Spock/Uhura '09

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

So...I was pleasantly shocked about this romance. You know you're a HUGE Trekkie if you were born in the 80s but you've been waiting since the 60s for certain things to happen. There's been debate for ages about Spock and Uhura, from their singing in "Charlie X" to every time Spock paid her a compliment to entire fansites dedicated to nothing but these two. The actors were grateful it happened, and Leonard Nimoy has even gone so far as to say he was "jealous" and that he would never forgive the writers and directors for depriving him of Uhura for the last 40 years.

 

I for one am deeply thankful that we finally see Uhura in a solid relationship with someone actually worthy of her. There was no better choice than Spock. There are many reasons for my thankfulness, which this blogger lists and analyzes perfectly: http://rawles.livejournal.com/340736.html?thread=6239744 (I highly recommend reading it. She's a witty writer).

 

Very rarely I have read disapproval of this pairing on the net. For the most part, I've read, "It's about time" and how this pairing is, for lack of a better term, "logical."

 

I hope the writers don't get caught up in their phenomenal success and screw everything up. If they do something dumb like make Spock (or Uhura) really emo and initiate an unnecessary break up, they should die. If anything, they should give us flashbacks as to how these two got together, because in the movie they just threw it at us as if to say, "Suck on that for a minute."

 

Either way, it's great this finally happened, in a time when there's no stupid societal barrier tampering with our beloved franchise.

[BakulaBabe 2]

*Oh HELL no! The writers should be killed!, The next film better break them up, Nada...still not diggin' the smoochfest*

 

Call me crazy, but as a Trekker since the premier of TOS, I was somehow under the impression that Uhura had a huge secret crush on Kirk, and I was unpleasantly surprised by Spock/Uhura. I was really hoping for some Kirk/Uhura (especially when I saw the preview with Kirk & "an unknown female" in bed). :)

 

When I saw them "all kissy-face" in the transporter room, it made me kinda . I'm also wondering what will happen with Spock/Chappel (if anything). Oh well, different timeline/universe, different romances. As I said in another thread, maybe I'll get used to it eventually.

[Stephen of Borg 2]

I'm also not a fan of the Spock/Uhura relationship. It was about as uncomfortable as the Uhura/Scotty relationship on Star Trek V (I think it was that one). If Spock had to be with someone, it should have been Chapel. If the alternate universe Spock and Chapel became a couple, it would have been cute and something fans have actually wanted to see. It is kind of disappointing it didn't happen that way. Oh well, I don't HATE the Spock/Uhura thing, but I don't like it either.

 

I think they should break up on the next movie. Maybe their relationship is getting too much in the way of their career or something like that. It's probably too late to have Chapel show up now and start a relationship. You can't have Spock go from Uhura to Chapel or he just look like a "playa". It would be equally uncomfortable to watch Spock/Uhura still together with Nurse Chapel on the sidelines jealous of them. Basically, I think it destroyed the hope of any Spock/Chapel storyline. That I would want to see.

 

If I had to pick a favorite scene, it would be when Kirk finds out Uhura's first name. That was a good scene :)

[Kor37 9]

I agree. It should have been Chapel.

[Stephen of Borg 2]

Call me crazy, but as a Trekker since the premier of TOS, I was somehow under the impression that Uhura had a huge secret crush on Kirk

 

When I first heard that there would be two of the cast getting together on the movie before I saw it, I thought it was going to be Kirk and Uhura! I literally told someone "I bet it is going to be Kirk and Uhura." I felt the same way. Spock didn't really come to mind since he is so logical

 

I thought it would be interesting if Kirk and Uhura had a past. It would make the episode "Plato's Stepchildren" more interesting when they were forced to kiss each other. It would make you wonder even more what they were thinking if they were ex-lovers kissing again after all of these years have passed.

Edited August 4, 2009 by Stephen of Borg

[ensign_beedrill 0]

Not into it at all. It totally goes against Spock's character.

 

1. She's his student. His student. He wouldn't strike up a relationship with a student.

2. He's betrothed. Engaged. Whatever. He's been set to marry T'Pring since he was a kid and he's not the type to break tradition.

