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Published Feb 25, 2012

Catching Up With Star Trek's Apollo

Who was the original Star Trek ’s biggest guest star? That’s easy: Michael Forest. The actor, already a tall and rugged and handsome guy, played the super-sized would-be god Apollo in the second-season episode “ Who Mourns for Adonais? ?” The role was one of many on Forest’s lengthy resume, but it’s his most-famous acting turn, one that’s lived on for decades. Now 82, Forest is still in great shape and happily “kind of retired,” though he’ll make the occasional convention appearance if invited. StarTrek.com recently caught up with Forest for an entertaining interview in which he discussed his career, enduring Trek connection and life today.

We normally jump right into Star Trek questions, but we’ve been dying to know: How and why did you change your name from Gerald Michael Charlebois to Michael Forest?

Forest: Well, I was using my real name for a while, for a short time, but one day I went in to see a casting director. He had difficulty pronouncing my name. During the course of the conversation he said, “Your problem is you speak English with a French accent.” I said, “I do what?” He said, “That’s the problem. Let me spell your name. It’s S…” And I said, “No, it’s not S. It’s C…” He said, “Oh, Sc…” I said, “No, it’s Ch…,” and then I spelled it out for him. He still had difficulty with that and he insisted that I spoke English with a French accent. I said, “Listen to me right now, sir. Do I sound like I have a French accent when I’m speaking English?” He said, “Well, no…” Then I spoke to him in French and I said, “This is how I sound when I’m speaking French. It sounds like a French accent, does it not?” He said, “Oh, yes,’ but you do speak English with a French accent.” I could never get that out of his head. And there were a couple of other incidents that took place later on, a few months after that, that made me realize my name was a problem, not just for the spelling of it, but because it made people think I was French. So that’s why I changed my name. And it eventually materialized into Michael Forest.

You’d done quite a bit of stage work – including Shakespeare and the Greeks -- before you ever arrived in Hollywood. Once in Hollywood, you did several B-films with either Roger or Gene Corman. What was it like to go from Shakespeare to Corman?

Forest: I’m not a Greek scholar or a Shakespeare scholar, but I was familiar with a lot of the work. So, you just kind of set aside what you’d done in the past and say to yourself, “If a job calls for me to do this in a Roger Corman film, that’s what I’ll do.” I think my first Corman film was Viking Women and the Sea Serpent . Roger did that and it was my first film. He said, “I’d like you to do this. You’re going to be nothing more than a stuntman in it.” I worked that role into something more. I was always near the heavy. I made it clear that I was going to be next to him in any scene he did. At one point Roger said, “Mike, were you actually there in this scene?” I said, “Absolutely, Roger.” He said, “OK, keep Mike in the close-up.” It’s funny how you learn quickly to make yourself as important as you can be, really, in even a terrible movie. But it was great fun. I had a great time doing it.

OK, let’s get to Star Trek. How did you land the role of Apollo?

Forest: I was called in. My understanding was that they wanted Jon Voight, but he’d been cast in something else. They were looking in England for somebody to play Apollo, but then somebody got the bright idea to call down to San Diego, to the Shakespeare festival, because they wanted somebody who was familiar with English dialect. They described the character to the head of the theater in San Diego and asked if they had anybody like that. The head of the theater said, “No, we don’t have anybody like that, but we did, a few years ago. He’s in Hollywood now.” He gave them my name, they contacted me and I went in. I had to read for them three times. They had me take my shirt off to see if I had the muscles they were looking for. Then they wanted me to do it in a British accent. I said, “That, for me, won’t work out. I can give you Mid-Atlantic theater speech, which I think will work for this character.” So I read it in that vernacular and they said, “Yes,” and came to the conclusion that I was the one to play the role.

At the time, was Star Trek just another job for a working actor or was it a show actors wanted to be on?

Forest: Well, the show wasn’t very popular. It wasn’t popular at all. When I came on in the second season, I think the show was rated about 50th out of all the television series that were being shown at the time. It didn’t have very much popularity at all. A few weeks before, I’d done a western where I was playing a bad guy and getting beat up and pulling a gun. And, three or four weeks later, I was wearing a gold tutu and playing a god. It was very strange. In acting, you go from one extreme to another. It’s quite fun to do so.

All these years later, what stands out most to you about making the episode?

