Number One

Appearances

The character debuted in the 1966 episode "The Menagerie," which incorporated footage from the earlier pilot "The Cage" (not broadcast until 1988). Number One was absent from live-action Star Trek until 2019, when she became a recurring character in the second season of Star Trek: Discovery. Her official biography notes she is secretly attracted to Pike. She appears in three Discovery episodes, beginning with "An Obol for Charon," where she visits Pike on the USS Discovery, briefs him on Enterprise repairs, and provides information on Lieutenant Spock.

She is described as resourceful, with a tendency for people to owe her favors, and enjoys spicy food, ordering a cheeseburger with habanero sauce. The second-season finale reveals her first name as Una; the Strange New Worlds episode "Ghosts of Illyria" gives her full name and reveals her Illyrian heritage. She also appears in two Star Trek: Short Treks installments.

Controversy

During development of the first Star Trek pilot, Gene Roddenberry wrote the part of Number One specifically for Majel Barrett. NBC executives were reluctant to agree to an almost unknown actress; Roddenberry auditioned others but considered no one else. According to Roddenberry and Stephen Whitfield, the prominence of a woman among the starship crew was one reason NBC rejected the pilot, which they called "too cerebral" and felt the alien Spock and a female senior officer would be rejected by audiences.

Roddenberry related that women of the era also had difficulty accepting her. Executive producer Herb Solow tried to sell NBC on a fresh face bringing believability, but executives knew Barrett was Roddenberry's girlfriend; they agreed to her casting to avoid upsetting him. After the pilot was rejected, a second pilot was produced. Solow later offered a different opinion: "no one liked her acting... she was a nice woman, but the reality was, she couldn't act."

In his book, Solow suggests the network had no problem with the character but was infuriated by the casting of an unknown due to Roddenberry's affair. Roddenberry compromised by eliminating Number One, but aspects of her cool demeanor and logical nature were merged into Spock.

Influence

On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Commander William Riker is informally called "Number One" by Captain Picard due to his position as first officer; Picard states in the episode "Disaster" that he always addresses his first officers as "Number One." On Star Trek: Discovery, Commander Michael Burnham is referred to as "Number One" by Captain Georgiou. Series creator Bryan Fuller originally intended to only call the character Number One in honor of Majel Barrett's character, but the name Burnham was revealed in the first episode.

In Star Trek: Picard, retired Admiral Picard owns a Cane Corso dog named "Number One." The name "Una" first appeared in the non-canonical 2016 novel trilogy Star Trek: Legacies, given by authors Greg Cox, David Mack, Dayton Ward, and Kevin Dilmore because she had a central role; it has been suggested this was done in honor of fellow Star Trek author Una McCormack. The name became canon with its use in Star Trek: Discovery's second season finale.

Reception

Barrett's role as Number One led to her casting as Nurse Chapel in the original series. Footage from "The Cage" was incorporated into the 1966 episode "The Menagerie." In 2017, Space.com ranked "The Menagerie" the third best episode of all Star Trek television. "The Cage" was supplied to NBC in 1965 but not released on VHS until 1986 and not broadcast until 1988; thus "The Menagerie" was the first public broadcast of the character.

In 2016, Wired ranked Number One the 57th most important Starfleet character out of 100. In 2017, CBR ranked her the ninth "fiercest" female character of the Star Trek universe. Rebecca Romijn was cast as Number One for Discovery season 2 in 2018, saying she was "honored to play such an iconic character." Her performance received positive reception, and producers planned to bring her back for two Short Treks episodes and as a main character on Strange New Worlds.