Uhura’s Legacy and a Lost Star Trek Audio

A contagious case of laughter on the Enterprise opens a surprising door to legacy, language, and the power of audio storytelling. We unpack a little‑known Star Trek radio adventure from 1975—“To Starve a Flever”—and trace how a playful premise with Kirk and Spock can lead to a bigger conversation about performance, sound design, and the intimacy of radio drama. Along the way, we shine a bright light on Uhura’s role and Nichelle Nichols’ far-reaching influence, from groundbreaking representation on American television to her real-world work with NASA inspiring women and people of colour to pursue STEM careers.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome and Show Premise
• 0:39 Introducing the Star Trek Feature
• 1:11 The Giggles Aboard the Enterprise
• 1:54 Spotlight on Uhura and Nichelle Nichols
• 5:17 Representation, Language, and Legacy
• 5:20 Production Origins and Peter Pan Records
• 6:08 Filming Approach and Limited Archives
• 7:21 Episode Length and Listener Ease
• 7:21 Why We Share Timeless Stories
• 7:31 Where to Find Us and Closing

Transcript

Fran: 0:00

Hello everyone! Welcome to Melancholy Mentor, where classic literature is the vibrant world of radio plays. I'm Fran and I'm joined by Evan from Mystery Mythos. Together we're your guides on this creative journey. During each episode we'll dive into stories featured on the Melancholy Mentor channel, allowing fresh ideas to flourish, inspiring you to dream big and unlock your creative potential. Get comfy, open your mind, and embrace curiosity. Let's get started. Hello, I'm Fran.

Evan: 0:41

And I'm Evan.

Fran: 0:43

In this Melancholy Mentor podcast episode, we're highlighting an episode featured on our Melancholy Mentor YouTube channel. And today's episode is a Star Trek one, and it's called To Starve a Flever. Starve a Fleaver?

unknown: 1:00

I know.

Fran: 1:01

So all the S's in that, like is a bit of a tongue twister for me. So Star Trek to starve a fleeva, which doesn't help me because I've got a slight lisp already. So immerse yourself in the frillium world of Star Trek. Join the crew of the USS Enterprise as they face a perilous mission to thwart a devious alien that threatens the very fabric of the galaxy.

unknown: 1:28

Yes.

Fran: 1:29

So I'm going in early with a spoiler alert on this one. Captain Kirk gets the giggles. I think it's definitely a contagious bout of giggles, but will Spock submit to the giggles? That's the question. Oh, will Spock submit to it? I don't know. So something going on with this mission that they've got, and I don't know, they they end up getting the contagious giggles. So what I'm gonna do is just focus on Uhura in this episode. So in the original Star Trek series, Noyota Uhura, referred to simply as Ohura, is a polyglot, and they're they're a fictional character within Star Trek in the original series, and they're a polyglot, which means multiple they speak multiple languages, translator and communications officer aboard the Starship Enterprise. Now, Ohura was portrayed by American actress and singer Michelle Nichols. Absolutely wonderful actress, amazing singer as well. If you've not heard of her, then by all means please look her up. Look up her singing, beautiful voice. She was born in 1932 and passed away in 2022 at the ripe age of 89. And in recognition to her contributions to television, Michelle was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992. Wow. And she was right. I'm gonna use the term non-menial, and this comes up on the internet, it comes up on you know places that you research as well. And buy this keep it within this context and and it'll it'll be clear what it means. So Uhura as a as a character was one of the first black characters to appear in a non-menial role, okay, in on American television. And I'm not sure how I feel about this wording, but it's it's the only way I could think of explaining it. So she had a a very very good role, like a very kind of almost central role within Star Trek, making her a groundbreaking figure in media representation. And that's why it's so important. So don't be coming for me over that wording. Um it's just a way of trying to explain that. Yes, there were black people on television and and you know, no doubt in in movies as well, but they would have played side characters or background characters, or they would have been very stereo stereo stereotypical characters, they would have been very typecast characters. So for Nelle Nichols to appear on Star Trek is a very, very big thing. Um, you know, which is why I say it makes her a groundbreaking figure in media representation, which is absolutely incredible. And beyond her acting career, Michelle played a pivotal role in the history of NASA, which is incredible as well. So the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, America, she actively supported NASA's mission to explore space and was a strong advocate for diversity, inspiring people from all backgrounds, especially women, to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. So in the STEM within NASA, which is just mind-blowing.

Evan: 5:17

Yeah, that's amazing.

Fran: 5:20

So to bring the attention back to Starver Flever, the Star Trek episode featured on our the radio drama that's featured on our Melancholy Mentor YouTube channel. Um, Evan, do you have some more information for us?

Evan: 5:33

Yes, this was the fifth of eleven stories actually produced by Peter Pan Records. It was initially released in 1975 as an audio production along with three other stories. And it was set during Captain Kirk's first five-year mission aboard the Enterprise. The video was filmed by you at Paul Endorset, and we've actually got 577 views on this one. So that's nice.

Fran: 6:01

Amazing, that's really good actually. Come on, Star Trek fans. Yeah, it's building. And I think even if you know it like these stories that we have, so again, I'll reiterate this the stories that we have are audio forms, so they're already pre-existing radio plays and dramas throughout various times in you know in in history. So some of them are a bit more modern, a lot of them we've got quite old. We don't always have a lot of information about them to share, so we do our best to kind of share and credit where we know where the credit is due. And I go along with my tripod and my mobile phone and just film trees and seaside and stuff like that, so that we've got a video that accompanies it on YouTube. So that's that then. That's to Starva Flever.

Evan: 6:49

Flever.

Fran: 6:50

So and this is why you know we do we though despite trying that sometimes there isn't a lot of information to be found about the recordings, especially the older ones. We've struggled before, haven't we, to come up with more information about them? Just how long is this episode? Do you know? Did you say? I didn't say, I think they're all about 20 minutes. Okay, so they're quite easy to listen to as well, aren't they?

Evan: 7:17

Sure, yeah.

Fran: 7:18

Yeah. Okay, amazing. Right, we're passionate about sharing stories, timeless stories with new audiences is while we do this, and even more passionate about igniting your creativity along the way. So, where else to find us? You can find Evan as Mystery Mythos on YouTube. You can find me as Fran Barley. I'm a neurolinguistic programming coach, and we will also have another podcast, Melancholy Coaching. So, thank you for joining us and be sure to explore the radio plays and dramas featured on our YouTube channel, Melancholy Mentor. Bye. Bye. Thank you for tuning in. Contact us at melancholymentor.com. Until next time, keep your minds open and stay curious.