Forest: During that week, the Six-Day War was taking place. Now, everyone was listening to the news on their little portable radios. I was interested, but I was more focused on trying to do what I felt was called for in this particular role, so I wasn’t paying that much attention to the war news. And I must say that the script as written was a cut above the scripts that actors were working with in those days. There were only one or two series that had very good writing. Most of the time it was rather pedestrian. It was not bad, but not good. This particular episode happened to be pretty well written, and I think that’s part of the reason why it was such a successful episode in the series.

What was the challenge for you in making the character work? After all, he was an alien who believed he was a god…

Forest: Every actor, we all look at a role and make assumptions about the role. I saw Apollo as a certain kind of figure, and he was not unlike some of the roles I’d played in Shakespeare and in the Greeks. So I recognized certain aspects of that person and was able to incorporate that in the way I portrayed him. Regardless of whether this is a god or a king, these people are humans. They’re men, and every man has some of these qualities in him. These qualities may not be displayed, but we all have the potential to be any one of these people. So we’re not that far removed from the characters that we play.

You and Leonard Nimoy worked together on a play called Deathwatch and then, soon after, a film of the same name based on that play. Star Trek came together for Nimoy around that same time, right?

Forest: Yes, it did. Let me tell you this little anecdote. We would take breaks of a couple of days, when everybody had to do something else, and then we’d come back to the film. Leonard came back after one of the little breaks and said, “My God, I’ve tested for a sci-fi show.” We said, “Really?” He said, “Oh my God, you can’t believe it. They had me in these funny rubber ears.” He said, “I look like Pan. I can’t believe. If this series goes, I’ll eat your hat.” And, of course, it was Star Trek that he’d tested for .

So, when you did your episode of Star Trek , did you bring a hat for Nimoy to chow down on?

Forest: Well, I still saw him after he’d been cast on Star Trek and we’d joke about the fact that he had said that. He said, “Who would have believed it?”

There was apparently talk about ending “Who Mourns” with the revelation that Carolyn (Leslie Parrish) was pregnant. Did you ever hear anything about that?

Forest: I did, but not at the time. I didn’t find that out until after the episode had already shown. People would ask me, “You know that whole situation with the pregnancy…?” I said, “What are you talking about? I have no idea.” Nobody told me about it. It was one of those things where they’d already written the episode and we shot what was written. By the time I was on the set, those kinds of decisions had already been made.

Would you have preferred it?

Forest: I don’t know. It’s so long ago. I suppose it would have been OK, but you have to remember that in those days, the idea of that sort of thing happening in film, and certainly on television… you couldn’t even talk about it, really. To give you an idea, they had to put tape on my nipples for that episode. Can you imagine? They put tape on a guy, on a guy’s nipples. I mean, come on. But that’s what they did, and then they put makeup over that. I thought at the time, “I can’t believe what they’re doing.”

Rumor is you despised your costume. True or false?

Forest: No, I didn’t despise the costume at all.

You are part of the legendary TOS blooper reels, prancing around in a few shots as Apollo. Have you seen that?

Forest: I did see the blooper reel. It is rather funny and I’m pleased that I’m in the blooper reel.

Have you ever seen the upgraded version of “Who Mourns,” with the modernized visual effects?

Forest: I haven’t. I wish someone would send me that. I’d like to see it.

Star Trek is but one credit in your very long career. What of your other work are you proudest of?

Forest: I’ve done work before and after that I think was as good, if not better, than my Star Trek episode, but this Star Trek episode has really given me my 15 minutes of fame. I think it’s wonderful, but, as I say, I’ve done other work that was as good, if not better. I did a few films in Italy, which were comedies, and I’ve had people come up to me about one of them and say, “You were sensationally funny in it.” The strange thing is, because of the titles and translations and because I did several Italian films, I’ve never seen it and I can’t even tell you the name of the movie. It was a period piece, set in the times of the Forum, and my character was a bombastic guy the director told me was kind of like Mussolini. I’m not really a comedian, but that was fun.

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Exclusive: ‘Star Trek Continues’ Fan Series Premieres At PHXCC – Michael Forest Guest Stars [PHOTOS]

| April 10, 2013 | By: Anthony Pascale 108 comments so far

Star Trek Continues Premiers May 24th With Michael Forest

Star Trek Continues star and executive producer Vic Mignogna is now opening up about the first episode of his new fan series set in the original Star Trek universe. Mignogna has revealed to TrekMovie that the inaugural episode, “Pilgrim of Eternity,” will debut at Phoenix Comicon on May 24th, 2013 (6PM). Following the episode there will also be a panel discussion with Mignogna and most of his cast – including guest star Michael Forest, who is reprising his original role as Apollo from the TOS episode "Who Mourns For Adonais." The inaugural Star Trek Continues episode will also be made available online that same weekend.

