Would you mind UHURA being promoted to BIG THREE status in next movie?

[Mutara Nebula 1967]

Chis Pine's is not the only star on the rise. ZOE S. seems to be everywhere these days!

Personally I would welcome her having a HUGE role in the next movie...even if McCoy has to take a back seat (sorry but Bones was ALWAYS my least favorite of the seven main characters).

Abrams is a smart guy right? If he doesn't capitalize on ZOE as UHURA that would seem to be a missed opportunity.

[Admiral Buzzkill]

No, that wouldn't bother me - she's nearly there in the first one.

I'd say McCoy was third, for me, among the three actual characters on TOS - I mean, Uhura and Scotty are definitely minor players, and the other two are just...there.

[Cyke101]

I thought she already was one of the Big Three. The promotional material pretty much implied that anyway.

And yes, that's at the expense of McCoy, my most favorite character in all of Trek. (grumble)

[Jeyl]

She may be on the promotional material, but in the films themselves she's unprofessional, doesn't have a consistent character trait and is overall useless.

Her only contribution is the only one of all the cast of characters that is done off screen and it's Kirk who makes use of what she did rather than her stepping up and taking action like everyone else.

I honestly don't understand how anyone can think of her role being better and more important than the original Uhura. In some ways it's worse because she's never at her station when a communication's task is needed (Kirk tells Chekov to hail the Narada), even when it involves the survival of six billion inhabitants of an entire planet that only has minutes left! But that's ok, you go ask Spock where his folks are. I'm sure that was way more important.

If Uhura is going to become a part of the big three, she needs to be in a position that reflects it. Not reduced to the same role she had in the original series where it's reduced even more. She did nothing in this film that would qualify her for a telemarketer post let alone a spot on a starship. She's useless, her station is useless and the writers think that's genius.

One of my hopes for Trek09 when it was announced was that Uhura would become the First Officer of the ship. Makes sense considering that Kirk and Spock love to go down onto the away missions together, and Spock doesn't need to be a first officer to be a big contributor.

[Sabataage]

McCoy was always written as the odd one out: "I'm just an old country doctor", and such. Even more so nowadays. In modern stortelling, the moral, sensitive, confrontational side of the "power trio" is almost always female. Whether or not Zoe Saldana's Uhurra gets promoted to second lead (its plausible!), or McCoy demoted to comic relief, all depends on how they treat these characters in future films.

Encouragingly, this movie was all about giving each person a moment in the spotlight, something all the best Trek movies have tried to do. McCoy's just happened to have a funnier one ("I've never seen a reaction this severe since med school!" - "Damn it Jim, hold still!").

But then again... Zoe Saldana can carry her own movie at this point, right? I'm not even sure Chris Pine has that star-power yet.

We may be looking at a "Storm<Cyclops-from-X-Men-3" sitaution here (for some Trekkies anyway). Halle Berry was a huge star, and James Marsden was just some asshole wearing a visor. As a result Cyclops, who played an essential role in the original comic (and during the Phoenix story arc, no less), got relegated to the background and then killed off ten minutes in. I don't think McCoy's at risk of the latter, but I'm just sayin: is that such a bad thing?

[Skywalker]

Sabataage wrote:

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We may be looking at a "Storm<Cyclops-from-X-Men-3" sitaution here (for some Trekkies anyway). Halle Berry was a huge star, and James Marsden was just some asshole wearing a visor. As a result Cyclops, who played an essential role in the original comic (and during the Phoenix story arc, no less), got relegated to the background and then killed off ten minutes in. I don't think McCoy's at risk of the latter, but I'm just sayin: is that such a bad thing?

Yes, because McCoy is awesome (and so is Urban).

What they did to Cyclops in the X-films completely ticked me off, too.

[Pauln6]

I pray that they don't make her significant contribution relationship related and drop the love triangle aspect ASAP! A woman can serve under a man without fancyng him (apart from Janice obviously).

I think her success will mean that Zoe has more clout to lobby for a more significant role. Uhura can shine if they find a reason to get her off the ship but personally I think she and McCoy will keep about equal as second tier characters.

[6079SmithW]

I'm OK with it as long as Uhura does more than just be Spock's girlfriend. Maybe we'll see her actually doing some serious work at her station, or going on an away mission, or taking charge of the situation in a crisis, like if Kirk or Spock were not there or were incapacitated somehow.

If Uhura will be part of the big three in the next film then I would also like to see Bones and Scotty maybe as a duo because I'd hate for them to get pushed into the background. Also, they deserve to be more than comic relief.

Maybe they can have the main plot involve New Big Three and a secondary plot with Bones and Scotty.

*edit* New thought: Maybe they can introduce Rand and have a professional rivalry going on between the two. Not a romantic rivalry. Maybe like Rand is the rising star in Uhura's department and they are constantly trying to best each other. Could drag this out over the next few movies.

[Shazam!]

No, Kirk, Spock and McCoy are the big three. Uhura should do her job and answer the phone.

[Pauln6]

6079SmithW wrote:

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*edit* New thought: Maybe they can introduce Rand and have a professional rivalry going on between the two. Not a romantic rivalry. Maybe like Rand is the rising star in Uhura's department and they are constantly trying to best each other. Could drag this out over the next few movies.

I'd actually prefer Rand to stick with being Kirk's aide (sort of a security liasion mixed with a secretary) as it gives her an opportunity to hang around with him and get in on the action. Linking her to Uhura's department ties her to a console and we know from poor Uhura and Chapel how being tied to your post inhibits any character development.

I agree that they should avoid romantic rivalry beyond perhaps the odd suggestive glance from Rand. One crew relationship is enough for a two hour action film and Kirk needs to stay free enough to meet Carol!

To use Uhura more fully they have to get her off the ship.

[T'Girl]

6079SmithW wrote:

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or going on an away mission

If we're going to go ahead and have a "re-set" of Star Trek, can we please lose the terms "away mission" and "away team." Thank you.

The nuUhura can be transferred to being a general bridge officer. There were times where prime Uhura was away from her switch board, she was at navigation and on a few landing parties. Nothing says that Abrams can't move people around. As stated above, the actresses star is on the rise, TPTB would be foolish to ignore this. McCoy could be reduced to a couple of cameo appearances to make room for more Uhura time, the movie is only so long and time must be allocated for the all important lens flares too.

[Shazam!]

T'Girl wrote:

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If we're going to go ahead and have a "re-set" of Star Trek, can we please lose the terms "away mission" and "away team." Thank you.

No?

[Temis the Vorta]

Sure - they've really upgraded the character of Uhura so there could easily be a BIG FOUR at this point.

Enough with the white males! Even if one is half-alien. That's so 20th C.

I'm OK with it as long as Uhura does more than just be Spock's girlfriend.

Yepper!

[Wynterhawk]

I would love for her to have a much bigger role in the coming movies. I didn't perceive her to be only "the love interest" in this movie but if the romantic angle is expanded, I'm all for that too.

[Cyke101]

Skywalker wrote:

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Yes, because McCoy is awesome (and so is Urban).

What they did to Cyclops in the X-films completely ticked me off, too.

Co-signed on both points!

I suppose an analogy closer to home is in the TNG films, and how the closest thing to a "Big 3" for the show was Picard/Riker/Data, but somehow in the films Riker was traded in for Worf. It was that way for the promotional materials, and it carried on to the films. It's not that Worf had more to do -- he functioned the same way in the show -- but rather it was that Riker had less to do!