Only Two Left

With the passing of Walter Koenig yesterday, memes like this have been making the rounds:

I made the one above from a good quality photo, but I don’t like how Uhura is hidden behind Spock. For that matter, can’t see much of Chekov, either. So, I made another one from a different photo:

Though this photo isn’t as good as the first one.

If I can find a better photo that shows all eight cast members, I’ll give it another go, but these two were all I could find on Google images. (Admittedly, I didn’t look all that hard; just scrolled the first page of results.) And, it would be ideal to find one that includes Yeoman Rand (also no longer with us).

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Star Trek is almost entirely in my past now, but The Original Series (TOS) was a childhood focal point and hugely formative for me. I still remember the first episode airing back in 1966, “The Man Trap”.

Back then, we only had a small black & white TV, and it sat on a dresser in my parent’s bedroom. Sister and I weren’t allowed much TV when we were in grade school and into junior high. A big thrill for me as a grade school kid was going over to my friend’s house on Saturday morning to watch cartoons and cheesy 1950s SF movies.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been reading science fiction about as long as I’ve been reading. Certainly, since I’ve been picking my own reading material. So by 1966, when Star Trek came on the TV machine, I was already an avid fan. Lost in Space (1965-1968) had been on for a year, and I loved that show, so hurray, here came another space adventure!

Our dear departed over-protective (Lutheran preacher) father watched the show with sister and me and made us leave the room when the salt monster appeared. Too scary for his delicate kids!

[Not realizing that, at least with his son, monsters didn’t impress me. Never got a chill from Frankenstein(‘s monster) or Dracula. A good ghost story, on the other hand, could raise goosebumps. The only movie that ever scared me was the original 13 Ghosts (1960). That one scared me so badly I had to go to the lobby and buy some candy.]

Later, dad decided the show was okay and left us (mostly me) to it, and it quickly became my favorite show. Sometimes I’d use my dad’s reel-to-reel tape recorder to record the sound so I could listen to it over and over during the week. In those days, things aired when they aired. No rewinding, no pausing for breaks, no watching later, and probably months until it aired again (if it ever did).

But I’ve written plenty here about Star Trek, and it is in my past now, so I won’t go on at length. And bluntly, it’s not like Chekov was a favorite character or anything. To be honest, he probably ranks near the bottom, though I loved them all. I never disdained him; just, as the saying goes, “never was that into” him.

It’s worth marking the passing, though, of one more member of a TV show that was so very important to my youth.

So, here’s to you guys; old friends I remember so fondly 🥂:

• James T. Kirk: William Shatner (1931-present; 95)
• Cmdr. Spock: Leonard Nimoy (1931-2015; 83)
• Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy: DeForest Kelly (1920-1999; 79)
• Nyota Uhura: Nichelle Nichols (1932-2022; 89)
• Montgomery “Scotty” Scott: James Doohan (1920-2005; 85)
• Hikaru Sulu: George Takei (1937-present; 89)
• Pavel Chekov: Walter Koenig (1936-2026; 90)
• Christine Chapel; Majel Barrett (1932-2008; 76)
• Janice Rand; Grace Lee Whitney (1930-2015; 85)

Cultural icons all to this day. Not bad for a 60-year-old TV show that only lasted three seasons. Justifiably a classic at this point.

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RIP Pavel. Space finally got you.

Stay treking, my friends! Go forth and spread beauty and light.

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