The new Star Trek webseries was developed by veteran voice actor Vic Mignogna, who stars as Capt. Kirk. He is joined by Todd Haberkorn as Mr. Spock and Star Trek author Larry Nemecek as Dr. McCoy. The cast also includes Chris Doohan (son of the late James Doohan) plays Scotty and Mythbusters’ Grant Imahara as Mr. Sulu. Kim Stinger (Lt. Uhura) and Wyatt Lenhart (Mr. Chekov) round out the ensemble cast.

“Pilgrim of Eternity" will be the first episode of Star Trek Continues – a show that aims continue the story of the original Star Trek series which ended after only three seasons. Mignogna tells TrekMovie "like any fan, I always wanted to see the rest of the five year mission, and that is what ‘Star Trek Continues’ is made to do."

The episode was shot in January of this year, with production taking 10 days. Star Trek Continues is produced by Trek Continues, LLC in association with Farragut Films and it is filmed in Kingsland, GA on what they boast as the "largest free-standing, extensive and accurate Star Trek TOS sets in the world."

The episode is currently in post-production. Mignogna tells TrekMovie that currently they are finishing up the special effects saying "while the show isn’t all about FX, the episode does contain more FX shots than a typical original Star Trek episode." He promised to provide more details on the effects later, but he did provide us a first look at the Enterprise from Star Trek Continues (below) and if you look closely you can see a couple of guys working on the hull.

A chat with Michael Forest

Star Trek Continues also provided TrekMovie access to a chat with guest star Michael Forest. It was a bit of a home-coming for the 83 year-old actor returning to Star Trek. Here is the exchange…

How did it feel to reprise the role of Apollo after 40 plus years? Michael: The whole experience was surreal! Describe your experience working on the set of Star Trek Continues? Michael: I found that working with the people there was different than working on shows in the past. The camera, sound crew, makeup people were all excellent and a pleasure to work with. In fact, everyone involved was a joy! Even though many were volunteers, things were handled and completed extremely well. Their behavior and work ethic was very professional. How did you become involved with this production? Michael: I was approached by the Vic, the producer/director and asked if I would do the same character I had done about 45 years ago! It was a rather astounding question, but the concept sounded interesting. What were some of the highlights or regrets? Michael: I got a huge charge when they brought me a double whopper from Burger King! [laughs] I would have been happier if I had been a bit younger because I no longer had the agility and stamina so apparent when I filmed the original episode.

Visit with Star Trek Continues at PHXCC

Many of Star Trek Continues cast and crew will be attending Phoenix Comicon 2013 on May 24th, including Michael Forest. An autograph session will be held after the premiere screening and panel (moderated by yours truly).

What’s next for STC

Mignogna tells TrekMovie that between now and the May 24th premiere there will be more reveals and details on the production of the first episode of Star Trek Continues. And he is already planning his second episode which will begin shooting in October. Mignogna says the goal is to try to get two episodes out each year, and maybe even three, saying "we don’t want fans to have to wait too long between missions."

If you haven’t seen them, there are three fun Star Trek Continues ‘vignettes’ which were shot before production on the first episode. Here is the latest one "Happy Birthday, Scotty."

For more vignettes and details on the show visit startrekcontinues.com .

Old Apollo? Or CGI Apollo? Give him a Max Headroom personality, that might be funny…

Wow, I have to wait until my boss is in his office with the door closed before I call up photos of guys in toga on my work monitor.

They really are enlightened in the future.

No offense to the other fan productions, but just from what I’ve seen, this captures the essence of the Original Series as a straight forward fan continuation. I love Phase II but it feels more like a different crew aboard a Constitution ship which isn’t a bad thing at all. And again, no offense meant by it.

O_O This sounds awesome! Loved seeing the little guys welding on the saucer section as well :D

Enjoying what I’ve seen so far. Looking forward to a complete episode. Would be nice to have more “fan” productions. Many seem to have to have slowed down lately.

TOS with Kirk, Spock, and again… and again… any original idea?

@3 I’m with you. That pretty much sums up my feelings as well.

