They had just about sussed that Troi was a starfleet officer by season 7 but if they has left her in a standard uniform and given her a purpose outside being ship’s counselor, like in season 1, it wouldn’t have been such a laborious and embarassing journey for the actress, who is much more one of the lads than Troi ever was.

Fifth Element is a classic example where they took an action heroine and still managed to make an unbelievably sexist film by putting her in a space bikini and using gender stereotyping in all the supporting roles. We have male police officers, male military officers, male pilots, and female air hostesses. The only female military officer was put in as a joke – yeas she’s an officer but she’s ugly because only ugly women can make it in the military (Julie T Wallace is actually quite cool but was deliberately dressing down for the role!). Enjoyable film but do the writers not see how apalling their overall attitude to women can be?

I won’t object if Uhura is made more action friendly, and as the onhly woman it’s inevitable that they are going to put her in space bikinis to try and appeal to the lowest common deominator but I still maintain that Rand is a better fit for the action heroine role.

In modern Hollywood language, though, “she kicks butt” is used, as often as not, as shorthand for “she does a lot of action sequences in tight clothes, which don’t have much purpose beyond titillating male S&M fantasies.” Also, “strong character” is usually just shorthand for “sassy, wisecracking broad.”

The ”Oh Captain, I’m afraid” sexist stereotype of another generation has mostly been supplanted, but usually only by a new-style sexist stereotype.

I’d like to believe that anything with the name Star Trek on it will try to avoid that sort of thing, but unfortunately it really sells, and the ads aren;t doing anything to reassure me.

Sadly, familiarilty breeds contempt. The most highly regarded shows tend to quit on a high but I confess, I want Star Trek to continue. I love the later shows but TOS holds the most special place for me. I’d love it if they told the story of the second 5-year mission between TMP and TWOK in a series or mini-series or series of tv movies.

Sad thing is that too many fans abandoned TREK just when it was needed most, and ST: Enterprise’s cancellation was the result… just when it was getting really good.

I recall the first two years of STNG were kinda rocky, but the series got better. I think if the fans who have acted so poorly in recent years had done that then, TREK might have ended back in the later 80s.

I sure don’t see how people can judge it so harshly without having seen the finished product. I say give the film a chance…

Afraid so.

“The Apple”, “Way To Eden”, “The Day Of The Dove”, and “I, Mudd” come quickly to mind.

I don’t get that impression at all. What I took from the reviews of the 20 minutes of footage already shown is that Uhura’s opinion is, at one point, more valuable than Kirk’s. It is, in fact, her voice alone which lends credibility to the young Jim Kirk. Is she sexy? Absolutely. Does she show off her bra? Apparently. But she also seems to be a strong character who (thankfully) wards off the young drunken Kirk in a bar. She is unimpressed by his looks, and only begins to pay any attention to him when he demonstrates a bit of intellect.

When I hear “Uhura kicks butt”, I have to believe she is not the stereotypical female (”Oh Captain, I’m afraid”) she was sometimes depicted as in the Original Series.

My favorite Uhura scene was always the defiant scowl she laid upon Khan’s henchman in “Space Seed”, right after he backhanded her across the face. I like the idea that such toughness and courage might now be closer to the surface.