boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (08/09/84)
From: boyajian%akov68.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Jerry Boyajian) > From: Andrew D. Sigel <sigel%umass-cs.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa> > Subject: Star Trek -- Canon and Deadwood > Well, now Uhura HAS a first name. In Diane Duane's MY ENEMY, MY > ALLY, it is Nyota Uhura.... > ...as far as I'm concerned, she's Nyota Uhura, and I hope the > next movie or movie adaptation confirms it, because she's needed a > first name for nearly 20 years. Three cheers for Diane Duane. > ...she gave Uhura a first name... While I have no wish to denigrate the contributions of Diane Duane to the Star Trek universe, I feel obliged to point out that she was *not* the person who gave Uhura a first name. Giving credit where credit is due, it was William Rotsler. Back when STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN was released, Simon and Schuster, owners of Pocket Books and thus the Star Trek publishing rights, published under their Wanderer Books ("juvenile") imprint three tie-in books, all trade paperbacks by William Rotsler. One was a collection of short stories, all taking place, if I remember correctly, while the *Enterprise* is returning to Earth from Genesis. The second was one of those ubiquitous "choose-your-own-adventure" interactive fiction books. The third was a series of biographical sketches of the various Trek characters. It was in *this* book that Uhura was given the first name Nyota. It is to Duane's credit that she acknowledged this contribution to the Star Trek mythos. BTW, the bio book is pretty awful in general. A good part of it is synopses of various episodes that had signifi- cance to the lives of one character or another. There are also numerous "excerpts" from non-existent books written about or by the various characters. The bibliography in the back is a scream if you can get all of the hidden references to real sf authors and big-name fans. --- jayembee (Jerry Boyajian, DEC, Maynard, MA) UUCP: {decvax|ihnp4|allegra|ucbvax|...}! decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-akov68!boyajian ARPA: boyajian%akov68.DEC@DECWRL.ARPA