“Who Mourns For Adonis” was one of my personal favorites! Can’t wait to see this!

I’ve been very impressed thus far with the STC crew – they capture the look and feel of TOS far more than any other fan production has, right down to the film grain. Can’t wait to see what they’ve done!

Premiere at Phoenix ComicCon next month. That’s great. When do we get news of the web premiere for those of us that cannot afford to travel to Phoenix? As much as I’d like to go, I can’t afford it.

A Brooklyneese Kirk…I was half waiting for…”Nah, What’s up, Doc?!”

Maybe it’s me, and I don’t mean to denigrate anyone’s efforts here, but this, this doesn’t seem like Star Trek to me. I love the sets, costumes, production design and the effects, but the acting is just so bad. Vic SOUNDS like Captain Kirk, but he doesn’t LOOK like Kirk, and the others are not nearly as good.

I know, what do I expect, it’s a fan production.

Did you read the article? Including the first paragraph?

Much better acting than the typical fan productions. And Doohan sounds so much like his father it is scary.

I have been inpressed from what I have seen so far. Especially from Chris Doohan as Scotty. He looks and sounds so much like his dad I would almost think he is the orignal Scotty. Can’t wait to see this. Sound’s like fun.

While I think they are doing great with set building, I’d hardly call them “the most accurate.”

I’m hardly an expert, but I can see many differences between their sets and the original sets. Differences some of the other productions don’t share.

Which is not to take away from the hard work and dedication that has gone into all aspects of their production.

But, let’s keep the claims in the realm of reality here.

Ugh. Kirk sounds like a chipmunk.

Awesome. Make Kirk’s voice deeper. But still awesome!

Fan films are my guilty pleasure, and I can’t help but feel that STAR TREK CONTINUES is falling into the same trap that has hampered PHASE II — episode sequels and trotting out former guest stars. This time to an episode that really didn’t beg for a sequel. Frankly, the original show didn’t really do follow ups (yes I know the Tribble sequel in TAS was originally meant for TOS).

Fan films, such as CONTINUES, have the opportunity with its marvelous sets and costumes to really tell the TREK stories that they’ve always wanted to tell. Stories with real themes that aren’t about connecting the dots of canon. Grab our attention with stories that are ABOUT SOMETHING not guest stars, fancy VFX and space battles. Tell stories that matter.

I am very much looking forward to this premiere! Looks to me like some quality people, producing quality TOS Star Trek. I’ll take this over that god awful J.J. Abrams production any day!

Can’t wait to see more of this series- It looks awesome so far. The cast has already captured my heart with Sy-fy. And for Mr Scot, aww I always had a thingy for the dad and the son is just as good with the voice. But everyone keep up the good work. I need more please!!

Wow I’m impressed, very nice work guys! I can’t wait to watch!

It kind of runs against the spirit of things to be critical of any fan film. Come on, artist integrity and enthusiasm will carry the day, if nothing else.I can’t wait.

Have to agree with the Kirk voice comments.

This is awesome! The actors might not look too much like the originals, but they captured the same quality of the original series and i love the juxtaposition of the original background music that really conveys the scene.

Mignogna may not have the voice of Shatner-Kirk, but he does a near-perfect job with Kirk’s body language. Chris Doohan is just great [movement and voice], and so are Sulu and Uhura [their body language was also close to perfect]. Chekov did pretty well, and so did McCoy, but Spock was … just painful to watch.

To me Star Trek can’t be good if their Spock isn’t good. Talk about a high voice, OMG, Spock is a BASS, not a tenor. I can’t believe it’s that difficult to find someone who at least *resembles* Nimoy in face and voice … and expressions. This young man was miscast.

Now that my casting rant is over, I did very much like the sets and much of the writing. The music and background sounds made it special, as did the SFX.

I LUV that phaser design!

… Grant Imahara!! /*** fans self ***/ I’ve sat through many a Mythbusters show with my kids over the years. I might have to watch a few Star Trek Continues webisodes. I watched Star Trek Of Gods and Men some time ago and was a bit meh about it, and I don’t think I’ve watched any of the Phase II stuff. This “Happy Birthday, Scotty” scene was rather cute, but it might take me a while to get used to McCoy’s voice…

Hmm.. either the ship is really small or those guys on the hull are pretty big. I make the guys about 1/3 the height of the center part of the saucer. I think there are supposed to be at least 6 decks in that section. The guys should be about 1/2 or 1/3 that size.

