A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Saturday, May 7, 2011

For Your Weekend Enjoyment: This is Not a Photoshop: King Abdullah II Does Star Trek

To hold you over the weekend, a piece of trivia: watch the following (seven second video):



Did the non-speaking extra in the middle of this brief scene from a 1995 episode of Star Trek: Voyager look somewhat familiar? Look closely at the still:


No, it's not your imagination: Add 16 years:


It happens to be the case that then Prince Abdullah of Jordan, not even Crown Prince at the time, was a bit of a Trekkie and got to do a walk-on role on Voyager. Not being a member of the Screen Actors' Guild he couldn't do a speaking part. He is today King Abdullah II, but military careerist that he is, he wore the Star Fleet Uniform well.

If the Hashemite throne somehow survives the present upheavals, this may have something to do with it. Husni Mubarak appearing in a Harry Potter movie might have saved his job. [Later thought: Unless he was Voldemort.]

3 comments:

Ahmad said...

حرامي إبن حرامي

Michael Collins Dunn said...

I'm not going to translate Ahmad but for those of you who don't know Arabic, it would appear he's not a fan of the King.

Anonymous said...

Nor would it seem of his father.

They say that his dad's fortune went to the mother. So that he has had to redouble his efforts to fund his 401K, making him even more grasping than dad.

But one shouldn't speak ill of the dead nor of one's allies - at least as long as they remain allies as the case of one Mr. Mubarak shows.