Star Trek is no stranger to having the same actor play multiple roles. Indie film PR executive Mickey Cottrell played two roles. Tony Todd, who also played the titular character in The Candyman franchise, appeared in three roles. Tim Russ, best known for portraying Vulcan Lieutenant Commander Tuvok in Voyager, played four more additional roles in the franchise.
However, discussions of these roles have the tendency to overlook voiceover work. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, The First Lady of Star Trek herself, lent her voice to the Ship Computer across various Star Trek television shows and films. Debra Wilson gave a memorable guest appearance voicing Captain Lisa Cusak, who was unseen and stranded on an inhospitable planet, in Deep Space Nine Season 6, Episode 25, "The Sound of Her Voice." As for Barbara Babcock, over the course of her Star Trek career, she voiced no less than five different characters.
Barbara Babcock is a film and television actress who had a long career, spanning from 1956 to her retirement in 2004. She received an Emmy in 1981 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Grace Gardner in Hill Street Blues. She also played Dorothy Jennings, editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette, for 100 episodes in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, for which she was nominated for another Emmy. However, Star Trek fans might recognize her for her work in The Original Series. She had two onscreen roles: as Mea 3 in Season 1, Episode 23, "A Taste of Armageddon" and Philana in Season 3, Episode 12, "Plato's Stepchildren." However, her voiceover work deserves some attention as well for helping bring life to the show.
Non-Corporeal Aliens
Babcock had two roles in which she played non-corporeal aliens. The first was in Season 1, Episode 18, "The Squire of Gothos," where she, along with Bartell LaRue, voiced the parents of the childish Trelane. They were presented as pulsating green lights in the sky, who admonished Trelane for his actions in the episode, telling him that if he wasn't going to take care of his "pets," then he couldn't have them. Audiences don't learn much about them, except that they can create or destroy planets and have not had previous encounters with humans.
Babcock's second non-corporeal alien role is in Season 3, Episode 18, "The Lights of Zetar." In that episode, the Enterprise comes across what at first appears to be a cloud with blinking lights. Lt. Mira Romaine is affected, and eventually her brain waves are modified to be the same as the Zetarian tracking patterns. When the Zetarians take over her body, Babcock voices the Zetarians. They reveal that after a cataclysmic event, they became non-corporeal, and have been searching for a vessel to live out the rest of their lives. They found Romaine to be a compatible choice, but thankfully, Scotty and McCoy were able to excise them from her using the Enterprise's pressure chamber.
A Shapeshifting Cat and a Tholian Commander
In Season 2, Episode 26 "Assignment: Earth," the Enterprise intercepts the mysterious Gary Seven and his feline companion, Isis. Isis is eventually revealed to be an alien shapeshifter, whose humanoid appearance is played by April Tatro. Babcock, on the other hand, provides Isis's cat voice, making animal sounds. Isis could communicate with Gary telepathically, allowing for communication between them even in her cat form.
Babcock would go on to play another alien in Season 3, Episode 9, "The Tholian Web." In that episode, Captain Kirk disappears when the USS Defiant gets pulled into interspace. At the time, the Enterprise happens to be Tholian Assembly space. Commander Loskene, played by Babcock, orders the ship to leave Tholian territory. When the crew explains their situation, Loskene agrees to give them a little under two hours to find him. When that time is up, the Tholians attack, and began to form the titular web around the Enterprise. Thankfully, the crew escapes before the web is completed, and manage to save Kirk as well. Loskene was Babcock's most villainous role, and this memorable appearance inspired other writers to include the character in novels and in the comic series Star Trek: Ongoing.
The Voice of a Computer
Isis's cat form wasn't Babcock's only role in "Assignment: Earth." She also played the voice of the Beta 5 computer, used by Gary Seven and kept hidden behind a bookcase in his apartment. The computer was designed by an unknown alien civilization and was capable of analysis as well as artificial intelligence. Without it, Gary Seven's mission could not have been completed. Gary referred to the Beta 5 computer as having a "snobbish" personality, a trait that can be seen in other smart-aleck computers such as Karen, Plankton's computer wife in Spongebob SquarePants.
Barbara Babcock had an extensive and long career filled with not just awards for her achievements, but the love and recognition of viewers. Few fans are as loyal as Star Trek fans, who not only treasure on-camera work, but understand the importance of voicework to making the Star Trek universe much more lived in. Babcock is bound to be remembered for years to come as a computer, several non-corporeal beings, a memorable villain, and the personality she gave to a cat.
- Release Date
- 1966 - 1969-00-00
- Network
- NBC
- Showrunner
- Gene Roddenberry
Cast
-
William ShatnerJames T. Kirk -
Leonard NimoySpock -
DeForest KelleyDr. McCoy -
James DoohanScott
- Seasons
- 3
- Created by
- Gene Roddenberry
- First Film
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Latest Film
- Star Trek Beyond
- First TV Show
- Star Trek: The Original Series
- Latest TV Show
- Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
- Creation Year
- 1966
Star Trek is a space exploration franchise originally created by Gene Roddenberry. The series has spanned shows like The Original Series, The Next Generation, and Voyager. More recently, developer Scopely came out with Star Trek Fleet Command, a mobile title where you get to be captain of your own ship.
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info