Did Majel Barrett have what it took?

[EnriqueH]

I was just involved in the World of Star Trek thread and got to thinking:

The Suits didn't think Majel Barrett had the charisma and talent to pull off the role of the second billing.

Now, in reading Solow's book, I came away with two feelings: 1) That it made sense that an acting novice like Majel wouldn't have the right stuff to pull off the role and 2) I could be wrong but it seemed like the studio had a "mean streak" towards Majel simply because she was in a privileged position and Gene's mistress.

But what did you guys think?

Personally, I thought Majel was good in her rather limited role of Nurse Chapel, but I liked her in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" which is the episode that probably featured her most.

And I liked her as Lwaxana Troi.

As Number One, she does come off as somewhat dry, distant and cold, but that's also how the character seemed to have been written.

I've been wondering if maybe the role just wasn't very good. I don't like the idea of never knowing her name and that she was this unapproachable character. I don't think it's Majel, rather I think the role was limited.

Thoughts?

 

[BillJ]

2) I could be wrong but it seemed like the studio had a "mean streak" towards Majel simply because she was in a privileged position and Gene's mistress.

Having the Executive Producer banging one of the stars could have been deadly for a show like Trek if the relationship turned toxic. Very astute call by NBC.

Though I don't think she had the acting chops to pull off the role.

 

[Nerys Myk]

She'd been acting since the late 50s, so I don't think she was a novice by 1964.

The role of Number One was essentially (partially?) Spock and we know that in the hands of a better actor it turned out quite well.

 

[Corylea]

I never really warmed up to Nurse Chapel, and I've read that Ms. Barrett didn't like the character, herself, which may be why.

Gene Roddenberry put Majel Barrett in a number of his other pilots, none of which went very far. I don't know that it's cause and effect ... but it could have been.

 

[HIjol]

IMHO, as "Nurse Chapel" (hmm, "pure", "chaste", "above") you could 'feel" the wall she built up.

I absolutely LOVED her as Luaxana, but, again, the Wall.

As to the OPs original question, "Did (she) have what it took?"

She had Gene. That is all it took.

 

[Push The Button]

To be fair, Majel as Number One only had a few minutes of screen time, not really enough to draw any conclusions. If WNMHGB had never been greenlighted, we would only have a precious few minutes of Nimoy as a smiling, emotional Spock from The Cage, having almost nothing in common with the later Spock that we all know and love.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

To be fair, Majel as Number One only had a few minutes of screen time, not really enough to draw any conclusions. If WNMHGB had never been greenlighted, we would only have a precious few minutes of Nimoy as a smiling, emotional Spock from The Cage, having almost nothing in common with the later Spock that we all know and love.

Leonard Nimoy had the chops. He had the training, the experience, the stage presence. You didn't just have him in "The Cage." He had roles under his belt at that point, including the film Kid Monk Baroni, and they knew he came to play. You can't say that about Majel Barrett in 1964, or later for that matter.

Majel apparently hitched her acting wagon to Gene's career after they got together. But even with him towing her, she was never going to be a big star. The most she was suited to was small supporting roles.

 

[Nebusj]

2) I could be wrong but it seemed like the studio had a "mean streak" towards Majel simply because she was in a privileged position and Gene's mistress.

Having the Executive Producer banging one of the stars could have been deadly for a show like Trek if the relationship turned toxic. Very astute call by NBC.

I have to agree here: however outstanding an actor Majel Barrett was, ``the Executive Producer is having an extramarital affair with one of the show's leads'' is begging for a show-wrecking disaster.

Though I don't think she had the acting chops to pull off the role.

I thought she did well enough as Number One, playing the emotionless/vaguely-alien role with a bit more palpable sadness than Spock demonstrated, although I'm not sure that would have been quite enough over the season. Among other things that sense was driven by the particular story, which wouldn't really come into play in, say, this Alternate-Trek version of ``What Are Little Girls Made Of?''

 

[LMFAOschwarz]

Wel, she was pretty good as the voice of the ship's computer!

I must say, she was quite terrific in TNG's Half a Life.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

She was pretty wooden as Number One and as Chapel in TOS, so I'd definitely say that NBC made the right call on that one. It was pretty sleazy of Roddenberry to say that the reason she was axed was sexism by the network brass.

 

[HIjol]

Wel, she was pretty good as the voice of the ship's computer!

I must say, she was quite terrific in TNG's Half a Life.

Oh, very much so! I have the PADD app on my iPAD, and she does the voice. Just. Right.

She was also ferociously protective of the "Gene-ness" that came with Trek and her relationship to and with it. You gotta respect that.

 

[Maurice]

Sometimes it's not about talent or ability. Frequently it's more about does the actor have "it" on the screen and if they are right for the part. I don't think Majel had "it" for Number One or Chapel, but Mrs. Troi was another matter.

 

[Push The Button]

To be fair, Majel as Number One only had a few minutes of screen time, not really enough to draw any conclusions. If WNMHGB had never been greenlighted, we would only have a precious few minutes of Nimoy as a smiling, emotional Spock from The Cage, having almost nothing in common with the later Spock that we all know and love.

Leonard Nimoy had the chops. He had the training, the experience, the stage presence. You didn't just have him in "The Cage." He had roles under his belt at that point, including the film Kid Monk Baroni, and they knew he came to play. You can't say that about Majel Barrett in 1964, or later for that matter.

Majel apparently hitched her acting wagon to Gene's career after they got together. But even with him towing her, she was never going to be a big star. The most she was suited to was small supporting roles.

Maybe if Number One had survived as a character into the second pilot and the series itself, Majel may have grown into the role.

 

[Tim Walker]

Wel, she was pretty good as the voice of the ship's computer!

She found her calling.

 

[bbailey861]

Wel, she was pretty good as the voice of the ship's computer!

She found her calling.

Yes, that and Lwaxana.

 

[SPCTRE]

Having the Executive Producer banging one of the stars could have been deadly for a show like Trek if the relationship turned toxic. Very astute call by NBC.

[/dadvocate]

 

[BillJ]

Having the Executive Producer banging one of the stars could have been deadly for a show like Trek if the relationship turned toxic. Very astute call by NBC.

[/dadvocate]

How could one not be grinning ear to ear with Jeri Ryan on their arm?

 

[bbailey861]

Having the Executive Producer banging one of the stars could have been deadly for a show like Trek if the relationship turned toxic. Very astute call by NBC.

[/dadvocate]

How could one not be grinning ear to ear with Jeri Ryan on their arm?

You got me - I have no idea.

 

[Corylea]

Having the Executive Producer banging one of the stars could have been deadly for a show like Trek if the relationship turned toxic. Very astute call by NBC.

[/dadvocate]

Times were different then than they were in 1965. And Gene Roddenberry was married to someone else at the time, which was a MUCH bigger deal in 1965 than it is now!

 

[T'Girl]

She was pretty wooden as Number One and as Chapel in TOS ...

I wonder if that's all due to Majel's acting ability, or might have been in part owing to how Number One was written. Calm, cool and professional. Which worked for Tuvok and Spock, but I don't think would have worked on a weekly basis for Number One.