Welcome back to Character Insight! This week, we continue the "Best Of" series for The Original Series characters with a look at Lieutenant Uhura. Here are some of her most memorable quotes and appearances.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp188
Uhura is typically seen at her communications station on the bridge, as evidenced in this clip from the episode Who Mourns For Adonais:
Mr. Spock: Progress report.
Nyota Uhura: I'm connecting the bypass circuit now, sir. It should take another half-hour.
Mr. Spock: Speed is essential, Lieutenant.
Nyota Uhura: Mr. Spock, I haven't done anything like this in years. If it isn't done just right, I could blow the entire communications system. It's very delicate work, sir.
https://archive.org/details/CharacterInsightEp188
Uhura is typically seen at her communications station on the bridge, as evidenced in this clip from the episode Who Mourns For Adonais:
Mr. Spock: Progress report.
Nyota Uhura: I'm connecting the bypass circuit now, sir. It should take another half-hour.
Mr. Spock: Speed is essential, Lieutenant.
Nyota Uhura: Mr. Spock, I haven't done anything like this in years. If it isn't done just right, I could blow the entire communications system. It's very delicate work, sir.
This role also serves to provide some opportunities for fun dialogue with other crew members and some awkward moments, like when she tries to start conversation with Spock in the early episode The Man Trap:
Mr. Spock: Miss Uhura, your last sub-space log contained an error in the frequencies column.
Uhura: Mr. Spock, sometimes I think if I hear that word 'frequency' once more, I'll cry.
Mr. Spock: Cry?
Uhura: I was just trying to start a conversation.
Mr. Spock: Well, since it is illogical for a communications officer to resent the word 'frequency'... I have no answer.
We see Uhura's singing talent on a couple occasions, including this song from Charlie X:
Lt. Nyota Uhura: [singing] Oh, on the Starship Enterprise There's someone who's in Satan's guise, Whose devil's ears and devil's eyes Could rip your heart from you! At first his look could hypnotize, And then his touch would barbarize.
Besides the singing and serving as a notable female presence on board, Uhura's most famous appearance is probably in Plato's Stepchildren thanks to her barrier-breaking interracial kiss with Captain Kirk. While under the spell, she says:
Uhura: I'm thinking. I'm thinking of all the times on the Enterprise when I was scared to death and I would see you so busy at your command, and I would hear your voice from all parts of the ship, and my fears would fade. And now they're making me tremble, but I'm not afraid. I am not... afraid.
Although Uhura's role in the television series was so small at times it almost made Nichelle Nichols quit the show, her perseverance paid off in the TOS movies, where she played a much more important role. One example is The Final Frontier, where she pulls the boys out of trouble multiple times:
Uhura: [arriving to pick up Kirk from shore leave] Captain, we've received important orders from Starfleet Command.
Kirk: Why didn't you just beep my communicator?
Uhura: You 'forgot' to take it with you.
Kirk: Oh... I wonder 'why' I did that?
Uhura may not have always served a vital role story-wise, but her character and what her presence stood for made a huge impact to inspire both women and minorities in the scientific communities. For that, this character will always be one of the best aspects of The Original Series. It's been a long journey since Nichelle Nichols started her career in 1948 as a backup singer for Duke Ellington, but her work on Star Trek will stand the test of time in my opinion.
Mr. Spock: Miss Uhura, your last sub-space log contained an error in the frequencies column.
Uhura: Mr. Spock, sometimes I think if I hear that word 'frequency' once more, I'll cry.
Mr. Spock: Cry?
Uhura: I was just trying to start a conversation.
Mr. Spock: Well, since it is illogical for a communications officer to resent the word 'frequency'... I have no answer.
We see Uhura's singing talent on a couple occasions, including this song from Charlie X:
Lt. Nyota Uhura: [singing] Oh, on the Starship Enterprise There's someone who's in Satan's guise, Whose devil's ears and devil's eyes Could rip your heart from you! At first his look could hypnotize, And then his touch would barbarize.
Besides the singing and serving as a notable female presence on board, Uhura's most famous appearance is probably in Plato's Stepchildren thanks to her barrier-breaking interracial kiss with Captain Kirk. While under the spell, she says:
Uhura: I'm thinking. I'm thinking of all the times on the Enterprise when I was scared to death and I would see you so busy at your command, and I would hear your voice from all parts of the ship, and my fears would fade. And now they're making me tremble, but I'm not afraid. I am not... afraid.
Although Uhura's role in the television series was so small at times it almost made Nichelle Nichols quit the show, her perseverance paid off in the TOS movies, where she played a much more important role. One example is The Final Frontier, where she pulls the boys out of trouble multiple times:
Uhura: [arriving to pick up Kirk from shore leave] Captain, we've received important orders from Starfleet Command.
Kirk: Why didn't you just beep my communicator?
Uhura: You 'forgot' to take it with you.
Kirk: Oh... I wonder 'why' I did that?
Uhura may not have always served a vital role story-wise, but her character and what her presence stood for made a huge impact to inspire both women and minorities in the scientific communities. For that, this character will always be one of the best aspects of The Original Series. It's been a long journey since Nichelle Nichols started her career in 1948 as a backup singer for Duke Ellington, but her work on Star Trek will stand the test of time in my opinion.
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