and of Doctor Who.

The irony! I can't comment on your post about comments! Also, re Stewart, I find it hard to imagine imagine someone that good doing something for that long and not being proud of it.

Patrick Stewart is also a fan of the (SF*) comic book Transmetropolitan; unless I'm very much mistaken he wrote an introduction to one of the collections. (A swift google sugests I'm right and it's Lonely City).

I'd forgotten he'd played Karla in the John Le Carre adaptions. Until now, my earliest (pre- ST:TNG) memories had been of him as a bloke who shouts a lot in Excalibur and Dune. That says more about me, my film-watching habits and my memory for blokes who shout a lot in films than him.

* Non-superhero

Neil, that's interesting, because it's a settled opinion among certain of my friends that if anybody ever tries to make a film of Transmet it'll star Patrick Stewart. (It's the fact that he has the same hairstyle as the protagonist, as much as anything, I think.)

Emily:
I didn't think of that as a post, exactly (more like a pathetic plea for attention!) Using the "featured post" method is just the simplest way to get something that will stick at the top of my blog and not vanish down the page.

Obviously I now need to write something clever and comment-spurring about my desire for comments. Hmm.

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