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Star Trek 101: Arex and M'Ress

All about these two colorful characters, Arex and M'Ress


The Animated Series

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Star Trek 101 debuted in October 2016 -- and the latest regular StarTrek.com column serves two functions: succinctly introduce Star Trek newcomers to the basic foundations and elements of the franchise and refresh the memories of longtime Trek fans. We're pulling our entries from the book Star Trek 101: A Practical Guide to Who, What, Where, And Why, written by Terry J. Erdmann & Paula M. Block and published in 2008 by Pocket Books. An invaluable resource, it encompasses The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Enterprise, as well as the first 10 Trek feature films.

Today, we share Star Trek 101's files on two colorful characters from The Animated Series, Arex and M'Ress.

AREX (James Doohan), navigator

"Approaching parking orbit, Capain."

Arex sits next to Sulu on the bridge and handles the ship's navigational functions. He has a bright red complexion and yellow eyes. Although Arex's planet of origin isn't mentioned in the episodes, the background notes for the show indicate that he is from Edos, where the number three obviously is popular. His people have three arms, three legs and three fingers on each hand.

Key Arex Episode:

"Mudd's Passion"

M'Ress (Majel Barrett), communications officer

"You're funny -- and very attractive for a human." -- "Mudd's Passion"

Lieutenant M'Ress is an attractive feline who serves as the ship's relief communications officer. Like Arex, M'Ress' homeworld was never mentioned on air. However, background notes for the show suggest that she's from the planet Cait, in the Lynx system. Visually, she's a cross between a lioness and a shapely human female. Although Earth's lions don't sport manes, M'Ress has long flowing locks on her head, which emphasize her femininity. Her voice is soft and sexy, and she tends to use throaty purrs for punctuation.

Key M'Ress episode:

"Mudd's Passion"

Paula M. Block and Terry J. Erdmann are coauthors of numerous books about the entertainment industry, including Star Trek 101; Star Trek Costumes: Fifty Years of Fashion from the Final Frontier; Star Trek: The Original Series 365; and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion. They currently are writing the latest in their series of Ferengi novellas, which (so far) includes Lust’s Latinum Lost (and Found); and Rules of Accusation. Their most recent non-Star Trek book is Labyrinth: The Ultimate Visual History.