Yeoman Rand Instead of Dr. Noel?

I read that Yeoman Rand was supposed to be the female lead in 'Dagger of the Mind', but because Grace Lee Whitney was fired the character of Dr. Noel was created. I'm trying to visualize Rand in that role, but I just can't see her exhibiting the same hot chemistry that existed between Kirk and Noel. Any thoughts???

 

I agree.

I wish we had seen Dr. Noel in every single episode. That would have made for excellent character development and drama. Yeah.

Kor

 

Curse you - I can't resist a Yeoman Rand thread. I love Noel as a character because she had a quirky personality and as an officer dealing with her area of expertise she was able to hold her own against Kirk in a way that Rand, as a non-com and Kirk's definite underling could not (ok Noel was a useless doctor but even so).

That said, nothing in the plot hinged upon Noel actually being a doctor and almost no changes to the story would have been needed to include Rand instead. If Noel had never been invented, it would have been a great showcase for Kirk and Rand to work together as a team. Having his brain fried could even have been a good way to move the characters beyond their annoying, cloying attraction (although sexual assault didn't work...).

I lament it as a lost opportunity for them to elevate their leading lady to more of an action role. If Rand had been gifted with a bit more sass I think she could have had more longevity, although the stuff going on behind the scenes might still have led to the same outcome. It would have been nice to see her again as a guest star in a few episodes each season. She was also in an early draft of the Trouble with Tribbles and having watched it recently I could have certainly seen her adding a bit of fun to that episode.

 

Yes, seeing Dr. Noel aboard the Enterprise on a regular basis would have been cool (or hot). Plus her hairdo was easier on the eyes than Rand's foot high bee hive.

 

Yes, I also thought that Rand had more potential. I also fell for that early studio PR story that said Whitney left the show to spend more time with her musician husband. As Shatner related in his book, Whitney fell on some hard times because of alcohol and drugs. What a pity.

 

Agreed!

 

Except there would be no reason to take Rand down. Kirk needed someone that was an actual expert to tell him what would be wrong on a penal colony.

Using Rand would've made zero sense in this instance.

 

Good point.

 

Dr. Noel made sense storywise for this episode. Rand shouldn't have been written out of the series but Noel was a better fit for this particular episode. Both characters would have been welcome recurring characters throughout the series but what's done is done.

 

I would have loved to have seen Dr. Noel return but it makes me wonder just how many insane asylum planets could TOS have visited before the concept got old.

 

I thought they were both gorgeous! Think it's terrible that we didn't get both characters appear more often in the show!
JB

 

No, I think that's a poor excuse. Rand's exact qualifications were never elaborated upon, although based on her comments in Miri, she was at least trained in basic astronomy. Trek has a long history of using main characters when there is no logical reason for them to be there. In none of the shows featuring yeomen is there any reason for a secretary to be part of a landing party. Look at the Galileo 7. What was the reason for anyone other than Spock, an astrophysicist, a pilot, and an engineer on that mission? Sure, they could have included a couple of biologists if they were intending to conduct experiments but there was no evidence that they intended to do anything other than sit in their chairs. If Mears was a technician as well as a secretary (and this is the direction that they went later in the movies with Rand) then there would be more logic but she does zero to help Scotty. Spock is a physicist and computer expert but frequently joins landing parties in preference to a geologist, botanist, biologist, or anthropologist. Even the M5 acknowledged that Kirk should stay on the ship a lot more. If you take it to its logical conclusion, you'd need a lot more guest stars every week.

Similarly, why not use Noel or another staff psychiatrist in Whom Gods Destroy? Or in And the Children Shall Lead? The Alternative Factor? And probably at least half a dozen other episodes where McCoy just bumbles along?

There are also a few episodes where Chapel, a research biologist, spends her time handing McCoy slides to examine when she is probably better qualified to be taking the lead in the research.

Personally, I think there is a plausible reason to include Kirk's yeoman on any diplomatic mission. She could also have given exposition as the 'records officer' in a couple of episodes. If we assume that she is security trained she could even double as Kirk's personal security escort on more dangerous missions. The problem with the yeoman character was really the blinkered writing of the time rather than story logic.

Going back to this episode, the only real story reason Noel was there was so that Kirk could be manipulated into believing he loved her, and that would have worked for any other woman. Everything else was padding.

 

Sure. But this wasn't a diplomatic mission. It was an investigation that Kirk was required to carry out.

Rand - "Oh, look a room with a machine. Let me randomly play with the dials, because I don't have a fucking clue."

Early on, in TOS, they did attempt to have actual experts going along.

Nothing against Rand, I had no real issues with the character, but she didn't fit here.

 

Maybe they were sent along for the experience?
JB

 

I don't dislike Rand, but Noel would have made a much more interesting recurring character. Rand was a bit too passive.

 

Yes I agree that Noel was one of the few female characters given any degree of agency in TOS and I love her impish charm. Rand only displayed any gumption when interacting with the other junior officers. In Ellison's comic-book re-telling of the City on the Edge of Forever though, she appeared as a fully-trained non-com with seniority over other crewmen. A much more rounded portrayal.

But again, we shouldn't make sweeping assumptions about Rand's qualifications. If she's required in-story to know what the machine does then it can be written in that she understands and why she understands.

 

That foot high bee hive hairdo of Rand's is what gave Donald Trump the idea to build Trump Tower.

 

They should have taken a leaf out of Kes' book and developed Rand's uncanny psychic powers to cloud a man's perceptions with a soft glow lense.

 

It's one thing to learn the basic operations of a station, a whole other to be an expert in a discipline.

Seriously? This week Rand will be the expert in penology, next week she'll have a degree in Ion propulsion and the week after that she'll be an expert in alien languages.