March 25, 2025

Phasers Set To Stun: Woman In Motion

Phasers Set To Stun: Woman In Motion
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconSpreaker podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

On "Phasers Set To Stun," we recognize the popularity of all things Star Trek, with a look at television shows, animation, movies, and much more! To celebrate Women's History Month, our crew welcomes A Film By... Podcast cohost, Amber Lewis, to the bridge. Get set for a discussion about an inspirational documentary about Nichelle Nichols, who played a pivotal role in diversifying NASA's astronaut corps with her campaign to recruit women and minorities! Woman In Motion is a must-see for all Trek fans!

For exclusive episodes and content, send some latinum to our Patreon here! You can sign up for a FREE 7-day trial, or sign up for a free membership to get limited access!

Check out www.afilmbypodcast.com/ for more information.
Email us at afilmbypodcast@gmail.com with your questions, comments, and requests.
Find us on X Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @afilmbypodcast.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:01.080 --> 00:00:11.480
Space the Final Frontier. Join us for a bold conversation

2
00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:17.440
our prime directive to recap our favorite Star Trek shows,

3
00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:23.320
both new and old, to engage in debate about all

4
00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:31.960
things Trek. Prepare to energize with Phasers Set to Stunt.

5
00:00:40.039 --> 00:00:42.920
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Phasers Set to Stun.

6
00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:45.880
In this ongoing series from a film by podcast, we

7
00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:48.119
continue to show our love for every quadrant of the

8
00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:52.920
expanding Star Trek universe by covering television, animation, movies, directors,

9
00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:55.399
and much more. Plot in the course, as always, is

10
00:00:55.439 --> 00:00:56.439
your core track crew.

11
00:00:56.560 --> 00:01:02.240
I'm Scott Hoffmann, I'm David Burns and.

12
00:01:00.880 --> 00:01:04.239
And for today's mission, we're also joined by fellow Trek

13
00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:07.560
fan and one of our favorite voices on our favorite podcasts,

14
00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:08.480
Amber Lewis.

15
00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:11.840
Welcome, Ehra, Thank you, it's exciting to be here.

16
00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:13.560
Yes, welcome on board.

17
00:01:15.719 --> 00:01:18.040
In this episode, we're taking a look at an outstanding

18
00:01:18.079 --> 00:01:21.040
Trek focused documentary that goes beyond the fiction and fandom

19
00:01:21.079 --> 00:01:23.680
to talk about the influence and impact of an icon.

20
00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:26.920
We're talking about Woman in Motion, a film about the

21
00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:29.680
life of the legendary Michelle Nichols and the remaking of

22
00:01:29.799 --> 00:01:35.120
NASA released in twenty nineteen, written by Joe Millan, John McCall,

23
00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:39.719
Benjamin Krupp and directed by Todd Thompson. This features a

24
00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:43.000
lot of different perspectives, including Michelle Nichols herself from various

25
00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:46.840
points in time. Alrius, everybody, h let's break this down.

26
00:01:47.000 --> 00:01:49.200
There's no spoiler alert because if you want to see

27
00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:53.159
this documentary, just go and see it. Dave, why don't

28
00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:54.680
you give us a summary of what this movie.

29
00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:54.920
Is all about?

30
00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:58.760
An inspiring story about Michelle Nichols, who is not only

31
00:01:58.799 --> 00:02:02.319
Lieutenant o' horror culture icon, but also does something that

32
00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:04.760
many are not aware of. It is someone who changed

33
00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:08.479
the space program forever. Michelle takes on the enormous task

34
00:02:08.599 --> 00:02:11.520
to launch a national campaign for NASA to recruit eight

35
00:02:11.560 --> 00:02:14.400
thousand of the best and brightest, becoming someone who leads

36
00:02:14.439 --> 00:02:18.080
the charge to bring women and minorities into the space program.

37
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:22.479
This film surprised me oh so much, and I'd love

38
00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:25.520
to hear from everybody on that. I knew that I

39
00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:27.319
was going to learn some interesting things, but I had

40
00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:28.879
no idea what I was in for.

41
00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:29.719
Amber.

42
00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:32.039
What was your first reaction to see in this Well?

43
00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:34.080
I had to watch it a couple of times because

44
00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:38.120
my first reaction was how many times I cried throughout it?

45
00:02:38.120 --> 00:02:42.479
It was surprisingly emotional, But just the richness of her

46
00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:45.919
life just you know, her early life was something I

47
00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:49.560
didn't know anything about, so that was fascinating. And then

48
00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:54.159
just seeing someone who found themselves in a position to

49
00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:57.759
have a voice and to use that voice, and who

50
00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:00.879
wasn't afraid to stand up and say, you know, where

51
00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:03.800
are my people? What are you guys doing? Yeah, was

52
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.680
just just amazing to me. She's just fascinating.

53
00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:08.520
Yeah.

54
00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:11.360
I mean, on the surface, you know, just reading the

55
00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.639
box of it, so to speak, it might seem like

56
00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:16.240
it's the life and times of Michelle Nichols and that

57
00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:21.080
she was involved in the NASA Space program. It is

58
00:03:21.199 --> 00:03:24.759
so much more than that, you way, way much more

59
00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.280
And I love to your point of the fact that

60
00:03:27.360 --> 00:03:29.759
we get this rich story that tells us so much

61
00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:33.159
more about her. Dave, what was your first reaction?

62
00:03:33.800 --> 00:03:37.360
Well, I didn't know any of this. Surprisingly, as a

63
00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:38.960
big of a star Trek fan I am. I had

64
00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:41.039
no clue that the show had done all of this.

65
00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:44.759
I knew I knew that, you know, going back to

66
00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:46.400
her history and stuff like that, and her you know,

67
00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:47.319
meeting Gene Ron Berry.

68
00:03:47.360 --> 00:03:49.000
I knew a lot of that stuff, and I.

69
00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:50.879
Knew that, you know, she came up with the name Ahura,

70
00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:54.319
But what she did for the NASA program, I guess

71
00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:58.840
I've been on an island somewhere by myself because I

72
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:02.520
wasn't aware of everything that she did to change that program.

73
00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:06.919
And I was just enthralled by this, this film, this documentary,

74
00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:09.879
and just like Amber said, how rich her life was.

75
00:04:10.439 --> 00:04:13.560
And one of the things that really struck me hard is.

76
00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:17.240
When how proud her father was of her and said

77
00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:18.800
that you're you're you're going to make a difference in

78
00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:19.160
this world.

79
00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:21.519
You're going to be my actor. And you know, she.

80
00:04:21.600 --> 00:04:23.639
Made that as a child that she wanted to make

81
00:04:23.639 --> 00:04:25.800
a difference in the in the world, and she didn't

82
00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:27.000
think she was going to be able to do that.

83
00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:28.199
But did she ever do it?

84
00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.519
And she even convinced that that she did finally realize

85
00:04:31.600 --> 00:04:34.120
that she made a difference, And my god, did she

86
00:04:34.120 --> 00:04:36.120
ever make it, not just in the program, but everything

87
00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:39.160
else that she was for the minorities and women, all

88
00:04:39.160 --> 00:04:39.680
that kind of things.

89
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:42.079
It's a fascinating documentary, it really is.

90
00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:43.480
Wayne. What about you?

91
00:04:44.240 --> 00:04:46.920
Well, I did know about it, but of course you know,

92
00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.519
we were like really really young when that happens, so

93
00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:51.920
I didn't know about it at the time. But I

94
00:04:51.920 --> 00:04:53.639
think I learned about her in the whole bit with

95
00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:56.000
NASA back in the early ninety or not late nineties.

