The First Names of "Star Trek" Quiz

Answer: Pavel

Ensign Pavel Chekov joined the crew of the Enterprise at the beginning of Season 2 of "TOS". Rumors he was put there because the Russians complained were actually initiated by a PR stunt done by Gene Roddenberry himself.
Played by Walter Koenig, Chekov was put on the bridge of the Enterprise because NBC wanted to attract a younger audience to the show by putting a youthful, slightly rebellious "Davey Jones" type character on the show. But, because he had just cut his hair before getting the job, Koenig had to wear a wig for his first few episodes!

Answer: Montgomery

The Enterprise's intrepid engineer, Scotty managed to do just about anything to keep the ship going, even changing laws of physics he moments earlier claimed he could not change!
James Doohan was selected for the role of Scotty due to his dynamic voice talent (which also allowed him several voice credits in both "TOS" and "TAS"). At the time of the show's creation, Scotty didn't have a first name, so Doohan gave him one: Montgomery (Which, by the way, is James Doohan's middle name).

Answer: Hikaru

Though his first name was not officially established as canon until "The Undiscovered Country" (Then again, neither was Kirk's middle name, either), Hikaru Sulu started out as a scientist, then a botanist, and finally found his way to the fimiliar helm position on the Bridge. And it was in "The Undiscovered Country" that Sulu finally did gain command of a ship: The Excelsior. George Takei's first meeting with Gene Roddenberry has become somewhat a legend.

When he entered Gene's office, George said "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rosenberry." When Gene corrected him, George nearly thought there as no way he'd get the job.

But then, Gene asked for a little of George's background, mispronouncing HIS last name ("Tah-KYE") in the process! Well, George corrected Gene (It's really "Tah-KAY"), and then said there is a Japanese word pronounced "Tah-KYE" that means "Lavishly expensive." After that, they both had a laugh, and the rest is history.

Answer: Nyota

Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura (whose name translates as "Star of Freedom") was a breakthrough character, in more ways than one:
1. She was one of the first Black characters on television in a non-servant role (Or, as a young Whoopi Goldberg once put it, "There's a Black lady on TV, and she ain't no maid!"). At one point, Nichelle Nichols was at a crossroads with "Star Trek" and had even told Gene Roddenberry that she wanted to leave the show. But, just hours after she did this, she met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. King tried to tell her that he had admired her work on the show, but she stopped him and revealed she was going to quit. Upon hearing this, Dr. King said "You cannot! You must not! It's one of the only shows my wife and I let our children watch. Don't you realize the historic role you have in life? Not only are you a role model for little black children, but for the first time, little white children see us as we should be seen." Needless to say, she stayed with the show! (Quote from "Beyond Uhura", by Nichelle Nichols)
2. Nichelle Nichols and Bill Shatner shared the first interracial kiss on national television, in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren". But if you watch carefully, Nichelle and Bill don't actually kiss; their lips were, however, less then a half-inch away from each other. There was much concern as to whether people would object to "the kiss," especially in the South, but Gene Roddenberry claimed that not one letter complaining about it ever came in!

Answer: Christine

Nurse Christine Chapel, played by Majel Barrett, was so-named because it sounded similar to "Sistine Chapel." I know it sounds kind of silly, but it's true! And Chapel did become a doctor by "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". Majel Barrett (aka Mrs. Gene Roddenberry) was cast in the original pilot, "The Cage", as Number One, second in command of the Enterprise.

At the time, she was a brunette and she was billed under her real name (M. Lee Hudec). When the series went into full production, Gene was auditioning women to play a nurse for Dr. McCoy. So, the brunette M. Lee Hudec became the blonde Majel Barrett, and she walked right by Gene (who didn't even recognize her - and they were married!). And that's how she got the job.

Answer: Kevin

Lt. Kevin Riley (Bruce Hyde) appeared in two early episodes of "Star Trek." His most memorable moment was in "The Naked Time", when he repeatedly sang "Kathleen" from Engineering.
Not much is known about Bruce Hyde, except to say that he did appear in four consecutive episodes of "Dr. Kildare", in 1966.

Answer: Leonard

Dr. Leonard H. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) was a crusty old "country doctor" (his words), who seemed to have a the right injection at the right time, no matter who it was that needed medical treatment. "Bones" (as Kirk called him) also hated to use the Transporter almost as much as he liked Spock (Yes, despite the bickering, McCoy really did like him). DeForest Kelley (His friends called him "De") was a hard sell to NBC. Gene Roddenberry had worked with him before "Star Trek", and he wanted De cast as McCoy.

But NBC initially said "no," because De was best-known as playing "heavies" in westerns. Fortunately, Gene showed the network the light, and "Bones" was born.

Answer: Janice

Yeoman Janice Rand (Grace Lee Whitney) appeared in the first half of Season 1 of "Star Trek", but became a sort of icon to the series, primarily for her legs (In "Miri", Rand had admitted to Kirk that she tried to get him to look at them) and that checkerboard-pattern hair of hers (It was really a wig)!
Grace Lee Whitney continued a direct affiliation with the "Star Trek" franchise into the 1990s. She appeared in four of the six Original Cast movies, as well as the "Voyager" episode "Flashback", and the documentary "Trekkies".

Answer: James

I know...I had to give one of them away! :)
Seriously, did you know that Lloyd Bridges was originally offered the role of Captain Kirk? He declined, because he didn't want to do science-fiction on TV.
Meanwhile, Bill Shatner still contributes to the "Star Trek" franchise by writing both "Trek" fiction and non-fiction books (Three of his non-fiction books are "Star Trek Memories" "Get a Life!", and "I'm Working On That").

Answer: John

Lt. John Farrell was in three early episodes of "Star Trek". Played by Jim Goodwin, Farrell was the the Enterprise navigator in the episodes "Mudd's Women", "The Enemy Within", and "Miri". Farrell's first name, though not mentioned in the show, is listed in the "Star Trek Encyclopedia".

By the way, this Farrell is not to be confused with the mirror-universe Farrell in "Mirror, Mirror" (He was the one who had thwarted Chekov's assassination attempt on Kirk). That Farrell was played by Pete Kellett. Jim Goodwin's other work includes guest-starring roles in "The Virginian", "Laredo", and "CHiPs".