Star Trek: Voyager Proved A Sulu Spinoff Should've Happened
Star Trek missed a trick by not launching a solo series for Hikaru Sulu after The Undiscovered Country. For many years, George Takei's character served as the Enterprise's safe pair of hands, steering through adventures on both the big and small screen. Eventually, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Sulu received a long-overdue promotion to captaincy, but Star Trek failed to properly capitalize on Sulu's new position in the hot-seat of a Federation vessel.
One of many highlights in The Undiscovered Country was the sight of Takei's former Enterprise helmsman now in command of Starfleet's shiniest, newest vessel, the Excelsior. Sulu had always exuded a calm, laid back approach (when he wasn't wielding a sword topless) but these traits were now mixed with the authoritative air of a true Captain, devoted to both his current and former crew mates. The climax of The Undiscovered Country features Sulu's Excelsior desperately trying to reach the Enterprise before the original Star Trek vessel is ruthlessly destroyed by General Chang’s Bird of Prey. Fortunately, Sulu arrives just in time and assists Kirk in destroying the Klingon ship. The Excelsior captain even finds time to beam down to Khitomer and help round up the conspirators of the conflict. The audience last see Captain Sulu back aboard his ship, surrounded by his faithful bridge crew, swapping fond farewells with Kirk and the Enterprise gang.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Start nowThe positive fan response to the charismatic Captain Sulu was immediate, and Paramount were deluged with e-mails from fans expressing their wish to see more of the character in a leading role. Naturally, this was a viewpoint endorsed by George Takei himself, and the conclusion of The Undiscovered Country, deliberately or otherwise, set up the further adventures of Hikaru Sulu and the Excelsior. Despite the calls for Sulu to go solo, Paramount envisioned a different future for Star Trek, introducing new crews and new characters via Star Trek: Voyager and Deep Space Nine.
Fortunately, the popularity of the Sulu was not entirely ignored. In 1996, Sulu was back as Captain of the Excelsior in Star Trek: Voyager's "Flashback" episode. This season 3 offering served as a 30th anniversary tribute to the original series and centered around Tuvok suffering a sudden mental breakdown, requiring a mind-meld with Captain Janeway to uncover the cause. Tuvok’s memories take the pair back to his time as a junior science officer on board the Excelsior, under the command of one Captain Sulu. Although these events were only playing out in Tuvok’s distorted mind, "Flashback" still gave viewers the chance to spend quality time with Sulu and his new crew, expanding on the character during his time as a Starfleet captain.
Unsurprisingly, "Flashback" reignited the Captain Sulu solo series campaign, and it was even rumored that the episode was intended as a backdoor pilot for exactly that. As before, George Takei was enthusiastic about returning, but despite his character's obviously popularity, nothing more came of Sulu's Voyager stint. It goes without saying that a Captain Sulu limited series would have been "fascinating" and "Flashback" only served to drive that point home further. Seeing more of the epic Excelsior vessel (hopefully now fixed after Scotty’s sabotage in Star Trek III), would've delight many fans and finally discovering more of Sulu’s background and personal life, including where he found time to have a daughter, would fill in a lot of gaps from Star Trek's original series and movie run.
Paramount's decision to avoid nostalgia and push ahead with new blood was noble, but since Sulu was only ever a supporting figure, putting him front and center of a spinoff could hardly be considered pandering to the past. With that said, a Captain Sulu series would've certainly provided opportunities for other members of the classic Enterprise crew to appear. Seeing the likes of Uhura and Chekov joining Janice Rand on the Excelsior would've been a fascinating dynamic, and would have finally given some Star Trek favorites a long-overdue and well deserved starring role.
Source: screenrant.com