| Christine Chapel | |
|---|---|
| |
| Christine Chapel, 2266 | |
| Actor: | Majel Barrett |
| Species: | Human |
| Gender: | female |
| Born: | 2237 |
| Hair: | brown (dyed blond) |
| Eyes: | blue |
| Affiliation: | Federation Starfleet |
| Stationed: | USS Enterprise, later Starfleet Command |
| Occupation: | Starfleet medical officer |
| Rank: | Commander |
| Insignia: |   |
| Insignia: |   |
| Mother: | Lauren (née Ducheaux) Chapel |
| Father: | Patterson Chapel |
| |
| Commander Chapel (2286) | |
Christine Chapel was a Federation Starfleet medical officer on active duty in the 23rd and 24th centuries.
The future Dr. Chapel was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2237. Her parents were Patterson and Lauren Chapel. As a child, Christine had an interest in ballet. (Star Trek: Starship Creator)
- "Reliquary: The Letters" affirmed the given names of Christine's parents from Starship Creator, but noted that her mother's maiden name was Ducheaux.
Chapel served as a nurse during the Klingon War of 2256-57, where she met Joseph M'Benga while both were assigned to the forward operating base on J'Gal. They reported to the base's chief medical officer, Commander Buck Martinez. (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: "The Broken Circle", "Under the Cloak of War")
- While Chapel wore a Starfleet uniform jacket in the flashback scenes of "Under the Cloak of War", it was not clear if she was in the service or a civilian temporarily assigned to the base due to need.
Before Starfleet[]
Chapel was assigned to the USS Enterprise as a civilian exchange nurse from the Stanford Morehouse Epigenetic Project in 2259. At the time, she reported to Dr. M'Benga, newly assigned to the Enterprise. (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds)
Early Starfleet career[]
Sometime before 2266, Chapel abandoned a career in bio-research for a position in Starfleet, in the hopes that a deep-space assignment might reunite her with fiancé Dr. Roger Korby, a scientist incommunicado since his expedition to Exo III in 2261.
To that end, Chapel attended Starfleet Medical Academy and received a degree in nursing in 2266. (Starship Creator)
- Chapel may have received her nursing degree earlier than 2266: in Enterprise: The First Adventure, set in 2264, she was a nurse working in the intensive care unit at Starfleet Teaching Hospital in San Francisco.
By 2266, Chapel held a lieutenant junior grade commission, and was assigned to the USS Enterprise as head nurse under Enterprise chief medical officer Dr. Leonard McCoy. After finding Korby had perished, Chapel remained with the Enterprise throughout the five-year mission, despite initial doubts over whether she would stay on board.
In addition to a professional friendship with McCoy, Chapel was particularly close to Nyota Uhura. (TOS: "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", "Plato's Stepchildren", "The Tholian Web")
Relationship with Spock[]
Even while seeking Korby, Chapel was deeply infatuated with the Enterprise's half-Vulcan science officer, Spock. While her attraction never interfered with her professional duties, it was an ongoing source of tension and bemusement throughout the five-year mission. Chapel kept these feelings to herself, but when the Psi 2000 intoxication afflicted the Enterprise crew, Chapel admitted her love to Spock, who was shocked. (TOS: "The Naked Time")
Chapel's longing for Spock was well-known among crew members and noted openly by Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy on several occasions. When Spock was suffering, unbeknownst to his shipmates, from pon farr, Chapel made him a bowl of plomeek soup, a staple of Vulcan cuisine. Until T'Pring contacted Spock on the Enterprise's bridge, Chapel had not known of his betrothal. (TOS: "Amok Time")
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 feeling. Chapel later proactively aided Spock by secretly holding his consciousness to keep him from being destroyed by Henoch. (TOS: "A Private Little War", "Return to Tomorrow")
Three years after confessing her love to Spock, Chapel finally shared a kiss with him. Unfortunately, the situation was forced by powerful telekinetics, compelling Chapel to admit that, despite her long-standing desire to be close to him, all she wanted to do, given the humiliation of the situation, was "crawl away and die." (TOS: "Plato's Stepchildren")
Chapel confessing her love for Spock
Later career[]
Doctor Chapel in 2272
By late 2269, Chapel had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant. Her Starfleet serial number was NI-596 MT21Z. (TAS: "Mudd's Passion")
When Lieutenant Uhura assumed command of the Enterprise during the Taurus II incident, she assigned Chapel as acting chief medical officer. (TAS: "The Lorelei Signal")
In 2269, Chapel obtained a love potion from Harry Mudd and used it on Spock, who temporarily longed for Chapel as a result. (TAS: "Mudd's Passion")
At some prior point, Chapel acquired a titanium bracelet made by the metalsmiths of Libra, which she occasionally wore on duty. (TAS: "The Terratin Incident")
Following the Enterprise's five-year mission of exploration, Chapel completed her medical degree in 2271. She graduated in the 98th percentile of her class, with degrees in bioresearch, medical archaeology and endocrinology.
