>>reporter: instar track 6 michelle returns. >> general, are you fond of shakespeare? >>reporter: she had no idea she would be playing the character 25 years after the fact. she was going to quit after the first season. >> i didn't want to get bogged down on a tv series. that weekend i met dr. martin luther king and when i thanked him for his comment on my role i told him i was leaving the show. he said you absolutely cannot leave the show. he said don't you understand? i thought he meant a role model. he said no it's so much more important that then. he said you are a first. i said, i'm not the first black person on tv. you have the first nonstereotypic call role. this is not a black role or female role. you are part of a command crew. he says don't you know you are 4th in command. he said it's a door opener and you changed the face of television for ever. the world sees us for the first time as we should be. men and women working on a equal bases and going in peaceful exploration. you can't leave the show. i went back and told gene inwalln't be leaving did show. >> y