1. Kissing Captain Kirk
Uhura locking lips with James T. Kirk in the Star Trek: The Original Series season 3 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren” ranks at No. 1 on our list because of its historical importance. Most casual TV fans will agree that William Shatner and Nichelle Nichols made television history as the first performers to engage in an on-screen interracial kiss, but they’d be wrong.
Don’t misunderstand me, Uhura and Kirk’s forced kiss at the hands of the super-powered Platonians remains an important part of TV history, but Nancy Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. wouldn't concede their claim to that particularly important moment on television. Yes, they locked lips first in 1967 during the Movin' with Nancy television special.
Personally, for me, Uhura and Kirk sharing a tender kiss under duress, say in “Mirror, Mirror” or “The Gamesters of Triskelion” would have made for a more genuine display of affection. Nevertheless, though, this was a historical moment that even supersedes Uhura taking command of the Enterprise in The Animated Series.
Do you agree with our list? Which of Nichelle Nichols’ moments as Uhura would you have liked to see make the list? Speaking with Abraham Lincoln in "The Savage Curtain?" Uhura’s Sun/Son of God revelation in “Bread and Circuses?” Perhaps even Uhura dancing to distract in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier? Share your choices and comments with us on the Redshirts Always Die Facebook and X pages.
Live long and prosper, Trekkies!