Christine Chapel

Concept and development

Gene Roddenberry had been developing television pilots for Screen Gems and auditioned Majel Leigh Hudec, later known as Majel Barrett. He cast her in an episode of The Lieutenant, and they entered a romantic relationship while Roddenberry was still married. For the first Star Trek pilot, "The Cage," Roddenberry wrote the part of Number One specifically for Barrett. NBC executives were reluctant to cast an almost unknown actress, but executive producer Herbert Franklin Solow argued that a fresh face would add believability.

The executives, aware of Barrett's relationship with Roddenberry, agreed to her casting to avoid upsetting him. After the pilot was rejected, a second pilot was produced. Solow later stated that the network's objection was not to a female second-in-command but that "no one liked her acting." "Where No Man Has Gone Before" secured a series order, and Barrett was given the role of voicing the Enterprise computer but demanded to be written into the main cast.

After seeing the proposal for "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," Barrett believed she could play the woman searching for her fiancé. She dyed her hair blonde to fit the role and surprised Roddenberry at his office; he initially did not recognize her. They hoped this change would get her past NBC executives. The character was originally named Christine Ducheaux, but Roddenberry changed it to Christine Chapel as a play on the Sistine Chapel. No other actresses were considered for the role.

Appearances

In "What Are Little Girls Made Of?," Chapel had abandoned a career in bioresearch to join Starfleet, hoping to reunite with her fiancé Dr. Roger Korby, who had been incommunicado after an expedition to Exo III. Five years after his disappearance, she was assigned to the USS Enterprise as head nurse under Dr. McCoy. On board, she developed feelings for Spock, admitting this in "The Naked Time," where her actions inadvertently spread a Psi 2000 intoxication among the crew.

When the Enterprise reached Exo III, Captain Kirk and Chapel beamed down and discovered Korby had been using android manufacturing technology. Chapel was horrified to learn Korby had transplanted his personality into an android replica, and he killed himself in despair. After Korby's death, Chapel doubted whether to stay but remained with the Enterprise for the five-year mission. Her feelings for Spock were revisited in "Plato's Stepchildren," where Platonians telekinetically forced them to kiss, humiliating Chapel.

In "Amok Time," she brought Spock soup during his Pon farr; he angrily refused it but later thanked her. In Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Chapel had become a doctor on the Enterprise. In Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, she was stationed at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco. In the 2009 film Star Trek, McCoy mentioned a Nurse Chapel, and in Star Trek Into Darkness, Carol Marcus told Kirk that Chapel had left to become a nurse. Since 2022, Chapel has appeared in all but one episode of the first two seasons of Strange New Worlds.

Reception

Executive producer Robert H. Justman disliked Chapel, calling her a "wimpy, badly written, and ill-conceived character." He felt that close-ups of her quivering lip emphasized the lack of character written into the role. Justman had complained to Roddenberry about Barrett's acting but stopped when he learned of their relationship. After seeing Barrett's later performance as Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Justman realized it was the Chapel character he disliked, not Barrett herself, and told her so.

Barrett also disliked Chapel, saying she was "kind of weak and namby-pamby." Writer David Gerrold described Chapel as a second-tier character alongside Uhura, Scotty, and Sulu, who received less exposure than Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. He noted that Chapel was the only second-level character whose motivations were explored, but her primary purpose was to be in love with Spock, demonstrating his aloofness. Gerrold suggested that female fans saw Chapel as a threat to their fantasies and male fans as a threat to Spock's stoicism, but fans found Barrett likable in person at conventions. By the time of the 2009 film, Chapel had become more popular among fans, who asked if she would appear in new films.