“You treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home.”
August 28, 2019 5:28 AM Subscribe
DeForest Kelley tours the sets of Star Trek: The Next Generation (September 27, 1990)
That was a very pleasant trip down memory lane. The opening/closing of the medical bay's door with Gates McFadden was a great moment.
I particularly enjoyed his reaction to the "which is better" question at the end, as in addition to being true between TOS/TAS/TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT/DIS (wow, there are a lot now), I believe it can apply to things like Star Trek vs Star Wars too.
BTW, at first I thought it was going to be a clip of his cameo on the premiere episode of TNG, especially given your choice of lead-in, since that was a quote from Admiral McCoy in that scene, but then I looked at the date and realized that it had to be something else.
posted by mystyk at 6:05 AM on August 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
I particularly enjoyed his reaction to the "which is better" question at the end, as in addition to being true between TOS/TAS/TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT/DIS (wow, there are a lot now), I believe it can apply to things like Star Trek vs Star Wars too.
BTW, at first I thought it was going to be a clip of his cameo on the premiere episode of TNG, especially given your choice of lead-in, since that was a quote from Admiral McCoy in that scene, but then I looked at the date and realized that it had to be something else.
posted by mystyk at 6:05 AM on August 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
I am now shipping DeForest and Gates!
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:17 AM on August 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:17 AM on August 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
I didn't expect DeForest Kelly to be the one to provide the from-inside-the-Star-Trek-machine confirmation that people fuck on the holodeck.
posted by COBRA! at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by COBRA! at 7:08 AM on August 28, 2019 [3 favorites]
YouTube has been recommending this to me for weeks. Guess I'll actually watch it now.
posted by briank at 8:54 AM on August 28, 2019
posted by briank at 8:54 AM on August 28, 2019
This was awesome, Servo5678; thanks for posting it! I had missed it when it originally ran, so it’s very cool to be reminded of the Star Trek universe in such an entertaining way—plus I learned some things.
posted by Silverstone at 10:07 AM on August 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Silverstone at 10:07 AM on August 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
Having gone back through Star Trek recently, there are quite a few examples of stating, as plainly as possible in 90s prime time, that fucking is a primary function of the holodeck.
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 10:44 AM on August 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 10:44 AM on August 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Every single story I have been told about DeForest Kelley, either generally, or from people who knew him, indicates that the man was an absolute treasure, and truly got along with everyone on set. I have a relatively-popular Star Trek Tumblr, which I intended to be more varied in its topics and series, but as it turned out, at least 80% of my posts are about Bones. He's my favourite. (I also love Bev, but then I've won a rap battle playing as MC Beverly Crusher, the Bae from Sickbay.)
Some of my favourite De stories:
-Apparently, he liked to eat a candy bar before bedtime every night, and everyone knew this. So, one day, James Doohan went out and bought the most ridiculously large box of candy bars he could find, left it at De's front door, rang the doorbell, and ran away. De was overwhelmed when he found out. He thought it was the nicest thing ever.
-He was exceptionally devoted to his wife, Carolyn, their entire lives together. She bought him a charm for their anniversary, that he wore around his neck on a chain. One night, when he was in a theatre production, the chain snapped, and the charm went flying off into the darkness. The production required him to pull off his pants at one point in front of the audience, leaving only his boxers. He was so distracted that night looking for his beloved's charm, that, when he went to pull his pants down, he also pulled down his underwear. He eventually found the charm.
-Once, at a convention, he and Leonard Nimoy were reading a fanfiction out to a crowd, and in it, the Enterprise went down. They went to put their hands over their hearts, but De noticed that Leonard was putting his hand over his human heart, and skipped over to put Nimoy's hand where the Vulcan heart would be. "I should know, I'm his doctor," he said.
-Breakfast was supposedly his favourite on-set meal, and he loved to pick out the best-looking bagel, watch it toast, and then eat it. One day, William Shatner enlisted Leonard Nimoy to distract De while his bagel toasted, popped the bagel out of the toaster, put the bagel halves in his pockets, then put the tab back down so that it popped up empty. De thought he was losing his mind. He put another bagel in, and Shatner and Nimoy did it again. This time, he caught Shatner, who, having no more pockets, was simply attempting to shove the entire bagel into his mouth. "You son of a bitch! You stole my bagel!" yelled the generally unflappable actor. I imagine Kirk got rougher treatment from Bones that episode.
-Nichelle Nichols called him her "sassy gentleman friend." When Nichols was trying to convince some asshole director that Uhura wouldn't do something he wanted her to do, Kelley told her, "Stick to your friggin' guns, Nichelle."
-He bumped into Grace Lee Whitney (who had been very badly treated by the higher-ups playing Yeoman Rand) on the unemployment line years after Star Trek was over, and convinced her that there was demand for her on the convention circuit, where she then earned a relatively decent living.
