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Lieutenant Uhura is a character from the fictional '' and the first six ''Star Trek'' movies. She was the Chief Communications Officer on the Starship ''Enterprise'' ( NCC-1701 and NCC-1701-A ). The character is perhaps most notable for her involvement in the first interracial kiss on United States television, when she is kissed by Captain James T. Kirk under the telekinetic control of aliens. STARFLEET CAREER Uhura joined the crew of the USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701 in 2266. She served, with the rank of Lieutenant, as Chief Communications Officer under the command of Captain James T. Kirk . She retained this post throughout the ''Enterprise'''s five-year mission and returned to it with a promotion to Lieutenant Commander in 2271 under the command of Willard Decker after the ship's refit and again under Kirk (at that time an Admiral) during the V'Ger crisis of the same year. In 2284, while the ''Enterprise'' was reassigned for cadet training, Uhura was assigned to Starfleet Command Communications and Starfleet Academy where she lectured. Her assignment to the Transporter Room at Old City Station enabled her to play an instrumental role in the attempt to rescue Mr. Spock as she illegally transported Kirk and his crew to the ''Enterprise'' which they then stole to carry out this unauthorized mission. Following the destruction of the ''Enterprise'', Uhura joined the rest of the crew on the highjacked ''). She and Chekov successfully obtained enough photons from the nuclear reactor of the USS ''Enterprise'' CVN-65 Aircraft Carrier to recharge the ship's power after damage from the time-travel manoeuvre. With their mission successfully completed, they returned to Earth where, with the rest of the crew, Uhura was put on trial for her part in the theft and destruction of the ''Enterprise''. They were instead praised for saving Earth and Uhura returned to her original post as Chief Communications Officer under Kirk on the USS ''Enterprise'' NCC-1701-A . By 2293, Uhura had been promoted to the rank of Commander and had again taken up a position at Starfleet Academy. Her career following the decommissioning of the NCC-1701-A that year has yet to be officially chronicled. In the non-canon novels ''"Vulcan's Heart"'' and ''"Catalyst of Sorrows"'', Admiral Uhura is head of Starfleet Intelligence in 2360. FIRST NAME The first name of Uhura has never been definitively established. The name "Uhura" comes from the Swahili word ''Uhuru'', which means "freedom". This is probably an allusion on Roddenberry's part to the Uhuru African Socialist movement founded by Tanzania n leader Julius Nyerere , which attracted the attention of some U.S. citizens during the 1960s. However, "Uhura" would not normally be a Kenyan girl's name. However, ''Star Trek'' creator Gene Roddenberry stated that she only had one name, Uhura. The existence of Uhura's first name has been the subject of much debate among fans for years. Three names have been widely published as possible first names for Uhura (assuming she has one): Nyota, (U)Penda, & Samara. Nyota "Nyota", Swahili for "star", is the most quoted as Uhura's first name, although this name is not official '', Kirk clearly murmurs "Can you let us hear the probe's transmission," at one point to Uhura, which some fans insist on hearing as "Nyota, let us hear the probe's transmission," despite auditory and script evidence to the contrary. Nichelle Nichols has said on the DVD release of The Original Series that a writer had asked Gene Roddenberry about Uhura's first name, and was told that one was never decided. The writer then suggested the name "Nyota". Roddenberry liked it, but said to ask Nichols before he gave permission for the name to be used. Nichols had thought of the name as beautiful. (Source: Interview - Star Trek: TOS Season 2 DVD) The name, nonetheless, was never officially used. However, in many appearance in Star Trek and other genre conventions, Nichols does indicate that her preference is that the Commander is known as "Nyota (U)penda Uhura". While officially non-canon, this name does appear to have the widest acceptance, and may be considered Fanon . (U)Penda One publication, ''The Best of Trek'' suggested that her first name is "Penda" (the verb ''-penda'' has the meaning "to love" or "to like" in Swahili). This reference is from by William Rotsler . In the Pocket Books' Wallaby imprint book from 1982, the communications officer of the USS Enterprise was "Upenda Uhura". However, the book is not considered canonical. As was listed above, Nichelle Nichols considers this as the middle name of Uhura. Samara In the Star Trek RPG published by FASA in the 1980's, the full name given for Uhura was "Samara Uhura", although like the rest of this game, its source material was stricken from canonical status after the debut of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and Paramount Pictures revised canon policies. This possible name appears to not have been accepted outside the original source. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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