Movies - TV
The Lie That Led to
George Takei's Favorite Star Trek Scene
By WITNEY SEIBOLD
The “Star Trek” episode “The Naked Time” features an iconic scene where Lt. Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), having been infected with a virus that lowers one’s inhibitions, strips off his jersey, takes up a rapier, and challenges his Enterprise crewmates to duels. This episode is George Takei’s favorite, and he has spoken about how this scene stemmed from a lie and his childhood.
When asked if he could fence, Takei lied about his love for the sport and immediately signed up for lessons, which is how Takei claims all actors handle those questions. When writer John D.F. Black originally told Takei that Sulu would be taking up a samurai sword, the actor suggested that it be a rapier instead, theorizing that Sulu, a 23rd century man, wouldn’t be inspired by samurai.
As a child, Takei and his friends played Robin Hood in his backyard (he even had a costume), drawing inspiration from 1938’s “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” so he was thrilled to do the same in this episode. To Take’s utter delight, when it was time for his first formal fencing lesson, his instructor was none other than Ralph Faulkner — the fight choreographer for "The Adventures of Robin Hood" and Basil Rathbone’s fight double.