VictusVonGuyver
8414
76
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Played by Walter Koenig on TV series Babylon 5. He's great there and that is all.
Jan 7, 2025 5:58 PM
VictusVonGuyver
8414
76
2
Played by Walter Koenig on TV series Babylon 5. He's great there and that is all.
SubsyServy
Named after one of the greatest sci-fi writers ever, Besters' Demolished Man and Stars My Destination should be required reading.
ChickenChickenBurningBright
Bester was B5's Magneto, very same motivations
Illithidbane
I loved how different he was than Chekov. He chewed the scenery and it was great.
nimodium
Babylon 5 is the only series i have watched multiple times from start to finish, so good
Foehammer262
fractalsphere
Damn this needs a re-watch for me
Melonfish
12 episodes. That's all he was in, yet he is one of the most well liked and known characters in b5, and even nominated for an emmy by jms' production company.
Ash321
trueunpopularopinions
Had to check that he's still alive. So many of the B5 cast have passed away already. 😢
VictusVonGuyver
Yeah, half the original cast unfortunately. A lot of lost talent that later generations are losing out on.
ps238principal
* Bester
VictusVonGuyver
Oh damn, didn't even realize I misremembered the name.
trueunpopularopinions
Michael Straczynski named the character as a homage to the science fiction writer Alfred Bester. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Bester
PhloydPhan
Koenig also really enjoyed playing Bester - you get the impression quite a bit more than he did Chekov: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urMYZ-5X88o
SteveMND
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2GVL3TdMXs was a nice clip as well. I had no idea he was originally supposed to be a one-off character, initially in a completely different role!
AzgarOgly
Well, I guess, playing a major villain, one of the most powerful representatives of your species, the character with a lot of development is more fun than some spaceship crew member.
Volpe42
He wasn't really a villain though. More of an anti- hero. He fought against the shadow and truly wanted to protect his fellow teeps
Skuggen
And considered them the next step in evolution over the obsolete normies. He's basically Magneto.
AzgarOgly
He was a villain. He was not a cardboard villain with just a single destructive idee fixe. He was a well written complex villain with a backstory.
Volpe42
Be wasn't though. Even though his actions could be perceived as evil his motives were not. He was a product of the psi corp which was made by the shadow to keep humans out of the fight. He actually broke from that part of the corp to help fight them and remove their influence from the corp. He didn't want to bring humanity down.
AzgarOgly
He was definitely a psi supremacist. And was consciously working towards establishing a psi dominance over humans. Which is evil. The fact that he turned against shadows does not make him much less of a villain. That is how he was written.
cambriago13
The hallmark of an excellent actor is, in my opinion, their ability to make me fucking hate them. Good on you, Mr. Chekov. ;)
rcgom
this only applies where they aren't hate worthy as an actor. no great feat to make me hate a tim allen character, he's a pos. contrast 1/
rcgom
with patricia routlage, you hate hyacinth but patricia is cool af (and a great actor) 2/2
DavidBrooker
Are you calling Koenig "Chekov" in homage to his most famous role, or in homage to Bill Shatner forgetting his name on stage?
cambriago13
The homage to Koenig's character. :)
DavidBrooker
For those who haven't seen it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0Kv9d9SuG8
xedrik
See also: Louise Fletcher as Vedek/Kai Winn, on ST:DS9
Illithidbane
The8obman
Missus fucking Sydney Opera House over here
Volpe42
The biggest villain in the show
DavidBrooker
Biggest villain on the show was whoever the Cardassian equivalent of Leah Brahms was, off screen, building a giant piece of shit space station that never worked right.
Volpe42
The station originally worked fine. Problem was they sabotaged a lot of stuff and their tech wasn't directly compatible with federation tech. And when parts wore out they had to try and make their own replacements for a lot of it.
The8obman
[FURIOUS CHIEF O'BRIEN NOISES]