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Published Feb 24, 2016

Famke Janssen Talks TNG & Her New Film, Jack of the Red Hearts

Famke Janssen is best known these days for starring in such major film franchises as X-Men, Taken and James Bond, and for her nuanced work in many indie features, including City of Industry, Made, The Wackness and Bringing Up Bobby (which she also produced, directed and wrote). She’s also recurred on the television series Nip/Tuck and How to Get Away with Murder , and for three seasons played Olivia Godfrey on Hemlock Grove . Given the breadth and depth of her credits, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Janssen – who hails from the Netherlands -- started out as a model-turned-actress whose turn as Kamala in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “ The Perfect Mate ” marked one of her very first on-screen appearances.

What intrigued you about Kamala as a character? I wasn’t familiar with Star Trek at all, so I didn’t know until much later how unusual a character she was. It was just a really fun character to play. It was iconic in the end only because I ended up working with Patrick years later on the X-Men movies. So we had this whole history before we started working together on X-Men , and that, of course, made it so much easier. Coming in on a big action film like that, it’s always a little nerve-wracking, so it was great to have had that previous experience with Star Trek and to not have been a stranger to him.

Again, visit www.jackoftheredhearts.com for details about Jack of the Red Hearts.

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Famke Janssen's Star Trek Role Was A TNG Tragedy - And A Prelude To X-Men?

Throughout her prolific career, Dutch model-turned-actor Famke Janssen has touched almost every conceivable franchise, and in one of her earliest roles, she had the impressive distinction of collaborating with Sir Patrick Stewart. Fans now know  "Star Trek: The Next Generation " wouldn't be the last time the two would share the screen, which made her "TNG" role feel even more tragic in retrospect.

In Janssen's second-ever credit, she plays Kamala, an empathic metamorph who — like a certain famous mutant she plays later in her career — loses agency in her decisions. But before that can happen, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Stewart) encounters her as cargo. When the two meet, Kamala is being transported as the intended wife for Chancellor Alrik (Mickey Cottrell) to restore peace between planets in an arranged marriage. Her empathic and metamorphic abilities make her the ideal mate for her intended, but when she meets Picard before her fiancé, she imprints on him instead. The two fall in love with each other, which creates a conflict.

Picard holds certain ideals that Kamala absorbs because of her abilities. But because the Enterprise captain can't run away with her, he ultimately supports the marriage because it will unite two planets, and because Kamala is Picard's ideal mate, she shares his ideals. She goes through with the union, even though she and Picard love each other. This is an ending that's tragic enough on its own, but it feels even sadder in retrospect considering what happened when Janssen once again teamed up with Stewart in her most famous role to date.

Jean Grey was just as tragic

When Famke Janssen reunited with Sir Patrick Stewart in the "X-Men" franchise, it was under circumstances that were less romantic but just as tragic. In the first film, Jean Grey is a mutant teacher at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, chafing at the concept of government-decreed Mutant Registration. This gets infinitely more complex in later films with the first live-action attempt at adapting the notoriously divisive Dark Phoenix Saga .

Veering away from the cosmic origins of the Phoenix in the comics, the movies spin a more grounded tale. In the films, Xavier (Stewart) discovers that Jean's telekinesis is so destructive that he feels he has to put safeguards in her mind to stop it from getting out of control. But after her supposed death in "X2," the walls he put into place come tumbling down. She becomes an unstoppable force known as the Phoenix and goes so far as to kill Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier. Once again, Janssen plays a character who has no control over her ultimate fate, and Stewart's character is in no position to help her.

Both Kamala and Jean are tragic figures, but Kamala makes out a little better because, at least, she's still alive. Jean's only way out is through death via Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) claws, because not even she can control herself anymore. Though Janssen could not have known when she first got the role in "The Next Generation," Kamala was a strange and tragic precursor of what was to come down the line for her other, more famous role.

