Barbara Baldavin had close ties to Star Trek production — and they still forgot her character's name

By: H&I Staff     Posted: November 24, 2020, 11:00AM

Barbara Baldavin was married to Star Trek in two ways, really. The early episode "Balance of Terror," the tense classic that introduced the Romulans, opens with Kirk presiding over a wedding. Two crew members, Angela Martine (Baldavin) and Robert Tomlinson (Stephen Mines) are tying the knot. It's our first glimpse at matrimony in Starfleet. 

But Baldavin had martial ties to Star Trek in a more tangible way behind the scenes. The actress was married to Joseph D'Agosta, the casting director of Star Trek: The Original Series.

Now, that might sound like nepotism or some kind of favored status, but everything wasn't tilted in Baldavin's favor on Star Trek. Just one episode later, in the more lighthearted "Shore Leave," the writers forgot her character's name. Oops!

Listen closely when Kirk beams down onto the R&R planet in Omicron Delta. He marches to Baldavin's character and asks, "Teller, everything all right?"

Wait… Teller?

Indeed, in the original script, the gold-shirted character was named "Mary Teller." 

Midway through production, someone noticed the discrepancy. Which is why, at the end of the episode, Baldavin is credited as "Angela," even though Kirk calls her "Teller."

Baldavin later went into her husband's field of showbiz — casting. She worked as a casting director on Trapper John, M.D. and Dynasty. We bet she probably made sure her cast got their character's name straight.

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