Star Trek Frequencies Open – The Uhura Breakdown
Uhura is a master of language, dance, and the hundred-meter dash. Let’s talk about the communications officer Nichelle Nichols made famous.
Nichelle Nichols is one of the most important figures in television history. Her portrayal of Nyota Uhura on Star Trek is more than iconic, it’s life-giving. The way Nichols quietly held command (even when she was not given as many lines as her co-stars) caught the attention of people all over the world. Famously, Martin Luther King Jr. told Nichols that Uhura was a beacon of hope for young, Black people.
Hearts around the world broke when Nichelle Nichols passed away on July 30, 2022. Sixty years after Star Trek‘s debut, Nichols and Uhura still inspire. But that doesn’t mean you know everything about Uhura. And in deference to Nichols and the role that made her a star, we’re talking about everything that makes Uhura the legend she is.
Courtesy of CBS Television
No Uhura Without Nichelle
Let’s start at the beginning. In fact, let’s start before the beginning. Before Star Trek, the series creator Gene Roddenberry had a loose idea for a show that was like Wagon Train to the stars. And who does Roddenberry share the earliest version of his vision with? Why a woman he is dating at the time – Nichelle Nichols.
In Nichols’ memoir Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories, she reveals that during the months she and Roddenberry were romantically involved, he referred to the series that would ultimately become Star Trek. Years later, while singing in Paris, Nichols gets a call – something about an audition. It turns out that the audition is for Star Trek!
And while Nichols is auditioning using Spock dialogue at the time, she lands a very different role – one she has a huge impact on before scripting begins. At the time of auditions, Nichols was reading Uhuru by Robert Ruark. “Uhuru” is Swahili for “freedom” and Nichols suggested the name be used for her character. And the rest is history!
Nichelle brings the singing, the confidence, and even the name – without her there quite literally is no Uhura.
Courtesy of Paramount Plus
Before (and After) Nichelle’s Uhura
Something interesting about Uhura is that there’s actually a lot we still do not know about her. Basically, everything prior to her days on the Enterprise are a giant question mark. However, with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, we’re learning new things about her every week. Here’s what we know about her now thanks to Celia Rose Gooding and SNW season one.
Uhura is born in Kenya outside of Lake Simbi Nyaima. She originally intends to matriculate at the University of Nairobi but, after her parents and brother die in a shuttle accident, she changes her plans. Uhura follows in her grandmother’s footsteps and joins Starfleet. By the time she is a cadet on the Enterprise, Uhura already speaks a total of 37 languages, 21 of which are just languages spoken in Kenya.
During her time as a cadet, Uhura learns languages on the fly, most notably saving an entire planet by singing to a comet. And while she is uncertain that Starfleet is for her, Hemmer convinces her she should stay.
Courtesy of CBS Television
Uhura: What is Your Job?
Something interesting about Uhura during the Star Trek: The Original Series era is that her uniform is inconsistent. Sometimes she’s in a red uniform, sometimes a gold uniform. And you might be wondering: what’s up with that? And the answer is that Uhura’s job on the ship evolves quite a bit over time. Yes, the show was probably just inconsistent about costumes, but the beauty of a long-lived series is that it affords the opportunity to take a mistake and make it make sense.
When you see Uhura in the gold uniform it is when she is the department head of the communications division. But once Uhura is consistently in the red uniform it is because she is part of the ops division. And we certainly see Uhura take on more command-heavy positions in certain moments. For example, in “Balance of Power” Uhura seamlessly takes over the helm.
In short: if someone tells you that Uhura’s only gig is answering the proverbial phones, now you know that her responsibilities extend much further. And on that note, let’s talk about some of Uhura’s biggest moments during the TOS TV era.
Courtesy of CBS Television
Uhura: TOS/TAS Greatest Hits
Obviously, an awful lot happens over the course of Star Trek: The Original Series (and Star Trek: The Animated Series). So we’re going to hone in on the moments that really help define who Uhura is.
