Star Trek: 5 Reasons Now Is The Perfect Time To Rewatch The Cage
4. A Woman On The Bridge
Majel Barrett is considered the First Lady of Star Trek. The character of Number One, later retconned to be named Una, was specifically written with her in mind. She would go on to appear in the main series as Nurse Christine Chapel and would voice the computer in many of the incarnations to follow.
Barrett had met Roddenberry in 1961 and was cast in an episode of his marine corps drama The Lieutenant in 1963, in an episode which also featured Leonard Nimoy. When the Cage was filmed, she was the no-nonsense first officer to Hunter's Pike, appearing again with Nimoy.
NBC rejected this pilot and requested a do-over, but with certain stipulations. They asked that both Spock and Number One be dropped from any new script. Specifically, they said that audiences wouldn't accept the idea of a woman being second in command on a ship.
Barrett later joked that Roddenberry 'kept the Vulcan and married the woman, cause he didn't think Leonard Nimoy would have it the other way around.'
Barrett would remain with the franchise until her death in 2008, appearing in the Original Series, the Animated Series, the movies, the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise and the 2009 J.J. Abrams film. With more than 200 appearances throughout the franchise, and her character being reincarnated by Rebecca Romijn in Discovery and Strange New Worlds, Barrett's legacy is set in stone for all time.