Simon Pegg’s Scotty is more parody than emulation, and Cho’s Sulu just doesn’t cut it for me. The original Sulu had a deep voice, and a gravity and unflappable nature that came with George Takei’s stage work. Cho just doesn’t have that gravity or presence to me. He seems more scrappy and lacking in depth.

The role of Uhura is also a bone of contention for many, since as a trendsetting African-American role model in the original series, this version turns her into a clear object of lust, despite making her “really smart” and “fluent in three dialects of Romulan” which I suppose is the modern-day equivalent to the 1960s mini-skirts, but still, something that perhaps wan’t needed.

Neo: Please watch the movie before judging how suitable they are for the characters based on appearance…

> Let’s nail this down.

> What PRECISELY do Solow and Justman say on the subject?

Finally dug out the Solow/Justman book, “Inside Star Trek”. On p. 78 bottom to p. 79 top, here are the exact words –

[quote] Justman thought the character’s name came from the Philippine Islands’ Sulu archipelago, which bomber pilot Roddenberry knew about from his World War II experiences flying in the South Pacific. Actually, the name “Sulu” resulted from Roddenberry’s decision to “honor” Herb Solow by using a mispronunciation of his name “without the w,” a running joke between Solow and many of his friends. [/quote]

So as you can see, even Justman and Solow have differing opinions on the origin of the name Sulu.

> And how the hell do they explain how they got Sulu from Solow?

Unknown. I’d believe Justman and Takei rather than a “joke”.

What PRECISELY do Solow and Justman say on the subject? And how the hell do they explain how they got Sulu from Solow? The Sulu Sea had to play at part in that process SOMEWHERE, or somebody missed a chance at running that lucky streak onto a winning lottery ticket.

looks like somebody in casting thought the only thing that needed any resemblance was their eyes….

and even then there’s none….

“get a chink, they’re all the same”

It has been mentioned (#32) and discussed (#33, #37).

Except for Quinto, the actors don’t look much like the originals. I think Cho looks as much like Takei as Pegg looks like Doohan (perhaps even moreso), or as much as Yelchin looks like Koening…and Bruce Greenwood looks nothing at all like Pike, IMO.

However, I personally don’t think it’s important what they look like as long as they have the “broad general look” of the original — and they all do, including Cho.

Fro instance, I wouldn’t want a 5′-6″ blonde-haired Spock standing next to a 6ft 6in-tall skinny red-headed freckled-faced Kirk. The cast they have is fine because they all have the correct “general look”.

The implication there is that the “they” was someone associated with the TV series, presumably Roddenberry – when in fact “Hikaru” first appears in Vonda McIntyre’s Trek novel “The Entropy Effect.”

There is no evidence or reason to believe that the name originally comes from the production company, Paramount or anyone associated with them; it never occurs in any official Trek material or the recollections of anyone associated with it until well after McIntyre’s use of it. Whether it was a popular given name for the character in fan fiction prior to the publication of her novel is perhaps an open question.

Sorry, but because it makes more sense to you doesn’t make it true. Reality doesn’t work like that.

Some people were there, and know; other people were simply told. You, Takei, me, everybody else – were simply told. For my part, I choose to believe the less egotistic of the people who were actually there, and to ignore people who say they *know* something is true because it was told to them as true by a favorite celebrity. :)