Christine Chapel Commander Christine Chapel was a female Human Starfleet officer in the 23rd century . She served in the Medical Department , a subsection of the sciences division , aboard the from 2266 to 2270 as a nurse and in the mid - 2270s as a doctor under the command of Captain James T . Kirk . In 2286 , she was assigned to Starfleet Command . Her Starfleet serial number was NI - 596 MT21Z . ( ; ; ; ) Early history . While training to be a scientist , Chapel was a student in Dr . Roger Korby ' s class . They fell in love and became engaged . Following her fiancé ' s disappearance on the planet Exo III , she abandoned a career in bio - research for a position in Starfleet , in the hopes that a deep - space assignment would one day reunite them . ( ) Service career . The five - year mission . In 2266 , Lieutenant Chapel was assigned to the USS " Enterprise " , serving as head nurse under Chief Medical Officer Dr . Leonard McCoy . That year , she assisted McCoy with Joe Tormolen ' s ultimately unsuccessful surgery to repair a damaged intestine , pronouncing him dead . ( ) On stardate 2712 . 4 , the " Enterprise " reached Exo III . Korby was found , exploring and exploiting a sophisticated android manufacturing technology , the legacy of a long - dead civilization . Korby had replaced his own damaged body , transplanting his personality into an android replica , and had built himself a beautiful companion , Andrea . After exhibiting his madness , the was destroyed . Initially , Chapel doubted if she should stay aboard , but she elected to remain with the " Enterprise " throughout the five - year mission . ( ) In addition to a professional friendship with Dr . McCoy , Chapel was particularly close to Uhura . ( ) By 2267 , there were occasional times when Chapel was called upon to help other doctors , sometimes with McCoy as the patient . She also knew when it was a good idea to be supportive of Dr . McCoy , even when others questioned whether he could be entirely reliable . On stardate 3478 . 2 , such an event happened . When Kirk , Spock , McCoy , Scott , and Lieutenant Arlene Galway contracted a mysterious rapid - aging syndrome on the planet Gamma Hydra IV due to radiation left by a passing comet , Chapel was called upon to help the visiting Dr . Janet Wallace in an effort to help comfort , if not cure , Kirk , Spock , McCoy , Scott , and Galway . ( Unfortunately , before a cure was discovered , Galway died of old age . ) Later , when Dr . McCoy , with Spock ' s help , figured out that it was increased adrenaline levels that had kept Ensign Pavel Chekov from developing the syndrome , Chapel instinctively knew that McCoy would be able to figure out an antidote for the rapid - aging syndrome in time to cure himself , Kirk , Spock , and Scott . She stood up for McCoy even while that wisdom was questioned by Dr . Wallace and visiting Commodore Stocker , but let it be known that Dr . Wallace could be of great assistance to her and McCoy . Sure enough , Chapel ' s wisdom was borne out when McCoy did find the antidote in time to save himself , Kirk , Spock , and Scott . ( ) On stardate 3541 . 9 , Chapel helped re - educate Lieutenant Uhura after the probe " Nomad " wiped the communications officer ' s memories . ( ) In 2268 , though , there were times both when Dr . McCoy greatly confused Chapel , as well as when she was put into danger . On stardate 4657 . 5 , Chapel was in the " Enterprise " sickbay when McCoy and the Kelvan Tomar brought in Spock from the surface of a class M planet where a landing party had met the Kelvans . McCoy told Chapel that Spock was close to dying , though she could tell that wasn ' t true . This was a ruse by both McCoy and Spock on Kirk ' s orders , because Kirk wanted them on the ship to help stop the Kelvans from taking the ship to the Andromeda Galaxy , and Spock had put himself into a Vulcan trance to trick the Kelvans into thinking he was truly gravely ill . McCoy had to hint to Chapel to keep quiet . She did take the hint but remained confused . On stardate 4658 . 9 , the Kelvans still hijacked the " Enterprise " to return to the Andromeda Galaxy and Dr . McCoy complained to Kirk that he had watched four of his best doctors and nurses , including Chapel , be neutralized and reduced into dehydrated porous cuboctahedron solid s , the size of a Human fist , composed of their base minerals , which represented the " distilled " essences of their beings . The Kelvans considered them non - essential personnel . Chapel and the other doctors and nurses were reconstituted , after Kirk , Spock , McCoy and Scott , the only four not neutralized , regained control of the " Enterprise " . ( ) On stardate 5029 . 