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Janice Rand: Stay or Nay?

Janice Rand - stay or nay?

  • Stay!

    Votes: 37 71.2%

  • Nay!

    Votes: 15 28.8%
  • Total voters
    52
Jaespol

Jaespol

Captain
So I was watching a Star Trek documentary last night and it was interviewing Grace Lee Whitney. She said she was fired because they wanted Kirk to have a relationship with a different woman each week and Janice Rand cramped his style, she also said she was the one fired because they couldn't fire Uhura (that would be un-pc) or Chapel since she was engaged to Roddenberry, so they fired her. She turned to alcohol afterwards and was incredibly bitter and depressed.
I was quite surprised about all this and it got me thinking about all the actors who were treated badly by Star Trek (Grace Lee Whitney, Gates McFadden, Wil Wheaton, Jennifer Lien, Terry Farrel) and thought I should make some polls about them in their respective forums.
I did like the Janice Rand character, would you have liked to see her stay or did you think it was good that she left?
 
Was that just her opinion as to why she was fired over Nichelle Nichols? Sounds like a bunch of poppycock. Uhura was an actual bridge officer whereas Rand gave Kirk things to sign and stuff. Nothing was terribly PC in the 60's so I don't think that fact that Nichols is black is the reason why she wasn't let go. Just my opinion though!
 
It's been pretty well documented why Whitney left the series. I don't think she, Nichols and Barrett were ever in a position where the creators were drawing straws to see who had to go.
 
She had the same name as my wife, and when I met her back in 1989, she was exceedingly charming.

Stay.
 
If it's between the communications officer on the bridge and a yeoman, I pick the character that matters...even if her weave hairdo is so damn chic (who has the the better wig- our next topic of discussion?)

I'm sure Ms. Whitney is lovely, but nay.
 
Jaespol said:
So I was watching a Star Trek documentary last night and it was interviewing Grace Lee Whitney. She said she was fired because they wanted Kirk to have a relationship with a different woman each week and Janice Rand cramped his style,
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What documentary was that? I had heard that reason before but I had also heard substance abuse (was that in The Star Trek Story?).

Jaespol said:
she also said she was the one fired because they couldn't fire Uhura (that would be un-pc) or Chapel since she was engaged to Roddenberry, so they fired her.
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Neither Nichelle nor Majel had a contract in the first season so that wouldn't make any sense. They were hired as day-players. I think Grace was likely hired on a 7 out of 13 contract and then at the end of that her option wasn't picked up.
 
Stay. the more the so much more merrrier. watch Kirk juggle his friend of the week and hide them form Rand - that would've been entertainment!
 
As lovely and attractive as Janice was, I voted nay, for all of the reasons mentioned above.

She was a glorified P.A. and had little to do. Maybe that was the fault of the writers, but if it came to a choice between Rand, Uhura and Chapel, then the latter two are more interesting characters and better female role models IMO.

Jaespol said:
it got me thinking about all the actors who were treated badly by Star Trek (...Terry Farrel)
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How was Terry Farrel treated badly? She chose not to renew her contract after six years and was allowed to move on to another show.
 
MikeS said:
How was Terry Farrel treated badly? She chose not to renew her contract after six years and was allowed to move on to another show.
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It was a lot more than that. The studio were underpaying her and when she tried to get the equal pay she deserved they rejected (which was totally unfair) then they killed off her character on DS9 rather than allowing her to live on in a smaller role on the show (so she could work on Becker and DS9).
The other actors were furious and were threatened when they tried to stick up for her and there was a lot of tension on the set when DeBoer came on.

So yeah, she was badly treated.
 
Where is your source for that? I've never heard her say a bad word on the DVD interviews or any other source for that matter.
 
Liked the character... but she wasn't really important in the grand scheme of things. Nay.
 
Jaespol said:
MikeS said:
How was Terry Farrel treated badly? She chose not to renew her contract after six years and was allowed to move on to another show.
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It was a lot more than that. The studio were underpaying her and when she tried to get the equal pay she deserved they rejected (which was totally unfair)
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"Equal Pay" as it applies to television is a strange creature. It's based on credits and experience as well, so how do you define what's equal? For example, someone with Auberjonois's credits is going to make more than Farrell.