96
00:04:56.040 --> 00:04:59.560
I believe it was through magazines, but not in the

97
00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:04.439
in depth that this documentary went to. But I love

98
00:05:04.519 --> 00:05:07.480
how it went not only into her background, you know,

99
00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:11.319
her time with Duke Ellington, her acting career, not just

100
00:05:11.439 --> 00:05:15.240
Star Trek, because that's a lot of stuff that I

101
00:05:15.240 --> 00:05:17.680
didn't know that. I mean I only knew through like

102
00:05:17.800 --> 00:05:19.759
little facts that I had seen on the internet, but

103
00:05:20.199 --> 00:05:23.879
to actually hear the voice from her, which brings me

104
00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:26.360
to my Probably the one point that I'm glad about

105
00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:29.040
the most is that I'm glad that they made this

106
00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:33.680
documentary while she was still alive. Yeah, absolutely, yes, so

107
00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:37.600
that she had input and she got to see this,

108
00:05:38.360 --> 00:05:42.120
because seeing her on this documentary was the highlight of it.

109
00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:44.920
I mean, she's such a fascinating one.

110
00:05:45.319 --> 00:05:49.439
Well, I think it's important for women and for black

111
00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:52.600
women to stand up and say these are the things

112
00:05:52.639 --> 00:05:56.079
I did not, you know, not to like kind of

113
00:05:56.160 --> 00:05:59.920
hide behind the modesty that we're all told we're supposed

114
00:05:59.959 --> 00:06:04.279
to to have and the humility and it's bragging and

115
00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:06.199
whatever like. But to stand up and say no, I

116
00:06:06.240 --> 00:06:08.399
did that, she.

117
00:06:08.319 --> 00:06:10.800
Didn't get much recognition. I mean, can any of you

118
00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:14.399
remember hearing or seeing about this. The reason I knew

119
00:06:14.439 --> 00:06:16.720
about it was, and this is very obscure, as back

120
00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:20.040
in the late nineties, I was buying old issues of

121
00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:23.839
Starlog magazine from back the souventies and they had some

122
00:06:23.959 --> 00:06:27.120
ride ups. But other than that, I've not seen anything

123
00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:30.920
until this documentary was starting to be made. So you know,

124
00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.199
it's glad. I'm glad she's able to get that recognition.

125
00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:38.560
Now. Yeah, well we get to see her present day

126
00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:40.800
as of you know, when it was made, obviously, but

127
00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:47.879
it's so seamlessly kind of woven through the different times

128
00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:50.680
in her life when she's kind of reflecting about what

129
00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:52.759
she had done. They did a great job of bulling

130
00:06:52.800 --> 00:06:59.279
forward archive audio, archive video that kind of goes through

131
00:06:59.319 --> 00:07:03.560
her life, her perspective from different points in her life.

132
00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:04.439
But yeah, she was.

133
00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:08.600
She was captivating to listen to when she was talking

134
00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:12.519
about all the things that she had done. And yeah,

135
00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:18.240
it's it's a it's a critical documentary to have even exist. Obviously,

136
00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:21.839
if you're a Star Trek fan, It's it's mind blowing

137
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:25.800
to see how much of an influence this continues to

138
00:07:25.839 --> 00:07:30.800
have today. But specifically Michelle herself, we already knew she

139
00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.360
was incredible, just didn't know to what depth. There were

140
00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:36.199
a lot of interesting things to learn in this one amber.

141
00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:38.240
What were some of the things that stood out to you,

142
00:07:38.360 --> 00:07:40.600
Things that you kind of discovered that you hadn't known before.

143
00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:45.519
I was so young when the Shuttle program began that

144
00:07:45.600 --> 00:07:48.079
it was all about the excitement of the Shuttle program,

145
00:07:48.199 --> 00:07:50.279
and you know, we were getting this new vehicle to

146
00:07:50.319 --> 00:07:53.480
take us into space. So I didn't really know a

147
00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:58.480
lot about the problems that they had recruiting and this

148
00:07:58.639 --> 00:08:02.399
sort of irony that you know, Nachelle Nichols starts talking

149
00:08:02.519 --> 00:08:06.639
to these potential candidates and they were like, they're not

150
00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:10.920
gonna hire us, Like why would we apply because NASA

151
00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:16.600
does not care? And so fighting through that, and you

152
00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:20.199
know the moment when she she told NASA like, if

153
00:08:20.199 --> 00:08:23.360
I go to all this trouble and you only hire

154
00:08:23.399 --> 00:08:25.399
white men like you and I are going to have

155
00:08:25.439 --> 00:08:27.399
a serious problem and it's going to be very public.

156
00:08:28.360 --> 00:08:32.240
Was just fascinating to me that she would stand up

157
00:08:32.279 --> 00:08:35.559
and say that, because that was kind of the attitude,

158
00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:39.000
was like they didn't want minorities, they didn't want women.

159
00:08:39.360 --> 00:08:41.840
And when they turned around and said, hey, listen, we'll

160
00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:44.720
take anybody, you know, they didn't believe them.

161
00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:49.559
It exploded, Yes, like it blossomed into so much more,

162
00:08:49.679 --> 00:08:52.120
like she recruited what it went.

163
00:08:52.120 --> 00:08:55.759
From in eight Yeah, in eight months. I wrote this

164
00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:58.120
down because it just blew me away. In eight months,

165
00:08:58.240 --> 00:09:02.480
NASA had only gotten one thousand, five hundred applications, one

166
00:09:02.559 --> 00:09:07.879
hundred were women, thirty five were minorities. After Michelle Nichols

167
00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:14.000
did her campaign, they had eight thousand applications, one thousand,

168
00:09:14.080 --> 00:09:17.159
six hundred and forty nine were women, over a thousand

169
00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.120
were minority. And she did that in four months.

170
00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:22.200
Yea and half the four months.

171
00:09:22.399 --> 00:09:25.360
Yeah, yeah, that's what blew my mind that you know,

172
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.559
it seems like something that would take years and years,

173
00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.039
but four months is just amazing what she did well.

174
00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:32.440
And it was her integrity, Like she told NASA, I'm

175
00:09:32.440 --> 00:09:35.320
not going to be your mascot and just stand up

176
00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:37.799
and make a stump speech that you write for me,

177
00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:42.720
like I will do it myself and speak from my truth.

178
00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:44.879
And that's how we're going to do this, if we're

179
00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:45.440
going to do it.

180
00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:48.879
Yeah, that was one of my favorite quotes, Like when

181
00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:51.840
she was talking about that idea of making sure that

182
00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:56.519
it wasn't seen as a gimmick, when she said, oh, no,

183
00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.639
not me. They'll laugh at you if you pick me,

184
00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:01.720
and that person's not if they hear you speak for

185
00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:07.639
five minutes. Wow, And it's it's true. Like everything that

186
00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:10.879
she poured into her character, Dave, you mentioned that she

187
00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:14.600
not only named her, but she when she was having

188
00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:18.000
that first reading and wanted to know more about the

189
00:10:18.080 --> 00:10:21.879
character of Spock, assuming that that was you know, is

190
00:10:21.919 --> 00:10:24.799
that a character that I'm reading for? And they said, well, no,

191
00:10:24.879 --> 00:10:27.399
you're reading for somebody else who hasn't been named yet,

192
00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:28.639
her or whatever it is, and she's like, but I

193
00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:31.320
still need to know about Spock. I still need to

194
00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:33.639
know more about this, right. So she was even then

195
00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:36.679
kind of opening up what they would what they would

196
00:10:36.679 --> 00:10:40.879
do with the character and taking so much control over

197
00:10:40.919 --> 00:10:42.919
it and nothing that bled over into the influence that

198
00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.759
she had on the on Nasa and the outside world

199
00:10:47.000 --> 00:10:50.519
to help drive this stuff forward. There were some things

200
00:10:50.519 --> 00:10:53.080
that you learned in this So the biggest the biggest.

