How do you feel about Majel Barrett?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I liked Majel very much. Lwaxana Troi was hilarious and most of her episodes were fun to watch.

Probably my favorite bit is...oh hell, can't remember the episode, but she's sitting on Picard's lap on the bridge. Picard says "Set course for Betazed...WARP NINE!"

 

[EnriqueH]

That was probably Menage a Tori, right?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

It's a shame that when we actually met Ian Troi* - Deanna's father - for the first time, he was such a milquetoast. I always wondered what Lwaxana saw in him. (Same goes for the Voyager episode that introduced B'Elanna's father - why would a Klingon woman, of all people, marry such a complete wimp?)

* It's been suggested that Betazed is a matriarchy and that Ian took Lwaxana's last name, not the other way around. I'm still trying to find proof of this.

 

[Nerys Myk]

It could be a misunderstanding on my part, but I asked about Majel Barrett and then I got Clegg's response, which I thought was slightly cryptic. So I'm going, "Treated her better? Ok...what the hell does that mean? Could you expand on that? Because it sure as hell doesn't answer my question." I'm asking about Majel Barrett; Clegg's talking about her husband.

I think Clegg answered your question. And given what we know about her marriage it's hardly cryptic.

I asked about MAJEL BARRETT and why some people seem to dislike her. I didn't ask about Gene Roddenberry, and I didn't ask how you guys felt about Gene's relationship with Majel. I asked about Majel singularly. So I'm sorry, but Clegg's reply made no sense to me.

Me: "How do you feel about Majel?"
Reply: "Her husband should've treated her better."
Me: Oooook. What does that have to do with my question?

It could be a misunderstanding on my part, but I asked about Majel Barrett and then I got Clegg's response, which I thought was slightly cryptic. So I'm going, "Treated her better? Ok...what the hell does that mean? Could you expand on that? Because it sure as hell doesn't answer my question." I'm asking about Majel Barrett; Clegg's talking about her husband.

The basic translation goes like this: Majel Barrett deserved more kindness and respect from her husband than she received. How is that being snide or unkind? And the OP never specified "no criticism of Gene Roddenberry."

Yeah, but again, I asked how you guys feel about MAJEL. I didn't ask how you felt about the way Gene treated Majel. I just asked about Majel. I already know Gene cheated. But that wasn't my question.

It's all related. Gene was her husband and their relationship impacts on how we might feel about her.

 

[T'Girl]

It's been suggested that Betazed is a matriarchy and that Ian took Lwaxana's last name

That's my understanding (at least the family name part), but I can not immediately remember where it comes from, it might not be canon.

I think there was a mention of Riker becoming "Mister Troi" upon marrying Deanna.

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the leading Japanese Admiral during the beginning of the second world war took his wife's family name. The Yamamoto family had no sons, so Isoroku Takano took his wife's name, becoming the head of the family.

Same goes for the Voyager episode that introduced B'Elanna's father - why would a Klingon woman, of all people, marry such a complete wimp?

Why a wimp? My read is he simply got tired of her shit and kicked her to the curb.

I asked about MAJEL BARRETT and why some people seem to dislike her.

That Majel would put up with being endlessly cheated on does reflect upon her. Roddenberry wasn't (from my readings of him) particularly discreet about his multiple affairs and employing the "casting couch." That Majel stayed with him might not generate admiration in some people's eyes.

 

[RandyS]

I didn't care much for Chapel, absolutely HATED Laxwana Troi, and was indifferent to Number One. That's all I can say. I never met Majel Barrett, so I can't say what kind of person she was. In the interviews I did see, she seemed nice enough.

 

[Relayer1]

I have no idea of what she was like as a person, but I viewed her as a poor to average actress.

She certainly had my sympathies for her dreadful choice of husband.

 

[Mojochi]

If there's any dislike shown toward her, it's probably due to her being less capable of acting than the other people she worked with on the show. Being famous for nepotistic reasons tends to rub people the wrong way. I can't think of any other explanation, given that most fans don't know her at all

What I know of her personally, she seemed like a wonderful lady, & an exceptionally devoted, caring & patient wife to a man who frankly, didn't deserve it, but who created something I think she truly loved, loved being involved with, & seemed proud to witness

As an actress, she's not good. #1 is so forgettable that the very idea of the position she held onboard went forgotten for over 20 years. Chapel was paper thin even for that era, & Lwaxana was utter hackery imho. Half a Life was maybe the only time she stifled it enough to be part of a quality episode. However, that's saying nothing about her personally