5 , when children from the Starnes Exploration Party were on board the " Enterprise " , she cared for and entertained them , showing them how they could use food card s to order any ice cream they wished from the " Enterprise " s replicator s . She also was the first to notice how the children didn ' t cry for their recently deceased parents , and reported this observation to Dr . McCoy . ( ) On two separate occasions , Chapel displayed excellent skills as a lab assistant . On stardate 5693 . 2 , she assisted Dr . McCoy in developing a diluted theragen derivative to cure mental degradation effects caused by an interphase as the " Enterprise " was passing through Tholian space . She also assisted McCoy by administering the cure throughout the ship and helping him , in the transporter room , in administering the tri - ox compound to Kirk after he was beamed aboard from the . On stardate 5710 . 5 , Chapel assisted Spock and McCoy in synthesizing an agent to counteract hyper - acceleration effects of Scalosian water . ( ) On stardate 5143 . 3 , she informed McCoy that Captain Kirk wanted to know whether his examination of " " was finished , adding that his fiance Anne Nored was waiting to see him . ( ) On stardate 5483 . 7 when under the influence of the women of planet two of the Taurean system , the male crew members of the " Enterprise " were incapacitated by the siren ' s song . Lieutenant Uhura took command of the vessel , and assigned Chapel as acting chief medical officer . They led an all - female landing party down to the planet ' s surface to rescue Captain Kirk , Spock , and Dr . McCoy . ( ) On stardate 5499 . 9 when Kirk and Spock mutated into water - breathers , Chapel assisted Dr . McCoy in reversing their mutations . ( ) At some point prior to stardate 5577 . 5 , Chapel acquired a titanium bracelet made by the titanium smith s of Libra , which she occasionally wore while on duty . On stardate 5577 . 5 , after the " Enterprise " was struck by a flash of light coming from a planet in the Cepheus star system and the flash temporarily paralyzed the crew , the whole crew started shrinking to fingernail length , at 1 / 16th of an inch in height . On stardate 5577 . 6 , Spock observed that Chapel ' s titanium bracelet was staying the same mass , though their uniforms were shrinking at a proportional rate as their bodies . Spock hypothesized ( correctly ) that their were shrinking because they were made of an algae - based material known as xenylon , and that biological and naturally made material objects were also shrinking , but not the ship itself or other totally man - made material objects . A short time later , after Lieutenant Sulu broke his right leg in a fall from the helm station on the bridge and was taken to sickbay by Kirk and Lieutenant Arex , Chapel fretted that they couldn ' t use their bone - knitting laser , as it was now too large . Chapel then had an idea that McCoy thought was a great idea : they could use a microscope laser , which they used to heal the inner ear , to do the surgery to reset and heal Sulu ' s leg . Chapel was proved correct about that , but – due to her shrinking size , while trying to bring the microscope laser from the medical cabinet – she tripped on a knitting needle that had also stayed the same size , fell into the sickbay ' s aquarium , and nearly drowned . Fortunately , Kirk was able to save her . Later , Chapel helped rescue mutant descendants of the Terra 10 colony from an unstable planet they were located on and relocate them to a more stable planet . Along with the rest of the crew , she was returned to her normal height by use of the transporter , which had saved the original molecular structure of each crew member in the pattern buffer s . ( ) Later career . Chapel earned her MD after completing a medical program . In the mid - 2270s , Chapel was assigned to the refit ted " Enterprise " . Upon the return of Dr . McCoy during the " V ' ger " crisis , he explained to Kirk that he was " " going to need a top nurse , not a doctor who will argue every little diagnosis with me . " " Chapel later performed medical scans on the Ilia probe , and assisted in reacquainting the probe with Ilia ' s former life . She also provided medical care to Spock after his traumatizing mind meld with " V ' ger " . ( ) In 2286 , Commander Chapel was stationed at Starfleet Headquarters , where she coordinated relief efforts while Earth was suffering a severe ecological " attack " from an orbiting space probe . Later , Chapel attended the trial of Kirk and his senior officers at the Federation Council Chambers and excitedly congratulated her old crewmates when the council dismissed all charges facing them . ( ) Nursing prowess . While serving as a nurse , Chapel considered her responsibilities as a member of the medical profession to supersede her