Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s Nana Visitor explains howStar Trek: Strange New Worldsgiving Uhura an"Obi-Wan Kenobi"improves Nichelle Nichols' Uhura inStar Trek: The Original Series.Releasing October 1st, Visitor pennedStar Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman’s Trek,her new book looking at the numerous influential women inStar Trek. Nana interviewed many femaleStar Trekactors and creatives, as well as real-world astronauts, scientists, and soldiers who were inspired by the diverse women ofStar Trek.
InStar Trek: Strange New Worlds,Celia Rose Gooding plays a younger incarnation of Nyota Uhura, who will become the Communications Officer embodied by Nichelle Nichols inStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.BeginningStrange New Worldsas a reluctant Starfleet cadet,Uhura gains a mentor in Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak), who instills confidence in the young Nyota. Hemmer’s tragic death towards theend ofStrange New Worldsseason 1devastates Uhura, but Nyota carries on.Strange New Worldsgives Uhura a backstory and depth thatStar Trekin the 1960s and 1980s never afforded Nichelle Nichols.
Star Trek: DS9’s Nana Visitor Explains How Strange New Worlds Changes Nichelle Nichols' Uhura
Hemmer became Uhura’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi”
In an excerpt fromStar Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman’s Trekshared exclusively withScreen Rant, Nana Visitor explains how Lt. Hemmer becoming Uhura’s"Obi-Wan Kenobi"parallels how theReverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a mentor to Nichelle Nicholsin real life. Dissatisfied with her limited role onStar Trek, Nichols initially intended to quit, but a chance meeting withDr. King convinced Nichelleto stay because Uhura on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise was an inspiration to Black people. Read Visitor’s excerpt below:
I noticed something in the first season of [Strange New Worlds] that I hadn’t seen before on TV… Chief Engineer Lt. Hemmer, played by Bruce Horak, was created to be a mentor (!) to Uhura. She is a new cadet who isn’t sure Starfleet is her life’s path, and Celia Rose Gooding’s performance makes seeing Uhura enter the bridge for the first time in uniform a powerful moment… Uhura is finally getting the attention and care she always deserved, and Gooding plays her with a sweet, open manner; a sharp intellect; and, like Nichelle, a beautiful singing voice.
It’s interesting to watch Uhura in the original series with this in mind. That a male Aernar was, as Horak himself put it, a kind of Obi-Wan Kenobi to Uhura adds a dimension and a bittersweet history when you see Nichelle on the bridge. It’s also a lovely nod to the fact that the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was himself a mentor to Nichelle Nichols when she wanted to leave the show… Hemmer encourages the young Uhura to go on in Starfleet, too. He shows her the importance of keeping her heart open, even when there is inevitable pain when you do so.
Now, the original series’ Uhura seems like a human who did the hard work of evolving when she faces down the perils of a life in space, not simply someone who had the correct emotional makeup for the job. This is such an important lesson: There isn’t always a clear and easy path to commitment, and there is always a steep learning curve at the beginning of every career. Evolution is a personal process as well as a societal one, and it isn’t always a breeze.
As Nana Visitor points out, Lt. Uhura was fully formed onStar Trek: The Original Seriesand her character was never given a backstory or fleshed out beyond what was required for a particular episode or movie.Strange New Worldshas given Uhura the character depth Nichols never got, and thelessons and growth Celia Rose Gooding’s young Nyota experiences ripple into Nichelle’s Uhura. Combined, they form a complete picture of who Lt. Uhura is.
Uhura Continues To Evolve In Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3
Ensign Uhura will keep the Enterprise connected
Star Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 3will continue the growth of Ensign Nyota Uhura. The young Communications Officermourned her loss of Lt. Hemmer inStrange New Worldsseason 2. However, Uhura had a crucial breakthrough inStar Trek’s first-ever musical episode, “Subspace Rhapsody.” With her song, “Keep Us Connected,” Uhura realized how important she truly is to the crew of the Starship Enterprise, and it instilled a newfound confidence in Nyota that will continue intoStrange New Worldsseason 3.
Uhura also formed a friendship with Lt. James T. Kirk (Paul Wesley) inStar Trek: Strange New Worldsseason 2, and this is a bond neither realize will last for decades. Further, it was Uhura who introducedKirk to Lt. Spock(Ethan Peck). InStrange New Worldsseason 3, Uhura is temporarily transformed into a Vulcan, and this could be another step in Nyota’s growth. Perhaps Uhura retains the poise and mental clarity from her time as a logical Vulcan going forward.How Uhura continues to evolve as she gradually becomes Nichelle Nichols' Lieutenant is one of the most fascinating aspects ofStar Trek: Strange New Worlds.
Source:Star Trek: Open a Channel: A Woman’s Trek by Nana Visitor