Personally, I imagine she must've been a damn rock. Clearly her husband was cheating, and was notorious for his inappropriateness with female cast members, cast members who she shared a work environment with, no less. She's been a life long champion for the show. She had to have been hopelessly in love with Gene, to tolerate what she did, & since Star Trek was going to demand such a huge potion of her life anyhow, maybe her getting some preferential involvement isn't the worst thing that could've happened. She had a right to make her life what she wanted, even if that meant working herself into something she wasn't ideally qualified for, because she could. I will say that I quite enjoy how they used her for the voice of the computer. There's actually some wonderful stuff she played in that character, and that's not sarcasm

 

[borgboy]

I adore Majel. I think Chapel was sweet and likable, but Lwaxana was a hoot, my favorite character! She shows a lot of range, as Lwaxana is hilarious, she can always turn on a dime and break your heart. One of my favorite scenes is when Lwaxana takes off her wig and make up to show Odo her true face when they're stuck in the elevator.
Her personal life is none of our business.

 

[EnriqueH]

If there's any dislike shown toward her, it's probably due to her being less capable of acting than the other people she worked with on the show. Being famous for nepotistic reasons tends to rub people the wrong way. I can't think of any other explanation, given that most fans don't know her at all

What I know of her personally, she seemed like a wonderful lady, & an exceptionally devoted, caring & patient wife to a man who frankly, didn't deserve it, but who created something I think she truly loved, loved being involved with, & seemed proud to witness

As an actress, she's not good. #1 is so forgettable that the very idea of the position she held onboard went forgotten for over 20 years. Chapel was paper thin even for that era, & Lwaxana was utter hackery imho. Half a Life was maybe the only time she stifled it enough to be part of a quality episode. However, that's saying nothing about her personally

Personally, I imagine she must've been a damn rock. Clearly her husband was cheating, and was notorious for his inappropriateness with female cast members, cast members who she shared a work environment with, no less. She's been a life long champion for the show. She had to have been hopelessly in love with Gene, to tolerate what she did, & since Star Trek was going to demand such a huge potion of her life anyhow, maybe her getting some preferential involvement isn't the worst thing that could've happened. She had a right to make her life what she wanted, even if that meant working herself into something she wasn't ideally qualified for, because she could. I will say that I quite enjoy how they used her for the voice of the computer. There's actually some wonderful stuff she played in that character, and that's not sarcasm

Thanks for a great post.

I adore Majel. I think Chapel was sweet and likable, but Lwaxana was a hoot, my favorite character! She shows a lot of range, as Lwaxana is hilarious, she can always turn on a dime and break your heart. One of my favorite scenes is when Lwaxana takes off her wig and make up to show Odo her true face when they're stuck in the elevator.
Her personal life is none of our business.

Yeah, I agree. A lot of people here seem to be judging her and Gene's marriage and maybe even imposing their own values on them, but the fact of the matter is we don't know what went on behind closed doors all the time. And I have to imagine that it's possible that they may have had an open marriage, or tolerant of such.

In fact, I believe Gene said there was nothing in his vows to her when they were married that said he had to refrain from affairs with other women. I've spoken to women who have told me, point blank, "I don't care what he does as long as he's home by midnight."

Either way, Majel certainly stuck around, seemed proud of her association with Star Trek and seemed fiercely loyal to the man she loved.
If she was *that* opposed to Gene's behavior, I can't imagine her being so positive about the whole thing, especially after Gene had died.

I don't see what's wrong with that.

 

[Melakon]

Majel gets a lot of credit from me for her unflagging dedication to the franchise and in some ways was the true keeper of the flame. She had a vested interest of course, but she tirelessly worked at it until the end. I think one problem we're having now is no single person seems to be the face of Star Trek calling the shots.

 

[TheSubCommander]

I'm curious: how do you guys feel about her? Do any of you DISlike her? And if you do, why?

I never got into most of the Trek actors personal lives, including Roddenberry or Majel Barrett. Considering both are passed away, its kind of moot to bash on either one now, I think. Plus, there's the thing about speaking ill of the dead, too.

Anyway, I liked Nurse Chappel. Always felt kind of sorry for her. In TOS, she seemed like a sad character, with the unrequited crush on Spock.

As for Lwaxana, at first I found her an irritating character, in first run episodes. I think the episode that turned it around for me was Half a Life. That is the episode where Lwaxana shines.

As for other roles, I wish we had gotten to see more of Majel in Babylon 5.

 

[JonnyQuest037]

I feel like she was only so-so as an actress, quite honestly. Her Number One was pretty wooden and Nurse Chapel really only had repetitive scenes where she mooned over Spock without much variation. And a little Laxwanna goes a LOOOOOOOONG way. I remember thinking that she was pretty good when she guest starred on Babylon 5. So I feel like she probably wouldn't have gone anywhere as an actress without GR in her corner. And whenever I rewatch a TOS episode with Chapel scenes I can't help but they'd been devoted to almost ANYTHING else. To be fair, that's a problem with the writing, too.

