In the episode of Star Trek: The Original Series titled "Plato's Stepchildren", season 3 episode 10, first broadcast November 22, 1968, Uhura (played by black actress Nichelle Nichols) and Captain Kirk (played by white actor William Shatner) kiss. The episode is often cited - incorrectly - as the first interracial kiss on television. [1] [2] The episode aired one year after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down nationwide laws prohibiting interracial marriage. [3]
Identifying the first interracial kiss on television is a subject of debate. Historians noted that interracial kisses between blacks and whites were depicted on British television during live plays as early as 1959, and on subsequent soap operas like Emergency Ward 10 . In the United States, interracial kisses were shown on I Love Lucy between the Cuban Desi Arnaz and Caucasian Lucille Ball, who was both his onscreen and real-life wife, in the 1950s. [3] However, despite Arnaz and Ball being frequently described as an "interracial couple", "Hispanic" is not always considered to be a race. [4] Arnaz is today considered by some to be a white man of Cuban ancestry. [5] The United States Census Bureau uses the ethnonyms Hispanic or Latino to refer to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race; the Census Bureau states, "People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be any race." [6] In 1958, a decade prior to "Plato's Stepchildren", Shatner himself shared an interracial kiss with France Nuyen, a person of Asian ancestry, during a scene in the Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong , which was shown in an episode of The Ed Sullivan Show . [7]
Other shows such as Adventures in Paradise and I Spy featured kisses between white male actors and Asian actresses. Sammy Davis Jr. kissed Nancy Sinatra on the cheek on a December 1967 episode of her televised special Movin' with Nancy. [3]
On Star Trek, in the first season episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", first broadcast in October 1966, there is a friendly kiss between Uhura, played by Nichols and Christine Chapel, played by Majel Barrett. In the February 16, 1967 episode "Space Seed, Mexican actor Ricardo Montalban, playing the genetically engineered supercriminal Khan Noonien Singh, kisses Madlyn Rhue. [3] In the second season episode "Mirror, Mirror," first broadcast on October 6, 1967, Kirk and Lt. Marlena Moreau, played by BarBara Luna, an actress of Filipino-European ancestry, kiss on the lips. Meanwhile, Mirror-Sulu, played by Japanese-American actor George Takei, kisses Uhura's neck.
According to Syracuse University Professor of television and popular culture Robert Thompson, irrespective of which interracial kiss was the first, Thompson observed, the one in "Plato's Stepchildren" is considered a milestone. [3]
"Plato's Stepchildren" first aired November 22, 1968, one year after Loving v. Virginia , in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared unconstitutional nationwide laws prohibiting interracial marriage between blacks and whites, between whites and Native Americans, Filipinos, Asians and, in some states, "all non-whites."That year only 3 percent of newlyweds were interracial couples. In contrast to this, in 2015, 17 percent of newlyweds, or at least 1 in 6 of newly-married people, were interracial couples, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. [3]
In "Plato's Stepchildren," which was broadcast in 1968, the kiss is involuntarily forced by psychokinesis. Shatner recalls in Star Trek Memories that NBC insisted their lips never touch, using the technique of turning their heads away from the camera to conceal this. However, he said in an April 2024 interview with Bill Maher that the network did not want their lips to touch—but they did. [8] [9] Nichols also writes in her 1994 autobiography, Beyond Uhura, that the kiss was real, even during takes in which her head obscures their lips. [10] She also gave this account in multiple recorded interviews.
When NBC executives learned of the kiss they became concerned it would anger TV stations in the Deep South. [11] Earlier in 1968, NBC had expressed similar concern over a musical sequence in a Petula Clark special in which she touched Harry Belafonte's arm, a moment that has been incorrectly cited as the first physical contact on American television between a man and woman of different races. [12] At one point during negotiations, the idea was brought up of having Spock kiss Uhura instead (as Spock was half Vulcan), [13] but William Shatner insisted that they stick with the original script. [14] NBC finally ordered that two versions of the scene be shot—one in which Kirk and Uhura kissed and one in which they did not. [15]
Worried producers decided to film the kiss between Shatner and Nichols with their lips mostly obscured by the back of Nichols' head. They also intended to film a second take in which it occurs off-screen. However Nichols stated in her memoir, Beyond Uhura: Star Trek and Other Memories, that she and Shatner deliberately flubbed lines to force the original take to be used. [3] As Nichols recounts: [16]
Knowing that Gene was determined to air the real kiss, Bill shook me and hissed menacingly in his best ham-fisted Kirkian staccato delivery, "I! WON'T! KISS! YOU! I! WON'T! KISS! YOU!"