First, let’s just talk about “Charlie X” for a moment. Sure, it’s an episode about a kid with godlike powers who acts like a dink. But what really matters isn’t Charlie, it’s Uhura. Uhura dances and sings while Spock plays the Vulcan lute. And then she composes lyrics to a song about Charlie on the spot. A queen.
There are two occasions in which Uhura lets Sulu know that she is not interested. In “The Naked Time” a space drunk (that’s a thing) Sulu attempts to save the “fair maiden” Uhura. She responds, “Sorry, neither” which is a nice way of saying she does not need help and surely isn’t fair. In “Mirror, Mirror” Uhura manipulates evil Sulu by playing with his sexual desires as a distraction.
And on Star Trek: The Animated Series, Uhura even takes control of the ship after the men are tricked by evil alien women in “The Lorelei Signal”. That’s right. Uhura leads the remaining women on board, defeats the aliens, and rescues the men. Fun fact: in addition to Uhura, Nichelle Nichols voiced countless other characters throughout TAS.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Uhura: Now in Movie Form
The original Star Trek cast has six feature-length films to their name. And while an awful lot of the runtimes are dedicated to Kirk, Spock, and Bones, that doesn’t mean Uhura doesn’t get her licks in. And there are three outstanding moments worth mentioning here.
In Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Kirk and co. have to steal the Enterprise in order to get to the Genesis planet. And in order to do that, someone needs to commandeer a transporter room. That someone is Uhura. Not only does Uhura get everyone to the proverbial Church on time, but she also licks a snot-nosed punk in a closet after he accuses her of being over the hill.
In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, someone has to distract a bunch of terrorists while Kirk and co. save a group of diplomats. Uhura is the one who gets it done. How? Well, by stripping down and putting on a sexy fan dance in order to attract the terrorist men folk. Nichelle Nichols was in her mid-50s at the time and she absolutely pulls it off.
Finally, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country someone has to distract the Klingons (are you sensing a theme here) so the Enterprise can rescue Kirk and Bones from a Klingon prison colony. Uhura communicates with the Klingons in their native language without the use of a universal translator. And while her Klingon is broken (more on that later) she manages to save the day and be absolutely hilarious in the process.
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Uhura: Kelvin Edition
Nichelle Nichols does not love the fact that Uhura is not fluent in Klingon during the events of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. This fact likely has an impact on the Bad Robot Kelvin Universe reboot of Star Trek. The Kelvin Universe, for the uninitiated, is an alternate version of the Star Trek continuity. The Kelvin Universe is created when Captain Nero and his ship the Romulan starship Narada travel back in time and destroy the USS Kelvin.
Jim Kirk’s father George dies when the Kelvin is destroyed thus creating a completely new timeline. In addition to a different Kirk and Spock, we also get a new version of Uhura played by Zoe Saldana. Like Celia Rose Gooding’s Uhura, Saldana’s has a good relationship with Spock. Unlike Gooding’s incarnation, Saldana’s Uhura dates Spock. So that’s a big difference.
However, the most notable connection between Saldana and Gooding’s Uhura’s is their xenolinguistic abilities. Both versions speak a lot of languages. And of special note in the Kelvin Universe is that Uhura speaks Romulan and Klingon – a rarity at Starfleet. And it’s her aptitude for language which helps the Enterprise make the right decisions at the moment and not get killed.
Courtesy of NASA
Nichelle Nichols’ Legacy
Uhura is obviously Nichelle Nichols’ most obvious legacy, however, it is worth noting her influence is larger than that. Martin Luther King Jr. told her that her being on TV changed how Black women are perceived in the world. And that’s true. And her kiss with William Shatner in the episode “Plato’s Children” is the first televised interracial kiss in the United States of America. Nichols as Uhura moved the needle in enormous ways.
Star Trek influences a lot of things, but one of the most obvious ones is interest in space exploration. And Nichols leads the way here as well. Nichols was part of NASA recruitment, especially focusing on women and people of color. Sally Ride, the first woman in space, is part of that recruitment. Guion Bluford, the first Black man in space is part of that recruitment. And so are some 8,000 other individuals.
It’s essential to remember that, without Nichelle Nichols, there is no Uhura. And without Uhura, the world of science fiction is so much less.
