In the first pilot that Gene Roddenberry submitted to the network, with Jeffery Hunter as Capt. Christopher Pike, his first officer was played by Majel Barrett (later Nurse Chapel and Deanna Troi's flaky mother), and was known only as "Number One."

She was one strong lady! And perfectly capable of taking over command of a star ship and mounting a rescue mission, which she did when Capt. Pike was kidnapped by the Talosians.

The network do-dahs had wall-eyed fits, objecting to

1. – That woman! Get her off the bridge!
2. – That guy with the ears. He looks like the devil, and he might offend our religious viewers!
3, – That's an intelligent story, and it expects people to be able to think! This is television, for Chrissake!!

Yup! That's television, all right.

Don Firth

P. S. But we must have made some progress, because some years later, we had Captain Katherine Janeway in command of the Voyager, with a Native American first officer and a black Vulcan as second officer and chief of security.