35 Actresses You Forgot Appeared In ‘Star Trek’

For the past 50 years, the  Star Trek  franchise has captured audiences imaginations on both the big and small screen, with six TV series and a dozen feature films, as well as some upcoming  projects in the pipeline . During that half-century, Star Trek has managed to accrue quite the ensemble of guest stars, playing everyone from alien races from far-off worlds to people from Earth’s past and present. We’ve previously looked at some of the great actors who have popped up , so here’s a rundown of 35 actresses that are forever part of Star Trek history.

Michelle Forbes

Having had recurring roles in several TV staples like  True Blood  and  Homicide: Life on the Street , Forbes is also known for playing Ensign Ro Loren in Star Trek: The Next Generation , a part she got after impressing producers with a one-off performance as the character Dara earlier in the show’s run.

Ashley Judd

The now-famous Judd got her start in front of the camera as Ensign Robin Lefler in two episodes of  Star Trek: The Next Generation’s fifth season. While she’s since made it to Hollywood’s A-List as an actress, she comes from a famous family, with both her mother and step-sister singing vocals in the country supergroup The Judds.

Julie Warner

Warner had acted in a handful of TV roles prior to Star Trek: The Next Generation , where she played Cristy Henshaw, a civilian resident of the Enterprise D and an on-again, off-again girlfriend to Lt. Geordi La Forge (Lavar Burton).

Olivia d’Abo

The cool older sister from The Wonder Years,  Olivia D’Abo, did a one-episode spot as Amanda Rogers in Star Trek: The Next Generation, who started aboard the Enterprise-D as the intern to Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), before it was revealed that she was a descendant of Q. Which meant she had to come to terms with that whole super-powerful, four-dimensional being thing.

Famke Janssen

The original Jean Grey from the   X-Men  film franchise had her first small-screen role as Kamala, a Kriosian who falls in love with Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) during an episode of  Star Trek: The Next Generation .

A minor TV star throughout the ’90s and early-2000s, Cox was barely recognizable behind all the prosthetics as Sarjenka, a Dreman girl in communication with the android Data (Brent Spiner), who urges Picard’s help in saving her world. Data even manages to show some affection toward her after she’s returned home having had her memory of the Enterprise erased, because sometimes the Prime Directive is harsh.

Kirsten Dunst

Having just finished starring as Peggy Blumquist on the second season of  Fargo  on FX , Dunst has literally grown up on the silver screen. Which meant she had a pretty impressive acting resume by the time she guest starred as the telepathic Cairn Hedril in the seventh season of Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Brenda Strong

The character of Rashella, played by Brenda Strong, was an Aldean who aimed to repopulate her near-sterile planet using the Enterprise-D’s resident children in an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . Strong has since returned to the sci-fi genre these days, guest starring in The CW’s brilliant original series The 100 .

Pamela Adlon

Before she was the cranky, apprehensive girlfriend on FX’s Louis , Pamela Adlon, (then Pamela Segall), she played Oji in a single episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation . A member of the less-advanced Mintakin tribe, she’s left in awe of how the technology aboard the Enterprise-D was able to heal her father, Liko, leaving Picard to re-explain to her the concept of mortality.

Bebe Neuwirth

Neuwirth, best known as Frasier’s ex on Cheers , played Nurse Lanel in the fourth season of The Next Generation . Stationed aboard the Malconian medical facility, she helps First Officer William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) escape, but only on the condition that he helps her cross ‘sex with an alien’ off her bucket list.

Teri Hatcher

Early on in her career, with only a couple roles under her belt, this  Desperate Housewives star had to settle for an uncredited part as a transporter chief in an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation’s second season.

Whoopi Goldberg

Yes, you remember Whoopi Goldberg’s Guinan, the El-Aurian bartender of Ten-Forward, the Enterprise-D’s lounge from Star Trek: The Next Generation , but maybe some people don’t. While she was part of the race known as The Listeners, making her the ideal barkeep, she was also known to dole out sagely advice to Starfleet personnel now and then.

