Comments on: Nichols Has Advice For New Uhura

By: Charles Trotter

Charles Trotter — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:10:52 +0000

Correction to #30 — meant “line”, not “lead”… don’t know where that came from… damn, I’m tired…

By: Charles Trotter

Charles Trotter — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:09:34 +0000

#24 JC — Didn’t mean to post the just yet… anyway, the lead should be taken to mean that the Enterprise crew are not HEROES, they are only PEOPLE who make moral choices AND who believe in the IDIC edict. Hmm… there appears to be an “and” missing in the story. Whoops!

By: Charles Trotter

Charles Trotter — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 01:06:28 +0000

#24 JC — You seem to have something confused there… that line was saying the characters are not heroes, they are only people who happen to make moral choices.

By: Tony Clifton

Tony Clifton — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 00:51:42 +0000

Or as their version of Abe Lincoln may say to her “remember to play this up as the lovely negress you are” or as the Squire of Gothos might point out “be the Nubian prize you most certainly are on the mantle of the Enterprise”. These aren’t my words, just some taken from TOS in the same context as delivered on TOS unless they edited that from the 2.0 version which I haven’t watched yet.

By: CmdrR.

CmdrR. — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:15:00 +0000

23- “It’s only when race is involved, apparently, that people think you need to append “-American”.”

I always thought American was about all races. But then, I was raised on Star Trek where ideals mattered. If not, then I must be Anglo-Irish-Dutch-American. (And I’m pretty sure that’s the short version — we’re a very libidinous bunch and like to travel.)

Yes, the whole point of a multi-cultural bridge crew was to show that everyone has a shot at the big jobs. I hope XI doesn’t try to turn it into McDonald’s in Space.

By: Jackie Chiles-Mugatu's Lawyer

Jackie Chiles-Mugatu's Lawyer — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 23:05:14 +0000

#25
Huh, I always looked at it as a means to appreciate the diversity that one might encounter on a trip throughout the stars (or everyday life) and to realize that the significance of ones own personal views or prejudices should not over ride the importance or morality of a different (or alien) culture. Lest the explorer come off as a crusader. Kind of gave a little breadth to the Prime Directive and the good of the many outweighing the good of the few or one. But it is only a TV show, after all.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 22:10:17 +0000

I think it works for Spock (infinite diversity) when that character is serving as an antagonistic logical counterpart to his human shipmates.If You recall He was often portrayed as being heartlessly committed to logic despite the moral /emotional complications.You might say He would be inclined to sell that as infinite diversity to justify his postion to the crew.But anyway…very flawed philosophy mainly due to it’s commitment to moral relativism.

By: JC

JC — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:59:04 +0000

#21 Michael Hall…The contradiction is; “Only people who make moral choices…” seems to exclude the definition of ‘infinite diversity’ .’Infinite Diversity’ would have to include what others regard as immoral or what group consensus would regard as immoral. It’s a fun tag line for a Vulcan Sci-Fi character but a little too vague or morally relative to apply to real life.

By: 9er

9er — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:45:34 +0000

Was Uhura an African-American character? That casting sheet for STXI cheesed me off a bit by describing Uhura and Sulu as African-American and Asian-American. It was established (in non-canon works at least) that Uhura and Sulu weren’t Americans at all. And in TOS, Uhura’s Swahili strongly suggested that she was from Africa.

Hopefully the new movie will show, if they get into it at all, that the two characters are African and Asian and that the casting call was just using PC speak unthinkingly. Nobody thought it necessary to refer to Scotty and Chekov as Scottish-American or Russian-American. It’s only when race is involved, apparently, that people think you need to append “-American”.

And anyway in Kirk and McCoy there are already two Americans, which is an over-representation as it is, demographically speaking.

By: CmdrR.

CmdrR. — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:47:08 +0000

Produced a morning show a few years back. One day Cap Weinberger was on hawking his book. Not a nibble.
Nichelle Nichols was on the next day with her book. Our crew hounded her for autographs. (We’re not supposed to do that to guests, but we threw that rule in the crapper on that morning. Hell, I had to get her to autograph my SF Technical Manuel.)
She’s a class act. Very important piece… of TV history.