20 Most Cringeworthy Classic Star Trek Moments

1. Casual '60s Sexism

It's worth remembering that the impact of Classic Trek on science fiction entertainment in particular and on society in general has been profound. The show has made us think differently about race relations, about our approaches to war, and about our very humanity. But god, was it sexist. Mind you, it was the first show to feature a female bridge officer - two, actually, if we count Number One from The Cage and Lieutenant Uhura equally. We had women at the helm on a few occasions - one of them was Uhura, but That Which Survives even featured Lieutenant Rahda, an (apparently married) Asian woman, at Sulu's station. It also featured a number of female scientists, nearly all of them extremely capable in their fields and respected as highly as any man would be. But for every Lieutenant Uhura, there's a Lieutenant Marla McGivers. For every Number One, there's a Nurse Chapel. And for every Ann Mulhall, there's a Dr. Janice Lester. These three woman are the best examples of what makes so much of Classic Trek so uncomfortable to watch. Lt. McGivers is an Earth historian stationed to a starship, an already ridiculous idea made even more ridiculous by the idea that she should be attracted by a man like Khan, who abuses and dominates her - and she likes it. Nurse Chapel gave up a promising career in research to join a starship in the hopes of finding her lost fiance Roger Korby. When he turns out to be an android, she develops an infatuation on another emotionally unavailable man, Mr. Spock. Majel Barrett herself once said she considered Chapel to be something of a loser, and it's hard to deny it. And then there's Dr. Janice Lester, who would've been a starship captain except, as she tells Kirk, 'Your world of starship captains doesn't admit women. It isn't fair.' He admits that it isn't, but he doesn't deny the truth of it - meaning that, in the last episode of the entire series, we discover that women cannot become starship captains. Granted, much of this is down to the network suits keeping Gene Roddenberry from having more women on the ship or even keeping one as second-in-command - Majel Barrett also attested to this. But how to excuse this? How to excuse the regular sexist comments of Kirk, McCoy, and even Spock? It's not much better when they like the women, either, as evidenced by Spock's downright creepy touching of the face of one of the Vegas showgirls in Shore Leave. Shudder. 'Every seven years,' indeed. It's things like this, more than just about anything else, that makes Classic Trek so cringeworthy. If we've forgotten any moments that made you cringe - or if you feel absolutely compelled to argue with any we've listed here - feel free to leave your comments below. We'd also love to hear your most cringeworthy moments from DS9, Voyager, Enterprise, and even other franchises, like Doctor Who.