Majel Barrett

Majel Barrett has died. (What sort of name is Majel? She's the only Majel I've ever heard of.) Beloved by Star Trek fans, she's probably appeared in more incarnations of the show than anyone else. She was also creator Gene Roddenberry's lover and then wife (which explains how she got all those roles).

She's best known as Nurse Christine Chapel from the original series. In the movies, she's a doctor--a promotion from the Federation? Chapel had a thing for Spock, but the series never explored her much which, to be honest, was just as well, since she was one of the duller characters. I found her more intriguing, in fact, as the voice of the computer.

In The Next Generation she played Deanna Troi's overbearing mother Lwaxana Troi. Lwaxana, always on the hunt for a husband, was generally played for comedy. Unfunny comedy. I could have done without Deanna--her mother was entirely superfluous.

As you can probably tell, I wasn't her biggest fan. I used to call her Bad News Barrett, since I did not look forward to her scenes. But there is one Star Trek role she played that I liked, Number One in the original pilot, "The Cage."

She was Captain Pike's no-nonsense second-in-command. But who Number One was (or what she was) and where she came from was an open queston. Spock was also aboard, but not as first officer. NBC hated both the unemotional Number One and the Satanic-looking Spock. Roddenberry had to cut one, and, as Majel Barrett put it, he "kept the Vulcan and married the woman."

A tough female with so much power was rare on TV then, but the character would have worked regardless of sex. In fact, Nimoy's Spock borrowed certain traits from her. Makes you wonder what could have been.