Courtesy of CBS.
I should come out from under my rock more often, I had no idea that yet another Trek was in the works. It really is the show that won’t die, and it seems like diversity might actually make some inroads this time around. We’ve finally come a long way from the days of Spock’s ears being airbrushed out. Took long enough.
As casting rumors are confirmed, Star Trek: Discovery is boasting one of the most diverse casts in the franchise’s history—and we’re not just talking about the aliens.
The latest news is that out actor Maulik Pancholy will play Dr. Nambue, the chief medical officer. There’s no news whether the character will be gay, but no worries: Discovery will feature an original gay character for the series, Lt. Stamets, who will be played by Anthony Rapp.
That’s just the beginning for Discovery’s crew. We already know that the lead character will be played by The Walking Dead’s Sonequa Martin-Green, who is only the second woman to lead a Star Trek series (after Voyager) and the first woman of color. Another ship in the series will be captained by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’s Michelle Yeoh.
[…]
Rumors are still circling about a premiere date for Discovery, but CBS speculates sometime this year—possibly the summer.
Via Out.
I must admit this claim puzzled me, as I could not recall any such incident(s?). Generalissimo Google™ to the rescue! Apparently, “during the 1966 Star Trek promo in magazines, all shots of Spock’s pointed eyebrows and ears where airbrushed out of the pictures because NBC thought that no one would watch the show due to Spock’s resemblance to the Devil” (no sources are cited). The airbrushing, albeit not the reason, is essentially confirmed by Ye Pffft! of All Knowledge.
I don’t need it confirmed, I was around, in person, for the fucking airbrushing. It was notorious at the time.
I could not recall it. I would also have been around. I had no idea what was being talked about. And other readers may not be old enough to recall, and / or ever heard of it. What is the problem with a bit of explanation?
Diversity is nice to have. Actual quality TV would be even nicer. TV has changed a lot since TOS -- heck, it’s changed almost beyond recognition since Enterprise.
A little light googling tells me that the very last episode of Enterprise aired in May 2005… the same month YouTube first became publicly accessible, at at time when Netflix was still a company that physically delivered DVDs to your door. One can only hope they move with the times in more than their casting decisions. If I was superstitious, I’d cross my fingers.
Funny thing, memory.
I remember TOS at the time but I don’t recall the ear thing.
I do recall a fuss about Spock’s skin being yellow, which I didn’t notice because we had a 14inch B&W TV.