The computer voice was an audio interface program designed to allow computers to express information verbally. Many space-faring cultures, such as the United Federation of Planets, the Romulan Star Empire and the Cardassian Union, equipped their computers with this feature.
Over 200,000 years ago, the Iconians equipped a facility launching Iconian probes on Iconia with a female computer voice. (TNG: "Contagion")
Starfleet starships utilized computer voices by 2256, a feature which continued to be used throughout the 23rd and 24th centuries. (DIS: "The Vulcan Hello"; TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint")
Kirk reacting to the reprogrammed computer voice
The computer voice of the USS Enterprise was reprogrammed in 2267 on Cygnet XIV, with the intent of giving it a less mechanized personality. The resulting modifications caused the computer to address James T. Kirk in an increasingly amorous manner, as well as giggle. This modification was short-lived. (TOS: "Tomorrow is Yesterday")
While most Starfleet computers utilized female voices, the M-5 multitronic unit in 2268 had a male voice. (TOS: "The Ultimate Computer")
In the alternate reality, the USS Vengeance had a male computer voice. (Star Trek Into Darkness)
In the mirror universe, the ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701) had a male computer voice. (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")
After Bynar modifications to the USS Enterprise-D in 2364, the starship's computer for a short time used both the usual female and a male voice. (TNG: "11001001")
Starfleet environmental suits were also equipped with a computer voice. (Star Trek: First Contact; VOY: "Day of Honor")
In the 32nd century, a starship owned by Cleveland Booker had a male computer voice. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 1")
Appendices[]
Background information[]
The original computer voice[]
The computer voice on most Federation starship and fixed installation computers was portrayed by Majel Barrett-Roddenberry since the early days of Star Trek: The Original Series (first appearing in "Mudd's Women"). The computer voice in TOS and Star Trek: The Animated Series was very rhythmic and mechanical.
Following TOS, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry continued to play Starfleet computers; however, it became a far more normal-sounding female voice. She continued the role on Star Trek: The Next Generation (with the exception of some early episodes), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. There is only a single word spoken by a computer voice in the entire run of ENT, which is when Majel Barrett's computer voice of the USS Defiant twice states, "Working…" in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II".
She further provided the computer voice in all of the TNG films, through the alternate reality reboot film Star Trek. This 2009 contribution was her final performance both as the computer voice and in a Star Trek project before her death. Archived audio was also used in PIC Season 3.
Additional computer voice performers[]
- Carlos Alazraqui, USS Aledo (LD: "The Stars At Night")
- Barbara Babcock, Beta 5 computer (TOS: "Assignment: Earth")
- Harve Bennett, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) flight recorder (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
- Kay Bess, SS La Sirena (Star Trek: Picard seasons 1 and 2)
- Ursula Burton (ENT: "Terra Prime")
- Roxann Biggs-Dawson
- Cardassian ATR-4107, reprogrammed (VOY: "Dreadnought")
- Automated repair station (ENT: "Dead Stop")
- Barnaby Carpenter, ISS Enterprise computer (DIS: "Mirrors")
- Eugene Cordero, Sam Rutherford's cybernetic implant (LD: "Veritas")
- Ian James Corlett, Section 31 computer (DIS: "Through the Valley of Shadows")
- Judi Durand, Deep Space 9 (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
- Amy Earhart
- SS Eleos XII (PIC: "The Next Generation", "Disengage")
- USS Titan-A (PIC: "Disengage", "Seventeen Seconds", "No Win Scenario")
- Frank Force (pseudonym for Leonard Nimoy), USS Excelsior turbolift (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
- Rich Fulcher, Pakled (LD: "wej Duj")
- Jenette Goldstein, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (ST: "Q&A")
- Bonnie Gordon
- USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (VST: "Skin a Cat")
- USS Protostar (Star Trek: Prodigy)
- Julianne Grossman, USS Discovery (DIS: "Context Is for Kings" onward)
- Bill Hader, USS Vengeance (Star Trek Into Darkness)
- Doug Hale, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) refit (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
- Alex Kapp
- USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
- Stamets-type shuttlecraft (SNW: "Charades") (credited as "USS Enterprise Computer")
- Starfleet courtroom computer (SNW: "Ad Astra per Aspera") (credited as "USS Enterprise Computer")
- USS Cayuga (SNW: "Hegemony")
- Grace Lee
- Chateau Picard (PIC: "The Next Generation")
- SS La Sirena (PIC: "The Next Generation", "Disengage")
- Jessica McKenna
- Nichelle Nichols (TAS: "The Lorelei Signal", "The Infinite Vulcan")
- Lennon Parham, simulator holopods (LD: "I, Excretus")
- Loretta Shinosky, USS Cabot (ST: "The Trouble with Edward")
- Fabio Tassone, Booker's ship (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 1", "Rubicon")
- Kirk Thatcher, Vulcan memory test (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
- Tasia Valenza
- Teresa E. Victor, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
- Gillian Vigman, USS Cerritos miniature model (LD: "An Embarrassment Of Dooplers")
- Marcy Vosburgh (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
- Annabelle Wallis, USS Discovery's integrated lifeform, Zora (ST: "Calypso"; DIS: "Forget Me Not" onward)
- Noël Wells
- USS Cerritos (LD: "Starbase 80?!")
- USS Cerritos, holodeck simulation (LD: "Crisis Point")
- Starbase 80 (LD: "Starbase 80?!")
- Colette Whitaker, Starbase 28 (ST: "Ask Not")
- John Winston, ISS Enterprise (TOS: "Mirror, Mirror")
- Lynnanne Zager, Jellyfish (Star Trek)
Unknown computer voice performers[]
In addition to the names above, several unknown performers provided voices for various other computer systems, including:
- Unknown actor
- Bajoran transport (DS9: "A Man Alone")
- Cardassian ATR-4107, original (VOY: "Dreadnought")
- USS Enterprise-D, alternate (TNG: "11001001")
- Haakona (TNG: "Contagion")
- Relva VII outpost (TNG: "Coming of Age")
- Starbase 173 (TNG: "The Measure Of A Man")
- Unknown actress
- Age-gauging device (PIC: "The Impossible Box")
- Baran's mercenary ship (TNG: "Gambit, Part I", "Gambit, Part II")
- Iconian gateway (TNG: "Contagion")
- Relva VII outpost test computer (TNG: "Coming of Age")
- USS Voyager (LD: "Twovix")
Trivia[]
When Google first developed voice technology in real life, they named it "Majel" in honor of Majel Barrett. (AT: "Context Is for Kings")
Apocrypha[]
In many of Activision's video game releases, Judi Durand voiced the Federation computer voice.
In the video game Star Trek: Resurgence, Julianne Grossman voiced the USS Resolute's computer voice.
In the Star Trek: Legacies novel Captain to Captain, Captain Una Chin-Riley is momentarily distracted by hearing the Enterprise's computer voice after many years, which was modeled after her own.