Majel Roddenberry Dies At 76 356
unassimilatible writes "If there was ever a sad day for nerds, it's today, as Majel Barrett-Rodenberry has passed away. The widow of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry is best remembered as the gorgeous Nurse Christine Chapel from the original series, the pesky and officious Lwaxana Troi from The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, and of course the ubiquitous voice of Star Trek computers in movies, TV, and animated films (who hasn't used her voice as a system sound on their PC?). Majel also attended Star Trek conventions yearly and was a producer of Andromeda. Fortunately, Majel just finished her voice over work for the computers in J.J. Abrams' latest Trek movie. I have to admit, this made me sad, just having caught up on the entire TNG and DS9 series on DVD."
Who will replace her? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Nobody can, and that's a very bad thing
Because the only modern Star Trek set before voice-interactive computers is Enterprise - so we're destined to have 15 Enterprise movies now (to make up for the DS9 & Voyager movies that we haven't had yet, and now can't have). Crap.
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:4, Insightful)
so we're destined to have 15 Enterprise movies now (to make up for the DS9 & Voyager movies that we haven't had yet, and now can't have). Crap.
Whether it's "Crap" or not depends on if they ignore the first three seasons. If they do, movies based on Enterprise could be good.
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:5, Insightful)
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The first season was fresh, new, and wasn't the same star trek formula rehashed a million fucking times, like DS9 and Voyager (seriously, are there people who liked those shows?)
I certainly liked DS9 a hell of a lot more than Enterprise, that's for sure. It actually had good, interesting characters. It took a few years for the plots to start to come into their own though.
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:4, Insightful)
Originally, the Borg were a ruthless, conscience-free enemy that could not be reasoned with -- diabolical. In Voyager, not so much.
Are Hugh sure? ;)
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Re:Who will replace her? (Score:5, Interesting)
Sound Forge [sonycreativesoftware.com] and a dialogue editor [wikipedia.org]. There is enough of her computer dialog from all the trek episodes and movies that an editor could splice together a variety of sentences without much effort.
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:5, Interesting)
I wouldn't be surprised if she was under a non-compete preventing exactly that.
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Given she sorta owned the whole Star Trek franchise, that'd be amusing...
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New to the US?
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That said, copyrights should last maybe 7 years or so.
Why? Because supposedly technology, communication, marketing and distribution has improved, and also the pace of "progress"
If that is the case, then protection terms for patents and copyrights should be getting shorter and shorter, in line with the pace of progress, distribution etc.
They most certainly shouldn't be getting longe
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Personally, I think that a reasonable fixed term would be a better choice to limit copyrights, rather than ending them with someone's death, which gives other people an interest in promoting that death.
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:4, Interesting)
I would love to have a Star Trek -licensed GPS unit. LCARS for your car...
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I would love to give Majel Roddenberry in my car. The woman was wonderfully hot, even when I saw her as a child, in a mature and seasoned sort of way. Watching her appearances in every Star Trek, and in Babylon Five, was a treat.
She was wasted on Spock.....
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I can go you one better - I once held her in my arms...
I was working as a PA for a movie called Mommy [imdb.com]. Majel played the role of Mrs. Withers, a schoolteacher who gets killed by the movie's lead villainess.
In her final scene, Mrs. Withers is hanging up decorations after hours in her classroom when she is confronted by the murderous lead character. After a brief argument with her would-be killer, Majel's character climbs back up a stepladder to resume h
Re:Who will replace her? (Score:4, Interesting)
Actually Louise Fletcher's voice (Kai Winn from DS9) is close enough that I actually thought she did the computer voice in Voyager. Unfortunately she's up there at 74 years old, but she's still active. She was nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cookoo's nest (1975).
Just don't let George Lucas have any say on who does the voice, or we'll get some squeaky Jar Jar Binks nonesense to sell Star Trek touchscreen computer monitors to kids with matching appearance themes for Vista...
Number One! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Number One! (Score:5, Informative)
And in Babylon 5!
