(There will no doubt be some minor spoilers here. Proceed at your own risk.) 

Nichelle Nichols' initial dissatisfaction with Lt. Uhura's lack of development and visible duties on the original Star Trek series has become something of a legend, albeit one that is perfectly true. According to a story I've heard more than once--including from Ms. Nichols herself at a convention I attended many moons ago--she considered leaving the series because she felt her character was nothing more than a glorified receptionist.

She was persuaded to stay on the show by Martin Luther King, Jr. himself, who felt strongly that a character like Uhura needed to be seen on a prime time series. She may not do much, Dr. King said, but Uhura was no one's servant. "Glorified receptionist" or not, she was a senior officer and an equal on a show that dared to hope for diversity at a time when that was still a dangerous idea.

As I've had a chance to reflect and absorb J.J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise, I think that Abrams and the screenwriters have righted a wrong when it comes to Lt. Uhura (not least of which is giving her a first name for the first time in her 40 year existence!). To be sure, Nichelle Nichols got more to do as the original series went on, most famously sharing prime time television's first interracial kiss with William Shatner. But she was always a secondary character, no question, and continued to be so throughout the movies that featured the original cast.

Not so with Zoe Saldana's Uhura. She is no one's interstellar receptionist. Uhura is arguably the most important character in the film aside from Kirk and Spock themselves. For the first time since the character of Uhura was created, we understand why she got where she got, what her talents and gifts actually were as a communications officer, and some of the things her character does.

And then there's the strength of character. Anyone whose first exposure to Star Trek came via the original series, as mine did, will recognize that Uhura always was a strong woman (I was always particularly fond of her scene with Matt Dillon in Star Trek III), but Saldana gets the chance to really show it. She intimidates Spock into changing his mind when she finds out she's been assigned to the U.S.S. Farragut rather than the Enterprise. Spock, who wouldn't back down in the face of the Vulcan High Ministry's disapproval, backs down in the face of Uhura's determination. And you believe it.

One of my oldest and best friends has told me more than once what having first Lt. Uhura, and later Capt. Benjamin Sisko, in the Star Trek universe meant to him growing and continue to mean to him as a black man. For that reason alone, I'm glad that J.J. Abrams and writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci give Uhura her moment to shine.

I also hope that Zoe Saldana draws inspiration from the part, as Nichelle Nichols did. One of her activities after the original series ended was helping NASA with recruiting minority astronaut candidates, something she had fun doing and was very committed to. May the "young" Uhura find similar opportunities after playing a character that was always more important than the amount of screen time she had would suggest.