Here’s a good bit of trivia to test a true Star Trek fan: who’s the character who’s been part of the franchise for over 50+ years but doesn’t have a name? The answer is Number One, played by Majel Barrett in The Original Series pilot “The Cage” and portrayed by Rebecca Romijn in season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery.
After all these decades, though, Number One has finally received what she’s always been missing, as Discovery‘s recent finale at last gave us something to call her other than her official rank. Yes, Number One’s first name is actually Una, which is Swedish in origin, but also the feminine form of the Spanish word “uno,” meaning one.
Behind the scenes, the name was first used for the character in the novel Captain to Captain by Greg Cox. And on Twitter, fellow Trek author David Mack revealed that he first suggested the name as a nod to yet another Trek writer, Una McCormack.
Re: Number One's name "Una" being canonized on @startrekcbs: Pretty darned sweet! As Greg Cox notes, I first suggested the name "Una" (partly as an homage to our friend & peer, @unamccormack), but it wouldn't have stuck had he, @daytonward & @kevindilmore not all concurred. pic.twitter.com/X6RZ3ndLfh
— David Mack (@DavidAlanMack) April 20, 2019
It’s a shame that now that we know a little bit more about Number One – er, I mean, Una – she’s left the show. The season 2 finale saw Romijn’s character, Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and Spock (Ethan Peck) return to the Enterprise as the crew of the Discovery jetted off to the distant future. This seemingly rules out any further appearances from these three on Discovery.
We’re hoping that CBS listens to the 20,000 fans that have signed a petition though calling for a spinoff following the adventures of Pike’s Enterprise crew. There’s certainly room for this, too, as, according to canon, we’ve got a few years yet before Pike’s tragic injury that causes his retirement and leaves James T. Kirk to takeover the reins of the Enterprise. Producer Alex Kurtzman isn’t ruling it out, either, so who knows, this might become a reality.
Tell us, would you like to see more of Pike, Spock and Number One in a Star Trek: Discovery spinoff? Beam down to the comments section and leave your thoughts.
