April 20, 1996
I don't know how you came across my email address but -- sign me
on
to your petition. And sign me as a happily married heterosexual
mother of
one who believes that television desperately needs positive gay role
models.
I stumbled across Star Trek when I was twelve and was one of the
original
100,000 who wrote NBC and begged them to renew the series.
Having been
raised in a small midwestern town, I credit Star Trek for opening my
mind
to new ideas and attitudes There's no question that Gene
Roddenberry would
have sanctioned CONTINUING gay characters. It's totally in keeping
with
the spirit of Star Trek.
Heavens, 300 years from now the relationship debate will have
moved far
beyond the gay vs. heterosexual controversy. At this point Star
Trek is
moving backwards in its vision; it's Retro-Trek. Berman needs to get
with
the program.
Sincerely,
April 21, 1996
Dear Outspeaker,
First, to
set the baseline for this message, I would like to mention that I am a
heterosexual
male.
I have
been a Trekkie for as long as I can remember. I
have attended the odd convention, downloaded the occasional FAQ,
as well as an infrequent cheese-cake shot of Trek actresses, but in
my heart I have always seen Trek as the universal equalizer. At its
very foundation and conception Trek was designed to be a show to
teach
racial tolerance, even of the Extraterrestrial variety. Gene used his
show to hold a mirror up to the turbulent sixties and give people a
healthy dose of common sense.
But
Star Trek was always under imminent threat of
cancelation, and while logically in his pursuit of racial equality he
no doubt wanted to include a gay character, he probably knew he
could
never get it past the NBC censors. But in Trek's second incarnation
Gene had created a world where Mankind had come to the point of
being
a family, brother and sister, leaving all of the conflict to come from
outside of their society. Factually, this would leave a *perfect*
environment in which to introduce a gay character. Gene himself said
towards the end of the second season that he intended to introduce a
gay character (rumor had it to be a she) to complete the racial
equality of Trek. But before he could implement it, he passed away.
Berman (who has a bust of Gene on his desk with a blindfold tied
around it. Hint. Hint.) went half way and had that episode with an
androgynous society where leaning towards ANY gender save neuter
was
considered deviant. While this episode was done in the classic Trek
style of hidden messagery, it didn't wrestle with the issue
sufficiently to satisfy my societal concerns. I wish you luck on your
plight, that you will be able get a gay character into Trek and
complete the mission its creator assigned to it so many years ago.
Adeiu.
Anthony Tecce
Mary Feller
San Rafael, CA