Re:Number One! (Score:5, Interesting)
I loved the kind of stealth eulogy for Gene she gave in her appearance there.
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Explain please. Do you mean her statements about greatness?
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The one where her character was talking about Turhan? Yeah.
JMS put the words there, no stealth was needed (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.ntua.gr/lurk/countries/co/guide/053.html [www.ntua.gr]
About halfway down the page is some discussion of the quote and Majel's appearance on B5.
# Was Morella's speech about greatness intended as a tribute to Gene Roddenberry?
There's probably a fair amount there that could apply to Gene, yes...
# If a word comes out of a character's mouth, it's usually mine. The bit about greatness was one of them; had a number of different subtexts going on behind it.
If anything I would say that while there might have been some rivalry among the crews the people who create are more likely to be friendly than anything else. It is a small world when it comes to finding truly creative people.
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You know, that was written in 1996, and yet JMS was almost a visionary for the things that were to come. And had a such deep understand of politics that is incredible. I quote from that page and emphasis are mine.
As for the USA-western perspective...during WW II we saw Japanese civilians interned in camps along the West Coast...afterward we saw people prosecuted for being Reds, saw careers and lives destroyed by even the hint of "commie" influence. If you look at newsreels and documentary footage from the time, you see a populace, fresh out of a war, who survived by focusing on the Enemy, given a new enemy. Might they have gone along with some kind fo martial law if they thought that if they *didn't* cooperate, the nation might be vulnerable to Russian nukes or invasion? I think the climate was perfect for it.
Could it happen right here, right now? No, because the surrounding climate isn't right. Could it happen if the conditions *were* right? Of course it could. We're not genetically or evolutionarily different from the Germans or the Russians or the Cubans or the Iraquis. If we think we'd never fall for that, we place ourselves in *exactly* the position of guaranteeing that we *will* fall for it. Because we won't recognize it when it happens. We can justify and rationalize it as something else.
Here's the number one rule: a population will always stay passive for as long as they perceive that they stand to lose more by opposing the government than by staying quiet. It's when they have little or nothing left to lose that they rise up; the politicos first, then, more reluctantly, the general population.
Re:Number One! (Score:5, Funny)
Little known fact... Had the original Star Trek pilot cast gone to series and into a second season, she like Jonathan Frakes would've grown a beard.
Re:Number One! (Score:5, Insightful)
Later, in an unexpected departure for her, it was revealed that she lost a child [wikipedia.org] and almost died of her own guilt and sorrow.
Later in DS9 she was seen as the MILFy chick who always tried to seduce the lovable, virginal social retard in all of us: Odo.
Re:Number One! (Score:5, Insightful)
Guys, we all need to stop eating and switch to IV-delivered glucose. Poop is gross, and your digestive tract is mostly unnecessary with modern technology.
I'm not against a hair styling -- be it head, face, or otherwise -- but to suggest that a standard bit of anatomy is "gross" and must be entirely removed is absurd.
Re:Number One! (Score:5, Funny)
Now would that be "News for Nerds" or "Stuff that matters"??
I know, I know, the orginal Number One (Score:2, Insightful)
We'll miss you, Majel. - Submitter.
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I've got to say, that's a role she's not really remembered for [but that again, that episode was really off the wall continuity wise].
In any case, she'll be missed.
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A fitting epitaph (Score:5, Insightful)
Computer...
End program.
Re:A fitting epitaph (Score:5, Funny)
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Without Majel Barrett, there can never be another Star Trek movie or show. It is forbidden.
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Without Majel Barrett, there can never be another Star Trek movie or show. It is forbidden.
The Star Trek exhibit at the Queen Mary had a shuttle ride thing, sorta like a watered-down Star Tours. If I recall, it used the voice from the Cardassian computers in DS9. It ground my teeth from a continuity point of view, but the chick doing that voice doesn't do a bad job in a more general sense.
details (Score:5, Funny)
Were there any further details? Truly a Klingon icon.
