Star Trek (2009) changed the relationship between Mr. Spock and Lt. Uhura
On Star Trek: The Original Series, there was some light flirtation between Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), although it was more on Uhura’s side than Spock’s. They never became anything more in the three seasons of that series, and until Paramount rebooted the series beginning with J.J. Abrams’ movie in 2009, there was no relationship on record between the pair. But Star Trek (2009) changed all of that.
In the first of the three movies, Spock and Uhura were involved in a relationship that many fans felt was a long time coming; however, many more thought the film had crossed the line. Mr. Spock wasn’t an emotional person aboard the Enterprise in 1966 and only felt love when he was exposed to the planet’s plant spores in “This Side of Paradise” and again with Zarabeth in the third season episode “All Our Yesterdays” because he went back in time.
But Zachary Quinto’s version of Spock in 2009 was involved in a relationship with Zoe Saldana’s Lt. Uhura, and according to Screenrant, the deviation from The Original Series was a plot misfire.
Did Star Trek (2009) make Spock and Uhura a couple to make Lt. Uhura more integral to the plot?
That’s one of the thoughts behind Screenrant’s recent article. It was true Lt. Uhura didn’t have much to do aboard the Enterprise in The Original Series, but Uhura could have been integrated better into Star Trek without the need for a romance, which some say lacked chemistry. In fact, it might have been better to have given Uhura a storyline that didn’t involve a romance to show that she was necessary to the plot of the movie.
Though the relationship ended in Star Trek: Beyond, it was a prominent part of the first two movies and wasn’t well-liked by many fans. While some Trekkie’s were thoroughly opposed, I didn’t mind the relationship, and I believed the two actors did have chemistry. But I can certainly see where the Screenrant writer is coming from when expressing a dislike for the couple. There was so much for Uhura to do, and it could have been done without Mr. Spock.
What do you think? Were you for or against the Spock/Uhura romance?