Star Trek’s Number One Changes Break Roddenberry’s Original Rule (& Why It’s Necessary)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is breaking Gene Roddenberry’s original rules for Number One (Rebecca Romijn), but it’s also necessary to evolve the character as the co-lead of Paramount+’s new Star Trek series. The hotly anticipated Strange New Worlds is a prequel set several years before Star Trek: The Original Series centering on the USS Enterprise commanded by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and including a young Mr. Spock (Ethan Peck).

Number One was created by Gene Roddenberry as a key part of “The Cage,” the original Star Trek pilot. Roddenberry wrote the role for his future wife, Majel Barrett, who recalled Number One was “the first thing [Gene] wrote” for Star Trek. As a female First Officer of a starship, Number One was a revolutionary character for a TV series in the 1960s. The new book Star Trek: A Celebration contains Roddenberry’s notes from Star Trek Is…, his original breakdown for the series from March 1964. In it, Roddenberry describes Number One as “an extraordinarily efficient officer who enjoys playing it expressionless, cool.”  Gene wrote Number One was “almost mysteriously female” and “never referred to as anything but Number One.” Unfortunately, NBC wanted both Number One and Spock cut when they asked Roddenberry to produce a second Star Trek pilot. Wanting to keep the alien Spock on the bridge, Roddenberry was forced to drop Number One from Star Trek going forward.

While Star Trek: Strange New Worlds has yet to premiere, the reinvented Number One played by Rebecca Romijn has already made significant changes to Roddenberry’s original vision in her appearances on Star Trek: Discovery. Short Treks also revealed that Number One’s real name is Una, which was expanded to Una Chin-Riley in Star Trek Day’s cast announcement for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. While Number One remains a Lieutenant Commander and First Officer of the Starship Enterprise, the same ranks Majel Barrett-Roddenberry’s Number One held in Star Trek’s original pilot, Romijn’s Una has already shown considerably more personality. Number One showed a preference for spicy food in Star Trek: Discovery season 2 and, in Short Treks, she revealed to Spock that she loves singing Gilbert and Sullivan operas. This is a far cry from the emotionless and nameless First Officer that Roddenberry originally envisioned.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ changes to Number One seem to break Gene Roddenberry’s original edicts but they are also necessary to evolve the character. Had Number One remained part of Star Trek, Roddenberry might have found his vision for Number One to be limiting, and he might have had to evolve her as well, just as Spock was gradually changed by his friendships with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForrest Kelley). When Number One was originally cut from Star Trek, Roddenberry gave her traits as a cool, logical, and emotionless First Officer to Spock. This left Number One as a blank slate for over 50 years, although she remained in canon. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is likely going to further develop Number One to make Una Chin-Riley a well-rounded lead character for the show.

Fascinatingly, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry created her own apocryphal backstory for Number One. Majel imagined Number One to be a clone who “was from a different planet where they actually numbered people… and [she] was given a position according to [her] excellence, and she actually turned into Number One and therefore went on a starship.” Majel was obviously invested in her character and she was understandably disappointed when Number One was dropped from Star Trek, although Majel Barrett-Roddenberry went on to portray Nurse Christine Chapel in TOS.

It remains to be seen if Star Trek: Strange New Worlds will adapt any of Majel’s imagined history of Number One or if the show will go in a different direction. Hopefully, Gene and Majel Barrett-Roddenberry would have been proud that Rebecca Romijn’s Una Chin-Riley is finally breathing new life into the original character and taking Number One beyond Gene Roddenberry’s initial premise.

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