Majel Barrett made a huge impact on Star Trek with her role of Christine Chapel. But she also made an impact with a role that didn't require her to actually appear on camera She provided the voice of the computer in Star Trek: The Next Generation and the following films and series. Because of all her contributions, and the fact she was also the wife of Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek's creator, Barrett is often called "The First Lady of Star Trek".
Sadly, Barrett passed away in 2008. But her voice still lives on. The official Twitter account for all things Gene Roddenberry recently revealed they had her voice officially recorded. They're hoping to use it on Star Trek: Discovery and in other capacities.
Here's the tweet:
Phonetic recording allows producers of future Star Trek media to re-assemble individual syllables said by Barrett so the late actress can "say" entirely new things. Hopefully we'll hear her in Star Trek: Discovery's LCARS System.
It would also be great if we could hear Barrett on our smartphone, much like Apple's Siri voice. Custom smartphone voices are hard to get right now, but one day we might be able to download custom voices from the Apple Store. And it looks like Roddenberry estate is trying to make one of those custom voices that of a Star Trek ship computer.
In addition to all her other roles, Barrett played the second-command to the captain in the original Star Trek pilot, where she was only referred to as Number One. The new Star Trek: Discovery protagonist is also a woman called Number One, in a deliberate callback to Barrett's role. So it would be extra cool to have Barrett's voice featured on the series that builds on a part she played.
Read: Bryan Fuller Explains the Title of 'Star Trek: Discovery'
Read: Star Trek: Discovery is Also Landing in Comics & Books
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