It was absolutely awful, and we were hysterical and ecstatic. The director was beside himself, and still determined to get the kissless shot. So we did it again, and it seemed to be fine. "Cut! Print! That's a wrap!"
The next day they screened the dailies, and although I rarely attended them, I couldn't miss this one. Everyone watched as Kirk and Uhura kissed and kissed and kissed. And I'd like to set the record straight: Although Kirk and Uhura fought it, they did kiss in every single scene. When the non-kissing scene came on, everyone in the room cracked up. The last shot, which looked okay on the set, actually had Bill wildly crossing his eyes. It was so corny and just plain bad it was unusable. The only alternative was to cut out the scene altogether, but that was impossible to do without ruining the entire episode. Finally, the guys in charge relented: "To hell with it. Let's go with the kiss." I guess they figured we were going to be cancelled in a few months anyway. And so the kiss stayed.
While there was much talk among the production staff about the kiss, it did not garner much reaction from the general public nor the television industry, according to Thompson, who stated, "It neither got the backlash one might have expected nor did it open the doors for lots more shows to do this. The shot heard around the world started the American Revolution. The kiss heard around the world eventually did ... but not immediately." [3]
There are no records of any public complaints about the scene. [17] Nichols observed that "Plato's Stepchildren", which first aired on November 22, 1968, "received a huge response. We received one of the largest batches of fan mail ever, all of it very positive, with many addressed to me from girls wondering how it felt to kiss Captain Kirk, and many to him from guys wondering the same thing about me. However, almost no one found the kiss offensive," except from a single mildly negative letter from one white Southerner who wrote: "I am totally opposed to the mixing of the races. However, any time a red-blooded American boy like Captain Kirk gets a beautiful dame in his arms that looks like Uhura, he ain't gonna fight it." [17] Nichols said she found the episode to be the most memorable one from the show's final season. [18]
Nichols said in 2010 the episode's iconic status is due to its profound effect on viewers, commenting, "The first thing people want to talk about is the first interracial kiss and what it did for them. And they thought of the world differently, they thought of people differently." Eric Deggans, national television critic for National Public Radio, the kiss "suggested that there was a future where these issues were not such a big deal. The characters themselves were not freaking out because a black woman was kissing a white man. ... In this utopian-like future, we solved this issue. We're beyond it. That was a wonderful message to send." [3]
In 2016, TVline ranked the kiss as one of the top 20 moments of Star Trek. [19] In 2016, Radio Times ranked the kiss as the 25th best moment in all Star Trek, including later spin-off series. [20] The cultural impact of the kiss was noted by National Geographic , in 2016. [21] WhatCulture ranked this the 8th best romantic-sexual moment in Star Trek. [22]
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that follows the adventures of the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) and its crew. It acquired the retronym of Star Trek: The Original Series to distinguish the show within the media franchise that it began.
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He first appeared in the original Star Trek series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise as science officer and first officer and later as commanding officer of the vessel. Spock's mixed human–Vulcan heritage serves as an important plot element in many of the character's appearances. Along with Captain James T. Kirk and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, he is one of the three central characters in the original Star Trek series and its films. After retiring from active duty in Starfleet, Spock served as a Federation ambassador, and later became involved in the ill-fated attempt to save Romulus from a supernova, leading him to live out the rest of his life in a parallel universe.
Nyota Uhura, or simply Uhura, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. In the original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six Star Trek feature films. A younger Uhura is portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding in the 2022 prequel series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, while an alternate timeline version of Uhura has been portrayed by actress Zoe Saldaña in the feature films Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016).
Nichelle Nichols was an American actress, singer and dancer whose portrayal of Uhura in Star Trek and its film sequels was groundbreaking for African American actresses on American television. From 1977 to 2015, she volunteered her time to promote NASA's programs and recruit diverse astronauts, including some of the first female and ethnic minority astronauts.
Christine Chapel is a fictional character who appears in all three seasons of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series, as well as Star Trek: The Animated Series and the films Star Trek: The Motion Picture and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Portrayed by Majel Barrett, she was the ship's nurse on board the Starfleet starship USS Enterprise. A younger version of Chapel appears in the 2022 series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, portrayed by Jess Bush.