Roddenberry (Score:3, Funny)
Isn't that one of the syrup flavors at IHOP?
Sheldon
Re:Roddenberry (Score:5, Interesting)
Isn't that one of the syrup flavors at IHOP?
Sheldon
Actually, the Roddenberry from an episode of Futurama that they were looking for when they were starving after leaving the planet of moochers. It was intended as reference to Gene Roddenberry (if I have to tell you who he is, please remove your SlashDot account!)
Also, the title, "The Problem with Popplers" was in reference to "The Trouble with Tribbles", a Star Trek episode.
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http://www.quantumg.net/you-cant-own-property-man.ogg [quantumg.net]
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Re:Roddenberry (Score:4, Insightful)
We shall honor the dead how we wish.
Perhaps you need to lighten the fuck up.
Lame and rude? Like she cares now.
Do you seriously think she wouldn't laugh at these jokes, if she were here?
If that is the case, then I am glad she is gone. Those that can't laugh at themselves are the poorest souls, and life in it's wonder is lost on them; death is better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ&feature=channel [youtube.com]
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We really didn't know her, just the character she played to entertain us, so realisticly, it would be rather inappropriate to react to this news without some form of entertainment value.
Maybe it's just me.
"the pesky and officious Lwaxana Troi" (Score:2, Insightful)
"Death is that state... (Score:5, Insightful)
in which one exists only in the memory of others." - Natasha Yar
Thankfully we have DVDs.
God speed Majel. Say hi to Gene for us.
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A fitting quote at a sad time. The Star Trek and other universes will never be the same without her.
However, I doubt we've seen the end of Star Trek the movies. Hopefully they've plenty of audio footage of her doing the computer so we don't have to suffer a poor imitation.
Thank you! (Score:2)
Majel,
Thank you for all of your contributions to Star Trek and Sci Fi in general. No computer ever sounded better. You will be missed.
-k
Little known fact (Score:3, Interesting)
The couple married in Japan in 1969 after "Star Trek" was canceled.
The wedding party was naked.
May I be the first to say... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:May I be the first to say... (Score:5, Funny)
No, it's "She's dead, get off her Jim!"
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Spleeeeen!!!!
Iconic... (Score:4, Insightful)
My wife and I were just discussing her the other evening; while watching WALL-E. Feeling sad that pixar didn't cast her as the voice of the ship's computer. Instead we got a vague homage to Alien in Sigourney Weaver.
What I am now coming to realize by digesting this sad news; is that playing the voice of such a seemingly mundane role -of a starship's computer, Has become an icon of the Sci-Fi genre. While certainly not the first to play such a role. She certainly changed the entire paradigm of how the role was portrayed.
Her efforts to continue her husbands work and support of the genre will be sorely missed.
Re:Iconic... (Score:5, Funny)
Hmm. And Sigourney Weaver played the part of Gwen DeMarco in Galaxy Quest [imdb.com] - a person who's job it was to repeat what the computer was saying.
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Vale, Majel (Score:2)
Here's to Ms.Lwaxana Troi (Score:4, Insightful)
Thank you for your humor, your kindness and quirky insights into life.
We will miss you. (Score:2)
Second star to the right and straight on till morning!
Sorry to hear it (Score:2)
Though.. (Score:4, Interesting)
Seraphim
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Dude, did you miss the message? They've retconned that.
Why not? They named the first space shuttle Enterprise.
Yeah, but that was because of a number of historical ships carrying that name - which means that the starship enterprise will have been named after the space shuttle.
Anything else is non-canon.
Things like this... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Things like this... (Score:5, Funny)
Godspeed, Majel.
Is that warp-eight, or -nine?
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It's warp-eleven.
laughter - the best medicine (Score:2)
She's dead, Jim.
(Yes, you are supposed to laugh, making sad people sadder at a funeral is wrong, you should be making them smile.)
