Uhura - Hoshi Sato 2.

[trekfan_1]

I've recently been rewatching ENT and have noticed the distinct parallels. Both are linguists. Both green and new to space. Both needing some confidence in their abilities and crew members are helping out. Both have similar demeanor and sense of humor. Both are not sure about their space worthiness and Starfleet careers long term.

Not a criticism, just an observation. I actually liked Hoshi Sato and really really like the actress playing Uhura. Anyone else agree with my observation?

 

[Christopher]

I'd say if anything, it's kind of the other way around. Uhura was established as a linguist in 1980s novels long before Hoshi Sato was created. A 1980s book also coined her first name Nyota, Swahili for "star," and Hoshi is Japanese for "star." So it's always seemed to me that Hoshi was intended to be reminiscent of Uhura.

Also, having just rewatched "Children of the Comet," I don't feel their personalities are that similar. Hoshi was afraid of space and had to be convinced to join the mission against her preferences, in service to what Captain Archer wanted from her. Uhura chose to enter Starfleet for her own personal reasons and is reasonably excited to be there (recall her "Cool!" in the pilot after Pike said their mission was to explore strange new etc.), but isn't sure if it's really her long-term goal in life. She strikes me as a much more confident person than Hoshi; her problem is, she's so gifted that she has too many options to choose among.

Also, SNW actually references Uhura's Kenyan heritage in establishing her character, while there was absolutely nothing about Hoshi that reflected the Japanese culture she was supposedly born and raised in (beyond her name, and even that used Westernized name order).

 

[Mutai Sho-Rin]

IRL, the Uhura character certainly came first. In "universe" however, Hoshi certainly preceded Uhura by a century. Without evidence, I suspect the mystique of Uhura certainly colored the creation of Hoshi.

 

[The Wormhole]

With the exception of Phlox, Enterprise's main cast are basically parallels of the TOS cast. You have the triad of the Captain, Vulcan and Southerner (Kirk/Spock/McCoy, Archer/T'Pol/Trip) and the UK citizen (Scotty, Reed). When it came to the helmsman and communications officer, Enterprise racially swapped the positions from how TOS had them (TOS: Asian helmsman, black communications officer Enterprise: black helmsman, Asian communications officer).

 

[Mudd]

I doubt that the writers of either series were very familiar with minutiae from 1980s paperback novels.

In fact, until ST 2009 the canon Uhura was given very short shrift as a professional - she couldn't even read Klingon from a book in ST6, much less was she a linguist!

 

[Tosk]

I think it's fair to say that over a long period of time, Uhura has at least become a little more like Hoshi.
Uhura didn't really become prodigious with languages until after ENT finished, and she's more of a hesitant newbie in SNW than we've seen her before.

 

[Christopher]

Uhura didn't really become prodigious with languages until after ENT finished

Onscreen, no, but prose mentions of Uhura's linguistic skills date back as far as James Blish's Spock Must Die! in 1970, and were featured in various novels in the '80s and after.

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/first-appearance-of-uhuras-linguistic-skills.311482/#post-14161560

It was a well-enough established character trait in the prose fiction that when TUC came out in '91, Uhura's unfamiliarity with Klingonese in the movie was jarring to me, because it contradicted fandom's conventional wisdom that she was a skilled linguist. The writers of the 2009 movie were familiar with many of the novels, so that's probably where they got the idea for Kelvin Uhura's linguistic skills.

and she's more of a hesitant newbie in SNW than we've seen her before.

In one episode. And the next time we saw her trying something new, with Hemmer in "Memento Mori," she was the more gung-ho one encouraging him. Hoshi, on the other hand, was still being written as insecure and timid as late as "Vanishing Point" in season 2, if not later. And Gooding's performance makes Uhura much more lively, witty, and informal than Hoshi ever was. I think the differences outweigh the slight similarities.

 

[Tosk]

I didn't say they were the same, I said that Uhura has become slightly more like Hoshi.

 

[Christopher]

I didn't say they were the same, I said that Uhura has become slightly more like Hoshi.

