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Casting Uhura (or, Why I suddenly care about the new "Star Trek")Until quite recently, I didn't give a toss about the upcoming J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek — not for any lack of geekiness, but because ever since Generations let me down, I've relied on my sister to stay remotely in the loop. Then along came a casting sheet, courtesy of Ain't It Cool News:
Brilliant, beautiful and "tom-boyish"? That certainly got my attention (and not just because of the bizarre punctuation and sentence structure). Sure, the call sounds a bit corny and oversimplified, and the first Lieutenant Uhura isn't much of a tomboy, but she is by far my favorite character in the original series. As the Sci Fi channel says, "She's the intergalactic switchboard operator we'd all like to be put through to."
Whoever plays the young Uhura has some big shoes to fill. Nichelle Nichols' groundbreaking role inspired legions of fans, from future NASA astronaut Mae Jemison (who grew up to be the first African-American woman in space) to Whoopi Goldberg (who grew up to host The View). Uhura's part may have been small, but she was smart and gorgeous — and could kick serious, sexy ass when required. Watch her show parallel-universe Sulu who's in command: I hope the new Uhura will get more screen time than Nichols ever did — and in a spirit of optimism, I've got a few casting ideas of my own. Zoë Saldana
Dominican-American actress Saldana (Guess Who, Center Stage) has my vote. She also has attitude and skills, and if Abrams makes Uhura do another fan dance (though let's hope not), classically trained Saldana might be able to pull it off. Rose Rollins
Yes, we want her for everything, and yes, Rollins strikes me as more tough girl than tomboy, but she's the first person who came to mind and I'm sticking with her. Besides, it's acting, right? If nothing else, we already know she looks good in uniform. Maybe we'd even get some great new pics to circulate. Meagan Good
D.E.B.S. isn't exactly a tour de force for Good, but it proves she can wield a weapon and do camp, and Star Trek is nothing if not campy. And again — we know she wears a uniform well. So, all of you Star Trek and Abrams fans, I'm sure you have even better suggestions. Throw 'em out there — maybe Abrams is listening. Submitted by on August 8, 2007 - 12:24pm. |
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Really a Black Sci-Fi Hot Tomboi?!
oooooo Hollywood finally recognizes a need and a want for black sci-fi heroine. (I'm sure Octavia Butler would be proud RIP O.B.) Tomboyish?
Hmmm Meagan Good with all of her soooooo fine self,who by the AE will play a lesbian art teacher dealing with her sexuality in her next movie(Breathe Ketina!) Good Goddess I can't wait to see that. You better report that movie AE when it comes out.
A rarity where fine African-Amercian women celebs play lesbian roles. Meagan Good might play Uhura well. She is craving for different break out roles,which lacks in hollywood, like rain during a dry spell in southwest us.
Tacie Thomas I defintely can see play Uhura. She did a good job in Rent.
Will this Uhura tomboyish be a lesbian... ?
Tell me more..
B'Elanna?
Ohhh! I was going to say Roxann Dawson (B'Elanna Torres on Star Trek Voyager) but is she Hispanic, not African American? Otherwise, I think she'd be perfect - She's strong, beautiful, tomboyish... and she is already popular among us trekkies. I almost ruled her out at first because, duh, she's half Klingon! (Ha!)
Out of the above three, I'd go with Saldana - v. hot and seems tomboyish, if a bit young looking.
You gave up after
You gave up after Generations? But First Contact was so good! Granted, Insurrection and Nemesis sucked, but... First Contact is definitely worth watching if you like Trek at all.
If this is the just-out-of-the-Academy story they keep saying it is, I don't really see how big of a role Uhura could have. She's only a Lieutenant by the time she's stationed on the Enterprise, so either she's several years behind Kirk or there's still a glass ceiling in the 23rd Century.
I suppose if it's a reboot like Batman Begins then they could throw the entire Enterprise crew into one movie.
Not that I spend a lot of time thinking about these sorts of things.
Hmmmm ....
I liked Nemesis better than
I liked Nemesis better than Insurrection (you're right, it felt like an episode... from the first couple of seasons of Voyager, which I thought weren't as good). I didn't like the story lines they had for Deanna or Data, and I thought the villain was a bit much. But Dina Meyer as a Romulan works every time in my book.
But I also liked The Voyage Home, so I don't know what that says about me.
Nerds of the world unite?
Uhura......**swoon**
First I have to admit that my second love as a child was Uhura. I watched her like I was in a trance. (she was second only to Charo....)
So who could possibly play this childhood love of mine??? Well globalgrrl while I love the 3 that you picked and indeed Rose Rollins could make a girl forget a plot in a hurry. I have to think about the fact that my beloved Uhura had an incredible figure on her and it included some curves.
***excuse me now while I go try to find my old Uhura posters that used to hang in my bedroom next to the Charo posters***
I guess being rejected by Uhura
--
"One does not see anything until one sees its beauty" - Oscar Wilde
...
Halle Berry!!!
Halle Berry, Halle Berry, Halle Berry!!!! that's all i have to say
"The road to darkness is a journey, not a light switch." – Lex Luthor, "Ryan"
But, but...
Kandyse McClure is already playing Uhura on Battlestar Galactica!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasia_Dualla
And, I mean, what the hell? Uhura is totally not "tomboyish like she grew up in a houseful of brothers", Uhura was rocking the whole sophisticated strength thang!
Uhura was my role model
Hmmm
The terrible thing about this article is that it brought me up short on how few young black actresses I've actually seen recently in movies or on TV (I'm on the UK side of the pond, so maybe that restricts my viewing even more).
But on a more cheerful note, one of the funniest lines I've ever heard came from an original series Star Trek episode, of which I forget the title and the plot, but anyway:
SULU (high on drugs/alien mind control): I'll protect you, fair maiden!
UHURA: Sorry, neither.
How that got through the censors, I don't know, but I love that it did.