[Tweedlesquirge] (Score:2)
... silence
Pics (Score:4, Informative)
Wiki links (with pics):
Christine Chapel [wikipedia.org] from the original series, and Lwaxana Troi [wikipedia.org] from The Next Generation.
RESPECT! (Score:2)
Can anyone think of another actress who's done this much for science fiction?
We're not talking a role here - we're talking Lifetime Achievement.
Majel Barrett isn't just an icon - she's AWESOME. I personally can't think of another acting talent whose passing has diminished the genre to such a degree.
No matter how you choose to spin it, this woman has done a LOT for science fiction, and her passing deserves to be marked.
* Dan sheds a tear for the Voice Of Star Trek, Now Silenced.
Re:Other roles... (Score:5, Informative)
.the one watching as the damaged Enterprise pulls into Stardock in Star Trek III...
Nope, that was Grace Lee Whitney, Yeoman Janice Rand in the original series, and a CPO in ST IV. Apparently her brief appearance in ST III was not officially as Rand (probably for contractual reasons, I'm guessing) but her reaction makes more sense if she'd served on the Enterprise.
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I know Mrs. Roddenberry was in ST4. At Star Fleet HQ ordering emergency power be redirected to medical when the Probe started screwing up the power grids on Earth.
And lets not forget her appearance in Babylon 5, as the third wife of the late Centari Emperor.
No matter who it was in ST3, I'm with you on her being missed.
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Are you sure? I remember that being Grace Lee Whitney, Yeoman Rand from the original series.
There, fixed that for you.
...
I need to apologize for that. I feel dirty.
Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:5, Interesting)
Out of respect for the dearly departed, please... DO MAKE ALL THE JOKES YOU CAN THINK OF. Only a self important sourpuss would want people crying over their passing.
I'm going to do what Scotty would have done: Drink a bottle of something good and bask in the fond memories.
Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:5, Insightful)
No shit.
The best way to memorialize someone isn't to cry boo-hoo over the fact that they died... but to celebrate what they gave us in their life. I'm sure there are an absolute ton of wonderful stories about her, and if you feel the need to make a joke related to her career... you validate her career and life by doing so.
"She's dead, Jim." But at the same time the memories of her live on, and all she contributed to our lives will not be soon forgotten.
Raise a glass and make a toast: to Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who Boldly Went Where No Woman Had Gone Before starting at the very beginning.
Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:5, Interesting)
Having (briefly) met her once, I think she'd appreciate the cascade of awful, awful Trek jokes that would spring up at the news of something like this.
Or the Scotty route, which ideally done results in a thundering hangover and the inability to find at least half your clothes.
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Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:4, Insightful)
I agree with the reasoning, but I still can't manage it. The news does fill me with sadness and makes me feel quite old, too. Shatner/Kirk is relatively well preserved--and sometimes he looks ancient.
I regard TOS as a great epoch and a total fluke that it was associated with NBC. The production of TOS was practically a war with their ostensible sponsors, and now they great people of those days are leaving us. Meanwhile, NBC staggers on with such brilliant strategies as dumping prime time on Jay Leno. Hey, if you can't win, you might as well get out of the game, eh?
Anyway, I want to be optimistic about the future. I actually think part of the optimism of TOS was related to the idealism that ran amok during the Kennedy period. Now I wonder if Obama can create such an atmosphere on the wreckage that Dubya is leaving behind? The wild oscillations of America's political system seem to be completely out of control these days...
Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:5, Insightful)
It's OK if you can't manage it. I remember when Dad passed, some folks had funny stories about Dad (including a time he was arrested that I didn't know about!! - and I was in my 30s when it happened - charges dismissed). I was unable to make the jokes Dad would have appreciated, but I myself appreciated hearing them
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Please designate me as your foe so I won't notice any of your feebleminded and hopeless crap in the future. I should at least point out some of your internal contradictions where you are by definition lying on on at least one side--but you aren't worth it.
Why? I've decided I've suffered far too many fools, if not gladly, then at least without saying much about it.