201
00:10:52.840 --> 00:10:54.919
Thing that I learned that I thought was very fascinating

202
00:10:55.600 --> 00:10:59.360
was her wanting to put in her resignation for Star

203
00:10:59.440 --> 00:11:02.240
Trek because she got tired of the whole Haley Frequencies

204
00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:04.600
open and that that you know, she was, she was

205
00:11:04.639 --> 00:11:07.600
exhausted of it, and that's not why she took that role.

206
00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:09.799
She wanted to be something bigger on that bridge. And

207
00:11:09.960 --> 00:11:12.080
I get it, I truly do. And it was the

208
00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:14.519
whole doctor Martin Luther King's story when they said that

209
00:11:15.080 --> 00:11:17.320
someone you have a guesser who wants to meet you,

210
00:11:17.399 --> 00:11:19.000
and she basically was like, I don't want to meet

211
00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:19.279
your body.

212
00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:20.240
I don't want to see anybody.

213
00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:22.159
And then she she turned to find out who it

214
00:11:22.279 --> 00:11:24.679
was and the fact that he told her that that's

215
00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:26.480
the Star Trek is the only show that he let

216
00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:29.440
his children watch, and well, she said, well, I just,

217
00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:33.399
you know, kind of resigned playing a horror and he

218
00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:35.879
basically stopped her from doing that and and told her

219
00:11:35.960 --> 00:11:39.240
the reasons, you know, you don't understand the effect you're having,

220
00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:43.159
even just being on that bridge and saying those Haleing

221
00:11:43.159 --> 00:11:45.919
frequencies open, the effects you're having on the minorities, on

222
00:11:46.039 --> 00:11:50.159
black people. You don't understand what that's doing. You know,

223
00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:52.840
she went back and decided to stay there, and she

224
00:11:52.879 --> 00:11:53.759
never regretted it.

225
00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:57.759
Well, and to that point, the fact that she instead

226
00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:02.240
of leaving the show, she again even further and said,

227
00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:05.039
look at the influence that I'm having. Look at the

228
00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:10.480
opportunity that this is to so many people, especially the

229
00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:11.720
doctor Martin Luther King Junior.

230
00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:12.039
Right.

231
00:12:13.159 --> 00:12:16.840
I love the writer that said, you know, she may

232
00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:20.120
not be saying a lot, but the minute that Ahura says,

233
00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:23.919
excuse me, captain, like everybody shuts up and listens to

234
00:12:23.960 --> 00:12:26.960
what she has to say, and just that is a

235
00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:27.679
powerful thing.

236
00:12:27.960 --> 00:12:28.639
Absolutely yeah.

237
00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:33.240
Well, and you know it expands that role too of

238
00:12:33.360 --> 00:12:37.679
communications officer, right like it it may have been something

239
00:12:37.679 --> 00:12:41.039
that was written out if it hadn't been for the

240
00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:42.639
way that she approached it and the way that she

241
00:12:42.759 --> 00:12:44.759
dug into what it could do. And we're seeing that

242
00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:48.159
impact today with one of our favorite characters on Strange

243
00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:52.879
New Worlds. He continues to be exceedingly important. I love

244
00:12:52.919 --> 00:12:55.960
the fact that in that meeting we learned not only

245
00:12:56.039 --> 00:12:58.799
how much of that, how much doctor King knew that

246
00:12:58.919 --> 00:13:04.000
it was important to people in general into moving diversity

247
00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:08.759
forward and getting people into the program that needed to

248
00:13:08.759 --> 00:13:13.200
be there, but also you know, giving people the confidence

249
00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:15.159
and the voice to say like I can be seen,

250
00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:18.720
I can be heard, and I have a place. But

251
00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:21.080
it's also so important to his family. Like I thought

252
00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:24.279
it was interesting how we heard from was it his son, Yes,

253
00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:26.840
that had said we didn't really have a lot of

254
00:13:26.840 --> 00:13:30.480
time with them, but TV times Star Trek was important,

255
00:13:31.720 --> 00:13:34.559
and it's like, that's deeply personal, and I could just

256
00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:36.799
imagine like the way that she talked about that and

257
00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:38.960
said like he kind of stopped and froze and got

258
00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:41.360
very serious and he was like, wait a second, You've

259
00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:45.000
got to stay on board. That's give me goosebumps. But yeah,

260
00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:45.600
I love that.

261
00:13:46.039 --> 00:13:46.240
Well.

262
00:13:46.320 --> 00:13:48.759
A lot of the stories, the Star Trek stories are

263
00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:51.759
are pretty much common knowledge to anyone that's followed her

264
00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:55.879
and known from her toxic conventions and stuff. But what

265
00:13:56.159 --> 00:14:01.480
I learned, what I found most interesting, was know Michelle

266
00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:06.039
Nichols herself and how much of a strong personality she has.

267
00:14:06.360 --> 00:14:09.840
Her impact on the Space Shuttle program was just huge,

268
00:14:09.840 --> 00:14:12.559
and it's it's a lot due to what type of

269
00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:17.360
woman she is. You know, she she's not just an actress.

270
00:14:17.559 --> 00:14:21.080
You know, she's She's got a lot of strength to

271
00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:25.000
her personality and I'm certain that's why they chose her.

272
00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:27.000
And just listening to her talk.

273
00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:31.759
About everything that she did, you know, everything that she

274
00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:36.000
required uh NASA to to give her for this, it's

275
00:14:36.080 --> 00:14:39.440
just absolutely amazing. I mean, she dedicated herself to the cause.

276
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:42.120
She gave up her career. It put it completely on

277
00:14:42.159 --> 00:14:46.519
pause right then. You know, she she even successfully piloted

278
00:14:46.799 --> 00:14:49.120
the space of the shuttle simulator. You know, she she

279
00:14:49.159 --> 00:14:52.399
didn't want to just be a spokesperson, you know, a

280
00:14:52.440 --> 00:14:55.799
figurehead and you know, an actress that's that's just you know,

281
00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:01.440
being there there their model. She wanted to actually be

282
00:15:01.639 --> 00:15:05.559
involved in it and find out exactly what you know,

283
00:15:05.919 --> 00:15:09.000
was needed, what was being asked. I just I just

284
00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:12.480
love that story and I love her. I mean, just

285
00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:16.360
listening to her is a highlight of this documentary that

286
00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:20.200
any Star Trek fan should watch this for.

287
00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:24.480
Yeah, I mean, like, it's interesting you mentioned her putting

288
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:27.320
her career on pause. She had aspirations of being a

289
00:15:27.399 --> 00:15:31.240
dancer and a singer, and she was no slouch with

290
00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:34.559
that because she was performing with Duke Ellington and even

291
00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:37.559
from then knew that she wanted to be in control

292
00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:40.039
of who she was going to be and not letting

293
00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:42.320
anybody else tell her what that was going to be.

294
00:15:43.240 --> 00:15:48.960
That's that blows me away. And hearing her sing is phenomenal.

295
00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:53.320
Oh but a voice that was amazing, Yes, oh god.

296
00:15:53.559 --> 00:15:56.000
And I love how when she was looking to leave

297
00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.360
Star Trek, you know, you don't realize she of course

298
00:15:59.360 --> 00:16:01.519
didn't realize what she was in when she was in it,

299
00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:04.639
and it was like, this was a job, it was

300
00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.679
no longer a fulfilling job. I'm gonna go find another job,

301
00:16:08.440 --> 00:16:12.919
as you know performers do. And she was like fine

302
00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.000
with that and had so many other.

303
00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:18.840
Things she could have done. M Yeah, well I didn't

304
00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:21.080
even know that she had her own company called Women

305
00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:24.840
in Motion, I know, and that that was an essential

306
00:16:24.840 --> 00:16:26.799
part of her involvement with NASA, was to say, like,

307
00:16:26.799 --> 00:16:29.240
I'm going to do it under my company, and I'm

308
00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:31.000
going to have some control on the influence. I'm not

309
00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:32.600
going to be somebody who just gets up and speaks

310
00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:34.440
for you. I'm not going to be a prop That

311
00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:37.480
really really surprised me. It was great to hear.