-The pinky ring he wore was from his mother. Gene Roddenberry didn't want people to wear jewelry in the future, but Kelley said it was non-negotiable if he was going to stay on the show.
-He didn't tell Leonard Nimoy he was dying because Nimoy was in Europe and Kelley didn't want to bother him. Apparently, the last time Shatner visited him in the hospital, he said "Let's make just one more “Star Trek” movie! I sure miss making those movies!”
-He donated most of his estate to animal welfare charities.
-He used to say that he had wanted to be a doctor, but didn't have the finances for it, but "yet became the most famous doctor in the galaxy" (and an inspiration to many people who really became doctors). “You can win awards and that sort of thing, but to influence the youth of the country … is an award that is not handed out by the industry.”
Anyway, I should stop there before someone hyposprays me, but both Bones and Kelley were absolutely a gift.
posted by ilana at 3:52 PM on August 28, 2019 [53 favorites]
Some of my favourite De stories:
-Apparently, he liked to eat a candy bar before bedtime every night, and everyone knew this. So, one day, James Doohan went out and bought the most ridiculously large box of candy bars he could find, left it at De's front door, rang the doorbell, and ran away. De was overwhelmed when he found out. He thought it was the nicest thing ever.
-He was exceptionally devoted to his wife, Carolyn, their entire lives together. She bought him a charm for their anniversary, that he wore around his neck on a chain. One night, when he was in a theatre production, the chain snapped, and the charm went flying off into the darkness. The production required him to pull off his pants at one point in front of the audience, leaving only his boxers. He was so distracted that night looking for his beloved's charm, that, when he went to pull his pants down, he also pulled down his underwear. He eventually found the charm.
-Once, at a convention, he and Leonard Nimoy were reading a fanfiction out to a crowd, and in it, the Enterprise went down. They went to put their hands over their hearts, but De noticed that Leonard was putting his hand over his human heart, and skipped over to put Nimoy's hand where the Vulcan heart would be. "I should know, I'm his doctor," he said.
-Breakfast was supposedly his favourite on-set meal, and he loved to pick out the best-looking bagel, watch it toast, and then eat it. One day, William Shatner enlisted Leonard Nimoy to distract De while his bagel toasted, popped the bagel out of the toaster, put the bagel halves in his pockets, then put the tab back down so that it popped up empty. De thought he was losing his mind. He put another bagel in, and Shatner and Nimoy did it again. This time, he caught Shatner, who, having no more pockets, was simply attempting to shove the entire bagel into his mouth. "You son of a bitch! You stole my bagel!" yelled the generally unflappable actor. I imagine Kirk got rougher treatment from Bones that episode.
-Nichelle Nichols called him her "sassy gentleman friend." When Nichols was trying to convince some asshole director that Uhura wouldn't do something he wanted her to do, Kelley told her, "Stick to your friggin' guns, Nichelle."
-He bumped into Grace Lee Whitney (who had been very badly treated by the higher-ups playing Yeoman Rand) on the unemployment line years after Star Trek was over, and convinced her that there was demand for her on the convention circuit, where she then earned a relatively decent living.
-The pinky ring he wore was from his mother. Gene Roddenberry didn't want people to wear jewelry in the future, but Kelley said it was non-negotiable if he was going to stay on the show.
-He didn't tell Leonard Nimoy he was dying because Nimoy was in Europe and Kelley didn't want to bother him. Apparently, the last time Shatner visited him in the hospital, he said "Let's make just one more “Star Trek” movie! I sure miss making those movies!”
-He donated most of his estate to animal welfare charities.
-He used to say that he had wanted to be a doctor, but didn't have the finances for it, but "yet became the most famous doctor in the galaxy" (and an inspiration to many people who really became doctors). “You can win awards and that sort of thing, but to influence the youth of the country … is an award that is not handed out by the industry.”
Anyway, I should stop there before someone hyposprays me, but both Bones and Kelley were absolutely a gift.
posted by ilana at 3:52 PM on August 28, 2019 [53 favorites]
that’s great, ilana. thank you.
posted by mwhybark at 5:02 PM on August 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by mwhybark at 5:02 PM on August 28, 2019 [1 favorite]
He was just so good at Bones...
And I think Karl Urban did a great job of being Bones again. Imagine if the role you played became the trope for the role.
posted by Windopaene at 11:32 PM on August 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
And I think Karl Urban did a great job of being Bones again. Imagine if the role you played became the trope for the role.
posted by Windopaene at 11:32 PM on August 28, 2019 [2 favorites]
Something bothered me about his comments at the end, where he goes "Are the women of rigel 9 more beautiful that those of talos IV.
Talos IV...
posted by mikelieman at 6:52 AM on August 29, 2019
Talos IV...
posted by mikelieman at 6:52 AM on August 29, 2019
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