What's WRONG? At CLUB DEAD, the bell tolls for MAJEL BARRETT, wind beneath the wings of the Great Bird of the Galaxy, Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Stand by your man? Damn right she did.
Gene Roddenberry, soon to be divorced, and Majel Barrett met and began dating when she appeared on his television show, "The Lieutenant." Her resume was impressive, with appearances on popular shows like "Bonanza" and "Leave It To Beaver." He was a former police officer who had produced a few westerns and a police series when he pitched his new science fiction show to NBC in 1964.
"It's Wagon Train to the stars", he said, invoking the name of the sucessful western series which told a different story every week, all happening within a company of covered wagons making their way westward. Science fiction, serious science fiction that is, had never really worked on network TV.
Gene Rodenberry made it work, thanks in no small part to Majel Barrett. Not that the network wanted her.
Star Trek was produced by Desilu, which was responsible for The Untouchables and The Lucy Show, and she had appeared in both shows, and worked on the Desilu Playhouse series. In the first Star Trek pilot, she played a character called "Number Two," the second in command on the ship. NBC requested a second pilot, but told him to not use her. He made no secret of the fact that he thought NBC was unfairly restricting his vision of the future by claiming that a woman could not be second in command. In ensuing years, various NBC execs have scrambled to deny those comments. According to them, NBC didn't object to a woman as first officer, they objected to THAT woman, meaning Barrett.
When the first pilot was rejected, they took the hint. When the inaugural cast finally set sail on NBC in the fall of 1966, Majel was nowhere to be seen. She was there, however, as the unseen voice of the ship's computer. Later on she was written into the cast as nurse Christine Chappel, assistant to Dr. McCoy, with an unrequited longing for Mr. Spock.
Behind the scenes, she was social secretary and den mother to the cast. It was Majel who remembered birthdays, or who had kids graduating from high school, or whose sister was expecting a baby. Majel was unquestioningly supportive, and tolerant beyond understanding of her boyfriend's frequent and open dalliances. She helped organize the letter-writing capaigns which are wideley credited with exteding the life of Star Trek's original network run.
They were married about the time of the cancellation of Star Trek. A marginal series during its initial run, the show developed a cult following in reruns. Gene and Majel were fixtures at sci-fi conventions and Star Trek fan events. She contibuted voices to the Saturday morning cartoon Star Trek series, and appeared in the 1979 big budget Star Trek movie. When the Next Generation came along, she had a banner turn as Counselor Troi's mother. Folowing Gene's death in 1991, she acted as guardian of the tradition.
All along, Majel continued to voice the computer on thhe various incarnations of the U.S.S. Enterprise. She recent completed the voice over work for the newest Star Trek film, set to debut in 2009. It'll be a bittersweet moment when her voice cuts onto the screen.
Then again, screw her; she's dead. Let's go look for crocodiles.
StevenK
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