312
00:16:38.360 --> 00:16:39.279
One Thing's for sure.

313
00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:41.799
If you don't know this story and you watched this documentary,

314
00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.600
for the first time like I did, but I still

315
00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:46.799
always appreciated the character Horror and Michelle Nicholas what she's done.

316
00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:48.799
But you will not look at a Horror differently. You

317
00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:52.080
will look at Horror differently going forward. You'll see how

318
00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:55.080
strong she is, how powerful she is in the place

319
00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:57.840
that she has on that bridge, and you will look

320
00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:02.360
at her like, Okay, you belong there. I would like

321
00:17:02.360 --> 00:17:04.839
to have seen her be a captain overship now after

322
00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:06.960
the documentary, for sure.

323
00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:07.920
What about question?

324
00:17:08.519 --> 00:17:12.440
Yes, oh god, that's a missed opportunity. Yes, And let's

325
00:17:12.440 --> 00:17:14.240
talk about some moments that surprised us.

326
00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:15.519
What were some that.

327
00:17:15.400 --> 00:17:16.000
Stood out to you.

328
00:17:16.400 --> 00:17:20.759
I think the one thing that just really kind of

329
00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:24.039
blew me away was kind of jumping ahead to the

330
00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:29.079
end where they showed the pictures of like, this is

331
00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:32.599
what the world was like when she started, and this

332
00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:35.079
is what the world is like now. And it's a

333
00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:40.039
very simple way to end the documentary, but it was

334
00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:43.759
just beautiful. You know, they didn't talk about it a lot,

335
00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:47.119
but they talked about you know, when she first started

336
00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:50.279
her career in Chicago. You know, she went to this

337
00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:54.200
specific hotel as a performer because that was one of

338
00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:57.680
the few places that black people could perform or they

339
00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.200
would let you in, you know, and even when she

340
00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:03.039
was on Star Trek, it was still, Yeah, the country

341
00:18:03.079 --> 00:18:07.839
was still incredibly segregated, and you know, just seeing where

342
00:18:07.880 --> 00:18:11.799
that started and then the imagery of you know, the

343
00:18:11.839 --> 00:18:16.440
progression socially was beautiful and that and now you know

344
00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.720
the hands she had in that, Yeah.

345
00:18:19.880 --> 00:18:23.319
It's so much of a direct direct connection, right, Like

346
00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:27.920
she was board of directors what was it, board of

347
00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:32.039
directors in the National Space Institute, YEP, got so many

348
00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:35.519
different honors for what she had done. And hearing the

349
00:18:35.599 --> 00:18:39.960
voices from so many people that are not only leaders

350
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:45.279
in the space program, but people who started because she

351
00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:49.839
opened that door. I love how many different people we

352
00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:52.839
heard from in this documentary. I think it's great that

353
00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:56.759
we heard from Walter Knig and Michael Dorn, George Takai

354
00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:58.960
and so many different people connected with the Star Trek,

355
00:18:59.039 --> 00:19:02.920
but also so many different astronauts and leaders of programs

356
00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:07.000
that are continuing to keep the program moving forward.

357
00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:08.480
Dave, what about you?

358
00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:11.279
So mine's kind of a twofold here, and it's going

359
00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:13.519
to lead into me the moment of what hit hard

360
00:19:13.640 --> 00:19:15.279
for this. So when we get to that question. You

361
00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:17.880
already going to know what I'm going to say this.

362
00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:21.279
This documentary really put a lot of things into perspective

363
00:19:21.319 --> 00:19:24.519
for me, for the Space program in general, but for

364
00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:28.359
Nichelle's involvement in all of it, the friends that she

365
00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:33.039
made working, you know, for NASA, and not only what

366
00:19:33.160 --> 00:19:35.400
she did, but you know her. I didn't make the

367
00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:39.640
connection when she was talking about how she became good

368
00:19:39.680 --> 00:19:42.720
friends with Judy Residentt, and I didn't make the connection

369
00:19:42.839 --> 00:19:47.599
yet that Judy was on the Challenger. And when I

370
00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:49.680
got to that part of the Challenger, I knew. I

371
00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:53.200
knew it was coming, and I was bracing myself, getting

372
00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:56.440
ready for it, because you know, to this day, and

373
00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:57.920
I'm sure a lot of us can remember where we

374
00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:00.240
were when this happened. I was in the line a

375
00:20:00.279 --> 00:20:02.440
middle school. I know exactly where what I was doing

376
00:20:02.519 --> 00:20:05.599
when this occurred. And when we got to this point,

377
00:20:06.400 --> 00:20:09.559
I knew I was gonna start getting upset. And then

378
00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.359
when Nachelle starts talking about and she had to stop

379
00:20:13.039 --> 00:20:14.359
and she said, I don't know if I can do this,

380
00:20:15.079 --> 00:20:16.960
and then she proceeded on to talk a little bit

381
00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:21.400
more about it and then losing Judy on the Challenger,

382
00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:25.039
and then She basically had to stop the interview because

383
00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:29.480
she was just so emotionally upset that I lost it.

384
00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:31.359
To when she started crying.

385
00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:34.720
I started crying because the effect that not only had

386
00:20:34.720 --> 00:20:36.839
on her, but the effect it had all of us

387
00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:39.519
at that time and still to this date, it does.

388
00:20:40.200 --> 00:20:44.559
Yeah, Yeah, it's gonna be kind of hard to talk

389
00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.039
about this. And I was in was it fourth or

390
00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:51.200
fifth grade? I think it's fourth grade, Yeah, fourth grade.

391
00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.920
Remember sitting in the classroom and seeing that. We've talked

392
00:20:53.920 --> 00:20:59.759
about this in several different moments throughout the Phases podcast,

393
00:20:59.799 --> 00:21:04.359
but this one puts a really unique perspective on that

394
00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.440
because growing up I didn't know a lot of the

395
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:11.839
other astronauts. I was aware of the teacher going up

396
00:21:11.880 --> 00:21:15.440
into space, but the backstory of so many others. The

397
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:17.559
we could just get right into it, because I'm sure

398
00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:21.599
it won't Yeah, sure it's going to bleed together emotionally.

399
00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:24.200
This is kind of a similar kind of thing. But

400
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:27.359
earlier in the documentary when she sees all of those

401
00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:32.880
recruits on the stage with equal footing and she said,

402
00:21:32.880 --> 00:21:37.000
these are my children. We didn't talk about things. I'm

403
00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:37.759
gonna take a minute.

404
00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:38.640
Good.

405
00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:42.519
Yeah, when you see them first walk into the shuttle

406
00:21:42.559 --> 00:21:46.119
Bay as like the new Recruits, and it's just a

407
00:21:46.279 --> 00:21:50.640
general shot of the group and they focus, you know,

408
00:21:50.680 --> 00:21:55.079
on different people, and you see Judie Resnick standing there,

409
00:21:55.119 --> 00:22:01.240
and you see Ellison on Azuka standing there, and Ron

410
00:22:01.319 --> 00:22:05.319
McNair and they're all there and you know what's coming.

411
00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:10.960
And I mean I started crying watching this documentary. The

412
00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:13.119
doctor Martin Luther King's story was not a story that

413
00:22:13.160 --> 00:22:15.240
I knew, So when I was listening to that, I

414
00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:20.079
fell apart. And then I pulled it together.

415
00:22:20.279 --> 00:22:21.720
You know, and then.

416
00:22:23.119 --> 00:22:26.079
Like the minute we started into this section, you know,

417
00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:29.079
I started crying and I didn't stop until the end

418
00:22:29.240 --> 00:22:33.359
of the documentary because it was just so powerful. And

419
00:22:33.640 --> 00:22:35.920
my son walked in and he was like, you know,

420
00:22:36.039 --> 00:22:37.960
I never really got it, but this was kind of

421
00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:41.359
your generation's nine to eleven, Like this isn't something you

422
00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:43.599
ever get over, true.

