How Majel Barrett Roddenberry beat the cast of Deep Space Nine

Pa Chris Snellgrove
| Published 11 seconds ago

Majel Barrett Roddenberry became one of the most consistent parts of Star Trek’s Golden Age, voicing the ship’s computer and starring as Lvaxana Troi in The next generation and Deep space nine. When she first came to DS9 in the episode “Forsaken,” it was a big deal because in addition to being an established character, she was the wife of the late, great Gene Roddenberry. It might have been an intense cameo, but according to series stars Armin Shimerman, she instantly won everyone over and “really looked like someone coming home to bed.”

Majel Barrett was no diva

Speaking of Shimerman, he described how much he was “looking forward” to working with her Deep space nine. Fortunately, it sounds like the experience lived up to his expectations, with him describing how “she was great to work with” and that “she was sweet and kind and funny.” It sounds like he was worried she might have a little trouble fitting in at first, but the Quark actor described how “she was so at home on those sets.”

obviously Armin Shimerman enjoyed his experience with Majel Barrett Roddenberry, and his opinion was shared by everyone who worked on Deep space nine. According to him, “the crew adores her and she was so attentive.” Perhaps borrowing a bit of edginess from his Ferengi character, Shimerman then said aloud a quiet, “given her position in the cosmology Star Trekshe was a very, very considerate person.’

Reading between the lines, it seems that Shimmerman was emphasizing that Majel Barrett Roddenberry, as the wife of franchise creator Gene Roddenberry, could have been a total diva (if not an outright tyrant) when she came to Deep space nine. She was the wife of Trek’s top authority figure, and after his untimely death in 1991, essentially acted as his proxy whenever she was on set. However, instead of using this authority to get her way, she immediately impressed everyone with her kindness and grace.

Excellent performance

Although everyone was impressed by Majel Barrett Roddenberry’s kindness, they were equally impressed by her talent as an actor, so she was invited back to Deep space nine for two more episodes to follow. In The Forsaken, Odo actor Renée Auberjonois loved how she brought the relationship between his shapeshifter and her telepath to brilliant life. “Through his relationship with Lwaxana, the audience got to know a side of him that made him likable and they really connected with him,” he said.

Additionally, Majel Barrett Roddenberry impressed showrunner and co-creator Michael Peeler Deep space nine. According to Peeler, “Madgel was at her warmest and most wonderful as Mrs. Troy.” Elaborating, he noted how “she goes from being the woman you can’t imagine getting stuck in an elevator with to the best companion you can have.”

The latter comment refers to the plot of The Forsaken, in which the flirtatious Lvaxana Troi follows Odo into a turbolift in which they are stranded due to a strange system failure. Odo is getting more and more scared because his shape-shifting personality is about to return to liquid form, and he tells Troy that no one has ever seen him like this. This prompts her to take off her wig and say that no one has ever seen her like this, which is enough to make Odo transform into his liquid form in her lap in a sweet intimate moment.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget about Majel Barrett Roddenberry Deep space nine episodes, because the series is remembered more for such things War for Dominion arc However, she was one of the best parts of the early show and helped bring out the best of the show’s regular cast. And thanks to the cast and showrunner Peeler, we now know that Roddenberry herself was just as impressive as her character when it came to winning over every single actor and crew member she came up against.