"Plato's Stepchildren:" Kirk-Uhura Rape Scene?

[CoveTom]

Trying to figure out the absolute chain-of-command is a lot like trying to figure out a meaningful and accurate formula for "stardates" that fit all its citations ... you can't.

Generally, Scotty was the goto third in command but not always. Sometimes it was given to Sulu. Sometimes a rarely seen Lt. DeSalle. It was even worse in The Next Generation.

Keep in mind, though, that there is a difference between what the regular chain of command is and who is given command in any particular instance.

The chain of command would determine who has authority over who in normal circumstances. So, for example, Data has authority over LaForge because Data is the second officer, even though Data and LaForge have the same rank.

The chain of command also determines who automatically takes command in an unexpected situation. So if Picard is killed or incapacitated, Riker takes command. If Riker is out of the game, Data takes command, etc.

However, when all is functioning normally and the captain leaves the bridge, he can assign command to whomever he wishes, without regard to the normal chain of command. So Kirk can give command to DeSalle or Picard can give it to Crusher or Sisko can give it to Ensign Ricky.

 

[Danger Ace]

Wouldn't this have been a better candidate for the first interracial kiss on American network television?

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Wouldn't this have been a better candidate for the first interracial kiss on American network television?

There's a famous anecdote from this scene, which I probably got from a David Gerrold book. Upon seeing Uhura, Campbell's line was supposed to be, "A Nubian prize!"

[Prize is military jargon for something captured during a battle. The word is most often associated with old sailing ships, when one was taken rather than sunk.]

But anyway, in some kind of Freudian slip, Campbell flubbed the line. He said, "A Nubian slave!" And Nichols supposedly said, "I'll kick you in the ass!"

 

[Pauln6]

TNG went overboard where anyone could find themselves in command - Troi, Crusher, the gimpy half-blind janitor on deck 23, literally anybody ...

Yes. It strained credibility to see the ship's medical doctor and a trendy psycho-therapist have turns at commanding a capital ship.

That's not who commands such an important ship-- not for an hour, not for ten minutes.

It's only silly if you think of them solely in terms of their job roles. Both Crusher and Troi were also experienced senior officers and that involves command training and experience. The bridge officer test was a bit silly but the concept isn't as long when you consider that Crusher was usually only in command during routine missions and an experienced line officer could be summoned if anything dangerous happened.

It's far sillier to leave Ensign NuChekov in charge of the bridge in the midst of a non-routine crisis.

 

[Ssosmcin]

Wouldn't this have been a better candidate for the first interracial kiss on American network television?

Uhura and the Yeoman? I would have been so down with that!

But anyway, in some kind of Freudian slip, Campbell flubbed the line. He said, "A Nubian slave!" And Nichols supposedly said, "I'll kick you in the ass!"

"Ankle" was the word used in the book. It could have been edited for youngsters, however.

 

[CoveTom]

Yes. It strained credibility to see the ship's medical doctor and a trendy psycho-therapist have turns at commanding a capital ship.

That's not who commands such an important ship-- not for an hour, not for ten minutes.

But the average Joe Therapist wouldn't get to command a ship. Crusher and Troi first chose to go through Starfleet Academy when they didn't have to. We saw from Crewman Tarses in "The Drumhead" that medical personnel can go through a special, abbreviated program. They, therefore, presumably, got the same training as every other officer.

Second, they chose to specifically pursue command training, culminating in a test of their abilities that qualified them to command the ship.

Is that the way it would work in today's military? No. But it apparently works that way in Starfleet. If they'd simply said "we're letting the doctor take command," that would have seemed silly. But they justified it with the character's backstories and what we saw on screen.

 

[maneth]

It's a sign of the times in the late 60s. At the time they couldn't show two people with different skin colors kissing simply because both wanted to do it.