Chris Says: December 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm Majel Barrett completed her final recordings as the voice of the original USS Enterprise’s computer just before her death, and we will be able to hear her once again when Star Trek is released in 2009.
Mark Says: December 23rd, 2008 at 6:01 am Majel Barrett was one of my favorite characters in ST:NG when she played Lawaxana Troi. That’s how I remember her best…Mark
Mark Says: December 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 am Here is a link to a fan tribute video for Majel Barrett…
Mark
Chris Says: December 23rd, 2008 at 6:58 am I always remember her as Christine Chapel. And not just because she was a hell of good looking woman back then (its her legs; watch some of the old episodes and you’ll see what I mean – DAMN). I always thought it was a great idea that they had a human female be so attracted to Spock, and that his constant need to reject her affections because of his Vulcan philosophy just made her like him more. There’s something so real about that, and I thought it was a great addition to the whole of Trek lore.
Majel Barrett was there from the beginning. Before Shatner or any of the rest we brought on board, she and Leonard Nimoy were there for the 1964 pilot episode of Star Trek, and were the only two that made it to the regular series when it went on the air two years later. In the pilot, she played “Number One,” the second in command of the starship Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike, whom we will also see again in 2009. When Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek: The Next Generation twentysomething years later, he referred back to his original version of Star Trek for inspiration, and that’s why Captain Piccard referred to Will Riker as “Number One” during his time on the Enterprise-D.
Mark, if it’s more Lwaxana Troi you’re looking for, be sure to check out Deep Space Nine. She showed up and caused trouble on quite a few episodes. I thought her inclusion in DS9 was especially entertaining, because it showed that the character could stand on her own and didn’t require the mother-daughter dynamic with Deanna Troi to be effective.
Chris Says: December 23rd, 2008 at 7:47 am Is it just me, or have we had to say goodbye to a lot of really great people in 2008? Gary Gygax, Stan Winston, George Carlin, Bettie Page, Deep Throat, and now Majel Barrett. All people who were in on the ground floor of things that changed their respective industries. What the hell is up with this year? I wish New Years Day would hurry up and get here so no one else dies on us. Apparently 2008 loves to kill innovators.
danm Says: December 23rd, 2008 at 8:27 am I guess Father Time was in a pissy mood this year.
Quentin Says: December 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm Yeah, I think I can agree on that one: 2008 was an exceptionally shitty year in which I said good-bye to some of the most precious and dear things in my heart.
From our original commentary:
Chris Says:
December 22nd, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Majel Barrett completed her final recordings as the voice of the original USS Enterprise’s computer just before her death, and we will be able to hear her once again when Star Trek is released in 2009.
Mark Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:01 am
Majel Barrett was one of my favorite characters in ST:NG when she played Lawaxana Troi. That’s how I remember her best…Mark
Mark Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:39 am
Here is a link to a fan tribute video for Majel Barrett…
Mark
Chris Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
I always remember her as Christine Chapel. And not just because she was a hell of good looking woman back then (its her legs; watch some of the old episodes and you’ll see what I mean – DAMN). I always thought it was a great idea that they had a human female be so attracted to Spock, and that his constant need to reject her affections because of his Vulcan philosophy just made her like him more. There’s something so real about that, and I thought it was a great addition to the whole of Trek lore.
Majel Barrett was there from the beginning. Before Shatner or any of the rest we brought on board, she and Leonard Nimoy were there for the 1964 pilot episode of Star Trek, and were the only two that made it to the regular series when it went on the air two years later. In the pilot, she played “Number One,” the second in command of the starship Enterprise under Captain Christopher Pike, whom we will also see again in 2009. When Gene Roddenberry created Star Trek: The Next Generation twentysomething years later, he referred back to his original version of Star Trek for inspiration, and that’s why Captain Piccard referred to Will Riker as “Number One” during his time on the Enterprise-D.
Mark, if it’s more Lwaxana Troi you’re looking for, be sure to check out Deep Space Nine. She showed up and caused trouble on quite a few episodes. I thought her inclusion in DS9 was especially entertaining, because it showed that the character could stand on her own and didn’t require the mother-daughter dynamic with Deanna Troi to be effective.
Chris Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:47 am
Is it just me, or have we had to say goodbye to a lot of really great people in 2008? Gary Gygax, Stan Winston, George Carlin, Bettie Page, Deep Throat, and now Majel Barrett. All people who were in on the ground floor of things that changed their respective industries. What the hell is up with this year? I wish New Years Day would hurry up and get here so no one else dies on us. Apparently 2008 loves to kill innovators.
danm Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:27 am
I guess Father Time was in a pissy mood this year.
Quentin Says:
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Yeah, I think I can agree on that one: 2008 was an exceptionally shitty year in which I said good-bye to some of the most precious and dear things in my heart.