"The Lorelei Signal" is the fourth episode of the first season of the animated American science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on September 29, 1973, and was written by Margaret Armen, author of three Original Series episodes.
"Plato's Stepchildren" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Meyer Dolinsky and directed by David Alexander, it was first broadcast on November 22, 1968.
Sexuality has been a significant theme in the various Star Trek television and motion-picture series. Sexual relationships in Star Trek have mostly been depicted as heteronormative in nature. There have been depictions of bisexual relationships, but always with a twist. In Star Trek Discovery, there are two same-sex marriages, while in Star Trek Enterprise a polyamorous character, Phlox, has three wives, who have three husbands each, the marriages being depicted as open to romantic and sexual relationships with others.
Fred Freiberger was an American film and television writer and television producer, whose career spanned four decades and work on films such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and TV series including Ben Casey (1963–64), The Wild Wild West (1965), Star Trek (1968–69) and Space: 1999 (1976–77).
"The Jihad" is the sixteenth and final episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on January 12, 1974, and was written by Stephen Kandel who also wrote the earlier story "Mudd's Passion" and worked on the two Original Series "Mudd" episodes.
"Once Upon a Planet" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American animated science fiction television series Star Trek. It first aired in the NBC Saturday morning lineup on November 3, 1973, and was written by American television writers Chuck Menville and Len Janson.
The "Theme from Star Trek" is an instrumental musical piece composed by Alexander Courage for Star Trek, the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry that originally aired between September 8, 1966, and June 3, 1969.
The science fiction multimedia franchise of Star Trek since its original debut in 1966 has been one of the most successful television series in science fiction television history and has had a large influence in popular culture as a result.
"The Last Voyage of the Starship Enterprise" is a comedy sketch that first aired on May 29, 1976, during episode 22 of the first season of the NBC variety show, Saturday Night Live. The twelve-minute sketch was written by Michael O'Donoghue during a month-long process consulting with actor John Belushi. The sketch is a satire of the 1969 cancellation of Star Trek. The set design featured an effective replica of the bridge of the USS Enterprise. Dress rehearsal was difficult, with the writer doubting whether Belushi was able to pull off an effective parody of William Shatner's performance as Captain James Kirk. However, the result was a success, and O'Donoghue immediately congratulated Belushi after his performance and reflected that he had perfectly parodied Shatner as Kirk.
The second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek, premiered on NBC on September 15, 1967 and concluded on March 29, 1968. It consisted of twenty-six episodes. It features William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy.
The third and final season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek, premiered on NBC on Friday, September 20, 1968 and concluded on Tuesday, June 3, 1969. It consisted of twenty-four episodes. Star Trek: The Original Series is an American science fiction television series produced by Fred Freiberger, and created by Gene Roddenberry, and the original series of the Star Trek franchise. It features William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, Leonard Nimoy as Spock and DeForest Kelley as Leonard McCoy.
The date and program of the first interracial kiss on television is a much debated topic. In many parts of the world social stigma and legislation have hindered relations between people from different groups (races). The first kiss on television has been discussed in the context of this social stigma. As there is no agreement on what constitutes a race there is also no general agreement on when the first interracial kiss occurred and a number of claims exist.
The development of Spock, a fictional character first introduced in the American science fiction television series Star Trek, began prior to the start of the series. The first known mention of Spock was in a discussion between Gene Roddenberry and Gary Lockwood, where the latter suggested Leonard Nimoy for the role. Roddenberry agreed with the suggestion, and Nimoy became the first choice actor for the part. However, Roddenberry was required to audition other actors for the role. It was offered to both DeForest Kelley and Martin Landau before Nimoy. Nimoy disliked the prosthetic ears he was required to wear, and there were concerns from the studio that they made him appear satanic. Roddenberry fought to keep the character in the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" after the rest of the main cast was dropped from the initial pilot, "The Cage".
| Television series |
|  | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Films |
| ||||||||||
| Setting |
| ||||||||||
| Production | |||||||||||
| Unmade projects | |||||||||||
| Spin-off fiction | |||||||||||
| Aftershows | |||||||||||
| Documentaries | |||||||||||
| Cultural influence |
| ||||||||||