Way to go out of your way to prove you are 'right'. I especially like where you call his crap feebleminded. You know, that's how the church was convinced the world wasn't flat anymore. They didn't show any sort of scientific data, they just called the pope feebleminded.
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Drink to her memory, drink to the life she lived, and have another for all the times she made me laugh, smile, or just glade to hear her voice.
We'll all miss her, but we'll also remember her.
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>I'm with you and Scotty.
>Drink to her memory, drink to the life she lived, and have another for all the times she made me laugh, smile, or just glade to hear her voice.
>We'll all miss her, but we'll also remember her.
I shall look for something appropriately Grrrrreen.
(If you don't get that, you haven't paid attention to Star Trek)
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I'm with you and Scotty. Drink to her memory, drink to the life she lived, and have another for all the times she made me laugh, smile, or just glade to hear her voice. We'll all miss her, but we'll also remember her.
It's difficult to stomach, but go grab a bottle of whiskey and some green food coloring. Make yourself a nice bottle of Aldebren Whiskey ala "Relics" (TNG 230). Then fire up "Cost of Living" (TNG 220).
Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:2)
Won't matter. Betazoids know what you're thinking either way.
Re:c'mon ppl,this is really sad,please hold the jo (Score:2)
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I don't think that people should necessarily hold off on the jokes - just imagine that Magel and her family were reading your post, and you should be good to go. In other words, don't write anything
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Why? do you not knowwho she really was?
she was someone who loved laughter and jokes. to suppress laughter would be an outright insult to her.
What is it with people obsessing over being solemn over death. Many cultures use a persons passing to celebrate that persons life.
Only wierd people want to be quiet and sad over a persons passing.
Celebrate her life, celebrate what she gave to the world. and if you have a tasteful joke TELL IT! And drink a toast with friends over her life.
Dont have a quiet moment
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Why is it so sad? People die every day, most of which I've never heard of. Do you feel sad for every one of them?
No, he's showing respect for people that have touched his life.
Why do I feel like you're Data and I'm Riker? Dammit.
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A Kirk/Spock comparision would have been more appropiate
Actually, a Spock/Bones comparison would have been better.
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Anyone up for a good car analogy?
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Anyone up for a good car analogy?
It's like Michael Knight explaining respect for peoples' passing to KITT.
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A Kirk/Spock comparision would have been more appropiate
Actually, a Spock/Bones comparison would have been better.
Bones? AAAAAGH. *sob*
While you're at it, why don't you give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it.
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Boy, you'd never make it in EMS...
The jokes are not for the departed, they are for those of us who still remain and have to live on with the memories. If it is disrespectful to take care of one's self, then so be it. They are dead, they won't care. Trust me.
I remember the strangest situation where a guy died in the middle of a huge folk concert with all his family around. We couldn't wait there for hours until the coroner arrived, so instead we transported him back to the station and had him sitting on the bay floor, covered with a tarp. Only his boots were sticking out.
We were doing shift-change, and my partner made a crack about needing a new pair of boots and how the guy wouldn't miss 'em. I laughed so hard my sides hurt for days. It certainly wouldn
Re:computer voice similarity explained (Score:5, Informative)
The Rift by Peter David
http://startrek.wikia.com/wiki/The_Rift [wikia.com]
I'm a nerd.
That's on pages 80-81, btw. (Score:5, Informative)
http://books.google.com/books?id=bBO7Uqv8LB4C&pg=PA81&vq=voice&dq=peter+david+the+rift&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 [google.com]
You know, those first 100 books or so didn't totally suck.
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Re:computer voice similarity explained (Score:4, Funny)
Psssht. I beat myself all the time.
To pics of Nurse Chappel. *sob*
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Over the weekend I'm going to dig out Trekkies and Trekkies 2 to watch to get myself 'immersed' back into the world of Trek.
God I love sci-fi.
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No, that was Susan Oliver. The scene was from "The Cage" (the original pilot episode, which became the two-part "The Menagerie").
-Mike