Counselor Troi: The Most Tortured Character in Star Trek

Writing freelance for Star Trek: The Next Generation afforded me a fantastic chance to play with some of the coolest characters in pop culture. My Star Trek TV episode, Homeward, focused on Worf (Michael Dorn), the Klingon officer dealing with foster brother Nikolai (Paul Sorvino). There was also sentient android Data, noble Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart), dependable Cmdr. Riker, the caring Dr. Crusher, and Chief Engineer Laforge - a blind man with unique vision.

And then there was Troi.

Counselor Deanna Troi, played beautifully by exotic Marina Sirtis, impressed us as crucial to the Enterprise; a professional helping our crew remain mentally stable. Moreover, like Spock in original Star Trek, she intrigued as living embodiment of Gene Roddenberry's IDIC philosophy - Infinite Diversity Infinite Combinations. She's a melding of two races - half Human from her father, half Betazoid from her alien mother. Such elements offered unique chances for stories, but it wasn't all that easy. Troi isn't just intuitive. She's psychic. Alien genes give her an empathic ability to 'sense' emotions. She feels what others feel.

Engaged in tense diplomatic negotiation, or determining if someone lied, this 'feel for feelings' can indeed be valuable, but limiting. Unlike Dr. Crusher's medical expertise which allows her to be integral when injured need help, or cure dread disease, Troi merely offers up a 'vibe' on things. This limitation didn't prevent writers from utilizing her however. Use her they did, arguably verging on torturous exploitation, until potent drama was mined.

Indeed, it's hard finding a more tortured Star Trek character than Deanna Troi. Sure, Captain Kirk and Spock had woes. Temperamental warp drive engines troubled Scotty. LaForge (Levar Burton) never got the girl, and we pitied him, but the mental and physical trauma suffered by Troi stands depressingly above the rest. It's almost as if the writers, nagged by her limits, strove to penalize her for it. Or maybe since emotion plays so a big role in Troi's life, it was only natural for her to become a sort of melodramatic magnetic. Whatever the case, poor Troi was tortured more than most.

Skin Of Evil

Troi is held captive by an obscene beast of an alien creature, who mentally abuses her. He's literally an oozing skin of evil - a putrid, black dripping hateful thing. It calls itself Armus, and even needlessly kills Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), taunting Troi after the murder. As the crew try to free her and another injured crewman, the exchanges between Troi and Armus brim with memorable dialogue gems.

The Survivors

When an old couple are sole survivors of a brutal attack, Picard solves a mystery, while a horrifying thing tortures Troi. A melody lodged in her brain threatens to drive her mad. The song plays in her head over and over. Even Dr. Crusher can't help. Troi becomes a basket case, screaming tearfully, "Make it stop! It's so loud! I can't stand it, make it stop!" Crusher says she'll make her sleep to escape the sadistic song, but Troi says, "The music will only follow me!" Her fractured psyche, crumbling underneath an onslaught of musical psychic attack, remains one of the most compelling Troi torture moments ever.

Manhunt

Imagine your middle aged mother hitting puberty again, while your shocked co-workers get a front row seat to the sordid, soap opera spectacle. Long before Desperate Housewives, or Cougar Town, there was Lwaxana Troi. Played to comic perfection by Majel Barrett Roddenberry - Gene Roddenberry's wife - she above all forces, natural or artificial, may have tortured Troi best. Isn't that always the case with dear old mom?

The Loss

Troi relies on her empathy. It makes her a better counselor, and lends her a cosmic sparkle as a Star Trek character. When she loses that prized psychic gift, it's hard to adjust. Marina Sirtis playing scenes with Jonathan Frakes (Riker) and Guinan - Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg of The View - are among a few of the best from the entire Emmy Award nominated show.

The Price

Romantic torture can be worst of all. Here Betazoid negotiator Ral, played by Matt McCoy, plays fast and loose with Troi's feelings. The plot involves bids to acquire rights to a stable wormhole, but central focus is how Troi's feelings are exploited by the dashing, but ultimately dastardly Devinoni Ral.

Man Of The People

Politicians are stressed out. To alleviate his stressful condition, Ambassador Alkar dumps all his mental stress into Troi. This channeling of negative energy causes her to become outrageously sexual, insultingly outspoken and even violent. Here's another acting tour de force from Sirtis, and it proves that Troi torture makes for memorable times.

Violations

Rape is a devastating violation. An alien with irresistible psychic powers essentially mind rapes Troi. The notion of invading someone in the most intimate way through psychic attack is revisited in the final feature film with the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast, Star Trek: Nemesis. Reman commander Shinzon (Tom Hardy) mentally projects intimate thoughts into Troi, posing as her new husband Cmdr. William Riker.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708746/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708819/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0253754/

http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Violations_(episode)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhunt_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)