423
00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:44.119
And I said no.

424
00:22:44.519 --> 00:22:46.599
He's like, I'm not joking that, I'm being serious, and

425
00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:50.000
I said, no, it's it's not something you ever get over.

426
00:22:50.160 --> 00:22:54.880
Being twelve years old and you know, living this for

427
00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:57.960
so many months and there was so much excitement and

428
00:22:59.279 --> 00:23:04.559
then watching you know, it unfold and seeing her connection

429
00:23:04.680 --> 00:23:06.880
to it, you know, like you were saying, Scott was

430
00:23:07.119 --> 00:23:09.559
just it was just devastating.

431
00:23:09.319 --> 00:23:13.279
Yeah, saying that, It's like seeing her children up on stage, right,

432
00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:15.319
and then you go to that tragedy.

433
00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:18.359
I mean, can you imagine if you're responsible for recruiting

434
00:23:18.359 --> 00:23:22.400
people and getting them into those positions, something that was

435
00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:24.279
so hard to do because and now they didn't want

436
00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:26.759
anything to do with it until you come along and

437
00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:29.880
you make that difference, You challenge them, and you get

438
00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:32.960
those people in there, and then some of them.

439
00:23:32.960 --> 00:23:33.960
Lose their lives.

440
00:23:34.720 --> 00:23:39.039
Can you imagine emotionally think about that, how you would

441
00:23:39.119 --> 00:23:43.480
react when something like that happened. I just can't imagine it.

442
00:23:43.720 --> 00:23:46.160
And for her to break down like she did there,

443
00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:49.759
I understand. I mean so many years you know that

444
00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:53.039
happened in eighty six, right, yeah, happened in eighty six.

445
00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.039
You know you look back and I mean this document

446
00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:58.559
is done in twenty twenty one, if I remember correctly,

447
00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:03.559
nineteen with twenty nineteen, nineteen, okay, twenty nineteen, So I mean, look,

448
00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:05.920
how many years have passed. But that doesn't leave you

449
00:24:06.599 --> 00:24:09.359
at ever. You know, you know people tell you, you know,

450
00:24:10.359 --> 00:24:12.799
it gets better when you lose people, but no, it

451
00:24:12.839 --> 00:24:15.599
really doesn't. It just you learn to live with it.

452
00:24:15.960 --> 00:24:19.799
But when you start talking about it and remembering those

453
00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:22.079
times you have with those people when you were responsible

454
00:24:22.119 --> 00:24:25.000
for having them in those positions, you've got to relive

455
00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:28.039
it again. So for instance, seeing the show break up

456
00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:29.680
like that, I get it.

457
00:24:30.519 --> 00:24:34.359
Yeah, well, and she had such a strong connection to

458
00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:39.400
every one of those lives that she touched. Yeah, And

459
00:24:39.519 --> 00:24:42.440
the next segment where it shows kind of moving forward

460
00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:46.039
from that and the struggles to do so but the

461
00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:49.000
need to keep pushing forward, and how much of an

462
00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:53.799
influence she continued to have on that is amazing. Like

463
00:24:54.480 --> 00:24:58.000
thinking about at the time, which movie was coming out, right,

464
00:24:58.000 --> 00:25:00.559
all this time around.

465
00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:04.720
Four they dedicated at the beginning to the crew, and

466
00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:07.200
so yeah, you get that gut four is like, for

467
00:25:07.240 --> 00:25:09.559
a long time was my favorite, but you get that

468
00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:14.359
gut punch it starts. We already gotten into the credits yet, right.

469
00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:19.119
But just thinking about that moment in canon and how

470
00:25:19.240 --> 00:25:22.720
much more she continued to do with the franchise and

471
00:25:22.759 --> 00:25:25.559
how much more she was doing with the program. She

472
00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:28.079
was very busy, to say the least.

473
00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:33.000
But the beauty of you know, hearing Dick Scobie's daughters

474
00:25:33.720 --> 00:25:38.440
talk about you know, her mom saying to Vice President Bush, like,

475
00:25:38.599 --> 00:25:42.519
don't let this end the program, like it has to

476
00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:45.680
go on, and then seeing that moment when Discovery launched

477
00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:47.559
was just beautiful.

478
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:48.519
Yeah.

479
00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:49.200
Yeah.

480
00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:54.920
When were some other moments that surprised you or hitch

481
00:25:54.920 --> 00:25:58.400
you kind of heart emotionally for in a positive way

482
00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:00.359
or in a you know, a gut punch.

483
00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:04.839
Well, yeah, I mean, I've my experience was very similar

484
00:26:04.920 --> 00:26:08.599
to David's, and that part of the document was probably

485
00:26:08.640 --> 00:26:11.519
the hardest to watch for me, because you know, I

486
00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:14.119
have such vivid memories too. I was in the library

487
00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:16.720
at Study Hall at the time when when it happened,

488
00:26:16.720 --> 00:26:20.359
and it was such a huge event, historical event that

489
00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:22.119
happened on I mean, everybody had their TV's on at

490
00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:25.759
the top every school, so we all saw it, and

491
00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:30.039
I remember clearly, you know, watching it and hearing her

492
00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:33.720
talk about it. Hearing anyone talk is rough because it

493
00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:35.839
brings back a lot of a lot of shock memories

494
00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:40.680
to me. But so I I'm glad that they included

495
00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:42.119
this in there, because I wasn't sure if they would.

496
00:26:43.039 --> 00:26:46.279
I wasn't really sure, But I'm glad that they included

497
00:26:46.319 --> 00:26:50.759
this in here because it's it's important in the history

498
00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:53.960
of space travel, in the history of NASA, it's important

499
00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:56.319
to include in the history of Michelle Nichols.

500
00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:57.039
Very important.

501
00:26:57.119 --> 00:27:01.720
But you know, one of the another thing besides that too,

502
00:27:03.119 --> 00:27:08.000
the wealth of footage and behind the scenes clips that

503
00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:12.519
they had in this documentary was incredibly impressive. Yes, I'm

504
00:27:12.559 --> 00:27:14.920
so glad sim documentaries. You know, I wasn't sure if

505
00:27:14.920 --> 00:27:17.240
they'd have access to all this. You know, you have

506
00:27:17.319 --> 00:27:18.920
all the rights and stuff that you'd have to get,

507
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:21.759
but they got it and it you know, the more

508
00:27:21.799 --> 00:27:24.480
you put of that, the better your documentary is. And

509
00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:28.119
you know, the photos of her early year clips from

510
00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:30.400
the TV show that she did, The Lieutenants. That's a

511
00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:32.519
series that I've always heard of, but I've never seen

512
00:27:32.559 --> 00:27:35.160
any episodes. I've always wanted to, and seeing her on

513
00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:38.720
that those clips was was fantastic. You know, the Star

514
00:27:38.759 --> 00:27:43.519
Trek footage and then all that priceless film and photos

515
00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:47.359
and the nice little the little real that they did

516
00:27:47.400 --> 00:27:50.240
with her back in the seventies from NASA. I loved

517
00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:53.400
seeing that stuff and I'm so glad that they were

518
00:27:53.440 --> 00:27:56.000
allowed to include that in there because it really enriches

519
00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:59.640
this documentary and and helps you understand Michelle Nichols in

520
00:27:59.640 --> 00:28:00.480
a new life.

521
00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:05.000
Yeah, it took me way way way back. I mean

522
00:28:05.039 --> 00:28:07.480
before I was born, way back. But to see her

523
00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:12.119
with that footage and to see early days of her

524
00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:15.880
at places like conventions, back when they were even starting

525
00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:19.440
the conventions we've been to tons right, And do.

