# RIP, Nichelle Nichols; Lt. Uhura **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [July 31, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884 "2022-07-31T19:19:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/61 "2022-08-02T16:28:00Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > And the position/rank of “yeoman” is always ASSUMED to be a woman, generally one assigned to a messy male officer, to clean up his cabin, bring him refreshments, and be otherwise subservient. In “The Corbomite Maneuver,” it was indicated that Kirk having a female Yeoman was not the norm. He very much disliked it. A junior officer might take over on the bridge if every officer senior to him (or her) is killed or otherwise incapacitated. Otherwise, no. If that were ever to happen, the officer would be considered “Captain,” regardless of his or her service rank. All Troi ever did on the bridge was sit around and pretend to be interested when not telling Picard things that were obvious to everybody else. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/62 "2022-08-02T17:03:26Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > All Troi ever did on the bridge was sit around and pretend to be interested when not telling Picard things that were obvious to everybody else. I sense you have great doubt as to the utility of Counselor Troi. I do remember the jokes about the writers being so Hollywood that they put a therapist on the bridge. a ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/63 "2022-08-02T17:07:29Z")
A CHAIR could sense doubt! ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/64 "2022-08-02T18:02:34Z")
I had quite a crush on NN back in the day. I’ve been known to say, “I like my coffee hot, sweet and black, just like my Communications officers.” ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/65 "2022-08-02T19:40:06Z")
[![](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/019/431/82f.jpg) ](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/019/431/82f.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/66 "2022-08-02T20:19:20Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > A junior officer might take over on the bridge if every officer senior to him (or her) is killed or otherwise incapacitated. Otherwise, no. If that were ever to happen, the officer would be considered “Captain,” regardless of his or her service rank. I don’t remember the exact details, but isn’t that essentially how the Chris Pine version of Kirk got to be Captain? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/67 "2022-08-02T20:22:01Z")
Yes, and bleccccch. By comparison, Picard was just a few links down the chain of command when he took command of the _Stargazer_, I believe. An example from history: [Why did Heinlein report incorrectly about Cox in Starship Troopers?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-heinlein-report-incorrectly-about-cox-in-starship-troopers/428303) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/68 "2022-08-02T20:43:50Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I don’t remember the exact details, but isn’t that essentially how the Chris Pine version of Kirk got to be Captain? Kinda sorta. In the 2009 film, when Captain Pike surrendered to Nero, he put Spock in command of the _Enterprise_, and named Kirk (who was, indeed, way down in the command chain, if he even was in it at all) as Spock’s first officer. Then, under the guidance of “future Spock,” Kirk got “current Spock” to relinquish command, due to being emotionally compromised by the destruction of the planet Vulcan, and the death of his mother. So, it wasn’t that the rest of the command crew below Spock was unavailable, it was that Kirk leveraged the (rather contrived) orders that Pike gave prior to being taken hostage by the enemy. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/69 "2022-08-02T21:40:21Z")
He can still LOVE her (Sulu)…I do kind of see how Sulu, who actually is experienced at driving the dam ship, would take over in case our top three men were unable to fulfill their duties at commanding the Enterprise. Uhura was an officer and on the bridge but was basically a glorified telephone operator. No indication even if she was in line to fill in…would she? could she? Now I’m rethinking it all… ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/70 "2022-08-02T22:13:51Z")
@salinqmind1 Any Bridge Officer is qualified to command the ship, otherwise, someone else would be in that position. That does not mean she’s on Command Track (she wears red!) but she would have had some training “in the event of.” ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/71 "2022-08-02T22:25:44Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > Any Bridge Officer is qualified to command the ship, otherwise, someone else would be in that position. That does not mean she’s on Command Track (she wears red!) but she would have had some training “in the event of.” For what it’s worth, the events of CATSPAW _did_ involve Kirk and Spock and McCoy and Scotty and Sulu being on the planet and out of contact with the Enterprise, which was then commanded by — DeSalle. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/72 "2022-08-02T23:22:57Z")
It was her night off. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2022, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/73 "2022-08-02T23:55:51Z")