Kim Catrall

Vulcan Starfleet officer Valeris was, at first, written in as Saavik, the character first played by Kirstie Alley in 1981’s  Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan  — a role Catrall herself auditioned for. She agreed to appear in Trek’s sixth installment, The Undiscovered Country , but only after learning that she’d be playing an entirely new character all her own.

The actress/supermodel played Martia in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , a double-crossing shape-shifter who, over the course of the film, would also take the form of a massive alien, a young girl, and eventually Captain Kirk himself, the last one giving us one of the most self-aware  Star Trek  jokes of all time.

Yvonne Craig

In the mid 1960s, Yvonne Craig went from playing Batgirl on TV’s Batman to playing Marta, a member of the Orion race and one of  Star Trek’s quintessential green seductresses. However, despite her very best efforts, she fails to both seduce and stab Captain Kirk.

Jane Wiedlin

Wiedlin was already famous as the singer/guitarist in the definitive ’80s band The Go-Gos, but she had an extremely brief cameo in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home as Trillya, a Communications Officer sending out a desperate distress call out to Starfleet. Thankfully, she got a bit more screen time as Joan of Arc in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure .

Catherine Hicks

Dr. Gillian Taylor, a 20th century in-house whale expert in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, was played by soap opera mainstay Catherine Hicks, who’d go on to play family matriarch Annie Camden for 11 seasons on  7th Heaven .

Kirstie Alley

In her big-screen debut, Alley played Saavik, the Vulcan Starfleet officer in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . She’d turn down the chance to reprise her role in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock over a financial dispute, which meant the role was recast with actress Robin Curtis. She’d go back and forth between roles on the big and small screen, and would eventually make TV history by replacing Shelly Long on the long-running Cheers .

The Oscar-winning actress and comedy icon had a role as secretary Roberta Lincoln in Star Trek ‘s Cold War episode “Assignment Earth.” And, like many in the 20th century the Enterprise crew seems to encounter, she ended up playing a fateful role in the future of humankind.

Julie Newmar

One of the three actresses to play Catwoman opposite Adam West in Batman,  Newmar had a role on Star Trek as Eleen, a pregnant Capellan who was forced to flee her home after a coup against her husband left him dead. She ended up returning to the role of Catwoman by voicing the role in Rocksteady Video Games’ Arkham Knight last year.

Sally Kellerman

After CBS elected to re-film the  Star Trek  pilot, they made a few changes. One, they cast William Shatner as James T. Kirk, another was their hiring Sally Kellerman to play Elizabeth Dehner, a Starfleet officer who develops uncanny abilities after encountering the psionic barrier.

Joan Collins

While she’s most readily associated with 80’s TV staple Dynasty , she stars in one of Star Trek’s most beloved episodes, “City On The Edge of Tomorrow,” playing the big-hearted Edith Keeler. When Kirk and Spock go back in time to rescue Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk ends up falling in love with her, despite knowing the pivotal role she plays in the future of mankind (of course!).

Dina Meyer played the Romulan Commander Donatra in Star Trek: Nemesis  back in 2002, the same year she was cast as Barbara Gordon in the series Birds of Prey , a Batman adaptation sans-Batman. She’s probably best remembered, though, as the ill-fated Dizzy Flores in the 1997’s Starship Troopers .

Heather Langenkamp

You wouldn’t know it from looking at her, but that’s Nightmare on Elm Street’s Heather Langenkamp underneath all those prosthetics playing Moto, a Starfleet Security Officer in Star Trek: Into Darkness . The actress was initially working on the film as a make-up artist before she landed the role.

Lark Voorhies

Voorhies, known for an entire generation as Lisa Turtle from Saved By The Bell , was also part of the Star Trek universe as Leanne, a civilian resident of the Deep Space 9 station who was romantically involved with Jake Sisto (Cirroc Lofton) for a spell.

Gabrielle Union

Former teen heartthrob Gabrielle Union stuck fairly close to typecasting for her one-episode role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as N’Garen, a young Klingon weapons officer.

