A Tough Episode In Star Trek: The Original Series Left Grace Lee Whitney 'Black And Blue'
Yeoman Janice Rand, the character played by Grace Lee Whitney in the original "Star Trek," only appeared in eight episodes of the show, but she left an impression. By Whitney's own description, Janice Rand was a "girl next door" type, adding a relatable element to the wild sci-fi setting of a series set in the 23rd century. While Captain Kirk (William Shatner) conversed and analyzed with Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Rand was busy doing petty jobs, filing paperwork, and distributing refreshments. I can't speak for other Trekkies, but when imagining myself getting a job on the U.S.S. Enterprise, I imagine being a yeoman is all I'd be qualified for.
Whitney has said in her autobiography "The Longest Trek: My Tour of the Galaxy," that Rand was written out of "Star Trek" because she had too much chemistry with Kirk. The relationship between Janice and Jim could easily have developed into something romantic, but the showrunners preferred a more ascetic captain ... who was free to kiss a long list of alien visitors.
Whitney says she enjoyed working on "Star Trek," and her unceremonious firing from the show dealt her a terrible emotional blow. She was meant to play a central role in the episode "Dagger of the Mind," but shooting began right after she was fired. Rand was replaced by another character, and Whitney said that watching another actress read her lines was immensely painful.
The actress also admitted, in a 2006 interview with TrekMovie, that she didn't always have the best time while shooting. In particular, her character was shoved around and assaulted by an evil doppelgänger of Kirk in the episode "The Enemy Within" (October 6, 1966). Because Whitney did her own stunts, she was left bruised in that scene.
'The Enemy Within'
In "The Enemy Within," a transporter malfunction bifurcates Kirk, splitting him into a gentle, kindly half, and an aggressive, cruel half. As one might predict, the Evil Kirk drinks, carouses, and assaults his underlings, Yeoman Rand in particular. Evil Kirk encounters Rand and immediately moves in to hurt her. Whitney didn't like the content of the scene, and filming it wasn't fun. Rand was knocked to the floor. Weirdly, she was only directed to make the violent scene look as photogenic as possible, a strange mandate, given the content. When asked about the scene, Whitney said:
"It was very difficult. ['Star Trek' creator Gene] Roddenberry was there and he wanted it to be real but glamorous. And I thought 'how can you do that?' I was very black and blue for a while. Shatner threw me around for a while and I did all my stunts. We did many takes. Then to make it even harder, afterwards I had to do just the opposite scene when I go cry to Spock. But I was very happy with the work."
Whitney's performance is impressive, but one can see the difficulty she experienced on camera.
Rand's assault was, quite tragically, mirrored by a real-life assault that Whitney experienced behind the scenes. The actress never revealed the name of her attacker (he is only ever referred to in her autobiography as "the executive"), but she did reveal that one of the "Star Trek" producers, in August of 1966, lured her to a private room on the studio lot and victimized her. Whitney credits the attack and her subsequent sudden firing — her being let go was a budgetary issue and not connected to her attack — to some substance abuse problems she developed shortly thereafter.
Rand's return
Everyone was saddened by the release of Grace Lee Whitney, and she was always considered a part of the ensemble, even if she only appeared in a few episodes. In the 1991 book "The Making of the TV series Star Trek," it was written that Whitney ran into DeForest Kelley at a Trek convention in the 1970s, and they talked about the future of the franchise. Roddenberry liked working with Whitney, and she was brought back into the fold for "Star Trek: Phase II," the famously unmade series that eventually mutated into "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." She was in the movie, albeit in a small role.
Whitney subsequently appeared in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," cementing her place in "Star Trek" canon. She also appeared in multiple high-profile fan films, reprising her the role of Janice Rand. According to the Trek movies, Janice Rand rose from a Yeoman — a non-officer rank — to transporter chief, revealing a career in engineering. She also served as a communications officer, revealing a variety of technical talents, as well as the revelation that she had now graduated from Starfleet Academy and had an official rank. In "Star Trek VI," she was seen bearing the rank of Commander and served as communications officer on the U.S.S. Excelsior under Captain Sulu (George Takei). She, Takei, and the Excelsior all appeared in a flashback episode of "Star Trek: Voyager" called "Flashback."
Whitney passed away in 2015 at the age of 85. She might have been fired from "Star Trek" in the 1960s, but the franchise never forgot about her. She eventually, with a good amount of bravery, talked about her assault in public, and how she wrestled with addiction, eventually becoming clean and healthy. She is still beloved by everyone.