However, I had never heard this before. I thought the reason she left was because she didn't think the character was going anywhere, and because she wanted the job on Becker.
 
MikeS said:
Where is your source for that? I've never heard her say a bad word on the DVD interviews or any other source for that matter.
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Do you really expect Paramount to put this stuff on their dvds? They're not gonna put any of these "juicy details" on the extras, goodness knows there's no part on the TNG extras where Gates talks about being sexually harassed on set!
This whole story was recounted on Michael Dorn's website years ago and I've remembered it well.
As for "equal", Farrell simply wanted pay equal to Nana Visitor's. Paramount screwed her over again when she took up the cause of the cast of Becker and tried to get them all pay raises as they had been entitled to in their contracts, they fired her of course as the instigator.
 
Hm, well I did just find this on the official Paramount startrek.com site:

A salary dispute led to Terry's decision to leave DS9 when her original six-year contract was up in 1998. But she was quickly back on the Paramount lot when she was cast opposite Ted Danson in the half-hour CBS sitcom Becker, which she starred in for four seasons.
Click to expand...
 
Jaespol said:
MikeS said:
Where is your source for that? I've never heard her say a bad word on the DVD interviews or any other source for that matter.
Click to expand...

Do you really expect Paramount to put this stuff on their dvds? They're not gonna put any of these "juicy details" on the extras, goodness knows there's no part on the TNG extras where Gates talks about being sexually harassed on set!
This whole story was recounted on Michael Dorn's website years ago and I've remembered it well.
As for "equal", Farrell simply wanted pay equal to Nana Visitor's. Paramount screwed her over again when she took up the cause of the cast of Becker and tried to get them all pay raises as they had been entitled to in their contracts, they fired her of course as the instigator.
Click to expand...

If Paramount screwed her the first time, why would she go right back to working for them?
 
BillJ said:
Jaespol said:
MikeS said:
Where is your source for that? I've never heard her say a bad word on the DVD interviews or any other source for that matter.
Click to expand...

Do you really expect Paramount to put this stuff on their dvds? They're not gonna put any of these "juicy details" on the extras, goodness knows there's no part on the TNG extras where Gates talks about being sexually harassed on set!
This whole story was recounted on Michael Dorn's website years ago and I've remembered it well.
As for "equal", Farrell simply wanted pay equal to Nana Visitor's. Paramount screwed her over again when she took up the cause of the cast of Becker and tried to get them all pay raises as they had been entitled to in their contracts, they fired her of course as the instigator.
Click to expand...

If Paramount screwed her the first time, why would she go right back to working for them?
Click to expand...

Its not easy to find a starring role in a primetime sitcom opposite Ted Danson...
 
Ditch her, bring in Barbara Eden. In her Genie outfit. Have her turn Elaan of Troyas into a pack-mule. She'd be like a proto-Q.

BTW - saw the same doco - "Bring Back Star Trek,' funny as hell. Let's put this in full context - she also said that political correctness is why the country is "shot to hell" now, and that she and the Shat had "real chemistry." I got the impression she was running a little hot on entitlement.
 
oldstredshrtevr said:
Stay. the more the so much more merrrier. watch Kirk juggle his friend of the week and hide them form Rand - that would've been entertainment!
Click to expand...

That reminds me, I recently watched a few TOS-RM eps on Netflix. I believe it was The Conscience of the King. Lenore is on the Bridge near Kirk. Yeoman Rand comes in from the turbolift, and in that instant, shoots quite the dirty look at her.
 
Jaespol said:
It was a lot more than that. The studio were underpaying her and when she tried to get the equal pay she deserved they rejected (which was totally unfair) then they killed off her character on DS9 rather than allowing her to live on in a smaller role on the show (so she could work on Becker and DS9).
The other actors were furious and were threatened when they tried to stick up for her and there was a lot of tension on the set when DeBoer came on.

So yeah, she was badly treated.
Click to expand...
Sorry, Jaespol, I just have to ask: Do you have a source for that?
 
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