Jackson Jambalaya

Saved Star Trek? Hardly. I like Nichelle Nichols but Desilu Studios could’ve found 100 photogenic African-American actors to wear that red skirt if she had walked off the set.

The overwhelming majority of African-Americans wouldn’t watch Star Trek for more than 5 minutes without sucking their teeth and loudly proclaiming, “This some dumb shit” and changing the channel. A genuine black trekker is a unicorn.

Grand slam KF. These gems more than make up for your questionable ones. Keep'em coming.

That's pretty ignorant. I've known quite a few black Star Trek fans. When I was in AIT, there the blacks watched TNG when it came on the day room tv.

Ever heard of Whoopi Goldberg? She talks about how much she loved the original series when it first broadcast.

@11:23am Jees are you out to lunch. Her valued and respected presence was SEEN by millions of WHITE people that would lead to the change Marty and Gene were advocating.

11:23 What a narrow-minded fop might not now understand is that Black people had never, never, seen a Black person portrayed in the movies or t.v. as a participant in space exploration or anything having to do with science or the future. She was the first and it was revolutionary. It was also important because, as Dr. King pointed out, her job as a member of the crew was race-
neutral which is what Dr. King fought for. Star Trek as we know it really began with her presence as a fellow human being, not a Black woman, which at the time was not just noteworthy but down right shocking.

My favorite story is the letter shatter got after the episode were he was forced to kiss Nichols aired. It was written by some racist southern guy that said, “ you shouldn’t have been forced to kiss her. Any hot blooded American male would kiss her willingly “or something to that effect.

@Kingfish
Not ignorant at all. Your tiny sample size doesn’t equal all of the conventions I have attended around the USA including Los Vegas, where out of 1000 attendees, there were at most 30 non-whites.

And they had no problems replacing Tasha Yar and Dr Crusher on TNG.

I am not saying her character wasn’t good or loved. She simply didn’t save Star Trek. Nobody saved Star Trek. It was cancelled after 3 seasons.

In response to 11:23: I once read a comment on this blog that went something like "I won't judge you by the worst of your race if you won't judge me by the worst of mine."

That sound like a fair deal to me. I, for one, don't want to be lumped in with a meth-mouthed, catalytic converter stealing, white-power lowlife.

Ms. Nichols speaks directly to the idea that she could have been easily replaced, beginning at the 7-minute mark.

posting like this one should make you think.

good one fish

I’ve never seen a racist honor Dr. King which is why you’ve posted nonsense NOT honoring Dr. King.

12:38 Is it hard for some people to understand that super heroes and science fiction space movies are really about fantasy? If the fantasy excludes an entire race of people would you expect them to become loyal fans? DUH. If you went to a Superman convention in the 60's most of the idiots wearing Superman costumes will be white males. DUH. Go to a Black Panther convention and see who is wearing those African outfits. Again DUH. You go to those things to commune with others like yourself. As Blacks and Hispanics are more included in the fantasy production they will also be the loyal fans at the conventions.

The mere fact that in the 1960's Ms. Nichols was a participant in a movie about space was tremendously significant and besides a few other things set Star Trek apart from the other science fantasy drivel of the day. Thanks KF

@2:40
Your entire rambling comment is ignorant and asinine. Nichelle Nichols was a cast member of a TV show that was cancelled after 3 seasons in the 1960s. Hence the reason she and Dr. King didn’t “save” Star Trek.

There was no Star Trek movie until 1979 when Paramount brought the cast together to create a special effects movie to join the Star Wars hype. It was a flop but they got a lot of footage they reused in the second Star Trek movie, Wrath of Khan. Which by the way, you all remind me of Lt. Cmdr Chekov and Capt. Terrell got the ear worm and became mindless servants of Khan.

Star Trek?

Who cares?

3:28 I think KF and the blogger at 2:40 are just attempting to highlight the significance of Dr. King's impact on a pretty significant appearance in a t.v. show. It was damn historic at the time because such things never happened before and it set the stage for things to come. Your attention to detail may seem real important but let's not forget the historic significance of that moment. After all, it is MLK day.

@5:19
Your giant flat screen TV and iPhone exist because nerds way smarter than you wanted to recreate the scifi tech they saw on Star Trek.
Actually they made the Motorola RAZR first because thats what Capt Kirk had

Saved is a bit dramatic. Cicely Tyson read for the role as well. Star Trek was canceled after three seasons …. Reruns saved TREK. Lol.

Dr. King didn’t give a fuck about a Star Trek. Corny ass Racist trying to reduce King to a fake ass TV show.

Real Trek fans pointing out certain truths about Trek casting must be hurting the Mod's feelings. I am a huge Trek fan but can reason that a show canceled after three seasons wasn't saved by Dr. King. Come on man.

Let it be noted that the venerable, post-racial Kigfish refers (11:44) to people of color as 'The Blacks'. Have no clue what AIT is as I've not seen Mr. Fish's resume lately.

My-Brother at 12:48 said, "...That sound like a fair deal to me. I, for one, don't want to be lumped in with a meth-mouthed, catalytic converter stealing, white-power lowlife."

To date I have seen two videos and three still shots of entrepreneurs removing cat converters from automobiles not belonging to them. None of those pictures/videos featured white persons. And zero white persons are trafficking meth on the streets of Jackson. It's fine if you wear your cap sideways...just please stop showing the crack of your ass when you walk around (or ride your bicycle) in public.

So it's settled ? Dr. King just made sure she stayed on the show until it was cancelled but didn't save it in reality.

11;44 . KF ...thanks for your service. And you are right, during my A -school, many POC and drips enjoyed TNG.

7:43 - I was a 'nerdy' one when Star Trek originally ran, but using your theory, the Apple watch was inspired by the Dick Tracy comic strip of the 50's.

To January 17 at 9:33 p.m.: You should actually watch the video of Ms. Nichols's interview before you comment on it. She actually met Dr. King, and he talked to her about the show.

BTW, You sound a lot like the stereotype identified at January 17 at 11:23 a.m., which was pretty racist. Either you are a troll, or you should stop talking like a negative stereotype, instead of bitching about racists.