Apollo got real big at the end of Who Mourns for Adonis. Maybe that’s him and one of his Greek god buddies on the hull. :)

The video quality is amazing. Lighting and tone are spot on. Chris Doohan steals the scene in both voice and appearance. Spooky! Not crazy about the other voices. Still excited to see it!

All I could think of was how many times I’ve stopped in Kingsland, GA for gas on my way from FL to SC. I didn’t know anything cool happened there.

Well, there IS a Cracker Barrel. LOL

OMG! I hate to be critical of this. As a long time Trekkie (since before the term Trekker even existed) I really, really do as I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. I fervently hope that in the vignette, Vic was just settling into the role because the constant muscle flexing, tight shirt and off key voice (never mind how short he is compared to the other actors) just threw the whole thing off for me. Reminded me more of a SNL skit than a Trek episode. That being said, I’ve met Doohan and like his dad, he’s a really nice guy. I want this to succeed. Please guys, concentrate on stories, not doing impersonations. I like Phase 2, Farragut and a couple of the other fan films, each for thier own take. Some have better acting, some have better sets. As I said, give us stories and we’ll be along for the ride.

The minutia criticisms of Trek fan productions is so boring. They’re non-professional productions produced by fans, not high-budget Hollywood, and of varying quality but I’ve enjoyed all of them—Phase II, Exeter, ST Continues, Farragut, and others.

That was actually pretty good. The rhythm was much snappier and closer to the style of TOS than some of the other productions I’ve seen (where scenes just seem to drag on and on and are cut horribly).

And yeah Kirk’s voice is a little high, but if i could get used to Quinto’s higher Spock voice I’m sure i could get used to this too.

Gotta say, Chris Doohan is excellent! Really. Such a great interpretation of the character. Has so many characteristics of his dad, but still his own. Vocally, facially and body language. Just living, No! being the character. Really uncanny. I’m impressed. Makes me happy to hear it. There’s your Scotty. I’d have given you the role in the movie, Chris. Too good! ” Ahw, aye, she’s a beauty”. Agreed. Really well done.

While I like sequels, original stories are nice too. One thing I like about New Voyages/Phase II is that lately they’ve taken to filming stories that were written for ST in one incarnation or another but never put into production – like Gerrold’s “Blood and Fire” and Povill’s “The Child” (rewritten for TNG during the Writer’s Strike but originally written for the 1970’s Phase II) and so forth. And I’m particularly stoked that they are producing “Mind-Sifter”, a fan story that appeared in the New Voyages paperback back in 1975. I’ve always wanted to see that story made into an episode and I hope the P2 people can pull it off.

In the meantime – the ST Continues stuff looks good too; after all, one can never have too much Star Trek. And you are absolutely right that Chris’ take on his father’s delivery is uncanny. And great.

Really, really good!!!!! I enjoyed it very much indeed.

These fan productions always get soooo close, but can never seem to seal the deal. Oh well, just like all all the others, I’ll be there with bells on when it becomes available online. I wish them much success!

Very impressive. Production is pristine. Chris is EXCELLENT!! But accurate sets?? Sorry, but the blue frames on the viewscreens are WAAAY too wide, for one thing. If you’re going to do it all the way, get the obvious things right. The CGI E? Needs work. Gabe- you can do better, dammit! Love the Nakada phasers… gotta get one.

The set of Kirk’s quarters looks stunning. Absolutely magnificent!

And as for Michael Forrest? I met him & got his autograph at my very first ST convention back in 2001. He was a nice guy. Can’t wait to see him reprise Apollo.

I really love these fan films. More ST (especially made with so much ‘love for the game’ as these are) is always a good thing, IMO.

Hey all! Thank you for checking out the article. Its fun to see so many folks ready to watch the first episode and give their two cents. I’m always on the look out for good Spock info. I’ve had a blast researching this character and what makes him tick as he battles with being half-human/half-Vulcan on the bridge of the Enterprise. So, if you could point me in the direction of the sources that say Spock’s voice absolutely must be a deep bass and not just Nimoy doing his take on the character of Spock that has been portrayed probably more than a few times over the past several decades, please point that out to me cause I’d love to add it to my research notebook for future reference. Thx!

Not sure what “rulebook” says Spock’s voice must be a deep bass, but that’s just nonsense. Quinto’s voice is nowhere near as deep as Nimoy’s – it takes 30 seconds to get used to, not a big deal.

