Number One (Star Trek)
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Number One
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|---|---|
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | Female |
| Hair color: | Black |
| Eye color: | Green |
| Home planet: | Unknown |
| Affiliation: | Starfleet |
| Position: | USS Enterprise executive officer |
| Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Portrayed by: | Majel Barrett |
Number One, in "The Cage", the original pilot episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek, was the un-named intellectual, problem-solving second-in-command serving under Captain Christopher Pike. Number One is the naval term for the First Officer on board a ship, second-in-command to the captain.
Played by Majel Barrett, later the wife of Gene Roddenberry (who also went on to play Nurse Christine Chapel in the original Star Trek and Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as the computer's voice), the character appears only in the unaired pilot. Barrett is credited under her real name, M. Leigh Hudec. The prominence of a woman among the crew of a starship was one of the reasons that the original Star Trek pilot was rejected by television networks, although Gene Roddenberry also related the tale of how women of the era had difficulty accepting her as well (with a "Who does she think SHE is?" attitude). During "The Cage," Number One proves to her alien captors that humans would rather die than be slaves. Aspects of her character—specifically, her cool demeanor and logical nature—were merged with that of Spock (who does appear in "The Cage") during the regular run of the series.
Number One's real name has never been revealed, and debate raged in fandom for years as to whether she is even human. One Star Trek novel mentions her being the top intellect of her generation, hence her name, and that she was from the planet Ilyria. Author Peter David, in his long-running Star Trek: New Frontier series of novels, has hinted that the mother of Robin Lefler, Morgan Primus (an immortal and a regular character in the series), resembles characters played by Majel Barrett. This is loosely supported by Jerry Oltion's Captain's Table Book 6: Where Sea Meets Sky, where the author refers to Number One as Commander Lefler in the first chapter. However, this wouldn't make any sense chronologically based on the history of Morgan Primus.
In the Star Trek: Early Voyages comic book series she is called Lieutenant Commander Eunice Robbins.
In Star Trek: The Next Generation, Captain Jean-Luc Picard frequently uses the title "Number One" to refer to his first officer, William T. Riker.
[edit] Number One in Star Trek: Early Voyages
Although all Star Trek comic books aren't considered canon, the series 'Early Voyages' fleshed out the characters and story from 'The Cage', including Number One.
In the series, she is depicted much as she is in 'The Cage', and often finds herself taking command in the captain's absence. As stated above, her name in the series is given as Eunice Robbins.
Close to the end of the series, she was offered a promotion to the rank of captain and a ship of her own. She turned it down, opting to stay aboard the Enterprise, much as her successor, Riker, did in Star Trek: the Next Generation.
Soon afterwards, Robert April, the former captain of the Enterprise, came aboard to supervise for a certain mission. During the mission, April gave reckless orders which led to Number One nearly (and possibly) being killed, and Pike and Kaaj unaccounted for. The story was never resolved.
[edit] Morgan Primus (Star Trek: New Frontier)
Much like the comic books, all original novels based on Star Trek are not considered canon. Peter David's original book series, Star Trek: New Frontier, includes a character (mentioned above) who is strongly hinted to be Number One. Her name is Morgan Primus, and she is the mother of Robin Lefler, a regular character in the series. New Frontier greatly fleshes out the character, assuming that she is, in fact, Number One.
Morgan Primus (Also known as Morgan Lefler) is an immortal. She frequently changed her name throughout her life, taking new identities each time so that no one would realize her immortality.
She left her husband and daughter, Robin, and faked her death. She then changed her last name to Primus. Years later, the Excalibur finds her in a prison on a planet in sector 221-G (The setting for the series).
Upon hearing of the impending arrival of a Starfleet ship, she expresses hope that it isn't the Enterprise, which she apparently has experience with. The Excalibur picks her up and she begins living with her daughter again aboard the ship.
Since then, she became a bridge officer on the Excalibur. However, during a battle, she was (seemingly) killed, despite her immortality. She survived, however, as her consciousness was transferred into the ship's computer. She chose not to return to a human body, instead replacing the computer.
References are made to the fact that she sounds just like the normal computer voice, even before entering the computer. This is because the voice of the ship's computer, in all live-action Star Trek shows, provided by Majel Barrett, the same actress who portrayed Number One. (David's earlier novel The Rift claims that the computer voice was derived from Number One's voice).
Similarly, in the novel Stone and Anvil (in which she gains a holographic form based on her previous appearance), Jean-Luc Picard is somewhat taken aback by her, saying she reminds him of a woman he knows (presumably Lwaxana Troi, also played by Barrett).
[edit] External links
- Number One article at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek wiki.
