Years ago, there was a story that at some Star Trek fan convention - or maybe it was a more generic Sci-Fi convention - there was a discussion group including the infamous Harlan Ellison. In telling something about writing for Star Trek (his original story that became the episode "City On The Edge Of Forever") Ellison said something about how "Captain Kirk" had been his puppet or something, just saying words that Ellison had actually written... And some incensed fan jumped up and yelled at him for being a "liar!"

Apparently, at least some fans somehow were thinking... what, that "Captain Kirk" (William Shatner) - or "Darth Vader" (James Earl Jones) or "Luke Skywalker" (Mark Hammil) - told the writers what to put in the scripts?

Obviously they're all actors, none of them are real. Hopefully nobody thinks the idiot "Whoopi Golberg" (real name: Caryin Johnson) has the wisdom of "Guinan?"

And yet the guys - especially Sheldon - seemed to "worship" the ACTORS not the characters who were at least as much from the writing that was done by others.

Admiring the actors for what they did on-screen is okay, but it sure seemed like they - again, especially Sheldon - believed that somehow the actors embodied their characters. Especially Leonard Nimoy, again for Sheldon. Why get excited about being able to grow his own Leonard Nimoy from the DNA on the napkin he got from Penny for Christmas? So what? Leonard Nimoy is not Spock!

Logically, Sheldon and the others should put Gene Roddenberry - and George Lucas - above any of the actors. At least in the case of comics they seemed to admire Stan Lee more than any of the actors who played Spiderman, for example.

I think about stuff like this occasionally, and this time I decided to write it down and put it out there.