Review of "Warped Factors," by Walter Koenig

 Review of

Warped Factors, by Walter Koenig ISBN 0878339914

Four out of five stars

As much about his neurotic behavior as Star Trek

 Walter Koenig is of course best known for his portrayal of Ensign Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek original series. It is impossible to dispute that even though it was a supporting character, the role made him very well known and guaranteed significant attention for the rest of his life. Therefore, his place in the Star Trek universe alone would make a book about himself interesting.

  Unfortunately, this book is more about the extreme neuroses that Koenig deals with. In some instances, it is surprising that he managed to fill the acting roles that he has performed. Nervous tics, occasionally an almost complete inability to speak and similar issues constantly recur. While it is of course the life of Koenig, it is nowhere near as interesting as his life within Star Trek. In many ways it comes across as his personal catharsis.

 Fans of Star Trek will find some nice morsels about his involvement in the genre from the original series through the six feature films featuring the original cast. Much of it, specifically the dominance of Shatner in setting up the scenes, has been stated many times. Koenig revels in the times when Shatner tried to take over the direction to put greater emphasis on himself, only to have the director stand their ground and overrule Shatner.

 I enjoyed this book, but tired of reading of yet another personal difficulty. Koenig was handed the acting role of a lifetime when cast as Chekov yet seems determined to emphasize the difficulties rather than the personal and lifetime accolades that have come his way.