Summary
- Sarah Marshall portrayed Janet Wallace, one of Captain Kirk's old flames, in Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 11, "The Deadly Years"
- Sarah Marshall's character helped Doctor McCoy cure the crew's rapid aging virus and save the day.
- Alice Eve's character in Star Trek into Darkness adopted the name Carol Wallace as a nod to Sarah Marshall.
Sarah Marshall played Janet Wallace, one of the many girlfriends of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) in Star Trek: The Original Series. While Kirk had multiple romances during TOS, his five-year mission also brought him into contact with a few old flames. For example, Kirk's ex, Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), was the primary antagonist in "Turnabout Intruder", the final episode before Star Trek was canceled in 1969. Sarah Marshall's Janet Wallace was another of Kirk's old flames, but she came aboard the USS Enterprise to help its captain, not hinder him.
Janet Wallace only appeared once, in Star Trek: The Original Series, season 2, episode 11, "The Deadly Years", in which she helped Doctor McCoy (DeForest Kelley) to cure the rapid aging virus that was ravaging the crew. Interestingly, there were plans to reunite Sarah Marshall as Janet Wallace with the Star Trek: TOS cast in the movies, but they were ultimately abandoned. Despite Sarah Marshall's abandoned Star Trek comeback, she still made a memorable appearance in "The Deadly Years".
Sarah Marshall Played Kirk’s Girlfriend Janet Wallace In Star Trek: TOS “The Deadly Years”
In Star Trek: The Original Series season 2, episode 11, "The Deadly Years", Janet Wallace was assigned to the USS Enterprise for a mission to Gamma Hydra IV, during which Kirk and his away team succumbed to unknown radiation. It was revealed in "The Deadly Years" that Janice and Kirk had been a couple in 2261, but both abandoned their relationship in favor of their careers. Janet Wallace was a scientist specializing in endocrinology and cell structure, which enabled her to reverse the effects of the radiation in time for Kirk to retake control of the Enterprise from an inept Starfleet Commodore.
Sarah Marshall had been performing on stage and screen for over a decade before her appearance in Star Trek: The Original Series. In 1960, Marshall was nominated as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) at the Tony Awards for her role in Goodbye, Charlie. In 1964, Sarah Marshall married Christopher Held, the actor who played Lindstrom in Star Trek: TOS season 1, episode 22, "Return of the Archons". As well as movie roles in Dave and Dangerous Minds, Marshall also had a string of guest spots in classic TV shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone and Cheers.
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Notable Sarah Marshall Roles |
Film/TV Show |
|---|---|
|
Agnes Stewart |
The Long Hot Summer (1958) |
|
Evelyn Winslow |
Miss Winslow & Son (1979) - All 6 Episodes |
|
Susan Arvey |
Scruples (1980) - All 3 Episodes |
|
Diane |
Dave (1993) |
Star Trek Movies’ Carol Marcus’ Connection To Sarah Marshall & Janet Wallace
In Star Trek: The Original Series' second pilot, "Where No Man Has Gone Before", Gary Mitchell (Gary Lockwood) mentions "a little blonde lab assistant" that Kirk was previously engaged to. Janet Wallace's appearance in "The Deadly Years" heavily suggested that this was who Gary was referring to. However, that became more complicated with the introduction of Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Interestingly, an early draft of Khan featured Janet Wallace as the head of the Omega System, a new and devastating weapon. Later drafts replaced Wallace with Carol and Omega with the Genesis Device.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan also introduced Captain Kirk's son, David Marcus (Merritt Butrick)
However, that wasn't the end of Janet Wallace and Sarah Marshall's links to the Star Trek movies. Alice Eve's Carol Marcus in Star Trek into Darkness is first introduced as Carol Wallace, adopting her mother's birth name, rather than her father's surname. This nod to Sarah Marshall's Star Trek: The Original Series character became particularly poignant as Star Trek into Darkness was released in 2012, the same year that Marshall made her last screen appearance in the movie Bad Blood. Two years later, Sarah Marshall passed away, leaving behind one of Captain Kirk's more memorable ex-girlfriends.
