In the annals of Star Trek fan history, few novels have been as famo as Della van Hise’s Killg Time. Published 1985, Killg Time was the 24th book the Star Trek book seri beg released by Pocket Books at the time. And, due to a publisher mix-up, the famo first edn is credibly, pafully gay. To […]
Contents:
- I READ THE GAYT STAR TREK NOVEL
- STAR TREK’S FIRST GAY COUPLE THAT WASN’T
- FOR PRI MONTH, WE CELEBRATE STAR TREK’S GAYT MOMENTS
I READ THE GAYT STAR TREK NOVEL
“My attu toward homosexualy has changed, ” he told The Humanist 1991.
I have, over many years, changed my attu about gay men and women.
Even after his ath, took another 28 years for the first gay character to appear Star Trek’s televisn seri (although y, novel tie-s, ics, fan works, and other non-nonil media featured a markedly improved number of LGBT Starfleet officers). Given that the first openly gay recurrg character on televisn wouldn’t appear until the edy Soap 1977 (and played by Billy Crystal, so not exactly a nuanced character portrayal), pictg one the ‘60s when Star Trek first aired would have been unthkable to most people. Of urse, much of what Star Trek did to highlight actors and characters of different ethnic backgrounds would have been pretty far-fetched for many televisn dienc of the time, too – so what ma gay stori different at the time?
STAR TREK’S FIRST GAY COUPLE THAT WASN’T
But still others were spired – enough that Kirk and Spock’s endurg nnectn to one another has remaed a potent symbol of homosexual love for Trek fans.
FOR PRI MONTH, WE CELEBRATE STAR TREK’S GAYT MOMENTS
Durg a 20th anniversary nventn 1986, show creator Gene Rodnberry was asked by a foundg member of a Boston LGBT science fictn group (lled, charmgly, the Gaylaxian Network) whether or not the recently announced The Next Generatn would troduce gay characters to Starfleet.
We should probably have a gay character. That same year, Gerrold (who’s bt known for wrg the TOS episo “The Trouble Wh Tribbl”) began workg on a script which revolved around two gay characters beg afflicted by an curable, tergalactic blood disease that mirrored the spread of HIV.
Dpe this, Rodnberry still seemed mted to makg good on his promise to the Gaylaxians, who by 1990 had begun a letter-wrg petn (spurred partly by Gerrold’s stori of his episo’s mise at var nventn appearanc).