3. It took weird alien spores to get him to be all kissy.

4. Even disregarding all of the above, there's no way he'd let Uhura kiss him in public. Nooooo way.

 

Plus, I like the idea of Spock/Christine. And I would have been put off if that had been the relationship in the movie, too. Because it's not Spock.

[Stephen of Borg 2]

2. He's betrothed. Engaged. Whatever. He's been set to marry T'Pring since he was a kid and he's not the type to break tradition.

 

that's a good point I didn't think of. It wouldn't matter now since T'Pring is dead in this new universe, but while she was alive, he wouldn't have been with Uhura

[Indy 8]

Actually I kinda enjoyed the pairing. This is a different Trek, I don't necessarily want to see the same old stuff that we already know. Let's mix it up a bit, that's what makes life interesting. This is a whole new frontier of Trek.

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

Here's where I'm torn.

 

On the one hand, Roddenberry, Nimoy, and Nichols report that Uhura and Spock were always meant to be a couple, but the network didn't want to have a white guy in a steady relationship with a black woman (and let's not forget Shatner's incessant need for all the attention and all the publicity...in "Plato's Stepchildren" he didn't even make the kiss look good). So instead of getting to see the full monty we got--Roddenberry claimed--"hints."

 

The Spock/Uhura pairing most certainly did NOT come out of nowhere. I am surprised to see so many people claim that, I guess they have either forgotten or are not that familiar with TOS. In fact, it has been canon since the very first aired episode of Star Trek, "Mantrap", although not as a an actual romantic relationship, but as an attraction/friendship/flirtation. Uhura flirted with Spock in those early episodes, as you can see here:

 

YouTube - Making chit-chat with Mr. Spock (from "Mantrap")

 

YouTube - Uhura sings about Spock (from "Charlie X")

 

I always found it weird that this wasn't followed up after early season 1, since they had such interesting chemistry. Spock/Uhura has been a very popular ship in fanfiction, but on the show, they did not get many scenes together later on, but there were still little hints of underlying attraction here and there (e.g. season 3 "Is There In Truth No Beauty") . They opted to focus more on Spock/Nurse Christine Chapel (played by Majel Barrett Roddenberry), which was written more as a hopeless love on her part.

 

As I learned more about the history of it all, it turns out that Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, always planned to have some kind of attraction between Spock and Uhura, and it was written in the "show Bible" as a part of character backstories and relationships within the crew (as, for instance, Kirk and McCoy being old friends). Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura, also said in an interview in 2008 that there was supposed to be more than was seen on the screen: "I created a relationship between Uhura and Spock as being her mentor and the person she looked up to. Uhura was the only one who could play the Vulcan lyre and the only one who had the audacity to sing a song teasing Spock." Trek CelebWatch: Takei Talks Roddenberry, Stewart Hits Manhattan, Nimoy v Colbert and More | TrekMovie.com

 

But the network didn't like it... They didn't like Uhura in general, and kept asking for her role to be minimized. It was the 1960s, and having a black woman as a competent professional on the show was in itself very brave and controversial. To have anything resembling a relationship between a black woman and someone played by a white actor, was practically unacceptable. Roddenberry fought to keep Uhura on the show and include her in more storylines, but most of the time she was just seen sitting in her console and talking about communications: "Hailing frequencies open, sir".

 

It is also funny how many people think that Uhura and Kirk were an item, just because everyone has heard of the "first interracial kiss on TV" between them. Kirk and Uhura had a lot of respect for each other in TOS and seemed very friendly, but they never flirted and never showed any explicit romantic interest in each other. If you watch the episode "Plato's Stepchildren" in which they kissed, you will see it was because some sadistic people with special powers were keeping a few of the Enterprise crew prisoner and playing games with them, making them do embarrassing things by controlling their movements and behaviour. Kirk and Uhura were forced telekinetically to kiss against their will, they were trying to resist it, and they both felt uncomfortable about it.

