Star Trek: Discovery brought back the Mirror Universe’s ISS Enterprise, and with it the change The Original Series made to the Enterprise computer.
Warning: This Article Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery Season 5, Episode 5 – “Mirrors”
Summary
- Star Trek: Discovery season 5 brings back the Mirror Universe’s ISS Enterprise with a male computer voice.
- Captain Burnham and Booker discovered the derelict ISS Enterprise in interdimensional space and brought it back to the Prime Universe.
- The USS Enterprise’s voice is female, but it’s male in the Mirror Universe.
Star Trek: Discovery season 5 brought back the Mirror Universe’s ISS Enterprise and mirrored the change Star Trek: The Original Series made to the Enterprise’s computer. Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Cleveland Booker (David Ajala) found the derelict ISS Enterprise in interdimensional space and piloted it back to Star Trek‘s Prime Universe. The Mirror Universe’s Enterprise in Star Trek: Discovery is the same ship introduced, along with the Mirror Universe, in Star Trek: The Original Series‘ classic episode “Mirror, Mirror”. Naturally, the ISS Enterprise’s computer is the opposite of the USS Enterprise’s computer in both series.
On his X, Jörg Hillebrand (@gaghyogi49), who was a researcher for Star Trek: Picard season 3, pointed out that the ISS Enterprise in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 5, has a male computer voice, just like the ISS Enterprise does in Star Trek: The Original Series‘ “Mirror Mirror.” This is a ‘mirror reversal’ of the USS Enterprise’s computer, whose female voice was provided by Majel Barett-Roddenberry. Check out the post below:
John Winston voiced the ISS Enterprise computer in Star Trek: The Original Series, and Barnaby Carpenter provided the ISS Enterprise computer voice in Star Trek: Discovery.
Star Trek’s Computer Voices Are Traditionally Female
But not in the Mirror Universe
Starfleet computer voices are traditionally female in Star Trek. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry voiced not just the USS Enterprise’s computer in Star Trek: The Original Series, but also the starship computers in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager. Star Trek: Picard season 3 laudably restored Majel’s voice as the USS Enterprise-D’s computer. On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds‘ Alex Kapp is now the voice of the USS Enterprise’s computer. However, to make the Mirror Universe’s ISS Enterprise ‘the opposite’ of the USS Enterprise, the Mirror computer voice was and still is male in Star Trek: Discovery.
No one can ever replace Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as a Star Trek computer voice.
Different actresses voice the various computers in the current Star Trek on Paramount+ series. In Star Trek: Discovery, Annabelle Wallis voices Zora, the sentient and emotionally sensitive supercomputer of the USS Discovery. On Star Trek: Lower Decks, Jessica Ruth McKenna voices the USS Cerritos’ computer. Star Trek: Prodigy‘s Bonnie Gordon is the voice of the USS Protostar’s computer, among other roles. In Star Trek: Picard season 3, Amy Earhart was the voice of the USS Titan-A’s computer. Of course, no one can ever replace Majel Barrett-Roddenberry as a Star Trek computer voice, but Star Trek: Discovery season 5 went the proper extra step by bringing back a male computer voice as Majel’s ISS Enterprise counterpart.
