The podcast, called Sci-Fi Spotlight of Star Trek,  is the tenth episode of the Critic Show Podcast.

Koenig spoke about his time on the original series and the role of the characters other than the “Big Three.” He took a shot at William Shatner, but admitted that “…[Trek has] just been here for so long, the whole thing has taken a patina and it feels like we were all contributing and the public has embraced us equally, but that’s not actually the case, I don’t think. It was a show about three characters; Kirk, Spock and McCoy and that the four of us, the supporting actors were that and less.”

Koenig appreciates Star Trek fans and their long-term devotion to the show and cast. “The fans have embraced us…,” he said. “…It’s been well over forty years and there is still support for the original cast members.”

Other topics in the Koenig interview include: his audition for the role of Chekov and how he found out that he had been chosen for the role, bringing Chekov to life including creating his Russian accent, special effects of the past (including the infamous Tribbles), the original series Star Trek movies, Koenig’s career post-Trek and the J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies.

In addition to Koenig’s interview, the episode includes Star Trek news, listener and Trek fan opinions about the various Star Trek shows and movies and an interview with Richard Jefferies, author of Beyond the Clouds: The Lifetime Trek of Walter “Matt” Jefferies, Artist and Visionary, a book about his late brother Matt Jefferies, designer of the USS Enterprise.

The podcast will also be available on iTunes. It is sixty-nine minutes long.

According to TrekMovie.com, while speaking to an audience at the London Comic Con held last weekend, Koenig revealed his lingering bitterness towards his fellow actor.

When asked if his appearance on Shatner’s Raw Nerve had helped to heal the wounds of the past, Koenig said, “No, not really.” He went on to explain though that Shatner had been “very generous” and “in my old age, I’d like to think that [his invitation to appear on the show to talk things out] had been genuine.”

Koenig explained that Shatner “just never got it,” when it came to the animosity he raised in Koenig, James Doohan and George Takei. “Bill wasn’t Patrick Stewart,” Koenig explained to the audience. “We never had the respect for our captain the way the TNG crew had theirs.”

Koenig was the only one of the seven original series actors without a star and fans had campaigned to rectify that oversight.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced the recipients today and in addition to Koenig, the following television and movie actors will be receiving stars next year:

• Adam West (Batman)
• Valerie Bertinelli (One Day at a Time)
• Matt Groening (The Simpsons)
• Mariska Hargitay (Law and Order: Special Victims Unit)
• Patricia Heaton (Everyone Loves Raymond)
• Marg Helgenberger (China Beach, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation)
• Jennifer Aniston
• Vin Diesel
• Scarlett Johansson
• John Lasseter
• Malcolm McDowell
• Summer Redstone
• Kate Winslet
• Richard Burton (posthumous award)

Koenig’s star will now join those of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, James Doohan and George Takei on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Recipients have five years from the date of selection to schedule their ceremonies.

Trek fans are in for a double treat, as the original series’ Walter Koenig and Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s LeVar Burton will be the guests appearing on Shatner’s Raw Nerve tonight.

According to the official website, “Emmy Award-winning actor and producer, LeVar Burton has a raw conversation with host William Shatner about race. Burton talks about his first and most powerful role in Roots, his infatuation with sci-fi and how his passion for teaching children has been achieved through Reading Rainbow.”

Burton’s episode airs at 10 PM this evening on the Bio Channel. A preview can be seen here.

Immediately after, at 10:30 PM, Koenig will be the guest on Shatner’s Raw Nerve. “Host William Shatner reunites with original Star Trek actor Walter Koenig for a heated conversation. The two actors reminisce about incidents that happened on the set and Koenig confronts Shatner on the reasons why the secondary actors of Star Trek have disliked him for the past thirty years.”

The preview for this episode can be seen here.

For those who don’t have the Bio Channel, past episodes are on the website. Readers who missed the recent Scott Bakula appearance can view that episode by heading here.

Although Koenig wasn’t included in the voice work for Star Trek: The Animated Series, he was able to contribute to the series although contributing meant having to deal with Gene Roddenberry‘s many changes to his script.

The first thing about The Animated Series that made Koenig unhappy was not being included with the rest of the cast. “I felt really abused by not being involved,” he said. “I did applaud Leonard Nimoy‘s posture during this whole thing, not in terms of me, but in terms of George and Nichelle, because he took a stand, saying that he would not perform in the animated show unless they were included, since they were part of the original show and helped make it a success. It made sense, in terms of his not marshalling his forces on my behalf, because I wasn’t part of the original show. But all the same I felt I was kind of screwed around because I asked if I could come in and read for the part of Keniclius and they said ‘Yeah,’ and it was really lip service. I came in and I read, and they had no intention of hiring. So that upset me.”