 

Furthermore, the kiss was supposed to be between Spock and Uhura, and would have been if it wasn't for William Shatner's huge ego. Roddenberry came up with the idea for the episode because he wanted to showcase an interracial kiss and break new ground, and this was the only way they were able to get it past the censors. They planned for Spock and Uhura to kiss, but Shatner pulled rank and insisted that, if anyone was going to kiss Nichelle, it was going to be him, "the star of the show" as he considered himself. (Nichelle Nichols talked about all this in her autobiography, "Beyond Uhura"). Shatner was never able to deal with someone else taking the spotlight, and even had it put in his contract that Nimoy was not allowed to have more lines in an episode than he did...of course he wasn't going to let him have all the publicity! So eventually they caved in and changed it to a Kirk/Uhura kiss, while Spock was forced to kiss Nurse Chapel.

 

Uhura had a thing with Scotty in the 1980s movies that took place many years later (ST V came out in 1989), although there was never any hint of any interest between them in the original series.

 

In fact, the only character she showed any romantic/sexual interest in the original series, was Spock. Sulu seemed interested in her, but it was one-sided, and she seemed annoyed with his advances.

 

Therefore, I didn't find the Spock/Uhura pairing surprising at all. I was only surprised that they took it that far, implying a previous relationship, kissing on the transponder publically... But for the pairing itself, it is completely unsurprising. It's obivous that, with the trailers, magazine covers, etc. they really tried - and mostly succeeded- to mislead people into thinking that Kirk and Uhura would hook up in the movie. I was upset at the time, but I never really believed that, and suspected it was all a misdirection, because it would just be so wrong, considering their dynamic in TOS - not to mention that it wouldn't be interesting as a story, at all.

 

I think that it was a real shame that Spock/Uhura was not developed more on the show, and that Uhura was so underused in general, so I felt deeply satisfied when I learned about this plot in the new movie. It is like finishing old business, and an old injustice finally set right.

 

http://www.fanforum.com/f89/spock-uhura-2009-a-62894171/

 

The new writers wanted to fulfill the dream Roddenberry never got to, for which I say brava. After certain ST shows and films (which shall remain nameless) effectively laid waste to a beloved franchise, I think it's great someone finally stopped asked, "Well, what would Roddenberry do?"

 

http://www.scificool.com/spock-and-uhura-together-at-last/

http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur53104.cfm

http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2009/05/1...50672/index.xml

 

On the other hand...we've got Chapel.

 

Now, about Chapel...I always felt so bad for that character. In the regular timeline, it should've definitely been her--hands down. That was cruel, cruel, cruel what they did to her in the shows, because she understood Spock from day one. In the "The Naked Time" when she tells Spock, "Oh, how we must torture you!" she showed unprecedented understanding and acceptance of Spock just as he was, which even I will admit, Uhura never did. Quite frankly, I always understood Spock; humans usually are annoying and overly spoiled and emotional, and that would grate on any mature being's nerves. So when she uttered lines about how she understands his problems, I was like, "Yes! Finally someone gets it!"

Edited August 5, 2009 by SeeingEyeBorg

[mj 7]

So...I was pleasantly shocked about this romance. You know you're a HUGE Trekkie if you were born in the 80s but you've been waiting since the 60s for certain things to happen. There's been debate for ages about Spock and Uhura, from their singing in "Charlie X" to every time Spock paid her a compliment to entire fansites dedicated to nothing but these two. The actors were grateful it happened, and Leonard Nimoy has even gone so far as to say he was "jealous" and that he would never forgive the writers and directors for depriving him of Uhura for the last 40 years.

 

I for one am deeply thankful that we finally see Uhura in a solid relationship with someone actually worthy of her. There was no better choice than Spock. There are many reasons for my thankfulness, which this blogger lists and analyzes perfectly: http://rawles.livejournal.com/340736.html?thread=6239744 (I highly recommend reading it. She's a witty writer).

 

Very rarely I have read disapproval of this pairing on the net. For the most part, I've read, "It's about time" and how this pairing is, for lack of a better term, "logical."

 

I hope the writers don't get caught up in their phenomenal success and screw everything up. If they do something dumb like make Spock (or Uhura) really emo and initiate an unnecessary break up, they should die. If anything, they should give us flashbacks as to how these two got together, because in the movie they just threw it at us as if to say, "Suck on that for a minute."

