William Windom was cast on Star Trek: The Original Series partially because of a unique trait

As a seasoned Star Trek enthusiast who has witnessed the cosmic dance of countless stars, I must say that William Windom’s portrayal of Commodore Decker in “The Doomsday Machine” is nothing short of a celestial performance. Despite his reservations about the episode’s premise, which he found somewhat whimsical, Windom masterfully embodied the broken spirit of a man driven to desperate measures by unimaginable loss.

Initially, Norman Spinrad, creator of the Star Trek: The Original Series episode “The Doomsday Machine,” imagined Robert Ryan playing Commodore Decker due to his tough persona. However, it was William Windom who was chosen for the role instead. This was because the producers preferred a more gentle portrayal of a commanding officer, one who appeared broken in some way.

The reason for assigning the role to Windom, as stated by him in Star Trek: The Original Cast – The Illustrated Oral History, was quite straightforward. In the episode, Commodore Decker, after losing his crew and becoming unhinged, aimed to destroy the machine using the Enterprise. However, it’s clear that he wasn’t mentally stable, a characteristic Windom had no qualms about portraying.

Commodore Decker is an emotional wreck. I used to be known in those days as “Willie the Weeper.” Whenever they needed someone to break down on a show confessing to murder or infidelity, anything where something happened to this guy and we watched him disintegrate on camera, they would say “Get Windom—bring in Willie the Weeper.

Windom delivers an impressive portrayal of a downtrodden character, despite finding the overall storyline unappealing. He considered it overly absurd and childish, yet he claims to have acted in line with those feelings.

As a devoted Star Trek fan, I may not have shared Windom’s enthusiasm for the 1967 Hugo Award-nominated episode back in the day, but over time, it has undeniably become one of my all-time favorites from The Original Series. On the series’ 25th anniversary, a fan survey placed this episode at number four on the list of top ten episodes, and it seldom slips out of the top ten when fans rank their favorite episodes of the series today.

In 2016, Syfy ranked Windom’s performance as the fourth top guest appearance in the series, trailing behind Mark Lenard, Joan Collins, and Ricardo Montalban. Despite Windom himself not being overly pleased with the episode, both fans and critics admired his portrayal of Commodore Decker.

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2024-08-13 04:23