b9fb48f0   
   XPost: alt.tv.star-trek, alt.tv.star-trek.tos, rec.arts.sf.tv   
   XPost: rec.arts.tv   
   From: David@block.net   
      
   On 1/5/2012 5:36 AM, Martin Phipps wrote:   
   > On Jan 5, 1:53 am, Ubiquitous  wrote:   
   >   
   >> At convention after convention, fans have approached Takei and shared   
   >> thousands of inspiring stories with him about what Sulu did for them.   
   >> Takei’s character didn’t fall into a stereotype – he spoke without an   
   >> accent and didn’t represent “a villain or a servant,” as media had   
   >> previously treated Asian-Americans. "Trek," and Takei, have taught   
   >> acceptance where there was none.   
   >   
   > I read somewhere that Roddenberry originally had the idea that Sulu   
   > was Chinese.  There was a student of Confucius named Tsu Lu that was   
   > said to be the basis of the character.  In "Where No Man Has Gone   
   > Before" he was a bit of a stereotype: he was the "mathematics   
   > officer"!  Later he became part of the bridge crew.  As helmsman,   
      
   Navigator.  Helmsman is actually the bottom of the bridge totem pole   
   because people are always telling him where to go.   
      
   he   
   > really should have been third in command after Kirk and Spock but I   
   > guess America wasn't ready for that.   
      
   Mm... probably not.  The whole "bridge crew beams down" format, dumb as   
   it was, meant that Scott was going to be the one left in charge all the   
   time anyway so it made sense to make him as high on the totem pole as   
   possible.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)