 

Either way, it's great this finally happened, in a time when there's no stupid societal barrier tampering with our beloved franchise.

 

I read the blog you linked to .... it can be so tiresome to have people substitute profanity for adjectives. But I think the problem with the Spock/Uhura thing is in part the confusion with what the franchise is planning to do with Vulcans.

 

It is as if the folks running the franchise can't deal with the Vulcan culture that has developed over the years, and is attempting to make them more human. Wiping out most of the Vulcans ( all but about 10,000) gives those running the franchise freedom to do most anything, which is unfortunate. The various alien cultures that have developed over the years in the Star Trek saga have allowed for

many deep and poignant episodes in which the human condition was analyzed, because there were well-developed non-human cultures to contrast it with, while still telling a good story.

 

Whether or not Rodenberry wanted to develop the relationship between Spock and Uhura all along is not the point either. If he had the freedom to do so, he would have found a way to do so within the culture of Vulcan he developed...not like what we saw of the Vulcan culture in the new movie. Sarek would never have confessed his feelings for Spock's mother to Spock, nor understodd that Spock needed to hear him say that. This Spock seems to operate outside the pon farr.

 

In light of the comments in blog, the most radical relatioship presented in the Star Trek universe was

Sisko in DS9 having longstanding loving relationships with two black women. Ususally Star Trek seemed to enjoy putting its major black characters in interracial relationships. In that the new Spock/Uhura thing is actually consistent.

[trekz 7]

As another from the beginning Star Trek fan, I feel Nurse Chapel should have had a relationship with Spock if anyone could. I agree with previous comments about Vulcan culture and the disrespect it is shown in this film, and find it unlikely that Spock would allow himself to be seen making out with Uhura in public. On a peripheral note I found the destruction of Vulcan to be quite disturbing and even more annoying than the Spock/Uhura relationship, and as I said on another thread, not being able to protect one of the founding member planets of the Federation from destruction could have far reaching effects on the growth of the Federation in the future. Without a very strong Federation, could it resist the Romulan, the Klingons or the Borg?

 

I don't go to Star Trek movies to see romance, and the kissing scenes remind me of the frequent kissing scenes in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Let me start by reiterating my position on this timeline, I believe it to be an Alternate, not altered Original timeline so the differences seen in it are logical and (mostly) fine by me.

 

1. I voted Uh...YEAH. What took so long??!?, the pairing is a logical choice... for now. As been said, hints of them being an item of some sort were present in the first episode of TOS so... yeah, the writers appear to me to be on track. Chapel's interest in Spock came along later, perhaps the writers are planning a breakup for Uhura/Spock which could be Chapels opening so...

 

2. "The next film better break them up." I am hopeful that if they do a Pon Farr it will be in good taste and serve the story over gratuitously blowing Spocks heat in our faces. This would be a good opportunity for high emotional drama with Spock being torn between his naturally grown feelings for Uhura and the unfamiliar passion for a dead(?) T'Pring being thrust upon him. Now stir Chapel into the mix and wow, what an emotional triangle! Granted I am probably over thinking this. That's all a pretty complicated scenario for a two hour film which has to have other arcs included but that is how I'd do it if I could.

 

3. The transporter scene, when Kirk finds out.

[Jack_Bauer 1]

Chapel came along later,

Chapel was aboard the Enterprise during this movie. McCoy calls for her after Kirk's hands swell up (you have be listening for it to hear it). Since Sickbay was hit pretty bad during Nero's first attack, Nurse Chapel may be dead. Not definite, but possible. She could still come along and do exactly what you said, though.

[A l t e r E g o 9]

Chapel came along later,

Chapel was aboard the Enterprise during this movie. McCoy calls for her after Kirk's hands swell up (you have be listening for it to hear it). Since Sickbay was hit pretty bad during Nero's first attack, Nurse Chapel may be dead. Not definite, but possible. She could still come along and do exactly what you said, though.

 

Sorry, I meant about her short arc involving an attraction to Spock.