Enjoy these fan productions, folks. They’re made by us, for us. They’re not gonna be perfect, but they can be a helluva lot of fun.

Kudos to Vic and the gang!

This is an exciting time for Star Trek fan, with what is sure to be a great new feature film, and what is shaping up to be a very cool new Fan Series. can’t wait

While Vic does indeed have the Shatnerisms down, I hope to see a more nuanced performance that makes it more his own. That said, I’m looking forward to the first full episode. I’m curious how Michael Forest will be able to pull of the flawless god at his present age.

@41 I didn’t work on that shot

DAAAAANG that Chekov is mighty fine! Very very excited to see the finished production!

Wow. Regarding that shot of Kirk’s quarters, mark me down as a fan of the folks who built, and lit, that set. Matt Jeffries and Jerry Finnerman would no doubt be pleased and proud to see such a fine homage to their work.

That said, I’ll second the poster who wondered why it was necessary to film a sequel to “Who Mourns for Adonis?”, an episode that to put it kindly doesn’t make too many ‘best of TOS’ lists. Not assuming that I know better I’ll be very interested to see what the producers have come up with. And as a former Phase 2 crew member, I’m hoping that production will soon resume releasing new material as well.

@ 29. ObsessiveStatTrekFan – April 10, 2013 “… but it might take me a while to get used to McCoy’s voice…”

According to the article he got recasted anyway.

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Interview with Star Trek actor Michael Forest

Article / Interview and photo by Jason Setnyk

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Cornwall Ontario – The 2016 Cornwall & Area Pop Event is celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Star Trek with five celebrity guests from the original series including Michael Forest pictured here.

Michael Forest, BarBara Luna, Sally Kellerman, Louise Sorel, and Sean Kenney each appeared in the original Star Trek along side iconic characters like Captain Kirk (played by William Shatner) and Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy). Each will be visiting Cornwall for the second annual CAPE that takes place April 23rd and April 24th at the Benson Centre.

Jason Setnyk had the opportunity to interview Star Trek actor and CAPE celebrity guest Michael Forest.

Forest has had an impressive Hollywood resume including the role of Pilot Jack in the movie Cast Away with Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt.

Also on his resume: Alias, Cold Case, Scooby-Doo, Power Rangers, Who’s the Boss?, As the World Turns, The Young and the Restless, Get Smart, Gilligan’s Island, Bonanza, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, Mission: Impossible, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Outer Limits, The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin, King Kong Lives and much more.

From Hollywood to Broadway, from Shakespeare to radio, from dubbing in Europe to filming programs for the CBC, Forest has had a diverse and interesting acting career.

However Michael Forest’s most famous role was on Star Trek.

“Let me tell you something about Star Trek. When Star Trek first came out it wasn’t that popular. It was suppose to be a five year show, and it only made it for three seasons. It was well done, but it wasn’t very popular in the United States, not at first”, explains Forest.

Forest’s first impression of Star Trek came from Leonard Nimoy. The two were working on another film when Nimoy got the casting call for Star Trek.

“I knew Leonard Nimoy before Star Trek. We were working on a low budget film called Death Watch (1966) with Paul Mazursky and director Vic Morrow. One day, when we stopped shooting, Leonard said he had an audition for a science fiction show. When he came back I asked him how the audition went. He said it was terrible, that they made him wear these funny rubber ears. He said it’ll never go anywhere. The rest is history. He would become a multi-millionaire actor and the show eventually became a huge success”, Forest reminisces.

A few years later Michael Forest played Apollo in the iconic Star Trek episode “Who Mourns for Adonais?”

“I enjoyed working on Star Trek. I went from playing a bad guy in a Western to playing a Greek God in Star Trek. There is irony for an actor to do this role. I looked at the script and said to myself this is good stuff, it is well written. I kind of like it. I auditioned three times for the role. They asked me take my shirt off the first time to see my build. It must have been alright, because I got called into another audition. They asked if I could speak in a British accent. I asked if I could try a Mid-Atlantic accent instead. They said oh. I did it, and they cast me me, I got the role. I worked along side the lovely Leslie Parrish, a beautiful girl, and wonderful person to work with. The episode was shot in five days. The Six-Day War in Israel was on going during the filming. Everyone had portable radios listening to the crisis in the Middle East. I couldn’t, I was memorizing my line. It was surreal working on a film while a war was going on. It was a pleasure to work on Star Trek. It was a great deal of fun”, says Forest.