526
00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:21.519
You like some of the first ones was weird, yes.

527
00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:27.160
Yes, yes. But the fact that that kind of intersects

528
00:28:27.240 --> 00:28:30.759
with her meeting the director of Science at NASA in

529
00:28:30.960 --> 00:28:34.599
nineteen seventy five at a Star Trek convention as a

530
00:28:34.599 --> 00:28:36.920
moment that kind of sets her future in NASA in

531
00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:40.319
motion was awesome to see And I had no idea

532
00:28:40.400 --> 00:28:41.319
there's that kind of connection.

533
00:28:41.759 --> 00:28:44.079
Yeah, you know, David, you know, you and I have

534
00:28:44.200 --> 00:28:46.359
been to so many different Star Trek conventions and we've

535
00:28:46.359 --> 00:28:48.640
always heard these stories. You know, the people will come

536
00:28:48.720 --> 00:28:50.839
up and say, you know, oh you affected my life

537
00:28:50.880 --> 00:28:53.000
so much, you know, you help me do this.

538
00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:55.079
We've heard the stories of where people would.

539
00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:57.799
Come up to like Diforce, Kelly or or you know,

540
00:28:57.839 --> 00:28:59.599
any of them say, you know, I became a doctor

541
00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:02.440
because I watched you on Star Trek, or became you know,

542
00:29:02.720 --> 00:29:05.519
an astronaut or an engineer because I watched you know,

543
00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:10.880
James Dowing and and but here we all those people

544
00:29:10.920 --> 00:29:14.839
can say, you know, I became astronauts, I became part

545
00:29:14.839 --> 00:29:18.720
of the Space Shuttle program because of Michelle Nichols, you know,

546
00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:21.480
and here we actually get to see the footage, see

547
00:29:21.519 --> 00:29:24.000
the impact, rather than just just hear these little stories

548
00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:27.039
that we hear at the conventions. You know, they're not

549
00:29:27.160 --> 00:29:30.839
just actors. You know, when you join Star Trek, you

550
00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:33.880
go from just being an actor and you become part

551
00:29:34.039 --> 00:29:37.799
of the culture. And I know a lot of these

552
00:29:37.839 --> 00:29:39.559
realize a lot of people realize that some of them

553
00:29:39.599 --> 00:29:41.359
don't realize it when they become it. Some of the

554
00:29:41.359 --> 00:29:43.960
times it gets it scares them. But now you know,

555
00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:46.839
here here is this document was a great example of

556
00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:51.400
how you know, she really affected a lot of people's lives.

557
00:29:51.920 --> 00:29:54.759
It really puts things into perspective, doesn't it. Because you're right, Wayne,

558
00:29:54.759 --> 00:29:59.039
I remember how many conversations we heard of that very situation.

559
00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:01.839
But I I think even Nachelle was kind of you

560
00:30:01.839 --> 00:30:03.519
know when they asked her to do this, because she

561
00:30:03.640 --> 00:30:06.960
kind of felt at first that a horror wasn't really

562
00:30:07.240 --> 00:30:10.079
you know, big enough. You know, I don't know if

563
00:30:10.079 --> 00:30:12.319
big enough would be the right thing to say here,

564
00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:14.640
But I don't think she felt like, why were they

565
00:30:14.680 --> 00:30:16.400
why were they coming for her, you know, to help

566
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:18.720
with this, until she realized what they were doing, and

567
00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:21.480
then she realized they're putting her into position to really

568
00:30:21.759 --> 00:30:25.079
use this to her advantage. So when you look at

569
00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:28.720
that whole perspective, you're right, it really does make it

570
00:30:28.880 --> 00:30:30.079
very eye opening, is what it is.

571
00:30:30.400 --> 00:30:32.759
Well, we didn't live through that part, you know. Back then,

572
00:30:33.000 --> 00:30:35.359
you know, let me say, early seventies or so, Star

573
00:30:35.400 --> 00:30:37.680
Trek was just a TV show, yep, and you know,

574
00:30:37.880 --> 00:30:39.519
all of them thought it was just a TV show

575
00:30:39.559 --> 00:30:40.640
as a job that they did for.

576
00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:41.559
Three years and left.

577
00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:45.039
And around that time, what was it, early seventy four,

578
00:30:45.079 --> 00:30:47.079
seventy five, whenever they showed that convention appearance. That was

579
00:30:47.119 --> 00:30:50.359
the beginning of the Star Trek phenomenon, which we, you know,

580
00:30:50.400 --> 00:30:51.440
we were too young to remember.

581
00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:53.359
Although we did remember the Star Wars one, you don't

582
00:30:53.400 --> 00:30:54.559
remember the Star Trek.

583
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:55.200
You know.

584
00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:57.720
And seeing that footage was great because you know, there

585
00:30:57.720 --> 00:30:59.680
are a lot of people that remember that.

586
00:31:00.400 --> 00:31:02.400
You know, it's it's just fantastic to watch.

587
00:31:03.160 --> 00:31:06.319
Well, and to your point, with her influence from being

588
00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:11.079
on the show. You know, May Jamison talks about watching

589
00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:16.240
Uhura and being like inspired you know by that. We

590
00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:18.799
over at Docking Bay, we did an episode on the

591
00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:23.119
movie Hidden Figures, and she talked about May Jemison talked

592
00:31:23.160 --> 00:31:25.240
about the book and talked about the movie and said

593
00:31:26.119 --> 00:31:29.200
how much different her life would have been if that

594
00:31:29.319 --> 00:31:32.079
had existed when she was a child, if she had

595
00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:35.400
known about Catherine Johnson when she was a child, and

596
00:31:35.559 --> 00:31:39.599
that representation being important. So she didn't have the real figure,

597
00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:43.759
but she had Ahura to inspire her, you know, which

598
00:31:43.839 --> 00:31:47.720
is just they go hand in hand. That's just such

599
00:31:47.720 --> 00:31:48.480
a beautiful thing.

600
00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:49.200
Yeah.

601
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:53.880
Well, and like I said, so many times when people

602
00:31:53.880 --> 00:31:56.559
will say you had this impact on me, you had

603
00:31:56.559 --> 00:31:59.640
that m picked on me, and they different people kind

604
00:31:59.640 --> 00:32:02.240
of respond that in different ways. That there is one moment,

605
00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:04.920
I forget the name of the person that was talking about.

606
00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:09.880
Somebody had said I heard Michelle Nichols talking on TV

607
00:32:10.440 --> 00:32:13.759
saying you can be part of this program, You're a

608
00:32:13.799 --> 00:32:16.079
part of this and he is like, I know that

609
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:18.640
everybody thinks that they were talking to them, but she

610
00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:19.480
was really talking to me.

611
00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:20.319
She was talking to me.

612
00:32:22.640 --> 00:32:26.960
There's so much of that. I think Trek has an interesting,

613
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:34.720
unique legacy in the world in the US for having

614
00:32:34.880 --> 00:32:38.640
so much history and so many different people kind of

615
00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:42.920
relate to somebody who's coming on new to trek to

616
00:32:42.960 --> 00:32:47.279
somebody who has been through it for so long, letting

617
00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:48.960
them know how much of an influence and how much

618
00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:53.799
of reach this kind of this series, this franchise can

619
00:32:53.839 --> 00:32:58.839
have on somebody's life. Like it's not just an interesting

620
00:32:58.880 --> 00:33:01.079
show or an interesting story that you follow. It's giving

621
00:33:01.079 --> 00:33:04.799
somebody an opportunity to see themselves in more than they

622
00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:07.599
are or more than they think they can be at

623
00:33:07.599 --> 00:33:11.720
the time, and using that to move them forward. That's

624
00:33:12.519 --> 00:33:14.680
the crux of this documentary that I think is just

625
00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:18.640
so beautiful as you're seeing that directly in action, Like

626
00:33:19.759 --> 00:33:22.079
aspects of the Space program would not be there if

627
00:33:22.119 --> 00:33:26.440
not for a communications officer who thought she was going

628
00:33:26.480 --> 00:33:29.000
to quit at some point, but decided to move it

629
00:33:29.039 --> 00:33:31.599
so much and turned it into so much more. I

630
00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:35.079
think it's amazing. All Right, Well, we've talked a lot

631
00:33:35.119 --> 00:33:37.960
about the amazing things that we learned, the things that

632
00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:40.839
we loved in this documentary. Let's take a equimick break

633
00:33:41.119 --> 00:33:43.759
when we come back. Let's talk about why we think

634
00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:49.920
fans should not miss Woman in Motion. All right, we're back.

