Star Trek: Why TOS Fired Janice Rand In Season 1

Janice Rand was supposed to be a major character on Star Trek: The Original Series but was written off the show after season 1. Star Trek: The Original Series was the first show in what would become the Star Trek franchise. It premiered in 1966 and ran for 3 seasons before being canceled. Many characters from The Original Series, especially Captain James T. Kirk, First Officer Spock, and Doctor Leonard “Bones” McCoy, have become iconic parts of both Star Trek and television history. However, many fans may not know that the character of Yeoman Janice Rand was also supposed to a major character on the show.

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Played by actress Grace Lee Whitney, Yeoman Rand appeared in 8 episodes of the first season of The Original Series. She was Captain Kirk’s personal Yeoman, and there was also a fair amount of unresolved romantic tension between the two, although they were never portrayed as having anything other than a professional relationship. In the initial concept and marketing for TOS, Rand was supposed to be a major character, and function as an important advisor and confidant to the Captain as well as being his love interest. Her appearances and dialogue were consistently cut down during the production process, however, essentially relegating her to the role of a side character over the course of season 1.

To top this off, before the 1st season had even ended, Grace Lee Whitney was informed that Janice Rand was being written off the show at the request of the network. The official story was that Rand’s presence was getting in the way of the producers’ desire for Kirk not to be tied to one love interest. Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry also once stated that Whitney’s firing was purely financial, as the show was over budget and needed to make cuts. Whitney herself later agreed that the higher-up’s interest in Kirk’s promiscuous reputation likely had something to do with her being let go, but also made it clear that she thought the decision was made for another, much darker reason. Only a few days before her firing, Whitney was sexually assaulted by a studio executive on the Star Trek set. Whitney discussed the incident in her autobiography years later and, although she deliberately did not mention the executive by name, stated that she had a hard time believing the assault wasn’t at least in some way related to her exit from The Original Series.

Leaving TOS was one of the greatest disappointments of Whitney’s life, and of course, the assault she suffered was an extremely traumatic experience. While the executive who assaulted her was never identified or prosecuted, Whitney’s bravery in discussing the experience in her book cannot be overstated. Gene Roddenberry later apologized for giving in to pressure from the network to let Whitney go, even going so far as to say that writing Janice Rand off “was the dumbest mistake” he had ever made. Many of Whitney’s castmates were equally shocked and unhappy with her departure, including Leonard Nimoy who Whitney said was a great acting mentor and friend to her during her time on the show.

Luckily, Janice Rand was given a chance at redemption years later through her appearances in the Star Trek films, including The Motion Picture, The Voyage Home, and The Undiscovered Country. Rand was also featured as a guest character in Star Trek: Voyager during the season 3 episode “Flashback,” which featured heavy callbacks to the plot of The Undiscovered Country. In addition to these appearances, Grace Lee Whitney became a beloved actress among the fans, attending numerous Star Trek conventions and even participating in some Star Trek fan projects before her death in 2015. Although Janice Rand never got the chance to realize her full potential on Star Trek: The Original Series, the character will always be remembered as an integral part of Star Trek history.

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