StarTrek01.34–Post Season 1 Analysis Part 3: Diversity and Inclusivity

In this Episode:

Diversity & Inclusivity

  • Minority Representation
    • Sulu and Uhura 

Sulu and Uhura

Uhura – 86% of the episodes

Sulu – 55%

Both – 50%

Neither – only 2: Devil in the Dark; Miri

  • Extras vs speaking roles & Standout characters
  • Minority Representation by the numbers:
7/28 (25%) featured no people of color as guests or background actors.
If you count Uhura and Sulu, the only one episode, Miri, had now people of color on screen.
96% of season one had some form of minority representation. Every week except for one, you would have tuned in to see black or brown people in uniform on board a starship. 
Background Extra21/28 (75%)
Speaking Guest9/28  (32%)
Guest Star5/28 (18%)The Galileo SevenCourt MartialThe MenagerieSpace SeedA Taste of Armageddon
  • Female Representation
    • Strong
    • Problematic
    • Sexist 

Female Representation 

Strong14 / 50%1. Where No Man Has Gone Before (Dehner)7. Charlie X (Rand)4. The Enemy Within (Rand)5. The Man Trap (Uhura, and Nancy Crater)8. Balance of Terror (Crewman Martine)10. Dagger of the Mind (Dr Noel)14. Court Martial (JAG officer Areel Shaw)15-16. The Menagerie (“The women!”) 18. The Squire of Gothos (Uhura & Yoeman Ross)20.The Alternative Factor (Janet MacLachlan as Charlene Masters)
24. A Taste of Armageddon (Yoeman Tamura & Mea 3)25. This Side of Paradise (Leila Kalomi)26. The Devil in the Dark (Horta)28. The City on the Edge of Forever (Edith Keeler)
Problematic6 / 21%9. What are Little Girls Made of? (Chapel)11. Miri (Rand)17. Shore Leave (the damsel in distress Yoeman)21.Tomorrow is Yesterday (the female-dominated computer programmer society)22.The Return of the Archons (the violent rape and male POV)23. Space Seed (Marla McGivers)
Sexist3 / 11%3. Mudd’s Women6. The Naked Time (Chapel, and the non use of Uhura and rand)12 The Conscience of the King
None5 / 18%Does not mean there were no women; just means they were not featured enough to make an impact one way or the other. 100% of episodes had speaking parts for women. But of these 5, it was either Uhura or minor background officers that had few if any lines.
  • The Legacy of Yeoman Rand

Yoeman Rand episodes

(asterisk indicates Rand was integral of the plot) 

The Corbomite Maneuver

The Enemy Within *

The Man Trap

The Naked Time *

Charlie X *

Balance of Terror

Miri

Planned episodes post-firing:Conscience of the King

Galileo Seven

Court Martial

Shore Leave

Squire of Gothos

Space Seed

A Taste of Armageddon

The City on the Edge of Forever (based on Ellison’s drafts)

  • Was in 7 of 11 episodes during Whitney’s time of the show (64%)
  • Would have been in 15 of 28 episodes (53% of the season) and perhaps more.