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:

"[UHURA] 25ish -African American. Brilliant, beautiful, heroic and FUN!, Uhura is almost tom-boyish - as if she grew up in a houseful of brothers."

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: … continue reading