Majel Barrett/Roddenberry has died

Majel Barrett
Although not a news site in any way, now and again this site has
taken a moment to mark the passing of one or another of those connected
with Star Trek. Today, Thursday 18th December, Majel Barrett died.Majel
is a lady who is intimately connected with Star Trek. She was there
right at the beginning, playing Number One in the very first episode
ever filmed. Indeed she was in the very first scene of that episode. Of
all the countless hours of Star Trek that exist, the seventh line ever
spoken was one of hers.Her involvement doesn't even come close
to ending there, of course. Although her character of Number One was
dropped, she returned as Nurse Chapel during TOS. She went on to
provide voices for the animated series before returning to play Lwaxana
Troi on TNG, along with providing the voice for the computer on the
Enterprise-D. Lwaxana returned in Deep Space Nine several times, and
Majel provided the computer's voice for Voyager as well. She was the
First Lady of Star Trek, both literally and in terms of the sheer
duration of her tenure.With Enterprise it looked like there may
be no place for Majel, but she did manage to make an appearance, as the
Defiant's computer voice in the mirror universe episodes, and as the
Enterprise-D's computer in the final episode, an amazing forty one
years later. She thus became the only person to appear in all six Star
Trek series plus the TOS and TNG movie franchises.And then, just
recently, it was announced that she would be providing the voice for
the Enterprise computer in the upcoming Star Trek XI movie. It was a
wonderful decision. I can only hope that she recorded her part before
the end. If so, then her involvement in Trek will be extended to forty
five years.Her involvement in science fiction wasn't limited to
Star Trek, of course. Majel has appeared in Babylon 5, was a
co-producer on Andromeda, appeared in Earth : Final Conflict, The
Questor Tapes, Westworld, and more.Another part of her legacy in
this world of Trek, of course, comes from her relationship with Gene
Roddenberry. She was his wife for twenty two years, and in many ways
carried on his legacy after his death. Majel helped to create Andromeda
and Earth : Final Conflict based on ideas Gene created.She died
from complications stemming from leukemia at the age of 76. She will be
missed. And I for one think it would be fitting to dedicate Trek XI to
her memory.