Is Star Trek Ready for a Gay Starship Captain?

Art imitates life. If so, when gays serve openly in America's armed forces after the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, it may encourage one of pop culture's most beloved institutions to put a gay man or lesbian woman in command of a starship. We've had bald Captains (Patrick Stewart), black Captains (Avery Brooks), female Captains (Kate Mulgrew), and even aliens like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) commanding good ship USS Enterprise. Is it time for a gay guy or gal to go boldly, engage warp drive, and see what's out there?

Recently, long time writer/producer from "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "Star Trek: Voyager" and co-creator of "Enterprise," Brannon Braga, said he regretted there were never any permanent or recurring gay characters featured on the Trek TV shows.

Talking to AfterElton.com, Braga said, "It was a shame for a lot of us that ... I'm talking about the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and there was a constant back and forth about well how do we portray the spectrum of sexuality. There were people who felt very strongly that we should be showing casually, you know, just two guys together in the background in Ten Forward. At the time the decision was made not to do that and I think those same people would make a different decision now because I think, you know, that was 1989, well yeah about 89, 90, 91. I have no doubt that those same creative players wouldn't feel so hesitant to have, you know, have been squeamish about a decision like that."

Indeed, while episodes like "The Host" from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "The Outcast" or Deep Space Nine's "Rejoined" played with mature notions of sexuality, and did a fair job of blurring gender identity or sexual orientation in the future, there was never an openly homosexual character. While writing freelance for "Star Trek: The Next Generation", and "Deep Space Nine", I'd get writer's guidelines. I can't recall a ban on pitching gay stories, however a lack of seeing them on the show may have discouraged writers from attempting to write gay characters into their scripts.

"Star Trek" is legendary for breaking social barriers. In the episode, "Plato's Stepchildren", Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Lt. Uhura (Nichelle Nicols) kissed each other. It was television's first interracial kiss. Later when actress Nichelle Nicols considered leaving the show, none other than Martin Luther King Jr. told her not to do so, since her being there was so important for the civil rights cause.

2009's "Star Trek" directed by JJ Abrams was a big box office smash. It revitalized the entertainment franchise. Now that Gene Roddeberry's sci-fi adventure vehicle is firmly back in the public's conscience, it seems only a matter of time before a new TV show is produced. When a new starship soars into uncharted territories on TV again, will "Star Trek" finally tackle the diversity of human sexuality?

www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/27/star-treks-gay-problem-producer-brannon-braga-regrets-not-having-homosexual-character_n_814885.html

http://www.afterelton.com/TV/2011/01/brannon-braga-star-trek-gay-characters

http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=5443

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/01/17/star-treks-nichelle-nichols-on-how-martin-luther-king-king-jr-changed-her-life/