Gene Roddenberry’s rule prevented this romance on Star Trek: The Original Series

Chemistry abounded on Star Trek: The Original Series

Whether it was Mr. Spock and Lt. Uhura, Mr. Spock and Nurse Chapel, or Captain Kirk and Yeoman Rand, there was plenty of chemistry aboard the starship Enterprise on Star Trek: The Original Series. But, unlike Star Trek: Strange New Worlds which has shown the attraction growing between Spock and Chapel, there were limitations for characters on the original Enterprise, specifcally for Captain Kirk.

Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) was there to help Captain Kirk (William Shatner), and while she was supposed to be attracted to him and him to her, Gene Roddenberry had a rule that prevented anything from ever happening between the two of them, according to Whatculture. The pair could not act upon their attraction no matter what. They had to keep their personal feelings to themselves and act professionally at all times.

Gene Roddenberry’s rule for Star Trek: The Original Series actually did the series and characters a favor.

Practically every television show on air has someone, or many someones, coupled up. But not every show has to be about romance. And The Original Series showed men and women working side by side without being involved. That’s not to say romance is wrong, but as we’ve seen in myriad shows, it can get messy. Captain Benjamin Sisko of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the only captain from the earlier series that got married, and it was questionable whether that was going to last at first. Thankfully, though, it did. But Sisko was in a different situation than the other captains in that he could offer a stable home environment for his son and his new wife.

It actually makes sense for the captains to maintain a level of professionalism aboard ship. Although, Captain Kirk did seek out female companionship rather frequently, he didn’t do it with any crew member. Captain Picard tried it with a lieutenant, and that didn’t work at all because his emotions got in the way of what was best for the ship.

While Strange New Worlds has eschewed that rule (as did the Kelvin movies), it’s understandable why Roddenberry set it originally. And with Whitney getting terminated from the show, it would have been an extremely short romance.