Uhura was pushing it as far as they could go in the '60s. Roddenberry regretted changing Majel Barrett's character from a bridge officer to a nurse, but NBC wouldn't tolerate a female officer.
I am still amazed they managed to get such a relatively high number of important black men on the show: Dr. Daystrom, the Commodore in "Court Martial", the doctor who treated Spock when he was shot in "A Private Little War". There was the one brother too in "Galileo Seven" (where the shuttlecraft crashes on that planet of giant cavemen types). But I hate his character 'cause he spends the whole show being incredibly disrespectful to Spock. Spock should have Nerve Pinched his ass... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" <hellomahog...@gmail.com> To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, February 21, 2010 4:40:49 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: [scifinoir2] topic: Rewrites I left the question completely open for you to interpret it the way you wanted. I think Uruha was a glorified receptionist. However, in the book Spock's world we learn more about her. For example, she is responsible for creating most of translation algorithms that are used throughout star fleet after so many encounters with new alien species. More of that would have been nice to see in the new movie, instead of her being spock's squeeze and eye candy. On Sat, Feb 20, 2010 at 7:46 AM, Keith Johnson < keithbjohn...@comcast.net > wrote: what do you mean by "rewrite"? Do you mean revisit a series and update it in some ways, maybe telling side stories that were never explored, or updating some outdated cultural representations? Or do you mean completing redoing the series? I don't think any of the series needs a full rewrite, just updating. I'd only touch the OS, and even then I'd leave all the characters and main missions shown in the OS alone. What I'd do is explore the world more fully with new missions, the way TNG and yes, "Enterprise" did. I'd spend more time with eps dealing with the Romulans and Klingons outside of just battles, fleshing out relationships with them. I'd pull in more races like the Tholians, the Andorians, and see more about how the Federation works. This was one of the good things "Enterprise" did: it told a good story of how we started forming relationships with other races. The main update I'd do to the OS lies along racial and gender lines. It was a product of its time in that women were given secondary roles. Number One from the original pilot was a bridge officer. By the time the series was aired, she'd been rewritten as McCoy's assistant Nurse Chapel. No women are bridge officers or starship commanders. The best women are shown as is as lawyers and psychiatrists. The series ender "Turnabout Intruder" is based around a jealous former lover of Kirk's who literally steals his body so she can command a starship--something the show makes clear is beyond women. Kirk even says "Her life could have been as full as any woman's. If only..." The only exception was the Romulan Sub-Commander in "The Enterprise Incident", and even she was portrayed as a woman easily manipulated by Spock's two-finger mack attack! So I'd simply update it to show women as Starfleet officers and in high ranking jobs on Earth and in the Federation. I'd do the same for Blacks and other people of color. At least blacks had Uhura, though she was a glorified secretary. They did at least acknowledge that black men were high ranking, as the guy who presided over Kirk's court-martial was black, a Commodore, and a former starship captain. There were black men shown as crewmen, and of course, Doctor Daystorm, the super genius inventor of Duotronics and the M5. But still, I'd show more blacks and people of color in more roles. Other than that i don't believe the series need rewrites. Just a few tweaks here and there. and to beat that dead horse, all this can be done *without* shifting stuff to an alternate universe, the way that crappy movie did... :( ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mr. Worf" < hellomahog...@gmail.com > To: scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, February 19, 2010 11:59:45 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [scifinoir2] topic: Rewrites If you had the power to rewrite any of the Star trek series what would you do? -- Celebrating 10 years of bringing diversity to perversity! Mahogany at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mahogany_pleasures_of_darkness/
