Dec 19 2008
R.I.P. Majel Barrett Roddenberry
Sure, she played one of the most annoying characters and that character was related to the most useless character but Majel Barrett Roddenberry was DAMN good at it. You felt Captain Picard grimace whenever Lwaxana Troi came aboard because, as you’d later discover, you were grimacing right along! Majel was a great woman (from what I’ve heard and read) and while she was alive it always felt like part of the Great Bird of the Galaxy was always with us. I rolled my eyes when she said ‘Mr. Woof’ but I loved doing it! Rest In Peace Ms. Roddenberry! The future (and the present) was better with you in it!
1932-2008
PS: Majel was quite the Trek thespian. She was the first Number One ever back in the original series first pilot with Jeff Hunter. She appeared in the original series and the first and fourth films as Nurse Chapel. She made Lwaxana Troi a household name on numerous TNG episodes and even some DS9s and was the computer voice for every series. I didn’t notice until I read it in the TNG Companion but there is a scene in the TNG episode ‘The Cost of Living’ where Lwaxana Troi gets in a hissy fit with the computer on the Enterprise. Basically she was talking to herself. Brilliant. She was so good I didn’t even notice!
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