Roddenberry’s assistant Susan Sackett helped Koenig, passing along his writing to Roddenberry who was impressed enough by what he saw to ask Koenig to write an episode for the series. “I had been working on a novel, or it might have been a screenplay,” Koenig said. “I don’t really remember. This was the days of typewriters, and no spell check. I asked Susan Sackett to type it up for me and said I would pay for it. She read it and told Gene about it, and told him that I could write quality material. He read it and then asked me if I’d be interested in doing an animated episode of Star Trek.”

Koenig got the idea for the episode he wrote, The Infinite Vulcan, from newspapers. “Cloning was something that was being speculated about a great deal in that period,” he said.

Working with Roddenberry proved to be the second frustration for Koenig as far as the animated series was concerned. “Well, the whole thing was a little unpleasant to me,” he said. “First of all, I did about ten drafts. I never thought I could get through ten drafts. It just was an unbearable process. Gene kept saying, ‘Let’s use talking vegetables. This is animation. Let’s do this. Let’s do that.’ So I had to keep making adjustments to accommodate the medium in which we were working. So that wasn’t very pleasant.”

Koenig’s current work includes the Raver comic book and the second vampire comic Things to Come. Koenig can be seen on television in the forthcoming episode of Shatner’s Raw Nerve, due to air March 14.

Star Trek fans know Koenig as Chekov, but he found the role of Bester on Babylon 5 to be a better and more satisfying role. “[A]s sacrilegious as it might be for Star Trek fans, Bester was a more exciting opportunity and a more challenging role,” said Koenig. “It was a fleshed-out character, which was fun to play.”

One of his Babylon 5 co-actors felt that Koenig’s portrayal of Bester needed to be reined in a bit, but Koenig disagreed. “Something interesting is that on Babylon 5 one of the actors on the show said that I was going too far with the character and suggested that I tone it down,” said Koenig. “I didn’t and I’m glad I didn’t. I feel I put a stamp on that character and that I made him my own, and I had a great time doing it. I was able to be a little bit more inventive and try things.”

Koenig’s preference for Bester over Chekov does not mean that he does not appreciate his time on Star Trek or what doors were opened for him as a result of his time on the show. “…I will always be enormously grateful to Star Trek because without Star Trek I’m sure there would not have been a Babylon 5 in my future,” he said. “Plus, Star Trek has provided me with a living, off and on, for almost forty-five years. So there’s that to be said.”

Working on the fan-produced Of Gods and Men was a positive experience because the Chekov played by Koenig was different than the one portrayed on the original series and in a good way. “[Of Gods and Men] was a much better experience than I anticipated,” said Koenig. “Initially, I thought I was doing it as a favor for Doug Conway. But when I got the script and I saw that the non-standard Chekov character that I played was really full of passion and energy and anger, it became a much more appealing role for me. It was quite challenging, and the performance was at least modestly successful. So I thoroughly enjoyed doing that.”

Koenig is currently working on graphic novels, including Things to Come, a story about vampires after the Apocalypse. “I’d love to see it adapted into a screenplay and into a movie,” he said, “but the process of writing it into a four-issue comic book is also an adventure and quite exciting. And it’s something I look forward to working on every day when I sit down at my desk.”

Although word was put out that the Russians complained that there were no Russians on the original series, Koenig says that was nothing but a P.R. story. “Star Trek wasn’t being played in the Soviet Union,” he said. “That whole promotion thing they did about Pravda complaining that there weren’t any Russians on Star Trek was exactly that; it was a promotional thing by the P.R. department at NBC. They were really interested, of course, in having somebody that would attract the same fans that The Monkees did. And that’s really why they added the character.”

Koenig has a favorite episode, and given his prominence in that episode, it is no surprise that he likes it so well. “I think the one that I enjoyed doing the most and that I thought was my best episode at the time was Spectre of the Gun,” he said. “It was an interesting concept mandated by economics. Our budget was very small and they didn’t have the wherewithal to be a complete, detailed Wild West town, so they did it in a sort of abstract manner, which I thought gave it some class and some style. I thought it was a very, very good decision and it worked very well.”

What about his relationship with Shatner? “[During the show], we were not feuding,” said Koenig. “The supporting cast did not hold a great deal of animosity for Bill. That subsequently became a factor, but not during the television series. I would say that what maybe people didn’t know, which was a positive thing, is that Bill was very funny. He kept the set light and there were a lot of laughs. Despite what was happening behind closed doors, it seemed like a very congenial environment.”

In spite of any animosity he may feel towards Shatner, Koenig accepted an appearance on his show, Shatner’s Raw Nerve. “I did his interview show,” said Koenig. “It’s going to air on March 1, and I would certainly recommend that people tune in. It was pretty much from the hip. Nobody got angry, but it was very candid, a very honest, candid conversation between us.”

