So here’s my take on the whole thing.
1. Allan Asherman is wrong. He wrote in his First Edition of the Star Trek Compendium (the one with the blue cover) from March of 1981 about Majel: “Born Majel Lee Hudec, the name under which she is billed in ‘The Cage’....” This is, of course, not true. For “The Cage,” the character listed in the credits as “Number One” was credited as “Majel Barrett.” There was no reason not to use the professional name she had been using for years. In fact, in 1981 when the First Edition of the book was released, “The Cage” (copyright 1964) had never been released anywhere: certainly not online, not on Blu-ray, or DVD, or LaserDisc, nor even on VHS. Since it didn’t become available anywhere until some years later, there’s no real way Mr. Asherman could even know how she was credited in “The Cage.” The only opportunity to see the actual “Cage” itself was when Roddenberry would screen it at college lectures and Trek conventions. What I presume he meant to say was, essentially, “Born Majel Lee Hudec, the name under which she is billed in the edited version of the ‘The Cage’ that was incorporated into both parts of “The Menagerie.” In truth, even that’s not exactly correct: Majel’s birth name is Majel Leigh (not Lee) Hudec. For both parts of “The Menagerie,” she is credited as “M. Leigh Hudec”—with a first initial (not her first name) and with the proper spelling of her middle name (Leigh).
2. When the Second Edition (the one with the red cover) of Asherman’s Compendium came out in September of 1986, “The Cage” had still not been released in any format. The language in this Second Edition was the same as the First Edition: “Born Majel Lee Hudec, the name under which she is billed in ‘The Cage’....”
3. “The Cage" was finally aired in local markets in syndication as part of the Star Trek: From One Generation to the Next television special, airing the week of October 4, 1988. Presumably, lots of people were able to capture this airing on their home VHS recorders. Star Trek: From One Generation to the Next was finally released on VHS (and Betamax) for retail sales and rentals in November--just two months after the release of the Second Edition of the Compendium. At long last, people (and Asherman specifically) were able to finally see the credits for 1964’s “The Cage.”
4. When the Third Edition of the Compendium (the one with the black cover) was released in June of 1989, that original sentence is gone and there’s now a new sentence. Well, it’s a sentence fragment, actually: “Born Majel Lee Hudec.” That’s it: period. They just excised the “the name under which she is billed in ‘The Cage’...” clause.
5. The Fourth and final (so far) Edition of the Compendium (the one with the white cover) came out in May of 1993. That same add sentence fragment from the Third Edition “Born Majel Lee Hudec.” is in the Fourth Edition.
6. When “The Naked Time” (Episode 7) rolled around, she was listed as “Christine” in the credits and was credited as “Majel Barrett.” In the Final Draft script (dated June 28, 1966) of "The Naked Time," this character was actually called “Christine Ducheaux:” CHRISTINE DUCHEAUX...dark-haired... more starkly attractive than beautiful... a woman capable of startling vitality... superb efficiency... as now... a perfect right hand to McCoy...," although in actual dialogue she is never referred to as anything other than "Nurse" or "Christine.” When “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” came along she was listed as “Christine Chapel” in the credits, and, once again credited as “Majel Barrett.”
7. When the time came to write up the credits of “The Menagerie (Parts 1 and 2) (Episode 16), my speculation is that they simply wanted to avoid any confusion for those in the viewing audience who might have become familiar with Majel Barrett as the blonde nurse from two episodes. It was a quick and easy way to prevent people from conflating the two characters. (No one was ever going to see how she had actually been credited in the original 1964 pilot.)
8. Lastly, I cleaned up the Memory Alpha entries for both "Christine Chapel" and "Majel Barrett."
1. Allan Asherman is wrong. He wrote in his First Edition of the Star Trek Compendium (the one with the blue cover) from March of 1981 about Majel: “Born Majel Lee Hudec, the name under which she is billed in ‘The Cage’....” This is, of course, not true. For “The Cage,” the character listed in the credits as “Number One” was credited as “Majel Barrett.” There was no reason not to use the professional name she had been using for years. In fact, in 1981 when the First Edition of the book was released, “The Cage” (copyright 1964) had never been released anywhere: certainly not online, not on Blu-ray, or DVD, or LaserDisc, nor even on VHS. Since it didn’t become available anywhere until some years later, there’s no real way Mr. Asherman could even know how she was credited in “The Cage.” The only opportunity to see the actual “Cage” itself was when Roddenberry would screen it at college lectures and Trek conventions. What I presume he meant to say was, essentially, “Born Majel Lee Hudec, the name under which she is billed in the edited version of the ‘The Cage’ that was incorporated into both parts of “The Menagerie.” In truth, even that’s not exactly correct: Majel’s birth name is Majel Leigh (not Lee) Hudec. For both parts of “The Menagerie,” she is credited as “M. Leigh Hudec”—with a first initial (not her first name) and with the proper spelling of her middle name (Leigh).
2. When the Second Edition (the one with the red cover) of Asherman’s Compendium came out in September of 1986, “The Cage” had still not been released in any format. The language in this Second Edition was the same as the First Edition: “Born Majel Lee Hudec, the name under which she is billed in ‘The Cage’....”
3. “The Cage" was finally aired in local markets in syndication as part of the Star Trek: From One Generation to the Next television special, airing the week of October 4, 1988. Presumably, lots of people were able to capture this airing on their home VHS recorders. Star Trek: From One Generation to the Next was finally released on VHS (and Betamax) for retail sales and rentals in November--just two months after the release of the Second Edition of the Compendium. At long last, people (and Asherman specifically) were able to finally see the credits for 1964’s “The Cage.”
4. When the Third Edition of the Compendium (the one with the black cover) was released in June of 1989, that original sentence is gone and there’s now a new sentence. Well, it’s a sentence fragment, actually: “Born Majel Lee Hudec.” That’s it: period. They just excised the “the name under which she is billed in ‘The Cage’...” clause.
5. The Fourth and final (so far) Edition of the Compendium (the one with the white cover) came out in May of 1993. That same add sentence fragment from the Third Edition “Born Majel Lee Hudec.” is in the Fourth Edition.
6. When “The Naked Time” (Episode 7) rolled around, she was listed as “Christine” in the credits and was credited as “Majel Barrett.” In the Final Draft script (dated June 28, 1966) of "The Naked Time," this character was actually called “Christine Ducheaux:” CHRISTINE DUCHEAUX...dark-haired... more starkly attractive than beautiful... a woman capable of startling vitality... superb efficiency... as now... a perfect right hand to McCoy...," although in actual dialogue she is never referred to as anything other than "Nurse" or "Christine.” When “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” came along she was listed as “Christine Chapel” in the credits, and, once again credited as “Majel Barrett.”
7. When the time came to write up the credits of “The Menagerie (Parts 1 and 2) (Episode 16), my speculation is that they simply wanted to avoid any confusion for those in the viewing audience who might have become familiar with Majel Barrett as the blonde nurse from two episodes. It was a quick and easy way to prevent people from conflating the two characters. (No one was ever going to see how she had actually been credited in the original 1964 pilot.)
8. Lastly, I cleaned up the Memory Alpha entries for both "Christine Chapel" and "Majel Barrett."
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