I was 12 years old just before the second season of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" took the air, and I remember a special Paramount Television did re-introducing the series to the fans and announcing the addition of two new characters.



Diana Muldaur had been brought in to (temporarily) replace Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher. And one surprise addition to the cast was comedian and (later) Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg, who was taking on the role of Guinan.



The latter announcement was a major surprise to Star Trek fans, well at least it was to me. Everyone who had been on the show -- with the exception of Wil Wheaton and LeVar Burton -- were unknowns to me before they first appeared on the show. I was too young to have really remembered "Dune" which Patrick Stewart had a role in. I wouldn't have known Jonathan Frakes if I had run into him on the street. Brent Spiner, no. Denise Crosby neither. And who was Michael Dorn again?



But suddenly, here was the popular actress who wasn't approached by Gene Roddenberry and Rick Berman to be in the show to boost ratings. In fact, it was she who asked them to be in the show. Why? Her reasons were quite simple.



She remembered back to the original "Star Trek" that aired on NBC. She was just a young girl at the time, probably the same age I was watching the second season of TNG. We saw Capt. Kirk, we saw Mr. Spock, we saw Bones. But then, out of nowhere, there was Lt. Uhura, sitting as proud as can be, as part of the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise. And no, she wasn't serving them food or getting Capt. Kirk his morning newspaper, she was a key bridge officer in charge of communications. And not a single person ever flinched that there was a black woman on board.



Goldberg said that she couldn't believe how "Star Trek" didn't make a big deal about Uhura being there, but at the same time, it was a big deal. She didn't get a lot of the speaking roles she had wanted, but having Uhura there did a lot to inspire a lot of black people that there definitely was a future for them.



And one of those inspired people was Whoopi Goldberg.



Roddenberry touched hearts, touched society not just because of the engrossing characters and the moving stories fans got week in and week out on "Star Trek." He also did it through ways of pushing the envelope, of creating "fictional" situations which amazingly mirrored real-life events. Events that the networks didn't want any part of in their shows.



Those were things like racism, like the Vietnam Conflict, even the Cold War. He was able to express so many messages and make people think twice about continuing in what was some hugely oppressive actions.



It's the 21st century now. And while many of the things expressed in the original series either no longer exist, or have been reduced big time, that doesn't mean there is nothing left in the world. Yes, war still exists. Yes, terror still exists. And yes, I hate to say this, but oppression and persecution continues to exist ... right in our own country.



The debate on whether to include a gay character in Star Trek is about as old as TNG. In fact, Roddenberry even planned to have some minor gay characters introduced in the first season based on a script by David Gerrold, but it was something that never materialized.



Fans asked that Rick Berman include a gay character on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." While no character was included, the male demographic was satisfied with two lesbian kiss scenes between Terry Farrell and Susanna Thompson, and a later one between Nicole de Boer and Nana Visitor. But what did that accomplish? Farrell's and Thompson's kiss was based on a heterosexual relationship of previous hosts, and the fact that they were both women was more incidental than anything else. For de Boer and Visitor, these were "alternative universe" characters, which implied that homosexuality in any form was only constant in mirror situations, and not the reality of today's world.



The push for a gay character really took form in "Enterprise," especially since Berman was asked several times before the show aired if a gay character would be included. He seemed to tease in the positive to begin with, but then pulled back. Now we learn that if there is a gay character, it would be a surprise.



But it's too late. If a gay character -- even in a minor role -- was included in TNG, it would be groundbreaking. In fact, if one was included in DS9, it would be groundbreaking, and maybe even in "Star Trek: Voyager" as well. But even if one was included in "Enterprise" now, there would be nothing groundbreaking about it. There already are other shows that beat Star Trek to the punch ... shows that are more controversial in the gay community because of the trumpeting of stereotypes than they are in straight society. And if "Enterprise" did include a gay character, will it be portrayed in the way he or she should be portrayed -- as something simply accepted, like Uhura, without anyone making a big deal about it? Or will it be treated the same way as Seven of Nine's and T'Pol's uniforms have been done -- conforming to the lowest common denominator.



Sadly, I think if Berman and Brannon Braga do finally give in to the requests of fans to include a gay character, they will concentrate more on the latter than they would the former. They've already expressed that they are not interested in the way Roddenberry did things, and that's one reason why they are doing a prequel series in the first place -- to stay out of the Roddenberry mandate.



They are more afraid of ratings than ever before, something that Roddenberry didn't care about. "We can't get people riled up, we can't do things that draw attention," because they are afraid it will cost them ratings.



Having a gay character might upset some ... and it likely will upset more in the so-called "Bible Belt" of the south. But guess what, that same demographic was pissed about the kiss that Kirk and Uhura shared in one episode. And the ratings drop didn't make that show a forgotten piece of history ... it made it a pop icon that gave people like Brannon Braga and Rick Berman the jobs and comfortable salaries they have today.



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Michael Hinman is co-owner and news editor of Airlock Alpha. He's based in Tampa, Fla., and can be reached at syfyportal@aol.com.