[Jack_Bauer 1]

Chapel came along later,

Chapel was aboard the Enterprise during this movie. McCoy calls for her after Kirk's hands swell up (you have be listening for it to hear it). Since Sickbay was hit pretty bad during Nero's first attack, Nurse Chapel may be dead. Not definite, but possible. She could still come along and do exactly what you said, though.

 

Sorry, I meant about her short arc involving an attraction to Spock.

True. I was kind of pointing out that they may not necessarily be the case in this timeline since we don't know if she's alive.

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

It is as if the folks running the franchise can't deal with the Vulcan culture that has developed over the years, and is attempting to make them more human. Wiping out most of the Vulcans ( all but about 10,000) gives those running the franchise freedom to do most anything, which is unfortunate. The various alien cultures that have developed over the years in the Star Trek saga have allowed for

many deep and poignant episodes in which the human condition was analyzed, because there were well-developed non-human cultures to contrast it with, while still telling a good story.

 

At the risk of going completely off topic, I'm glad someone addressed this. What's with the franchise-runners' dislike of Vulcans? I noticed it after the death of Roddenberry. Before his death, Vulcans were portrayed as unemotional, yes, but they were generally seen as honorable, peaceful, and an overall enlightened species. Enter DS9. We see almost no Vulcans except for an overbearing Ambassador, an arrogant, prejudicial Vulcan captain who commands an all-Vulcan crew, a psycho Vulcan in season 7, and after Garak gets tired of comparing Julian Bashir to a computer, he calls him a Vulcan, and by his irritable tone we can tell its meant as an insult. Enter Voyager. All I can say is Tuvok must have been in hell. Enter the Vulcans of ST: Enterprise--enough said.

 

I've also noticed this dislike carries over into fanfic. Writers consistently portray Vulcans as arrogant and rude. Now their homeworld is destroyed (which I did not agree with; the writers should be killed for that).

 

And the Vulcan who's most beloved and deemed iconic is...half-human. Wtf?

 

Back on topic...I had a thought. Maybe Chapel's unrequited love was Roddenberry's way to get back at the network by only giving them half of what they wanted. In the meantime, may the Spock/Uhura romance reign supreme. I like this pairing not because I'm a big fan of the two new actors (do NOT like Zoe Saldana), but because their pairing represents progress. Last I checked, that's what the ST universe was about--progress. Progress isn't about predictable pairings in outdated, overdone plots. It's not about a handful of people seeing what they want/like, but rather everyone seeing what they need to.

Edited August 5, 2009 by SeeingEyeBorg

[ussvwbeetle 0]

To me, I've always seen Spock as the emotionless alien that we've all come to know and love, but with that coming up between him and Uhura, I didn't like that one bit. Granted it was a 'new' Trek, at least keep somethings the same, but, that is just me, maybe they wanted things to show differently.

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

To me, I've always seen Spock as the emotionless alien that we've all come to know and love...

 

Really? I thought he was always very emotional and expressive, just struggling not to be. It was like Nimoy was always trying to repress a smirk, while Quinto was always on the verge of pummeling someone.

[SeeingEyeBorg 0]

To me, I've always seen Spock as the emotionless alien that we've all come to know and love...

 

Really? I thought he was always very emotional and expressive, just struggling not to be. It was like Nimoy was always trying to repress a smirk, while Quinto was always on the verge of pummeling someone.

[BakulaBabe 2]

Here's where I'm torn.

 

On the one hand, Roddenberry, Nimoy, and Nichols report that Uhura and Spock were always meant to be a couple, but the network didn't want to have a white guy in a steady relationship with a black woman (and let's not forget Shatner's incessant need for all the attention and all the publicity...in "Plato's Stepchildren" he didn't even make the kiss look good). So instead of getting to see the full monty we got--Roddenberry claimed--"hints."

