Star Trek: Doc ‘Woman in Motion’ Shows Nichelle Nichols’ Contributions to Space Exploration
Film details the Star Trek actress' space age-impact on the real-world
The feature-length documentary Woman in Motion: Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek and the Remaking of NASA, is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+. The film spotlights the incredible true story of how in the 1970s and 1980s, the actress who portrayed Star Trek's Lt. Uhura pioneered the NASA recruiting program to hire people of color and the first female astronauts. Watch the trailer below!
ABOUT NICHELLE NICHOLS
Nichelle Nichols is an actress, singer, and voice artist best known for her portrayal of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series, and its film sequels. Nichols' portrayal of Uhura was ground-breaking for African American female characters on American television. From 1977 to 2015, Nichols volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs, and to recruit diverse astronauts, including women and ethnic minorities. As of 2021, Nichols is one of four surviving members of the original cast of Star Trek, the others being William Shatner, George Takei and Walter Koenig.
ABOUT STAR TREK
The Star Trek brand kicked off with Star Trek (now called Star Trek: TOS or “The Original Series”) on September 8, 1966. Airing for three seasons on the U.S. network NBC, the show was created by Gene Roddenberry. The series followed the voyages of the U.S.S Enterprise, a starship built by the United Federation of Planets in the 23rd century, “to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” When creating Star Trek, Roddenberry’s inspirations included TV western Wagon Train, the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, Jonathan Swift’s 1726 satirical novel Gulliver's Travels, and C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels.
Star Trek has since expanded to include multiple spin-off television series, two different film series, plus novels, games, comics, toys, and other media adaptations. After the conclusion of TOS, several members of the original cast continued to portray their characters (and more) in the 22-episode Star Trek: The Animated Series. They also appeared in six feature films before the film series passed the torch to the cast of TNG.
Star Trek spin-off series include:
Star Trek: The Animated Series (ST:TAS)
Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (ST:DS9)
Short Treks
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Over the years, Star Trek has often been a champion of diversity—going all the way back to the original series. One member of that cast, Nichelle Nichols, even leveraged her role to make a real-world impact and bring diversity to NASA.
RELATED LINKS
[VIDEO] Star Trek Panel: How Nichelle Nichols Changed NASA
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