I saw her at a convention sometime in the 90s. When a fan asked her how she got her part on Star Trek, she said good-naturedly, "I slept with the producer!" It was a good line, and very honest, so that made me like her more.

 

[Maurice]

I'm not going to judge her relationship with Gene, either, but it's worth remembering that at one time she herself was one of Gene's affairs while he was married to his first wife, so she knew what kind of man he was from long before they got hitched.

I don't have any feelings about her as a person one way or another. As an actor I can say I've never seen her in any role which she struck me as memorable or very good other than Lwaxana, so I suspect her range was fairly narrow.

 

[TheSubCommander]

So I feel like she probably wouldn't have gone anywhere as an actress without GR in her corner. And whenever I rewatch a TOS episode with Chapel scenes I can't help but they'd been devoted to almost ANYTHING else.

It's not like Nurse Chappel was going to ever be anything other than a supporting role. True enough she might not have made it had it not been for GR, but really, I say so what? I never begrudged her being in that role. I am sure it was created specially for her, so its not like she stole the role or prevented someone from getting it.

I mean, if you are a creator of a show like GR and your wife, who is an actress but probably has put her life on hold for your career and family life (as often many actresses do when they get married), what is wrong with throwing her a bone like creating a semi-regular support role on your show, especially if allowing her to act would make her happy? I think a lot of people would do that for their spouse under those circumstances, if they could.

 

[Commishsleer]

In fact, I believe Gene said there was nothing in his vows to her when they were married that said he had to refrain from affairs with other women. I've spoken to women who have told me, point blank, "I don't care what he does as long as he's home by midnight."

Either way, Majel certainly stuck around, seemed proud of her association with Star Trek and seemed fiercely loyal to the man she loved.
If she was *that* opposed to Gene's behavior, I can't imagine her being so positive about the whole thing, especially after Gene had died.

I don't see what's wrong with that.

You've asked for people's opinion and when they disagree with you, you get all offended. I would never do that.

Personally I disagree with women having affairs with married men (especially those with children). If other people think its OK then that fine.

However I don't really hold that against Majel. I'm not Gene's ex-wife. And it looks as though Majel wasn't all that happy about his philandering on her when she talks about his other mistresses.

I absolutely hate Majel's role as Nurse Chapel. It was so so embarressing except for the one episode where she was looking for her fiance - where she did a reasonable job IMO. I wasn't that keen on her Luxana persona. But some of that could be attributable to the writing.

But I think she did a splendid job as the spokesperson for Star Trek. And we should all be grateful for that. As others have already pointed out we could do with that now.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I think she was great as the TOS Enterprise computer. She did a really good monotone, and I'm frequently amused by the way she did "non-inflection inflections" with it, suggestive, in an almost campy way, of a machine churning. Her "Working" is an iconic sound bite, as far as I'm concerned.

Chapel was a thankless role, but I always considered her part of the crew.

Ms. Troi had a couple of really good episodes, "Half a Life" and "Dark Page," and also some OK ones and some bad ones.

As the TNG computer: meh; that came across as just stunt-casting to me.

I didn't know her personally.

 

[EnriqueH]

You've asked for people's opinion and when they disagree with you, you get all offended. I would never do that.

You're wrong and I think I've already explained why, but some people---such as yourself--- aren't getting it: I'm not upset that people are disagreeing with me, dummy. I don't really think people are disagreeing with me about anything other than what the intended topic is. I'm asking about Majel Barrett and people are talking about something else, that's what's mildly annoying.

Personally I disagree with women having affairs with married men (especially those with children). If other people think its OK then that fine.

However I don't really hold that against Majel. I'm not Gene's ex-wife. And it looks as though Majel wasn't all that happy about his philandering on her when she talks about his other mistresses.

I absolutely hate Majel's role as Nurse Chapel. It was so so embarressing except for the one episode where she was looking for her fiance - where she did a reasonable job IMO. I wasn't that keen on her Luxana persona. But some of that could be attributable to the writing.

But I think she did a splendid job as the spokesperson for Star Trek. And we should all be grateful for that. As others have already pointed out we could do with that now.

This does answer my question.

Chapel wasn't a very well written role, but I think she did what she could with what is easily the worst character in TOS in terms of writing. But in all fairness, I thought she was fantastic in "What Are Little Girls Made Of?"

Lwaxana was also played for laughs for the most part, but it was nice to see that she could deliver a nice performance when it was required, such as in Half a Life.

Poor Majel. It seems her characters always got shortchanged.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Calling someone "dummy" is a bad idea. You might want to change that.

Also Majel's choices will reflect on how someone feels about her.

 

[Push The Button]

I'm sad that she is no longer with us.