role as a subordinate crew member on the " Enterprise " , even to the point of disobeying an order from her superior , McCoy , whose welfare she was concerned about . ( ) Once she used nursing as an excuse for a romantic gesture towards Spock , bringing him plomeek soup , as he had not been eating for three days due to his recent nervous state . Though her actions initially met with the Vulcan ' s ire , he eventually warmed up to her and apologized , asking for more soup . ( ) She cleverly made use of psychology ( and deception ) in a house call to Ensign ' s quarters , attempting to encourage him to eat some dinner . Brandishing a record tape , she claimed it contained McCoy ' s prescription to " eat " , and assured him the doctor would feed him intravenous ly if he did not comply . In reality , the tape contained " A Survey on Cygnian Respiratory Diseases " . ( ) In a half - hearted attempt to mollify Pavel Chekov ' s disdain at having to submit to yet another round of medical tests , she assured him , " " This won ' t hurt . Much " . " ( ) Personal life . Throughout her life , Chapel changed her hair color back and forth between blonde and brunette . ( , , ) Relationships . Romantic relationships . Roger Korby . Chapel became engaged to Korby after having been a student of his . Despite his disappearance and the failure of two previous expeditions to find him , she maintained her hope of doing so . When asked by Spock if she recognized his voice , she remembered it clearly enough to confirm that it was , in fact , Roger who was contacting the " Enterprise " . Upon arriving on Exo III , she embraced him tenderly , only to become jealous of Andrea ' s familiarity with him , as the android also called Korby by his first name . Upon being told that Andrea was an android , she naturally assumed he ' d created a companion to replace her , or , as she put it , a " mechanical geisha " . Korby assured her that Andrea only obeyed orders and that he did not consider her a woman , merely a tool . Having learned of Korby ' s ability to manufacture android duplicates of living people , and seeing what became of the other members of the landing party , she was disillusioned , recalling that the Korby she knew wouldn ' t harm a living creature , believing their life sacred . She was still conflicted about his mental state , and hoped not to be given orders to betray him , preferring instead to have " Kirk " " push me off the same precipice where Mathews died . " . Though he tried to convince her he was still the same man he had always been inside , she refused to believe him . Upon the destruction of his android body and subsequent death , she returned to the " Enterprise " . ( ) Spock . Even while she still sought to locate Korby , Chapel was deeply infatuated with the " Enterprise " s half - Vulcan science officer , Spock . Her attraction to him was an ongoing source of tension and bemusement throughout the five - year mission . Initially Chapel kept these feelings to herself . However , when the Psi 2000 intoxication afflicted the crew of the " Enterprise " , Chapel admitted her love for Spock , who was shocked : Chapel insisted that Spock address her by her first name , as opposed to her title , which he resisted . Chapel was unaware that Spock ' s inability to react to her emotionally was further complicated by his betrothal to T ' Pring . Leading him to the ceremony in which his fiancée rejected him in favor of a different suitor , Spock underwent a period of intense emotional outbursts : a blood fever known as " pon farr " . Chapel characteristically doted after the Vulcan , preparing " plomeek soup " , a traditional Vulcan broth . The experience allowed them to discuss , even if briefly , Chapel ' s confession of love . Despite his acknowledged inability to return her affections , he did refer to her as Christine for the first time . ( ) Chapel ' s longing for Spock was well - known among crew members , and noted openly by Captain Kirk and Dr . McCoy on a number of occasions . During Spock ' s recovery after a near - death experience on Neural , fellow medical officer Dr . M ' Benga caught Chapel tenderly holding Spock ' s hand while watching his recovery on the medical panel atop his bed . M ' Benga was sympathetic , despite Chapel ' s attempt to hide her feelings . Chapel later proactively aided Spock by secretly holding his consciousness to keep him from being destroyed by Henoch . ( ) Her feelings for the Vulcan briefly interfered with her ability to assist McCoy in treating him for the puncture wound left behind by the Denevan neural parasite , prompting the doctor to order her either to put aside her feelings or call another nurse to help him . ( ) Three years after confessing her love to Spock , Chapel