31 replies to this topic

[Aatrek]

Fun Fact #1: Uhura wore a gold uniform in "The Corbomite Maneuver."

Fun Fact #2: Uhura is the only main character we've seen dance naked on a sand dune.

[Dane]

Hee. For which we should all be thankful.

[Make It So]

I blame Uhura for my present phobia of fans.

[nqllisi]

I blame the documentary "Trekkies" for my phobia of fans, actually.

Uhura was revolutionary, but in hindsight it is obvious they gave her nothing to do. I mean, after that one episode we never even saw her repairing her own switchboard, did we?

[cjl]

Best Uhura scene ever: "The Man Trap." She meets the crewman who speaks to her in Swahili, and you think: oh, wow--this woman has her own past, her own culture and her own desires. She's totally gonna get eaten, but you understand why she's lured in based on her character. Unlike later seasons, when the producers forgot she had a character.

[elle]

That's a great scene, cjl. I liked it when they would show the crew's quarters, so we could see a little bit of their 'private' life. We get to see her's in "The Tholian Web" and supposedly again in the Elaan of Troyius episode (the name escapes me at the moment). Elaan reportedly finds them 'too soft'.

I loved her in "Mirror, Mirror". That was probably the most lines she had the entire series.

I had the pleasure of seeing her at a Con. She is even more beautiful in person.

[cjl]

Nichelle Nichols was my first Trek fanboy crush. Watching the first round of syndicated reruns at ages 12-14, I was floored by her beauty, her voice, her bearing, etc. I was always upset that she didn't have more to DO, damn it, and that when she did have scenes, she'd go all fluttery and have to rescued/reassured by James T. Big Hunk o' Man Kirk.

Which is why the animated series' "The Lorelai Signal" made me so happy. Uhura practically boots Scotty's moonstruck ass out of the captain's chair, assembles an all-female away team, and beams down to teach those pasty-white Sirens not to mess with the Enterprise. Sigh. It really never got that good again.

[Make It So]

assembles an all-female away team, and beams down to teach those pasty-white Sirens not to mess with the Enterprise

Yeah, Uhura rocked. And she didn't need no stinking vases, either, like a certain Doctor and Counselor from a later series who shall remain nameless.

It was also refreshing to see women with realistic body types like Nichelle being acknowledged as beautiful. Our sistahs have curves, and are proud of it!

[whosknockingit]

I love Uhura.

One thing though. I was always shocked and apalled by the by the shortness of her skirts. One day, I was ranting about how sexist and exploitive the costume was. My mom takes a look and says "I don't see the problem, lots of everyday people dressed like that in the sixties."

She showed me pictures. I stopped ranting.

[Make It So]

and that when she did have scenes, she'd go all fluttery and have to rescued/reassured by James T. Big Hunk o' Man Kirk.

I know. "Captain - I'm frightened."

Grrrrr.

[RiverThames]

They did give her a bunch of nice moments in the first season, but that dropped almost completely in the other two. I wonder-- since her almost quitting and then meeting MLK happened at the end of the first season-- if they knew they had her on, regardless, and decided they didn't have to bother giving her more to do.

[dalek]

Even if she didn't get much to do in the 2d and 3d seasons of the show, I will always love the character if only for the "hail starfleet your own damn self" line from the Wrath of Farrakhan parody on In Living Color.

[CliffHogan]

Even if she didn't get much to do in the 2d and 3d seasons of the show, I will always love the character if only for the "hail starfleet your own damn self" line from the Wrath of Farrakhan parody on In Living Color.

YES! Who's your occasional chocolate fantasy now, Jim Carrey?

[Jed Eye82]

Just read Keckler's mini-recap of Trekkies and I was surprised to learn that Nichelle Nichols and Gene Roddenberry had an affair?(!) What? How? When and where? Is this common knowledge in all of Trekdom? Does every female cast member have to sleep with Gene to get a role?

[Make It So]

I think it's pretty common knowledge in Trekdom. Nichele's been blabbing about it forever. Gene was a hound.

[Pantagruel]

I always liked when Uhura would sing. She had a great voice. She sang rarely enough that it was like a special treat.

"Beyond Antares...."

[Trevacious Guy]

Is this common knowledge in all of Trekdom? Does every female cast member have to sleep with Gene to get a role?

I hope Gene wasn't still working the casting couch in 1987...! :[

Can't fault him for his taste in gorgeous women, though... It was quite the beauty parade over those 3 seasons of TOS. And in the age of the mini-skirt, ta-boot, when mini MEANT mini.

Heh -- I remember a behind-the-scenes special about the making of the DS9 Tribbles and Tribulations episode. Terry Farrell mentions the mini skirt and adds for emphasis, "and lemme tell ya, it's Pretty Mini!"

