Star Trek: The Next Generation

You are an officer on the greatest starship in the galaxy. Your home is the flagship of the united federation of the planets. It took a lot to get here; this post is one that every other person in your profession dreams of holding. That’s right, you are an officer on the Starship Enterprise 1701-D. Your superior officers inspire the respect of the entire crew, a population of over 1000.

Obviously it takes a significant amount of hard work, dedication, and just pure talent to obtain such an important and respected position. Looking at them, you see professionals, people you would want to have at your helm in a standoff against the Romulons or the Borg. Well, at least most of them. That one woman there at the end, the one without the regulation uniform, the deep V-neck and the long flowing hair, what’s her problem? You’re pretty sure you’ve never seen her actually being useful. What was her contribution to the action at Farpoint? Getting a headache and muttering vague uselessness about pain, that’s what.

Deanna Troi. She had such potential to be a strong, independent female character. Her other female counterparts did well for themselves: Beverly Crusher portrayed not only an impressive medical professional but also a single mother that was always there for her son, even if the entire galaxy found him annoying; Lieutenant Yarr, while short lived, was always the first crew member to intercept an opponent and let them know who was boss, while still being feminine enough to steal the otherwise cold heart of an android incapable of feeling.

As I said, Troi had potential. As a half betazoid, Deanna was able to sense the emotions of almost any creature in the galaxy. For a starship with the sole mission of seeking out new life forms and making peace with the universe, having such a skill could have been invaluable. Unfortunately, things never seemed to work out so that Deanna’s ability was actually helpful. She would sit at Picard’s left-hand, but all she could contribute to a briefing on why was going to were things like “I feel such pain, suffering…” or “They are masking their thoughts, I can’t be sure.” She’s the head counselor of the greatest starship of her time, but take away her special power and suddenly she can’t use her psychology degree?

For whatever reason, any episode that focused mainly on Troi quickly turned into a glimpse into a short lived romance. Either that or she would be the damsel in distress, waiting in the thick of things while countless redshirts (and the previously mentioned Yarr) give up their lives to save her.

Could it be that Deanna’s character is just a tribute of sorts to the original show, where every woman within a 100 yard radius was supposed to fall head over heels for Captain Kirk? When the uniforms were tight and awkwardly revealing, but it didn’t matter because none of the women were truly in positions of power anyways? Because that’s what it comes down to, Troi wears a jumpsuit that does nothing to diminish her already curvy figure, so she isn’t allowed to be taken seriously.

You scoff? You shouldn’t. Because, while in the first 5 or 6 seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation Troi is sort of a joke, eventually she does have to put on a uniform, and suddenly she becomes a 3 dimensional character.