635
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:52.519
We've hit on this a lot in everything that we've

636
00:33:52.559 --> 00:33:55.400
been saying, but let's start to talk about if we

637
00:33:55.519 --> 00:33:58.880
had to convince a fan for whatever reason that didn't

638
00:33:58.920 --> 00:34:01.240
know that they should watch this, why would a fan

639
00:34:01.359 --> 00:34:04.559
love to see this documentary? Andy, We're I'll go to

640
00:34:04.559 --> 00:34:05.000
your first.

641
00:34:05.480 --> 00:34:09.519
For me, I think it comes down to there's a

642
00:34:09.519 --> 00:34:13.920
lot of ways in which people want to be supportive

643
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:20.360
and don't really know how. So, like, it's Women's History Month,

644
00:34:20.559 --> 00:34:24.880
and you know, I would love to support women's history,

645
00:34:24.920 --> 00:34:27.119
but I don't really know anything about it. Well, it

646
00:34:27.280 --> 00:34:32.119
starts with learn as much as you can about someone

647
00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:35.760
you're a fan of, you know, and you'll be surprised

648
00:34:36.000 --> 00:34:39.719
at what they contributed to the world. So you're a

649
00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:43.079
Star Trek fan. You think you know about Michelle Nichols

650
00:34:43.280 --> 00:34:49.159
and her contribution because she was the first African American

651
00:34:49.199 --> 00:34:53.840
female to be featured on a television program. But there's

652
00:34:53.960 --> 00:34:57.440
so much more. Her story is so much richer, And

653
00:34:57.480 --> 00:35:01.199
the more you learn you know, the more inspired you are.

654
00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:03.400
And then that leads you to, well, who is this

655
00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:06.719
woman you know, Judy Resnick that she's talking about, who

656
00:35:06.800 --> 00:35:09.639
is you know Sally Ride. I know she was the

657
00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:11.480
first woman in space, but I don't know anything else

658
00:35:11.480 --> 00:35:14.960
about her, you know, and that it just opens up

659
00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:17.639
so many other doors you can just go down this

660
00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:19.119
great rabbit hole.

661
00:35:20.679 --> 00:35:24.679
Yeah, it's one that I want to. I mean, I

662
00:35:24.719 --> 00:35:27.360
watched it on my own because you know, I wanted

663
00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:29.360
to get ready for the show and wanted to be

664
00:35:29.360 --> 00:35:33.400
able to, you know, chat with everybody about it. But

665
00:35:33.440 --> 00:35:35.440
as soon as I finished, I was like, I really

666
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:38.440
need to watch this with my with my sons, with

667
00:35:38.440 --> 00:35:41.960
my wife, Like they would love to see this documentary.

668
00:35:42.239 --> 00:35:44.159
They don't all have the same connection to or her

669
00:35:44.320 --> 00:35:47.599
that I do, but I think it's possible they would

670
00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:51.119
when they see when they kind of get it. You know,

671
00:35:51.199 --> 00:35:54.880
there's some sometimes when it's kind of like you've got

672
00:35:55.199 --> 00:35:57.960
fans with family who aren't necessarily fans or the im

673
00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.599
into it as much as we are. This is absolutely

674
00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:03.480
a story that you'd want to share with them to

675
00:36:03.559 --> 00:36:09.159
say what it means. I think this documentary gets it. Dave,

676
00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:09.719
what about you?

677
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:12.760
Well, I kind of mentioned it earlier, like I didn't

678
00:36:12.800 --> 00:36:15.199
know anything about this until I watched this documentary. And

679
00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:17.880
how are you going to learn if you don't you know,

680
00:36:17.920 --> 00:36:19.960
take the time to watch something like this and learn

681
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:23.760
about these people and to learn about Michelle and what

682
00:36:23.920 --> 00:36:29.079
she accomplished in itself is just absolutely amazing. And like

683
00:36:29.159 --> 00:36:31.000
I said, I am never ever going to look at

684
00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:34.039
a horror again the same I'm not because I see

685
00:36:34.079 --> 00:36:37.199
her as this powerful woman who is on this bridge

686
00:36:37.239 --> 00:36:38.599
as for communications.

687
00:36:38.599 --> 00:36:40.360
But everyone looks to her.

688
00:36:40.239 --> 00:36:42.840
Because she is a strong Black woman.

689
00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:44.840
Who deserves to be where she is.

690
00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:48.880
And I'm so glad that she stayed, and everybody is

691
00:36:49.199 --> 00:36:52.239
glad that she stayed because she made such a difference

692
00:36:52.920 --> 00:36:55.840
in everything that she did, the accomplishment she had with NASA,

693
00:36:56.519 --> 00:36:59.280
with the minority groups, with women, everything has just been

694
00:37:00.360 --> 00:37:05.039
enthralling to learn. And this documented itself just blew my

695
00:37:05.320 --> 00:37:09.840
mind away. But let's be willing to make that change.

696
00:37:09.840 --> 00:37:12.239
That's what she's teaching us, you know, to be someone

697
00:37:12.280 --> 00:37:15.360
that makes a difference, even if you think it's silly

698
00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:18.760
and insignificant, because one day that may become something that

699
00:37:18.920 --> 00:37:20.320
is significant and huge.

700
00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:21.360
You don't know.

701
00:37:21.960 --> 00:37:23.920
You know, if you see a kid who says something

702
00:37:24.000 --> 00:37:27.400
like that, you know, encourage them, you know, show them

703
00:37:27.480 --> 00:37:29.960
something like this to say, hey, she had a dream

704
00:37:29.960 --> 00:37:33.159
when she was a kid, and look what she freaking did.

705
00:37:34.039 --> 00:37:36.639
This documentary should be seen by anybody who loves Star Trek.

706
00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:39.119
Yeah, I think it gives you a whole new perspective

707
00:37:39.159 --> 00:37:43.320
on Michelle Nichols and the character of Ahura. I mean

708
00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:44.920
it changes the way I'm going to look at her

709
00:37:44.960 --> 00:37:49.880
portrayal of a heah but the character again on strange

710
00:37:49.880 --> 00:37:53.440
New Worlds that I think is echoing and continuing what

711
00:37:53.599 --> 00:37:56.400
Michelle had started, not only with that character, but with

712
00:37:56.480 --> 00:37:57.239
the series.

713
00:37:56.960 --> 00:37:58.760
And what it can do, the potential for it.

714
00:37:58.800 --> 00:38:00.280
I love it.

715
00:38:00.280 --> 00:38:02.960
It's not gonna take much to convince any Star Trek

716
00:38:03.039 --> 00:38:05.880
fan to watch us. You know, it's got Michelle Nichols.