Rather, Uhura's become more like her portrayal in tie-in fiction over the decades, which may also have been an influence on Hoshi. The only real similarity I see is the linguistics, and Uhura had that first if you consider all media, not just TV/movies. And the similarity of inexperience is, to me, outweighed by the massive difference in how their reaction to that inexperience is written. If anything, contrasting Hoshi against SNW's Uhura just highlights how poorly Hoshi was served by ENT's writing staff.

 

[Mudd]

I think it's fair to say that over a long period of time, Uhura has at least become a little more like Hoshi.
Uhura didn't really become prodigious with languages until after ENT finished, and she's more of a hesitant newbie in SNW than we've seen her before.

That's entirely correct.

It was up to the Trek reboots to fix what was wrong with Uhura.

 

[Lord Hierarch]

Its interesting, I wonder OP - did you watch ENT before TOS?

 

[valkyrie013]

Yeah, the ST 6 book deal kinda went... Huh? Owell.

 

[Yistaan]

Uhura: Yes, I met Hoshi Sato back when I was in grade school. Shame what happened to her on Tarsus IV.

Sam Kirk: My brother actually saw her get killed. He said her last words were, "Now I'll never find out who Future Guy was".

Pike:

Uhura: You're cold Sam. I'll be equally heartless if you ever get killed by, say, a flying alien blob or something.

Sam Kirk: That's a strangely specific prediction to make, but whatever. Don't mind me, just be wary of mindwiping strange space probes.

Uhura:

 

[XCV330]

Uhura: Yes, I met Hoshi Sato back when I was in grade school. Shame what happened to her on Tarsus IV.

Sam Kirk: My brother actually saw her get killed. He said her last words were, "Now I'll never find out who Future Guy was".

Pike:

Uhura: You're cold Sam. I'll be equally heartless if you ever get killed by, say, a flying alien blob or something.

Sam Kirk: That's a strangely specific prediction to make, but whatever. Don't mind me, just be wary of mindwiping strange space probes.

Uhura:

and then Sam taught her how to do the fan-dance

 

[Yistaan]

and then Sam taught her how to do the fan-dance

Sybok: That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Anyone who joins me will be too smart to fall for such foolery.

 

[TimeIsAPredator]

Onscreen, no, but prose mentions of Uhura's linguistic skills date back as far as James Blish's Spock Must Die! in 1970, and were featured in various novels in the '80s and after.

https://www.trekbbs.com/threads/first-appearance-of-uhuras-linguistic-skills.311482/#post-14161560

It was a well-enough established character trait in the prose fiction that when TUC came out in '91, Uhura's unfamiliarity with Klingonese in the movie was jarring to me, because it contradicted fandom's conventional wisdom that she was a skilled linguist. The writers of the 2009 movie were familiar with many of the novels, so that's probably where they got the idea for Kelvin Uhura's linguistic skills.




In one episode. And the next time we saw her trying something new, with Hemmer in "Memento Mori," she was the more gung-ho one encouraging him. Hoshi, on the other hand, was still being written as insecure and timid as late as "Vanishing Point" in season 2, if not later. And Gooding's performance makes Uhura much more lively, witty, and informal than Hoshi ever was. I think the differences outweigh the slight similarities.

Even a lot of die hard Trek fans don't read the fiction so the term "well established" is not applicable to the novels.
SNW do seem to have borrowed the idea of the comms. officer being a genius linguist but I wouldn't see much else similar about them.

 

[Mudd]

Even a lot of die hard Trek fans don't read the fiction so the term "well established" is not applicable to the novels.

Exactly so. Being fans is a more encompassing lifestyle for some than for others.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Exactly so. Being fans is a more encompassing lifestyle for some than for others.

 

[MikHutch]

All I can say is the more linguists, the better.

 

[Yistaan]

All I can say is the more linguists, the better.

Saru should've been communications officer, as apparently he's the only one who bothered to study a gazillion languages on the crew of Discovery