finally shared a kiss with him . Unfortunately , the situation was forced by the Platonian s , against their will . Having sensed their close bond , they adorned her in make - up that gave her the appearance of a Vulcan . Chapel admitted that , despite her long - standing desire to be close to Spock , all she wanted to do , given the humiliation of the situation , was " crawl away and die . " ( ) In 2269 , while weakened by the Taurean headband , he referred to her as Christine when calling telepathic ally for help , after initially calling her " Miss Chapel " . ( ) Later that year , Harry Mudd provided Lieutenant Chapel with love potion crystal s that she used on Spock , much to her embarrassment when they didn ' t take effect immediately . Though the crystals eventually worked , it wasn ' t long before Spock realized he was reacting to it and not experiencing genuine feelings of love . Later , when he offered to help her record Mudd ' s confession , she rebuffed him . ( ) Upon Spock ' s resumption of his science officer duties on the " Enterprise " in the 2270s , she was pleased to see him again . ( ) Friendships . Leonard McCoy . Though he occasionally referred to " her " by her first name only ( ; ) , she never called him " Leonard " to his face . Chapel was comfortable with standing up to McCoy ' s orders if she believed them to be incorrect or odd ; for instance , she made sure the doctor informed Captain Kirk of his ( McCoy ' s ) xenopolycythemia diagnosis , remaining in sickbay until the captain arrived , instead of leaving as per the doctor ' s instructions . ( ) She also questioned his request for two cc s of stokaline to treat a " dying " Spock in 2268 . ( ) Just prior to a dying McCoy beaming down to the surface of Yonada in 2268 , she admonished him to make the most of his remaining time , as " A lot can happen in a year . " ( ) In an effort to protect her from being penalized for following his orders instead of Arthur Coleman ' s , McCoy told her to administer a sedative to " Janice Lester " , despite the action being against his better judgement . ( ) Upon hearing that she ' d become a doctor during his brief hiatus from Starfleet , McCoy was reluctant to work with her , as he was of the opinion that she , like other doctors , would argue about every diagnosis he made , rather than take the orders he gave . ( ) Nyota Uhura . Uhura was on a first name basis with Chapel as early as 2267 . ( , ) Chapel , on the other hand , never referred to her by anything other than her last name ( ) or " lieutenant " . ( ) As Chapel departed the bridge to see Roger Korby for the first time in years , Uhura wished her all the best with a sisterly kiss on the cheek . ( ) Chapel closely aided the communications officer in relearning the knowledge " Nomad " had stolen from her . Upon Uhura successfully reading ( in English rather than Swahili ) the sentence " " The dog has a ball " " , Chapel hugged Uhura . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Conception . The character of Christine Chapel was created by Gene Roddenberry , intending the part to be played by Majel Barrett , with whom the married Roddenberry was having an affair . The creation of the recurring role was Roddenberry ' s solution to pressure that Barrett frequently put on him , as she was insistent that she play a regular character on " Star Trek " , even though executives at the television network NBC had fired her as Number One in the unaired original pilot . As an executive producer on of " Star Trek " , Roddenberry planned to ensure that the resultant character of Chapel would definitely recur . ( " " , paperback ed . , p . 224 ) In his reference book " The World of Star Trek " ( 3rd ed . , p . 28 ) , writer David Gerrold reckoned that Chapel " was obviously created specifically " to love Spock and went on to say , " " The need to dramatize Spock ' s Vulcan aloofness requires that a woman fall in love with him and be continually rebuffed . Hence , Nurse Chapel . " " In scripts of , this character was known as Christine Baker and , later , Christine Ducheaux . She was even referred to with the latter name in the final draft shooting script ( dated ) , which went on to describe her as " dark - haired . . . more starkly attractive than beautiful . . . a woman capable of startling vitality . . . superb efficiency . . . " In a revised draft of the script , this passage of text was minutely changed , with the only alteration being that the words " a woman capable of startling vitality " were moved to the start of the description . Gene Roddenberry renamed the character to Christine Chapel as a pun on " " . ( " " , " " ) In actual dialogue in " The Naked Time " , however , she is never referred to as anything other than " Nurse " or " Christine " . Original appearances . Majel Barrett saw her opportunity to appear further in " Star Trek " by auditioning for the role of Chapel . " " I wanted to be a part of it so badly , and I kept watching the scripts that came in , and when this episode [ ' The Naked Time ' ] came in , my mind started to go in different directions , " " Barrett recollected . " " So I bleached my hair and waited for Gene [ Roddenberry ] to come in and take notice of it . " " ( ) Barrett , whose hair was now bleached blond , awaited Roddenberry in his office . " " I sat there talking to his secretary , Penny , and Gene walked in . He looked at me and at Penny , said , ' Good morning , ' and walked in the door . . . I kept on talking to Penny , and pretty soon Gene came out again , put some papers on Penny ' s desk , sort of smiled at me , turned around , and walked back in his office . Then the double take happened . He opened the door and said , ' Majel ? ! ' And I said , ' By God , if I could fool you , I can fool NBC . " " ( " Star Trek - Where No One Has Gone Before " , p . 21 ) Roddenberry agreed . Concluded Barrett , " " He said , ' Yes , you can ' [ . . . ] You just don ' t come back again when they fire you once , but I so much wanted to be a part of this show . " " ( ) Barrett thereafter played Christine Chapel . An issue that frustrated the show ' s producers , notably Robert Justman , as well as Majel Barrett herself , was that the character of Chapel was not fleshed out . ( ) For instance , little canon ical information existed about Chapel ' s life outside of her career in Starfleet . Just after seeing the first footage of Barrett in the role , Justman realized that he didn ' t much like the performance . He addressed this problem with Gene Roddenberry in the latter ' s office , saying that Barrett " seemed awkward " in the part . " " Gene just smiled , " " Justman remembered , " " as he always did when I told him something he didn ' t particularly want to hear [ . . . ] ' I thought she was fine , ' he responded . ' Maybe a little nervous this time , but she ' ll work out great . It ' s a new character for her , and she ' ll get even better as she goes along . I like her a lot in this role . ' Pushing him further wouldn ' t work . But I continued to needle him about it from time to time . His response was always the same : a smile , a short remonstration that she was ' fine ' in the role , and then a change of subject . I stopped needling him about it after finally becoming aware of their relationship . Years later , I realized it wasn ' t the actress I disliked , it was the role . Nurse Chapel was a wimpy , badly written , and ill - conceived character . " " He particularly found fault with Chapel repeatedly pining for another character – whether it be Spock , as is the case in " The Naked Time " , or Roger Korby in ( " " , pp . 224 - 225 ) Expressing similar sentiments , Barrett confessed , " " I didn ' t care that much for Nurse Chapel , to tell you the truth . She really wasn ' t that exciting a person or that exciting a character for an actress to play . " " ( ) Clarified Barrett , " " I was happy with what I did , except there wasn ' t that much to do . It wasn ' t that satisfying , but in those days , I couldn ' t talk Gene into doing any more ; again , I was a woman , and they had already fired me once , so I wasn ' t given too much to do . " " ( ) The script of " What Are Little Girls Made Of ? " included the following description of Chapel ; " " She ' s a strong , calm woman , very much in control of herself which emphasizes only more for us the flickers of emotions that do occasionally show through . " " Also , as scripted for that episode , Chapel ' s abandonment of a career in bioresearch was stated to have been specifically for a position aboard the " Enterprise " , though this ultimately changed to being an assignment aboard a generic vessel . Regarding Majel Barrett ' s appearance as Chapel in " What Are Little Girls Made Of ? " , Robert Justman critiqued , " " The close - up shots of her eyes misting over and lower lip quivering were beautifully photographed by cameraman Jerry Finnerman , who used special lighting and diffusion lenses . But this only served to emphasize the lack of character written into the character . " " ( " " , 1997 , p . 