717
00:38:05.880 --> 00:38:11.880
It's partially about Star Trek. They're gonna watch this, But

718
00:38:12.320 --> 00:38:17.280
this documentary goes beyond that. It's really it's so informative

719
00:38:17.920 --> 00:38:21.880
and people who have no connection to Star Trek should

720
00:38:21.960 --> 00:38:25.400
really sit down and watch this because, you know, Michelle

721
00:38:25.480 --> 00:38:30.599
Nichols is a phenomenal lady that has done so much

722
00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:33.599
for not only Star Trek fans, but for you know

723
00:38:33.679 --> 00:38:38.360
the world. It's itself, and and you know it's I

724
00:38:38.400 --> 00:38:40.760
wish I had a chance to meet her. You know,

725
00:38:40.880 --> 00:38:44.199
now after seeing this even more so. But you know this,

726
00:38:44.199 --> 00:38:48.039
this really touches into a small footnote note of actual

727
00:38:48.199 --> 00:38:52.199
history that I think anyone that watches us will will

728
00:38:52.320 --> 00:38:57.400
enjoy and it'll you know, inform them. It's just it's

729
00:38:57.440 --> 00:39:01.039
a great documentary for for anyone. I mean, there's there's

730
00:39:01.039 --> 00:39:02.679
so many different parts to it, you know, not only

731
00:39:02.719 --> 00:39:08.000
just the NASA stuff, but her perseverance or her backstory,

732
00:39:08.159 --> 00:39:13.079
you know, her desire to bring minorities and women, you know,

733
00:39:13.239 --> 00:39:15.599
into the forefront of NASA. There's just so much to

734
00:39:15.679 --> 00:39:19.679
this documentary that people can take from it that I

735
00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:22.840
was pleasantly shocked at how much I enjoyed this. I

736
00:39:22.920 --> 00:39:27.119
knew I would, but I really really enjoyed this documentary

737
00:39:27.159 --> 00:39:29.679
and I know for a fact that I'll see it again.

738
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:30.199
Yeah.

739
00:39:30.239 --> 00:39:34.039
I went into this knowing that I would learn more

740
00:39:34.320 --> 00:39:38.239
about Michelle Nichols and the Space program, but I didn't

741
00:39:38.320 --> 00:39:43.400
know how much it would how much it would hit home. Obviously,

742
00:39:43.400 --> 00:39:45.480
it was emotionally hard hitting for some of the things

743
00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:49.840
that we had had mentioned, but knowing how much she

744
00:39:49.960 --> 00:39:52.519
had had done with something that could have just been

745
00:39:52.559 --> 00:39:57.239
dismissed as I'm doing a space TV show for a

746
00:39:57.239 --> 00:40:01.320
couple of years, and it became so much more right

747
00:40:01.480 --> 00:40:04.159
a time when it was Westerns and it was it

748
00:40:04.199 --> 00:40:05.920
was off the air for a while until there was

749
00:40:05.960 --> 00:40:10.440
a movie, and possibly even forgotten. Frankly, I mean, it

750
00:40:10.480 --> 00:40:13.039
was in syndication for a long time, but it could

751
00:40:13.079 --> 00:40:18.360
have died on the vine way back when. And knowing

752
00:40:18.360 --> 00:40:21.119
how much more she had done, how much more she

753
00:40:21.159 --> 00:40:25.000
had made it meaningful to people, and knowing what it

754
00:40:25.039 --> 00:40:30.480
could do was amazing. I love seeing the richness of

755
00:40:30.480 --> 00:40:35.400
her life and learning about her her passion for singing

756
00:40:35.440 --> 00:40:38.480
and dancing, on top of what she had done for NASA.

757
00:40:39.159 --> 00:40:41.559
Even kind of culminating, there's almost like a blinking you'll

758
00:40:41.599 --> 00:40:45.440
miss it or if you you know, hit the if

759
00:40:45.480 --> 00:40:47.400
you follow the prompt, you'll miss it. There's kind of

760
00:40:47.400 --> 00:40:50.039
a mid credit scene where she sings fly Me to

761
00:40:50.079 --> 00:40:54.239
the Moon, kind of a recent recording. Oh god, she's

762
00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:55.480
still got the pipes to hit it?

763
00:40:55.599 --> 00:40:58.360
Yes, do. It's amazing.

764
00:40:58.480 --> 00:41:01.559
So, I mean, if you're a fan of any of

765
00:41:01.599 --> 00:41:05.760
the series, Original Series, Next Generation, Strange New Worlds, anything

766
00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:08.840
along the lines, I think it's important to watch this

767
00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:11.880
movie not only to hear about this incredible woman and

768
00:41:11.920 --> 00:41:17.159
her role in history, but the impact that we understand

769
00:41:17.159 --> 00:41:19.760
that this franchise can have. I think it's amazing and

770
00:41:19.800 --> 00:41:20.559
I'm glad that it's.

771
00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:24.320
Out there, even even fans of history, fans of the

772
00:41:24.360 --> 00:41:25.360
Space Program.

773
00:41:25.800 --> 00:41:28.119
You need to watch this documentary.

774
00:41:27.880 --> 00:41:32.599
All right? And Brandy final thoughts on Woman in Motion, No.

775
00:41:32.719 --> 00:41:39.360
I think we hit it all. I do love you

776
00:41:39.360 --> 00:41:42.880
were talking about the history, like the television history of

777
00:41:43.400 --> 00:41:48.239
Roden Berry doing that show The Lieutenants and that episode

778
00:41:48.239 --> 00:41:53.320
not airing because it was an African American story during

779
00:41:54.079 --> 00:41:58.400
segregated time, and so he creates Star Trek to like

780
00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:01.920
tell the stories he wants to tell in this subversive way.

781
00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:05.559
I get it past the network. I just was like, oh,

782
00:42:05.639 --> 00:42:08.280
that's good. I like that so much.

783
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:11.280
Well, crew, I appreciate you coming on to talk about

784
00:42:11.320 --> 00:42:13.760
this one. I'm very glad that we chose to to

785
00:42:13.840 --> 00:42:16.639
cover it too, because it brings it to the top

786
00:42:16.639 --> 00:42:22.039
of the queue. So as always, thank you Amber for

787
00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:28.760
joining us. Yes, it was so much fun. Thanks David Wayne.

788
00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:31.159
As usual, I want to captain a horror show.

789
00:42:31.639 --> 00:42:33.280
Yes, I'd like to see that too.

790
00:42:33.559 --> 00:42:37.800
Yeah, that would be fantastic. I mean we get how

791
00:42:37.880 --> 00:42:40.360
much more of a strange New World's after this?

792
00:42:41.159 --> 00:42:43.440
Like what you hears of it or two more years

793
00:42:43.760 --> 00:42:44.719
after this one.

794
00:42:45.119 --> 00:42:48.039
I mean there's always room. There's a lot of in

795
00:42:48.159 --> 00:42:49.159
between there we could cover.

796
00:42:49.519 --> 00:42:52.119
I absolutely love her character now I always did, but

797
00:42:52.199 --> 00:42:54.599
this one just man so much more knocked it out

798
00:42:54.599 --> 00:42:55.280
of the park for me.

799
00:42:55.920 --> 00:42:59.000
Epitomize as a communication officer, that's the person that's supposed

800
00:42:59.000 --> 00:43:03.519
to be helping people talk and communicate and connect. This

801
00:43:03.719 --> 00:43:04.920
just makes it so much more.

802
00:43:05.199 --> 00:43:05.519
It does.

803
00:43:06.880 --> 00:43:09.599
As always, thanks to our listeners for joining us. Healing

804
00:43:09.679 --> 00:43:12.039
frequencies are always open for you to share your thoughts

805
00:43:12.079 --> 00:43:15.679
and questions on Facebook, Instagram, and your fait favorite social channels.

806
00:43:16.039 --> 00:43:18.719
Email us at a film by Podcast at gmail dot com,

807
00:43:18.960 --> 00:43:21.320
find us online at a film by podcast dot com,

808
00:43:21.360 --> 00:43:23.639
and if you're looking for more exclusive content and swag,

809
00:43:23.960 --> 00:43:26.519
send some latinm our way through Patreon. See you next

810
00:43:26.519 --> 00:43:28.400
time for another episode on Phaser's Set to Sun