Post by The Herald Erjen on Apr 29, 2023 18:59:40 GMT
Actress and wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry was involved with Star Trek right from the get-go, as executive officer Number One in the first pilot episode. Network bigwigs didn't like having a female in a command position, so she was never seen again, or at least that's the story that was given at the time. Remote and mysterious, Number One is in command of the ship for most of the episode, as Captain Pike is a prisoner of the Talosians. It was her decision to attempt a rescue rather than take the ship away. And we never even knew her name.
Barrett returned in the first season as Lieutenant Christine Chapel, or Nurse Chapel as she was mostly known, and she appeared again several times in all three seasons of the Original Series. In an interview, Barret called the character a loser, but Chapel is my favorite of all the Star Trek characters she played. Barrett also appeared briefly in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" as Chapel, along with Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand. Personally, I think those appearances were more about making a connection with the fans than anything else; unnecessary but they did no harm to the plot.
The Enterprise was supposed to be on a five-year mission, but Star Trek only went for three. Those last two years were completed by the Animated Series. It was a good show, a cut above the usual Saturday morning cartoon, and it did some things that the Original Series couldn't do. Not all of the cast returned to provide their voices, but Majel Barrett was one who did. Nurse Chapel had a bunch of different hairstyles on the Original Series, but the animators just settled for one. Otherwise, she was the same tragic Nurse Chapel who was hopelessly in love with Mr. Spock.
On the subject of voices, did you know that Majel Barrett also did the voice of the computer on the Enterprise? Well, now you know.
In the 1980's when the Next Generation rolled around, Majel Barrett was there to play Lwaxana Troi, her least-likeable Star Trek character IMO. I thought Lwaxana was annoying, but I blame the writers for that, not the actress. Sometimes a character is written for the purpose of being annoying, and she seems to be one of those. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. I just thought she was annoying. That's all. Majel Barrett may have played some other characters on Star Trek that I'm not aware of or forgot about. An impressive body of work, wouldn't you agree?
Barrett returned in the first season as Lieutenant Christine Chapel, or Nurse Chapel as she was mostly known, and she appeared again several times in all three seasons of the Original Series. In an interview, Barret called the character a loser, but Chapel is my favorite of all the Star Trek characters she played. Barrett also appeared briefly in "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" as Chapel, along with Grace Lee Whitney as Janice Rand. Personally, I think those appearances were more about making a connection with the fans than anything else; unnecessary but they did no harm to the plot.
The Enterprise was supposed to be on a five-year mission, but Star Trek only went for three. Those last two years were completed by the Animated Series. It was a good show, a cut above the usual Saturday morning cartoon, and it did some things that the Original Series couldn't do. Not all of the cast returned to provide their voices, but Majel Barrett was one who did. Nurse Chapel had a bunch of different hairstyles on the Original Series, but the animators just settled for one. Otherwise, she was the same tragic Nurse Chapel who was hopelessly in love with Mr. Spock.
On the subject of voices, did you know that Majel Barrett also did the voice of the computer on the Enterprise? Well, now you know.
In the 1980's when the Next Generation rolled around, Majel Barrett was there to play Lwaxana Troi, her least-likeable Star Trek character IMO. I thought Lwaxana was annoying, but I blame the writers for that, not the actress. Sometimes a character is written for the purpose of being annoying, and she seems to be one of those. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want anything bad to happen to her. I just thought she was annoying. That's all. Majel Barrett may have played some other characters on Star Trek that I'm not aware of or forgot about. An impressive body of work, wouldn't you agree?