thestands,movinggiantchesspieces
withtheirmentalpowers,ormocking
theEnterpriseofficers.“Oh,how
faithlessandfickle!”Dionydsnickers
as KirkandSpockstaggerbetweenLt.
UhuraandNurseChapelwhileunder
Parmen’scontrol.“Becareful,Mr.
Spock.Toomuchloveis dangerous,”
tauntsDionydas SpockandChapel
kiss.(CaptainKirkfinallywinsa
mentalshowdownwithParmenafter
duplicatinghismind-power.)
“TedandI hadverylittle
interactionwiththeothers,”Partridge
says.“Mainlywejustsattheremaking
thesecomments.”Buthedoesrecall
thesetas being“verypleasanttowork
on,”despitememoriesfromothers
abouthowthespecialeffects– of thin
fishingwirebeingusedtomoveobjects
- exasperateddirectorDavidAlexander
andputhimwaybehindschedule.
“I don’tremembermuchabout
that,butourshowhada greatfirst,”
Partridgeenthuses.“Itwasnotjustthe
firstinterracialkissonTV,betweenKirk
andLt.Uhura,butthefirstintergalactic
kissbetweenSpockandMajelBarrett!”
03 Partridge
withScott,
alongwith
MichaelDunn
asAlexander.AnExtraordinaryEpisode
“Plato’sStepchildren”eliciteda great
dealofpositivemail,whileThe Copley
Newssaidat thetimetheepisode
was“animaginative,bizarreand
fascinatingtriptoanevilShangri-La.”
Partridgelistenswithgreatinterest
whenStarTrekMagazinetellshim
thatsometelevisionstationsinthe
southernUSrefusedtocarry“Plato’s
Stepchildren”becauseofitshistoric
interracialkiss– includinganangry
Mississippiwomanwhosaidshe
wouldneverwatchStarTrekagain.
“That’ssad,”hesays.“The BBC
inEnglandalsorefusedtoairthat
episode.I spentpartofmylifein
RhodesiaandSouthAfrica,where
I sawracism,andit’sverysad.
Unfortunately,it’sstillwithus.”
Headmitshewatchedandliked
StarTrekat thetime.“I certainlysaw
myepisodeoriginallybutI don’tthink
I haveseenit since.”Healsoattended
a fewconventions,meetingfansand
signingphotographs,butaftera while,
hestoppeddoingthese.Speakingas
a worldtraveler,PartridgesaysStarTr e kshouldbeputintoitsproper
perspective.“It’scalledclassicStar
Tr e kforgoodreason,butpeopleneed
toremember,it wasjusta TVshow.
It wassimplya figmentofa writer’s
imagination.It’snotreallife.There’sa
wholeworldouttheretobelivedin.”
StarTrekisn’ttheonlyiconicsci-fi
universePartridgehasappearedin.“I
thinkI amoneofthefewpeoplewho
didStarTrekandStarWars,” reveals
theactor,whoplayedCommander“Our show had a great
first. It was not just
the first interracial kiss
on TV, between Kirk
and Lt. Uhura, but the
first intergalactic kiss
between Spock and
Majel Barrett!”
03
DEREK PARTRIDGE