Micheal Forest has participated in a lot of conventions and enjoys meeting the fans.

“I’ve done a lot of these conventions. Star Trek has definitely given me my 15 minutes of fame. I’ve also participated in Western Conventions, Sci-Fi Conventions, I enjoy all of them. I try to interact with all the people who spend their money to attend and give them my time. Sometimes you meet wonderful people, children, sometimes handicapped ones, who know who I am. It’s heart warming”.

In addition to Michael Forest, BarBara Luna, Sally Kellerman, Louise Sorel, and Sean Kenney, another Star Trek alumni will be in attendance at the Cornwall & Area Pop Event. Star Trek and Buffy the Vampire actress Noelle Hannibal will also be beaming up to the Benson Centre.

Other celebrity guest include Brian O’Halloran, Marilyn Ghigliotti, and Scott Schiaffo, who each appeared in the Kevin Smith movie Clerks.

Walking Dead, Furious 7, and Hunger Games actor Steve Coulter is a featured guest too, along with Walking Dead zombies Jeremy Ambler, Chris Harrelson, and Coleman Youmanswill.

Award winning comic book artist Dan Parent, best known for his work in Archie Comics, will be in attendance. So will artist Geof Isherwood who has done work for Marvel Comics including such titles as Silver Surfer, Conan the Barbarian, Daredevil, and Doctor Strange.

For more information on the event, including more guests and ticket information visit: http://www.cornwallpopevent.com/

Jason Setnyk

Jason Setnyk is a teacher, journalist, published and award winning author and photographer.

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Star Trek: The Original Series

Who Mourns for Adonais?

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This Was Anton Yelchin's Favorite Episode From Star Trek: The Original Series

J.J. Abrams' 2009 "Star Trek" feature film wasn't so much an adaptation of the 1966 TV series as it was a film version of how non-Trekkies view the franchise. To explain: on the TV series, Captain Kirk (William Shatner) is typically depicted as being judicious, stern, and decisive. Because of the few times Kirk solved problems with his fists, however, he has gained a (perhaps unfair) reputation for being a reckless cowboy, an insufferable lothario, and a flippant charmer. Abrams' version of Kirk (Chris Pine) rolled with those misconceptions, making a "high-octane" version of the character. Indeed, all the characters are now broader, more passionate versions of themselves. This is in addition to each of them being secret super-geniuses, deeply expert in at least one field of science, language, medicine, or engineering.

Case in point, Chekov (Anton Yelchin) knows how to operate a transporter in such a way that he can snatch crewmates right out of the air as they plummet through a planet's atmosphere below. Everything in the 2009 "Star Trek" is shifted into overdrive, with whirling cameras, shouting, fighting, and desperate last-minute escapes. Abrams turned "Star Trek" into an action movie. 

That said, many of the new cast members did their "Star Trek" homework, watching old episodes of the original series and using their forebears as models for the latest versions of their characters. Yelchin in particular closely emulated Walter Koenig, and was even careful to imitate Koenig's unique Russian accent, even if it wasn't wholly accurate. 

In 2009, TrekMovie interviewed the late Yelchin about playing Chekov, asking the actor — perhaps naturally — what his favorite episode of the original series was. Surprisingly, Yelchin was very fond of "Who Mourns for Adonais?," the episode wherein the Enterprise crew faces off against the Greek god Apollo.

Yelchin thought that 'Who Mourns for Adonais?' was 'fascinating'

"Who Mourns for Adonais?" (September 22, 1967) begins with the Enterprise being grabbed in space by a giant green human hand. Kirk and company beam down to a nearby planet to find Apollo (Michael Forest) living there. This appears to be the actual god Apollo of Greek myth, and he demands that the Enterprise crew worship him, just like he used to be worshiped back on Earth. Kirk, Chekov, and the others surmise that Apollo is actually an ancient alien that once visited Earth thousands of years ago, and the locals assumed he was a god. Kirk explains to Apollo that humans have outgrown the need for gods, and Apollo is sad. After Apollo ascends to join the other "gods," Kirk admits that even without the benefit of divinity, modern civilization still owes a lot to ancient Greek culture. The title is a reference to an 1821 Percy Shelley elegy about John Keats.

