It cannot be overstated how limited budgets led to some of the best writing on TV. And this episode is one of the best-written in the entire franchise.
It’s also my absolute favorite shot of Uhura:
Ensign Skippy was getting a little too political, so Uhura replaced him and fired the death blow against the Romulan Bird of Prey. And she just leans back and takes it in during this dolly shot of the bridge. Stone Cold.
When Whoopi Goldberg was little, she saw Uhura on Star Trek and yelled to her mother, “there’s a black lady on TV and she ain’t no maid!”
And not only was she no maid, she was a certified badass. And so was Nichelle Nichols. She was hired by NASA after Star Trek to bring women into the space program. Because of her, Sally Ride was chosen to be the first American woman in space.
