I have no illusions why I'm here tonight.
It's because of "Star
Trek: The Next Generation."
(applause)
Well, thank you very much, but I have a
confession to make. When I was first given the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard, I pretended
to take it all in my stride; I was so cool in interviews;
I claimed never to have seen
the original classic Trek. But, it was all an act, because inside, I was so ecstatic... I
was delirious... You see, not only am i probably the biggest Star Trek fan of all time, but
well, as my friends can tell you, I am virtually an encyclopedia of Star Trek facts and
trivia.
Well now, for example, listen: Here's a fact I bet you don't know. On the
original show, the name of the space ship was not the "Star Trek"! No, no, it was in fact,
the "Enterprise". Now that's true.
Now, all right, here's another one: Everyone
knows that the part of Captain James M. Kirk was played by William Shiner. Then of course
later he was to become very famous as the Six Million Dollar Man. But how many of you here
know which actor played the chief medical officer, Dr. McCray, who was of course otherwise
known as Boney? You give up, don't you? Well that was Forest D. Kelley.
Well
perhaps you knew that one, but can you name to me the ship's other medical officer... you
see, because of course, there were two. You see, you're stumped. You are forgetting Dr.
Spock. Now you remember, right? He was the pointy eared creature, you know? Half human, half
volcano, and he was forever tormenting old Boney with his cold volcano logic, and uh...
All right.. here's another bit of trivia. Did you know that another Star Trek
character, Captain Sulu, was the first black woman ever on television? Anyway, being the
Star Trek trivia maniac that I am, well you can imagine my feelings when I first learned
that I won the role of Captain Picard. I felt a kinship, you know, with all those
unforgettable legendary chartacters... Kirk, Boney, and especially Spock, and I even know...
well I wrote a note to Leonard Fortnoy, but I guess he never received it. Anyway, Leonard,
if you're watching, this is for you.
Outer space: the last frontier. These are the
trips of the Star Trek Enterprise. Its five year plan calls for us to explore strange new
worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly fly where no man has gone in
space.
Live long (boy scout sign), and be happy.
SWAT_OP-R8R
Portal-Administrator