 

The Spock/Uhura pairing most certainly did NOT come out of nowhere. I am surprised to see so many people claim that, I guess they have either forgotten or are not that familiar with TOS. In fact, it has been canon since the very first aired episode of Star Trek, "Mantrap", although not as a an actual romantic relationship, but as an attraction/friendship/flirtation. Uhura flirted with Spock in those early episodes, as you can see here:

 

YouTube - Making chit-chat with Mr. Spock (from "Mantrap")

 

YouTube - Uhura sings about Spock (from "Charlie X")

 

*very big snip*

 

When I saw those scenes on TV, then saw them just moments ago, I thought that Uhura was teasing Spock because he's always so logical, rather than flirting with him. Might be because "back in the day", I thought that Spock wouldn't be interested in a flirtatious or romantic relationship with a co-worker. I can see how people would see it as a possibility, though.

[ensign_beedrill 0]

was like Nimoy was always trying to repress a smirk, while Quinto was always on the verge of pummeling someone.

 

 

Lol. I'd say that's accurate.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named 2]

Except for that one time he was *actually* pummeling someone.

[VaBeachGuy 12]

I'm sure everyone knows that I had some issues with the movie, this was one of them but in the scheme of things it's down on the list.

[oldfan1 0]

This is the only Trek movie that I didn't go to the theater to see and the only one that I do not and will not own on DVD. I liked very little about this movie and the romance is part of my dislike for it. I guess I'm an old curmudgeon but I liked the way Trek movies were. Too bad that they screwed the pooch with Nemesis and ruined them.

[Bethlehem 8]

Curmudgeon - noun, a bad-tempered or surly person. Normally a Klingon subspecies who hates it when people mess with how stuff is supposed to be.

Just teasing you

[prometheus 0]

Perhaps this parallel universe Spock is going to lean towards his Human side more than his Vulcan side, just take different choices which would lead him to things like dating Uhura...

[BakulaBabe 2]

Perhaps this parallel universe Spock is going to lean towards his Human side more than his Vulcan side, just take different choices which would lead him to things like dating Uhura...

 

That's an interesting & thought-provoking possibility. With the Vulcan species on the verge of extinction, I wonder how it'll affect his relationship with Uhura, and with his human side. Hmmm... fascinating!

[gul_nodrog 2]

I wanted to hate this movie so bad, I really did. BUT I think it may well be my favorite because of this Spock/Uhura thing, because Spock and Kirk are at loggerheads, because Kirk kept getting his butt kicked by everybody but kept coming back for more. I think Urban is fabulous as the new Bones, Pine is a very sexy Kirk, Saldana is a very hot addition to the bridge, Pegg's Scotty is hilarious, and Quinto is Spock with an edge. Nimoy never came across quite this sexy IMO ... I really was surprised at how attractive I found Zach Quinto/Spock. I can see what Uhura sees in him.

 

Is she still his student? Starfleet IS college and I know a lot of professor/student relationships come about, so that doesn't bother me at all. Plus, 200 years from now, who knows what will and won't be "taboo."

 

These are not the same characters. This is really an entirely new group of people with characters built over a completely different set of lifetimes. I was worried about how they were going to reboot this franchise, but they set this up in such a way that it doesn't change anything in the Trek series' and movies that we watched for decades. It's just new and really not even connected to the old because of that pivotal moment in time with the USS Kelvin. I can accept that.

 

I can't believe I am saying this, because I was so worked up about the "erasure" of TNG/DS9/VOY, but I can now wrap my mind around the fact that this new movie route is something completely separate to be enjoyed in and of itself. Thank goodness, because a life without Trek is like a life without sunshine! LOL!

[gul_nodrog 2]

Perhaps this parallel universe Spock is going to lean towards his Human side more than his Vulcan side, just take different choices which would lead him to things like dating Uhura...

 

I REALLY HOPE YOU ARE RIGHT!

 

I find a Spock with a REAL internal struggle between his Vulcan and Human side extremely exciting and I can't wait to see where they go with this. I hope this Spock decides that he is going to embrace the better or more dynamic aspects of both cultures he belongs to and meld them into a personality that is just almost too cool to bear. Throw it all out except the characters and their backgrounds and let the new chips fall where they may!

[Bethlehem 8]

I do not mind if Spock's Character becomes human or the love stuff if it is not to much and someone gets their butt kicked during the show.