But Sunday night, he couldn't beam out of Donald Trump's boardroom.
The "Star Trek" actor was fired by Trump, capping off the season's third episode of "The Celebrity Apprentice" on NBC.
After two straight episodes of the women's team, Team Forte, falling short, it was the men's turn to sit in the hot seat with The Donald.
The episode found the groups tasked with putting together two living window displays each for Lord & Taylor for Ivanka Trump's clothing line. Ivanka and Eric Trump also served as the episodes' surprise judges. Takei and Dayana Mendoza were then chosen as the project managers.
The men's team struggled early on to get Takei to stick one with an idea, with Clay Aiken expressing doubt over Takei's leadership skills. (Which would come into play later, with Aiken saying Takei had wasted the authority he was given. Ouch.) Penn Jillette suggested using twin models to represent a nig ht and day theme, which the rest of the team jumped on.
On the women's side, singer Aubrey O'Day took command right away, with teammate Debbie Gibson offering praise but wondering if it was turning into "The Aubrey Show." The group settled on O'Day's suggestion of using a clock to represent transition for women.
Later on, things got heated as Mendoza split the team into two and choosing O'Day and Teresa Guidice to be the window models -- which agitated Gibson, who tried to convince the rest of the team she was young enough to pull it off and that she "plays younger on TV" (one of the more amusing exchanges this season). Things got even more heated when Mendoza and Lisa Lampanelli argued over the phone over the size of the display boxes. Â
The men's night and day displays -- "Ivanka by day, Ivanka by night" -- ultimately failed to impress the judges; the men were told their displays "lacked creativity." Arsenio Hall decided to step in and handle picking o ut the clothes, which wound up working against him in the end (Adam Carolla pointed out the daytime light washed out the display's dark paint).
The women wound up only decorating one window -- a little uneven, don't you think? -- after not receiving the backdrop photos from the printer (which, naturally, caused the team to freak out on the morning of the setup). They then decide to put models into the clothes instead.
The men had some problems of their own. Carolla and Paul Teutel Sr. squabbled over the setup of their windows, with Lou Ferrigno attempting to intervene. Ferrigno later became a target for Takei for what Takei felt was a lack of involvement in the project, which, of course, didn't sit well with the "The Incredible Hulk" actor.
On the day of the presentation, Takei stumbled through his team's introduction, while the women seemed to handle theirs a little smoother.
When it came time to meet with Donald Trump, Mendonza refused to name a wea kest link. The men kept it mostly peaceful, with Hall defending his clothing choices. Dee Snider opted for surgery to repair his fractured finger and did not participate in the task, but did show up in the boardroom.
Ultimately, Hall, Ferrigno and Takei were called back after being told the judges liked the women's display better. Takei was then told the immortal words, "You're fired."
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