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Star Trekis no stranger to having the same actor play multiple roles. Indie film PR executiveMickey Cottrell played two roles. Tony Todd, who also played the titular character inTheCandymanfranchise, appeared in three roles. Tim Russ, best known for portraying Vulcan Lieutenant Commander Tuvok inVoyager,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 ofStar Trekherself,lent her voice to the Ship Computeracross variousStar Trektelevision shows and films. Debra Wilson gave a memorable guest appearance voicing Captain Lisa Cusak, who was unseen and stranded on an inhospitable planet, inDeep Space NineSeason 6, Episode 25, “The Sound of Her Voice.” As forBarbara 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 inHill Street Blues. She also played Dorothy Jennings, editor of the Colorado Springs Gazette, for 100 episodes inDr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,for which she was nominated for another Emmy. However,Star Trekfans might recognize her for her work inThe Original Series.She had two onscreen roles: as Mea 3 in Season 1, Episode 23, “A Taste of Armageddon” and Philana inSeason 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 theparents ofthe 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 fora 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 inSeason 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 seriesStar 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 theBeta 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 asKaren, Plankton’s computer wifeinSpongebob 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 asStar Trekfans, who not only treasure on-camera work, but understand the importance of voicework to making theStar Trekuniverse 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.
Star Trek
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.