225 ) According to Herb Solow , NBC " did " notice the same actress whom they had already fired portrayed Chapel . Solow related that – while he was screening a rough edit of " The Naked Time " for a group of NBC execs , well before the series was broadcast – NBC Vice President Herb Schlosser asked him who the performer was , a question Solow agreed to answer later . When they were alone after the screening , Schlosser repeated the inquiry and , upon Solow revealing the name of the actress , the NBC executive realized it was the same controversial performer . Schlosser was therefore initially puzzled about why the " Star Trek " producers hadn ' t cast a different actress for the part . " " This was one of those times when the truth would be painful for all concerned , " " stated Solow . " " I answered quickly , ' Putting together a cast is like forming an orchestra . Individual actors are unimportant ; it ' s an ensemble thing . " " Schlosser then correctly assumed that Barrett ' s casting as Chapel was due to her having an affair with someone who had a lot of influence in the " Star Trek " production team , a suspicion that Solow didn ' t confirm until after the series had been airing for a while . Also according to him , the news within NBC that the portrayal of Chapel involved Barrett returning to " Star Trek " led Jerry Stanley – another executive at the television network – to yodel , " " Well , well – look who ' s back . " " ( " " , 1997 , pp . 224 & 233 ) Barrett herself claimed , " " For three years , NBC never knew it was the same person . " " ( ) Regardless of whether or nor Barrett actually believed her own claim , it were not only Schlosser and Stanley who found out early , but Desilu Studios Head Lucille Ball as well , and , according to Solow , when she did , she was not amused , not in the slightest ; Lucille Ball had by then become well known for her character trait of valuing moral propriety after her failed marriage with Desi Arnaz ( which had fallen apart partly due to Arnaz ' philandering ) , and this she expected of her staff and employees as well . When she found out that the married Roddenberry had an illicit affair with Barrett ( ironically hired , under her own name Majel Leigh Hudec , by Ball herself for Desilu as a contracted actress , and having personally instructed her in one of her own comedy seminars in 1957 . ) , she could not abide with this kind of behavior anywhere near her property , and was dead - set on firing the pair of them on the spot . Incidentally , Ball had already wanted to do something similar , albeit at the opposite end of the spectrum , with " " co - stars Barbara Bain and Martin Landau , when she found out that the two were actually a married couple , and wanted to fire them as she suspected a severe case of nepotism , which she could not abide with either . And indeed , this had been the additional reason for Ball for wanting to fire the future Roddenberry couple as well , as she concurrently became aware that he had surreptitiously sneaked an as a blonde disguised Barrett , her new alias ( which Ball took as evidence of deliberate deception , not entirely unjustified ) , back into the " Star Trek " production as Christine Chapel against the express wishes of NBC . Through an intermediary , her personal publicist Howard McClay , Solow had in both cases – as " Mission " was also produced under his auspices – the toughest of times to convince the headstrong Ball otherwise . ( " " , 1997 , p . 223 ; " " , 1st ed , pp . 25 - 27 ) Christine Chapel turned out to be highly unpopular among some fans of " Star Trek " s original series . " " It was because of her love for Spock and his occasional moments of gentleness toward her that Christine Chapel was largely disliked among the Trekkies who adored Spock , " " explained David Gerrold . " " Female fans saw her as a threat to their own fantasies and male fans saw her as a threat to Spock ' s Vulcan stoicism . " " However , the fans who met Majel Barrett were often surprised by how beautiful she was . Gerrold concluded , " " They just couldn ' t see it in her as Chapel because of the relationship between her and Spock . " " ( " The World of Star Trek " , 3rd ed . , p . 28 ) Later appearances . In , the voice for the character of Chapel was provided by Majel Barrett , reprising the role from TOS . Christine Chapel was intended to be included in the ultimately aborted television series " " , in which her promotion to doctor was planned to be established . The " Writers ' / Directors ' Guide " for that series said of the character , " " Introduced in " Star Trek I " as Nurse Chapel , her medical degrees have been accepted by Starfleet , and she has returned to the U . S . S . " Enterprise " to serve as McCoy ' s associate . She is second in command of the ship ' s medical section , and McCoy seems to enjoy passing on to her every duty he finds too boring , irritating or annoying to himself . Yet outside of Captain Kirk , she is probably McCoy ' s closest confidante . An expert in psychotherapy , she has unusual ability to teach patients how to use the healing powers of their own bodies . " " ( " " , p . 