Yelchin probably liked "Adonais" because Chekov has a lot to contribute. He was part of the episode's landing party, and he was active and contributive. In Yelchin's words: 

"Probably the one with Apollo. I think is such an intelligent episode. It is an episode where the basic point is that humanity ... looking at it in terms of the '60s when men are their own gods, and look at where they brought their universe to. It was such a fascinating, touching, weird thing to have an episode. Where men come to a planet where a god wants to be a god again." 

No such heady concepts were included in the 2009 film, as it was, as mentioned, an action picture. But It's nice to see that Yelchin found some of the original Trek concepts to be interesting. 

'Amok Time' - a.k.a. the pon farr episode

Yelchin also liked "Amok Time," saying, "I also love the episode where Spock is PMSing and where Kirk has to fight Spock."

That's an indelicate way of describing pon farr, a Vulcan phenomenon where their bodies sexually activate once every seven years. While undergoing pon farr, Vulcans become unbearably horny, but also very angry and animalistic. They are moved to mate. In "Amok Time" (September 15, 1967) , Spock (Leonard Nimoy) undergoes pon farr and returns to Vulcan to marry his betrothed T'Pring (Arlene Martel). T'Pring finds that Kirk is a more appealing mate, however, and Kirk and Spock have to fight in a Vulcan gladiatorial arena for her hand. It's a notable episode of "Star Trek" because of the amount of Vulcan lore it introduced into the franchise, but many — like Yelchin — seem attached to the episode's silly, horny violence. 

Yelchin also admitted that he did more research than some of his co-stars. He read "The Star Trek Encyclopedia" by Mike and Denise Okuda, and watched every episode of the show. Chris Pine, it seems, began watching the series, but stopped partway through the first season. "I kept going. I loved it," Yelchin said. "I even watched the episodes that Chekov wasn't in. The ones that he was in I found interesting, like when they go to a bar in 'The Troubles With Tribbles' and they have a drink, I liked that." 

Yelchin also played Chekov in "Star Trek Into Darkness" in 2013 and in "Star Trek Beyond" in 2016, released posthumously .

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Pilgrim of Eternity

• Episode aired May 26, 2013

The original Apollo is back aboard the Enterprise and once again wreaks havoc. Is there any reasoning with him? The original Apollo is back aboard the Enterprise and once again wreaks havoc. Is there any reasoning with him? The original Apollo is back aboard the Enterprise and once again wreaks havoc. Is there any reasoning with him?

• Vic Mignogna
• Gene Roddenberry
• Steve Frattarola
• Jack Treviño
• Todd Haberkorn
• Larry Nemecek
• 13 User reviews
• 1 Critic review

• Captain James T. Kirk

• (as Chris Doohan)

• Computer Voice

• Nurse Temple

• Security guard
• (as William Smith)
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Did you know

• Trivia Michael Forest reprises his role as Apollo from Who Mourns for Adonais? (1967) . Although the story takes place only a few years after the first encounter with Apollo, almost fifty years has passed in reality - the age difference is explained by having Apollo's life energy being drained by the The Realm.
• Goofs When Apollo is first taken into sick bay he has a full head of grey curly hair, (wig), later when Kirk goes to see him in sick bay he is missing the wig and is almost bald, this remains the case for several scenes, later when Spock calls Kirk to the recreation room Apollo has a full head of grey hair again, (wig is back ). :o)

Captain James T. Kirk : I guess Scotty was right.

Mr. Spock : How so?

Captain James T. Kirk : You were here, Spock. You saw what just happened.

Mr. Spock : Yes sir. While Apollo clearly had influence over those in the recreation room, I do not believe he intended to behave as he did.

Captain James T. Kirk : So you think he can't control it. He's been this divine parasite for so long that he just can't help himself. Is that it?

Mr. Spock : It has been my experience that humans if not most beings are unable to change their behaviors that are deeply embedded by choice. It is often forced by tragedy or outside intervention.

Captain James T. Kirk : Well, Apollo's therapy will not be at the expense of the Enterprise's crew. I can promise you that. Apparently you can't teach an old god new tricks.

• Connections Referenced in Chrissie Mayr Podcast: LIVE Chrissie Mayr Podcast with Vic Mignogna! Star Trek Continues! Full Metal Alchemist! Fan Expo (2022)

User reviews 13

• hennek-81976
• May 2, 2020
• May 26, 2013 (United States)
• Official YouTube Channel
• North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
• Trek Continues
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 51 minutes

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