She rejoined the Enterprise at the end of its refit as chief medical officer, although McCoy returned to resume that position. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
- According to the TMP novelization, Chapel was to be the Enterprise's chief medical officer, but McCoy's arrival changed that. Chapel was pleased, however, that he was CMO instead of her.
By the latter 2280s, Chapel held a rank of Commander. In 2286, she was director of Starfleet Emergency Operations, where she coordinated relief efforts from Starfleet Headquarters while Earth suffered an ecological "attack" from an orbiting space probe. (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home)
By 2297, Dr. Chapel was the chief medical officer aboard the USS Excelsior, commanded by Captain Hikaru Sulu. (The Lost Era novel: The Sundered)
Christine Chapel died, sometime before 2345, on Galadriel III. ("Reliquary: The Letters")
Other continuities[]
Star Trek: New Frontiers[]
Peter David's New Frontiers series posits that Chapel may have been an identity assumed by an immortal woman known in the 24th century as "Morgan Primus". Primus was the mother of Robin Lefler, and later became associated with the crew of the starship USS Excalibur.
Orion Press[]
In this continuity, Christine Chapel's middle name is said to be Elizabeth and that she was a native of Canada. (Orion Press: "Angel")
Her Ph.D. was already extant — and work towards a D.O. [Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine] in progress — when she volunteered to serve as a nurse with the Interstellar Red Cross aboard Enterprise so she could pursue her search for Roger Korby.
Chapel completed work on and received her D.O. and M.D. by 2271. She was then promoted to lieutenant commander and assigned to the uprated Enterprise.
After the Serenidad incident (which cut short Enterprise's second five-year mission under James T. Kirk), Chapel was assigned to Starfleet Sector General on Earth, where she served as the liaison between Starfleet Medical and the Federation Council.
In the 2280s, Chapel was chief medical officer on the escort cruiser USS Anwar Sadat, then was director of operations at Starfleet Medical for many years. When Pavel Chekov assumed command of the USS Enterprise-B, he requested Chapel to be CMO. She accepted. (Orion Press: Chekov's Enterprise)
- In this novella, Chapel was shown to be a Roman Catholic.
|
Star Trek: Phase II |
|---|---|
| Episodes: | Released: "Come What May" | "In Harm's Way" | "To Serve All My Days" | "World Enough and Time" | "Blood and Fire, Part 1" | "Blood and Fire, Part 2" | "Enemy: Starfleet" | "The Child" | "Kitumba" | "Mind-Sifter" | "The Holiest Thing" Unfinished: "Origins: The Protracted Man" | "Bread and Savagery" | "Torment of Destiny" |
| Vignettes: | "Center Seat" | "No-Win Scenario" | "Going Boldly" |
| Related Media: | Star Trek: First Voyages | Star Trek: New Voyages eMagazine | Star Trek: New Voyages podcast |
| Characters: | James T. Kirk | Spock | Leonard McCoy | Hikaru Sulu | Montgomery Scott | Pavel Chekov | Nyota Uhura | Vincent DeSalle | Janice Rand | Christine Chapel | Kargh |
| Actors: | James Cawley | Brian Gross | Jeff Quinn | Ben Tolpin | Brandon Stacy | John Kelley | Charles Root | Andy Bray | Jonathan Zungre | John Lim | J.T. Tepnapa | Julienne Irons | Kim Stinger | Ron Boyd | Meghan King Johnson | Shannon Giles |
| Senior officers of the starships Triton | |||||||||||
| CO | XO | TAC | HELM | NAV | SCI | ENG | COMM | SEC | CMO | ||
NCC-2529 |
Alwine | Lorian (acting) | Rand | Duffy | Lojur | Trinsis | Skyce | Gris | T'Numok | Rustikof | Chapel | |
| NCC-1539 | NCC-2529 | NCC-80106 | |||||||||||
Appendices[]
Appearances[]
- Star Trek (original series)
- Star Trek (animated series)
- Star Trek films
- Star Trek: Phase II
Background information[]
Christine Chapel was played by Majel Barrett, real-life wife of the late Gene Roddenberry. She provided the character's voice in The Animated Series. In early draft scripts, the character was named Christine Baker and Christine Ducheaux.
Shannon Giles (or Shannon Quinlan) portrayed Chapel in Star Trek: Phase II.
External links[]
- Christine Chapel article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
- Christine Chapel article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.