From Frank Oz himself:
https://twitter.com/thefrankozjam/status/1042123247872106497?lang=en
https://twitter.com/thefrankozjam/status/1042123247872106497?lang=en
George Takei on why the original ‘Star Trek’ never featured a gay character
- Thread starter Danja
- Start date
Ah George Takei...everything he says is worthy of barely a single grain of salt. I swear, between him and Nichelle, the network was chock full of racist, misogynist homophobes causing them to both be slighted and take away from the original Ensemble Cast that Star Trek was originally conceived to be. Also Shatner.
Maybe the homophobic part was true (I can't say), but NBC was pretty good about their featuring African Americans considering the era. And knowing Roddenberry, he probably didn't give any real thought to gay characters on the original series.
Maybe the homophobic part was true (I can't say), but NBC was pretty good about their featuring African Americans considering the era. And knowing Roddenberry, he probably didn't give any real thought to gay characters on the original series.
Always thought Bert and Ernie were Sesame Street's sendup to Neil Simon's The Odd Couple.
play 1965, movie 1968, Bert and Ernie 1969, tv series 1970
play 1965, movie 1968, Bert and Ernie 1969, tv series 1970
There are a lot of common elements the Odd Couple plus other psychological elements to get subtle messages across to the audience. Bert often plays the adult to Ernie's irresponsible child but he also teaches Ernie important lessons just as Ernie teaches him the importance of having fun. It's a clever show and did wonders for literacy in poor communities back in the day.
Well - if you go that route the was a show that had a gay character:
Bewitched's "Uncle Authur" played by Paul Lynde. Lynde definitely played everything up, and while it wasn't outright stated, it was pretty clear to see he was hiding nothing.
TOS did have that Trelane fella. Talk about flamboyant, à la Liberace.
Paul Lynde was hilarious. He took his all-but-stated gay persona even further on The Hollywood Squares, often delivering suggestive one-liners. Everybody got it, and his likeability helped move the needle on gay social progress.
Back on Star Trek , "Elaan of Troyius" had Ambassador Petri (Jay Robinson), who can be viewed as gay both for his manner and his catty dismissal of one of the hottest women ever to appear on the show.
Of interest is the fact that Alan Sues was a regular on Laugh-In at the same time. He was often seen as a discount Paul Lynde for dispensing much the same schtick, while not being as well known.
Lack of evidence to the contrary is not proof.
Actually he meant to say Asexual. "They're Asexual, reproducing at will. And Brother have they got a lot of will."
However in the take he said Bisecual and it looks like no one caught it.
Well Chapel was sleeping with the boss and Chekov was the manufactured “teen idol.” They had the leg up as far as focus.
Uhura got some time with Lars on Triskelion. Also some draining experiences with Nomad.
Sulu, yeah he didn’t get a lot. He also split to make a movie, so that part’s on him.
Uhura got some time with Lars on Triskelion. Also some draining experiences with Nomad.
Sulu, yeah he didn’t get a lot. He also split to make a movie, so that part’s on him.
Sulu actually played a key role in several landing parties but his story with fellow botanist Leila Kalomi was gifted to Spock, and worked very well. I think if he had been available for more of season three, we might have seen another episode or so featuring Sulu prominently. I certainly never got the impression that his role was deliberately reduced for any racist or homophobic reasons.
I think Nichols probably suffered more. She was the principal recurring female character and Uhura was crying out for an episode where she got to be the focus. Chapel's big focus episode was cribbed from a guest character. I'm sure they could have done the same for Uhura.
I also think if Rand had remained, we might have had a bit more of a dynamic with Uhura and Sulu since her scenes with them contained quite a few character moments and her interaction with the junior crew felt more organic.
From the shooting script (the revised final draft dated August 1, 1967) with a change page dated August 15, 1967:
Paul Lynde was a master with making bawdy humor genuinely funny, though a lot of his jokes had nothing to do with homosexuality. Those that were were said after he made it big, or said them in inoffensive and/or self-deprecating ways, thus making it easier to do as he wasn't holding anything back as well as appearing open to all audiences. That's not easy to do. Charles Nelson Reilly also ascribed to his style, of which Paul clearly started the trend, and both are up there alongside Robin Williams in my book as some of the best comically talented personalities of all time.
But back to Troyius: It is about racial hatred that had Petri acting so dismissive, which was a focal point to that episode - a major plot point for both Elaan and him, indeed... And being 1968, Petri would for all intents and purposes be as hetero as anyone else. And it wasn't abnormal for sci-fi to use stereotype gay mannerisms to pass off as alien beings. Look at Alpha Centauri from Doctor Who in 1972 and how the character was scripted. (Also, Jay was said to be hetero in real life...) But that's how it often was done and goes back to that other stereotype where guys with certain cadence and inflection or mannerisms are not gay just because of having those.
Then David Gerrold needs a sex education course.
Jonathan Harris made a living with his “Clifton Webb” style of persona. Many people questioned his orientation but had a loving wife for all of his adult life and a son (he kept his personal life very secret). It was a style of performance. Jay Robinson was straight and married twice with one child. He just had a particular style.
Actually, I think Gene Coon -- who eventually did the rewriting -- needed that course. Here's the relevant section from the first draft (dated July 21, 1967):Then David Gerrold needs a sex education course.
I got the impression his role was reduced when he left the show to film The Green Berets.
I wonder if Uhura should have gotten the "What are Little Girls" story, and beam down with Kirk. She famously had as much intimacy with GR as Majel did; that's got to count for something. And she was arguably the hotter babe (TV is a visual medium). And despite GR's stories to the contrary, NBC wanted to reach out to minority audiences.
But it then raises the question of whether Korby should be black. And then, by the domino effect, should Andrea be a black fembot? It would another year (1967) before the Supreme Court would make interracial marriage legal in all fifty states, so having Uhura's fiancé and Andrea be black would seem the smoother course.
On the other hand, if the story featured three black principals along with Kirk and Ruk, it might have been "too black" for Neilsen ratings comfort in 1966.
Either way they went, it might have been a better episode than we got with Majel.
Similar threads
- Locked
- Locked