119 ) In character notes that Gene Roddenberry wrote for , Chapel was mentioned in the note about Dr . McCoy and was described as being influenced by the fact that McCoy was dealing with a great deal of pressure at the time of the film , even to the point of almost causing him to suffer a nervous breakdown . The section regarding Chapel stated , " " [ She ] must take on an overly large portion of the load of treating the sick , and is likewise subject to breakage . " " ( " The Making of Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , p . 102 ) Majel Barrett was delighted that , in " The Motion Picture " , Chapel was promoted to doctor status and that she herself was not required to ruin her hair by dying it blond to match her TOS appearances as Chapel . In the film , Barrett ' s portrayal of Chapel was partly based on the description of the character from the " Writers ' / Directors ' Guide " for " Phase II " . ( " The Making of Star Trek : The Motion Picture " , p . 119 ) Her appearance in " The Motion Picture " was in keeping with the fact that long hairstyles were disallowed in that film . ( " The Making of Star Trek " , p . 142 ) However , Majel Barrett had qualms about her appearance as Chapel in " The Motion Picture " , confessing , " " I really didn ' t consider my work in the first one to be that great an experience . " " ( " " # 116 ) When asked why she herself was absent in and , Majel Barrett stated , " " The fact that Gene really didn ' t have " that " kind of involvement in the second and third movies was probably the reason . There was a new producer on the pictures and I just don ' t think they , or anybody , wanted " Mrs . " Roddenberry running around . I ' m sure it was politics . Since then , many things have been ironed out and I certainly have greater hopes for " " . " " ( " " # 108 , , p . 56 ) In the script for " Star Trek IV : The Voyage Home " , Chapel was described as a " Starfleet Medical Officer whose history in " Star Trek " is known to all . " The same script featured her in a short , ultimately excised scene . Set in the Federation Council Chamber , the scene detailed Commander Chapel meeting with Sarek upon his arrival there . She thanked him for coming but admitted to being unsure whether he was too late to testify at the then - ongoing trial of Admiral Kirk and the senior crew of the " Enterprise " . Noted Majel Barrett , " " I just had a couple of lines with Sarek , so it was really nothing of consequence . " " However , Barrett also considered that this scene would have been her " only real scene " in the movie . Chapel ' s role in " Star Trek IV " is so minimal that Barrett hypothesized , " " If no one had called me Commander Chapel , the audience wouldn ' t really know that I was there . " " Longing to have more involvement in " Star Trek " , she proclaimed , " " Somewhere Chapel got lost . " " On the other hand , Barrett also related about her brief inclusion in " Star Trek IV " , " " I am grateful for having been in it after not being in " Star Trek II " or " III " [ . . . ] I loved it , I had such a great time . " " ( " " # 116 ) Simon and Schuster ' s officially licensed " " interactive software , written by production staffer Michael Okuda , listed some supplemental biographical details on Chapel . It mentioned she was the child of Lauren Chapel and Patterson Chapel of New Orleans , Louisiana , Earth , and had an interest in ballet . Other information included a birth date in 2237 , Starfleet Medical Academy Nursing Degree in 2266 , and doctorate by the 2270s . She graduated in the 98th percentile of her class , with degrees in bioresearch , medical archeology , and endocrinology . It assigned her original rank as a " brevet " ( or provisional ) ensign , and stated that she rose to become the director of Starfleet Emergency Operations by the time of her " Star Trek IV " appearance . Apocrypha . DC Comics ' " Who ' s Who in Star Trek 1 " comic reveals that she has Swedish and Cherokee roots . The video game " " gives her parents ' names as Lauren and Patterson Chapel , and her birth year as 2237 , which would make her 49 as of 2286 . ( In reality , the actress was 54 at the time . ) Chapel appeared in Vonda N . McIntyre ' s novelization of " " . She was still serving on the " Enterprise " in 2285 , and was present during Saavik ' s " Kobayashi Maru " scenario . In Peter David ' s " New Frontier " novel " " , Scotty mistaken one of the characters , Morgan Primus , the mother of Robin Lefler , as " Christine " . It was also suggested in that series that Primus was actually Christopher Pike ' s " Number One " . This mistaken identification was a joke referring to the fact that both roles were played by the same actress . Dr . Chapel was also seen as the chief medical officer aboard the in the novel " The Sundered " .