Probably. I saw the movie when it came out and have almost completely blotted it out of my mind. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/74 "2022-08-03T00:16:17Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > @salinqmind1 > > Any Bridge Officer is qualified to command the ship, otherwise, someone else would be in that position. That does not mean she’s on Command Track (she wears red!) but she would have had some training “in the event of.” Some **very minimal** training (as pointed out above, Command Officer was **not** her MOS) in the **extremely unlikely** event of a total catastrophe. I remember such a scenario in a DC war comic many years ago—a lowly ensign had to take command of a naval vessel when the Captain and all the senior officers had been wiped out in a single blow. It was a comic book, so of course he proved to be up to the job, but reading it even at the age of 10 or 11, I thought the whole thing was pretty far-fetched. (Though I’ve always wondered if that story was based on a real event—the USS _Johnston_, maybe?) DeSalle, BTW, was Assistant Chief Engineer, so it’s entirely logical he’d be fifth in the chain of command. Maybe even fourth. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/75 "2022-08-03T00:25:29Z")
Brilliant! 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/76 "2022-08-03T17:16:04Z")
Uhura did wear Command gold early in the show, FWIW: [Nyota Uhura | Memory Alpha | Fandom](https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Nyota_Uhura?file=Nyota_Uhura%252C_2266_%2528command%2529.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/77 "2022-08-03T18:02:18Z")
Junior officers would have been rotated among the ship’s departments so they could gain a good working knowledge of it before given a more-or-less permanent assignment. Chekov, for example, often took over the Science station when Spock was away, in addition to his navigational duties. I’m glad they changed Uhura’s uniform. She looked _so_ much better in red! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rtMNAHwPSgA/mqdefault.jpg) ](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rtMNAHwPSgA/mqdefault.jpg) [![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2dbd263ca02e22fe6a0d9cee487e862eaadfc84b/0_193_1600_960/master/1600.jpg?width=620&quality=45&fit=max&dpr=2&s=231ee6a427a52545b3a448c30443edcd) ](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2dbd263ca02e22fe6a0d9cee487e862eaadfc84b/0_193_1600_960/master/1600.jpg?width=620&quality=45&fit=max&dpr=2&s=231ee6a427a52545b3a448c30443edcd) Where “misogeny” is concerned, it shouldn’t be overlooked that the series was in many ways quite progressive. A quarter of the _Enterprise_’s crew was female, something unheard of in the US Navy at the time. (Remember how surprised AF Captain Christopher was when he saw a woman on board?) They also had many other duties besides serving coffee and giving Kirk reports to sign. (Lt McMasters, another black woman, was a highly trained technician.) [![](https://s1.dmcdn.net/v/Rlp9u1Vo2ot6QvAgm/x1080) ](https://s1.dmcdn.net/v/Rlp9u1Vo2ot6QvAgm/x1080) As originally conceived, the Captain’s yeoman was intended to add a bit of sexual tension to the series. In the 1964 format, she (“Yeoman JM Colt”) was described as having “a strip-queen figure even a uniform cannot hide” and “undoubtedly dreams of serving [Captain] Robert April with equal efficiency in more personal departments.” (Pure Roddenberry!) I’m surprised they cast Laurel Goodwin as Yeoman Colt. She was undeniably cute, but nowhere near as smokin’ hot as Grace Lee Whitney, who inspired many erotic fantasies among adolescent Trekkies. (Trust me on this! 🤗 ) [![](https://www.startrek.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_full/public/images/inline/2019-01/f7c88b85853f2ec00855cc57e473f3fe.jpg?itok=8XvuJhFK) ](https://www.startrek.com/sites/default/files/styles/content_full/public/images/inline/2019-01/f7c88b85853f2ec00855cc57e473f3fe.jpg?itok=8XvuJhFK) [![](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2015/01/grace-lee-whitney-photo-735x603.jpg) ](https://cdn.thehollywoodgossip.com/uploads/2015/01/grace-lee-whitney-photo-735x603.jpg) The official reason she was dropped from the series was that she realized Kirk was devoted to his career and thus requested a transfer. The real reason was that she limited Kirk’s opportunities for romantic entanglements, as became apparent after episodes like “The Conscience of the King.” (Substance abuse may also have played a role.) ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/78 "2022-08-03T18:11:09Z")
@terentii Grace Lee Whitney did develop a substance abuse problem. She also revealed long after the series ended that she had been raped in a “casting couch” situation. Which makes me wonder if the substance abuse occurred after the rape? I’m glad she was sought out for a role in the first movie, Star Trek:The Motion Picture! Gotta admit, though, her hairdo gave me a headache! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/79 "2022-08-03T18:13:41Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I’m surprised they cast Laurel Goodwin as Yeoman Colt. She was undeniably cute, She had a strong sexual drive and would bear many children were her qualifications I believe. And she was starting to realize that Captain Pike was available. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884/80 "2022-08-03T18:14:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The real reason was that she limited Kirk’s opportunities for romantic entanglements, Wikipedia says the REAL real reason was budget: The official explanation was that the production team wanted to free up Kirk to have relationships with other women, but it was actually necessitated because the series was over budget and was looking to cut costs. It is unclear who suggested that her contract should be terminated, or who made the final decision. Roddenberry later blamed NBC for her release and said he regretted it. Whitney herself thought it was partly that, but also quite possibly partly her sexual assault at the hand of a Desilu executive a few days before she was fired. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nichelle-nichols-lt-uhura/968884.md?page=5)