Lusty Starship Captains never had it so good, before or since. ;)

[greerok]

NN played an important role in creating the magic and spirit of season 1 of TOS, a season that later Trek seasons and series never quite matched, IMO. Even during season 1, they began to use NN (and others) too little, and to concentrate on the Kirk-Spock-Bones trio a little too much. I liked the eps in which a larger ensemble of actors was more involved, such as the excellent ep The Squire of Gothos, in which NN had a nice but brief role. But still they missed a great chance to use her talent in that ep: she could've entertained Trelane with a short song, maybe as he danced with the blonde.

Edited by greerok, Mar 2, 2006 @ 8:12 PM.

[Promethea]

It wasn't just the later series (or movies, fandance aside) which sidelined Uhura. She hardly appears in any of the novels, either, and you'd think there would be lots of scope to develop her character there. In fact, does anyone know what her later career was supposed to be - is it mentioned in any of the near-canon books or movies in the way that we know eventually Sulu and Chekov got to be captains, or did she just sit at the switchboard of the Enterprise until she died?

[nelamm]

At the beginning of TUC, she mentions a seminar at the Academy that she's giving. Personally, I think it'd be cool if she served as XO to, say, Chekov just as Rand seemed to be both XO and Communications to Sulu.

[Promethea]

I wonder what her seminar was about. How To Use The Medium Of Dance To Distract And Seduce?

[JyDanzig]

Watching "Who Mourns For Adonais?" (and BTW, what a completely ludicrous episode -- love that Giant Space Hand grasping the Enterprise).

But it has this one amazing Uhura scene -- we see her, with a smock over her usual uniform, crawling around in some control panel doing engineering-type work! I was so impressed to see Uhura really doing something.

[VersesBatman]

One thing though. I was always shocked and apalled by the by the shortness of her skirts.

I have T-Shirts longer than those dresses.

I like NN. There is something regal about her.

[cjl]

TRELANE [to Uhura]: Ah, a nubian prize! Taken in one of your raids of conquest, no doubt.
KIRK [irritated]: No doubt.
TRELANE: She has the melting eyes of the Queen of Sheba...and the same lovely coloring.

The look Uhura gives Trelane during that monologue is priceless. I read somewhere that Bill Campbell accidentally said "slave" instead of "prize" and Nichelle snapped: "I'll kick you in the ankle!"

[VersesBatman]

I watched "A Naked Time" and one scene stood out. Kirk is yelling at Uhura to fix something and she screams back at him. Then they both apologize. I think this is why Martin Luthor King wanted NN to stay. Because it wasa big deal to show a white man apologizing to a black woman.

[amyjoken]

My favorite Uhura line is in "The Naked Time." Sulu/D'Artagnan grabs Uhura - "I'll protect you, fair maiden!" Her reply? "Sorry, neither."

[PJWatcher]

I have to laugh when people talk about the miniskirts being sexist. As a culture, we tend to judge our past by our current values. In the 60s, women felt liberated wearing short skirts and long hair. They felt it was sexist to be confined to long skirts and dresses.

[legaleagle44]

I have to laugh when people talk about the miniskirts being sexist. As a culture, we tend to judge our past by our current values. In the 60s, women felt liberated wearing short skirts and long hair. They felt it was sexist to be confined to long skirts and dresses.

Indeed, both Nichelle and Grace Lee Whitney have made that very point regarding the short skirts, namely, that those short, skin-tight outfits were what they wanted to wear. In fact, Grace has repeatedly said in interviews over the years that having the women wear those micro-minis was her idea, not Gene Roddenberry's, since she wanted to show off her legs, and she has even pointed out that if you look closely, you can see Nichelle sitting in the background and trying to hike her skirt up even higher.

Nope, Nichelle knew she had it, and she had no problems with working it.

My favorite scene to this day is still the one in "Mirror, Mirror" where Uhura pretends to come on to Mirror Sulu in order to create a diversion on the bridge, only to backhand him at the last second and say, in a cold voice that is just dripping with contempt, "I'm afraid I've changed my mind -- again."

Nichelle's delivery of that line and her facial expression are absolutely priceless.

Edited by legaleagle44, Jun 5, 2010 @ 11:52 AM.

[nelamm]

That makes sense, considering that in the first two pilots- before Uhura or Rand appeared- women wore pants. Rand was still wearing them in some early publicity shots, and I think they were even occasionally worn by women well into the series.

And then there was the odd attempt at "balance" in TNG, when some men wore miniskirts (the type that Troi wore in the pilot) in the first season or so.