According to the description, the Hollywood Legacy Awards honor “icons who have positively contributed to the richness and betterment of humanity through the popular arts, film, television, music and literature.” The Hollywood Legacy Award is the successor of Planet Xpo’s Star Trek Legacy Award, which was given to recipients deemed to have made important contributions to the future of humanity. Past winners include cell phone inventor Dr. Martin Cooper, astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.

Fans can still buy tickets for Hollywood Xpo and the Stars Night Out awards banquet at the Hollywood Xpo website. The convention takes place this weekend at the Universal Hilton, from Friday, October 15 to Sunday, October 17th.

The miniseries, titled Things To Come, will be published by Bluewater Productions and features a story set in a post-apocalyptic world where vampires have become the dominant species.

In Things To Come, the vampires are seeking identity in the harsh environment that remains after the destruction of the world by humans. “The one intelligent species that can survive in this post-apocalyptic world are vampires,” explained Koenig, “and they are a bridge from what has gone before, which is this self-destruction of the human race, and what will come after. They are in pursuit of their own meaning. Why are they there? Why have they been created?

“There are those among them who think it is an act of god, and those who thoroughly reject that idea.”

Koenig is aware of the current vampire craze, but he plans on offering a different version of the creatures than is already out there. “As pretentious as it sounds, I don’t want to mimic what has gone before,” he said. “My purpose isn’t to capitalize on a theme, but inject it with some fresh ideas. That’s what makes writing fun for me. It’s always been what makes writing fun for me.”

Back in the 1990s, Koenig was the author of Raver, a three-issue comic series which was issued by Malibu comics. Bluewater Productions plans on reissuing that series next year and Koenig plans on writing a brand-new story for the series, with a new “more topical” story that offers a “metaphor for our involvement in foreign lands.”

Koenig opened the convention, expressing his gratitude to fans for their enthusiasm. “No matter what happens, when I come to a convention, I feel a certain viability, and that’s you guys,” Koenig said. Koenig also received condolences from a fan on the loss of his son Andrew, who passed away earlier this year.

When asked about plans to return to television, Koenig said, “I don’t know what the future holds in store, but there’s nothing I can point to now that says you’ll see me on the silver screen.” Koenig did add that he just completed a 25-page treatment for a project that he hopes to turn into a feature film one day, but will first be produced in the form of a graphic novel. “It’s about vampires,” he revealed.

Takei followed Koenig on stage, greeting fans with the Vulcan “live long and prosper” hand gesture. Takei promised he would be appearing in another TV ad this fall. “I’m still going to be selling Sharp TVs, but this time in three dimensions,” he said.

“I’m in a feature film with Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts called Larry Crowne,” he continued. “It’s a comedy about unemployment. [Tom Hanks] co-wrote it with Nia Vardalos, and he’s directing it as well as starring in it.” Takei most recently shot a pilot called Super Ninjas in which he played the Master Sensei of the group. In addition to his recent film and TV work, Takei is also working on a musical about the Japanese internment camps in the United States during World War II entitled “Allegiance,” which is scheduled to debut on Broadway sometime in 2012. Fans can catch Takei on Sirius radio on the evening of Monday, August 9th discussing his own personal experience living in one of the camps.

Takei had nothing but praise for the cast of the recent Star Trek film. “I’m glad the new movie was made, and the cast was brilliant,” he said, going on to add, “Certainly I’m proud of me as a dashing young man—aren’t I handsome?” 

The actor, who married his longtime partner in California in 2008, lauded Wednesday’s judicial decision to overturn Prop 8, saying, “Yesterday was a glorious day. Propostion 8 was defeated and equality won.” He added, “I respect everyone’s right to their faith, but no faith has a right to write their values into civil law.”

Takei was followed by Star Trek casting director Joseph D’Agosta, who worked closely with Gene Roddenberry to cast the original series. After working with Roddenberry on his pre-Star Trek show The Lieutenant, Roddenberry brought D’Agosta over to Desilu to help cast the classic series. Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Takei, Koenig and Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) had all appeared on The Lieutenant. “Nimoy had a leg up and easily won the part,” D’Agosta revealed of the Spock role.

When asked whether the diverse cast was his idea or Roddenberry’s, D’Agosta said it was “all Gene.” He said of the Trek creator, “He thought one day we’d all be one world, one species.”

The only guest appearing on the main stage who was not from classic Trek was Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s John de Lancie, who portrayed the playful and mischievous Q. De Lancie shared that he has been writing a lot of shows for symphony orchestras in addition to appearing on stage in the plays “Tartuffe” and “The Constant Wife.” He compared appearing at Star Trek conventions to “having a dinner party people are still talking about 25 years later.” He also reminisced about his time on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, describing it as “the most fun I’ve ever had as an actor.”

When asked about his favorite power of his omnipotent character, de Lancie said it was “living with the notion that I had infinite power and no responsibilities.”