Uhura's 5 Strange New World Updates

Strange New Worlds offers more of Uhura's backstory than Star Trek: The original series once gave the Enterprise's communications officer.

One of the great strengths of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is the way it added more depth to the characters in Star Trek: the original series like Lieutenant Nyota Uhura (Nichelle Nichols.) Celia Rose Gooding played the young The version of Uhura in season 1, her Cadet Uhura got more character development than her predecessor. Despite the positive performance of a young black woman on Starship Enterprise, Uhura as a character generally had little to do in TOS, much to the disappointment of Nichelle Nichols.

Famously, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. convinced Nichelle Nichols stayed on Star Trek because she was a positive role model for black people, especially girls. In the years following Star Trek, Nichelle Nichols continued to work with NASA to increase the diversity of the agency's future astronauts. In fact, Nichelle Nichols' true story is often more interesting and exciting than that of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek, and Strange New Worlds has finally fixed an oversight.

5 Uhura's Family Were Killed In A Shuttle Accident

Strange New Worlds gives viewers a more detailed look at Uhura's upbringing in Kenya before joining Starfleet Academy. It was revealed in an episode of Strange New Worlds season 1 2, "Son of the Comet", the future corporate communications officer has a talent for alien languages, and Uhura intends to study heterolinguistics at the University of Nairobi. However, her plans were tragically changed by a tragic space shuttle accident that resulted in the deaths of her parents and older brother. Since her parents are university teachers, Uhura found it too painful to follow her original plan.

Following the tragic death of her mother, father and brother, Uhura moved in with her grandmother. Unsure of what to do after canceling her plans to study an alien language at the University of Nairobi, Uhura ultimately decides to live with her grandmother, a former Starfleet officer. Instead of studying while surrounded by the ghosts of his parents, Uhura decides to follow in his grandmother's footsteps. Uhura's overall excellence has earned her the coveted position of Captain Christopher Pike, Captain of the Enterprise on Anson Mount.

4 Uhura's Grandmother Was A Starfleet Officer

Since Uhura's grandmother was a Starfleet officer, it was her Starfleet story that ultimately inspired Nyota to follow in her footsteps. This is just mentioned in passing, so it's unclear which starship Uhura is on Grandmother served on the ship. The Uhura family's history with Starfleet will likely be explored in greater detail in future Strange New Worlds episodes.

The decision to follow in her grandmother's footsteps did not immediately resolve Uhura's inner conflict. Even though she had already passed Star Trek's Starfleet Academy and was assigned to the Enterprise as a cadet, Uhura still had reservations. Uhura's SNW arc echoes Nichelle Nichols' own misgivings about staying on Star Trek, exploring whether Starfleet was the right decision for the young cadet.

3 Uhura Previously Served Aboard Another Ship

In Strange New Worlds Season 1, Episode 4, "Memento Mori" is set during Memorial Day, a Starfleet custom for officers to wear pins bearing the names of past ships they served on and lost And badge comrades. Uhura wears a badge commemorating the USS Gallant, indicating that she served on the ship in some capacity. It's unclear exactly what happened to Uhura's comrades on the Gallant, but her claim in "Children of the Comet" that her life was never in danger suggests that tragedy happened after her mission. However, early in her career, the deaths of other Starfleet officers was a contributing factor to Uhura's doubts about her commitment to Starfleet.

2 Uhura Considered Leaving Starfleet

Uhura remained a loyal bridge officer until the Enterprise's final adventure in Star Trek VI: Undiscovered Realms. However, Strange New Worlds revealed that at the beginning of her time on the Enterprise, she considered ditching her burgeoning Starfleet career. Uhura and Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) talked about her doubts during "Son of the Comet," and Spock delivered some explicit Vulcan-language encouragement.

Spock's pep talk comes into play at this point, inspiring Uhura to solve the mystery of the comet's harmonic communication. As a result, Uhura saves Spock, the rest of the visiting team, and the planet's population who find themselves in the comet's devastating path. However, Uhura still has doubts about her place in Starfleet, despite Spock's assertion that they would be lucky to have her as an officer.

1 Uhura Was Mentored By Hemmer

Although Spock and Lt. La'an Noonien Singh (Christina Chong) had words of encouragement to the trainee Uhura, it was Chief Engineer Hemmer (Bruce Horak) who most influenced the young Uhura. Uhura rotated through various departments of Enterprise, including engineering. Uhura struggles initially Bond with the sarcastic Hemmer, a blind Aenar with an odd sense of humor. However, Hemmer and Uhura quickly bonded under the intense pressure of the Gorn ship attack. Uhura saw aspects of her late father in Hemmer, and she was drawn to Aenar's alternative way of seeing the universe. Most notably he believed in finding purpose in life.

Hemmer's purpose is to "fix what was broken", but Uhura has no answers about her own life path. When Hemmer tragically died during an encounter with the Gorn Cub, Uhura ultimately decided to remain in Starfleet in his honor, sealing her fate in Star Trek: The Original Series. In his eulogy for Hemmer, Uhura admitted that in convincing her that her purpose in life was there, he succeeded in his goal of repairing what had been broken. It's an impactful resolution to Uhura's season 1 arc, showing how Star Trek: Strange New Worlds can reimagine familiar Star Trek characters while still respecting the original interpretation.