page_title: Janice Rand
section_title: Concept and development
hierarchical_section_title: Janice Rand / Concept and development
caption_attribution_description: Photo of William Shatner as James Kirk from the television program Star Trek.
context_page_description: Janice Rand is a fictional character in the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Original Series during its first season, as well as three of the Star Trek films. She is the Captain's yeoman on board the USS Enterprise, and first appeared in the episode "The Man Trap". She had significant roles in the episodes "The Enemy Within", where she fights off an evil version of Captain James T. Kirk; "Charlie X" where a young man with god-like powers falls in love with her; and "Miri" where she is infected with a deadly disease while on an away mission and is kidnapped by jealous children.
  Rand was portrayed by American actress Grace Lee Whitney, who had previously worked with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry in both The Lieutenant and a pilot for a show he created called Police Story. Whitney as Rand was involved in promoting Star Trek before it aired, but did not appear in the first two pilots. Roddenberry set out the role of Rand to Whitney, saying that she and Kirk were meant to have feelings for one another, but should never act on them. Part way through the first season, Whitney was released from her contract.
context_section_description: Gene Roddenberry's original pitch for Star Trek featured a female Captain's Yeoman named "Colt". She was described as "blonde and with a shape that even a uniform could not hide." In this first version of Star Trek, she worked as Captain Robert April's "secretary, reporter, bookkeeper, and undoubtedly wishes she could serve him in more personal departments." Roddenberry's description of her ended with "She is not dumb; she is very female, disturbingly so." This character was cast for the first pilot of the series, "The Cage", with Laurel Goodwin cast in that role. A similar character was created for the second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", this time called "Smith", and she was played by model Andrea Dromm.
  However, during discussions with the casting director on Star Trek, Roddenberry stood up in the casting process for three women he had worked with before – Majel Barrett, Nichelle Nichols and Grace Lee Whitney. Whitney had previously appeared in Roddenberry's The Lieutenant and was then cast in his unsold pilot Police Story where she played Police Lieutenant Lily Monroe. She was available to appear in the series and was promptly cast in the role, being paid $750 per episode and being guaranteed to appear in seven episodes out of the first thirteen. The casting led to rumours that she and Roddenberry had been previously involved romantically, something she strenuously denied later saying that "I never had a romantic relationship with Gene Roddenberry before Star Trek, during Star Trek, or after Star Trek." She admitted that he had made numerous passes at her, but she wanted their relationship to remain professional only.
  Roddenberry explained to Whitney that he wanted Rand to be Captain Kirk's confidante but never wanted them to express their affection for one another, instead he wanted it to be played as an ongoing undercurrent. In the early publicity photos, Whitney was dressed in the same manner that the women had been in the two pilots – a loose gold colored tunic and black trousers. She complained to Roddenberry about them hiding her "dancer's legs", so he had William Ware Theiss design a short skirt and tunic for her to wear, a uniform which was adopted by the other female characters on the series. She said the outfit was "sensational" and that "it stopped traffic". Despite the outfit being designed specifically for Whitney, Theiss was concerned and would tell her to lose weight. She was subsequently prescribed amphetamines by her doctor, for the purpose of weight loss. Whitney stated that this was the start of her addiction to them, and in order to come down off them at night, she began drinking in the evening to take away the "edginess".
  He also developed her hair styles for the series, which Roddenberry insisted must be unique and futuristic so that the viewers could believe they were seeing the future on television. She originally appeared with straight hair in promotion photos, but this was changed to a beehive, which was so solid looking that Bob Justman joked that "You could hit it with a sledgehammer and never make a dent." It was created by weaving two Max Factor wigs into a mesh cone. Whitney described the application of the wig, saying "they nailed it to my head every morning." It was created by placing a cone on her head and then weaving the blonde hair from two separate wigs together resulting in such an unusual look that Whitney said she was unrecognizable without it. In the press, she explained that on the show, Rand would have stuck her head in a machine which would have made up her hair instantly. The wig was later stolen from the Desilu lot after Whitney was no longer on the series; it was never recovered.
  When interviewed by the media at the time, Whitney expressed enthusiasm in the role and about science fiction in general. She described Rand's role on board the Enterprise as "She's in charge of the other women aboard the space ship. She's Miss Efficiency." She also added that the character didn't go into space "to catch a man." At the time, the media described Rand's position on the E
caption: Roddenberry wanted Kirk and Rand to have an undercurrent of affection but never to act on it.
exif: {}