Walter Koenig passed away earlier this week. We're down to Kirk and Sulu from original Star Trek cast. Koenig was an interesting guy -- gentle, kind, opinionated, a little geeky. He was fun in Star Trek, but I came to appreciate his talents as the psi-cop "Bester" in Babylon 5. Bester -- named after SF writer Alfred Bester, who dreamed up one of the first psi-cops in fiction -- was a truly chilling character, a guy with considerable power and authority who radiated menace and who, over time, proved to be an example of the principle that "hurt people hurt (other) people."
And he was about as unlike Walter Koenig as could be. Nevertheless, the character was unmistakable, as real-feeling as anyone you ever met, and not someone you'd ever want to get on the wrong side of. (And he inevitably said "Be seeing you" in parting, an allusion to The Prisoner.)
Koenig was 90. In addition to acting, he directed and wrote screenplays and novels. He lived a long life and did good work. I'll miss him.
When Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle) tells Bester he'd like to beat him like a piñata, Bester replies, "So, you think of me as something bright and cheerful, full of toys and candy for young children? Thank you! That makes me feel much better about our relationship.
ReplyDeleteWitty, intelligent, and sinister Bester was an amazing character. Reading about the character's past, present and future he's also a tragic figure.