Sarah Silverman

This comedy superstar played 20th century scientist Rain Robinson on Star Trek: Voyager in the mid-1990s during the two-part episode “Future’s End,” which like all female scientists from the 20th century, ended up falling for a Starfleet office. Silverman has managed to stay in the spotlight throughout the bulk of her career, balancing her standup with guest starring roles in shows like Masters of Sex , as well as lighthearted material, like her frequent voice work on Bob’s Burgers .

Virginia Madsen

While she was immensely popular in the mid-80s, actress Virginia Madsen has continued to work consistently, proving her ability to blend herself into any part. Such was the case with her role in Star Trek: Voyager as Kellin, a Ramuran tracer who, because of the traits of her species, ends up having a rather complicated love affair with one of the crew members.

Sharon Lawrence

During her run as Sylvia Costas on NYPD Blue , Lawrence starred as Amelia Earhart, the female pilot and 20th century icon who was written in as a character on  Star Trek: Voyager.  The show goes so far as to solve her mysterious disappearance, which was the work of the alien species the Briori.

Rachael Harris

Another well-known staple in the world of comedy, Harris played Martis, an Ocampan who gives birth to her daughter, Kes, who would later become a crew member of The USS Intrepid on   Star Trek: Voyager .

The Orange is the New Black actress, perhaps best remembered from  A League of Their Own, pops up in a Star Trek: Voyager  episode as Noss, a mysterious stranger who lives on an uncharted planet, teaching Tom Paris and Tuvok how to survive on the desolate world she calls home.

Joanna Cassidy

Cassidy has been acting since the late-1960s, and eventually added Star Trek to her resume as the Vulcan T’Les, an instructor at the Vulcan Science Academy in Star Trek: Enterprise back in 2004 . 

Wynona Ryder

For the J.J. Abrams ‘  Star Trek reboot, Winona Rider played the part of Amanda Grayson, the human mother of Spock (played by both Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy), who was killed while trying to evacuated her adopted home planet.

Jennifer Morrison

Yes, Emma Swan from NBC’s Once Upon A Time played Winona, the mother of Captain Kirk (now played by Chris Pine), in Star Trek and the sequel Star Trek: Into Darkness .

Alfre Woodard

A survivor of the third world war, Alfre Woodard played Lily Sloane, a human who helps Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) build the first ever warp drive, drawing intergalactic attention to planet Earth in Star Trek: First Contact . Of course, the Enterprise-D is drawn in to help stave off some unwanted attention from the time-traveling Borg.

The Perfect Mate (episode)

• View history
• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Log entries
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Story and script
• 3.3 Production
• 3.4 Sets, props, and costumes
• 3.5 Cast and characters
• 3.6 Continuity
• 3.7 Reception
• 3.8 Video and DVD releases
• 3.9 Broadcast and Reruns
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Co-stars
• 4.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.6 Stunt doubles
• 4.7 Stand-ins
• 4.8 References
• 4.9 External links

Summary [ ]

The Enterprise is en route to mediate a peace treaty between the Valtese and the Kriosians . While welcoming Ambassador Briam aboard, the Enterprise receives a distress call from a Ferengi shuttle about to suffer a collapse of the containment field and explode. The Enterprise arrives to their rescue and Ensign Hubbell manages to beam aboard the two Ferengi before their shuttle explodes. Worf escorts them to quarters . They seem thankful to be there, but when Worf leaves, they remark to themselves that it "was too easy."

Act One [ ]

Picard resumes talking with Briam, and takes him to the holodeck , where the Temple of Akadar has been programmed for the peace talks. He is impressed with the program and optimistic. Briam needs to consult the history a bit more before continuing with Geordi La Forge for preparations. As they leave, one of the Ferengi, Par Lenor forcefully introduces himself to Briam attempting to gain exclusive trading rights, but Picard and La Forge eventually pull him away.

Meanwhile, sneaking around the ship curiously, the other Ferengi named Qol discovers a strange, glowing cocoon in one of the cargo bays . He attempts to scan it while standing on a few stacked barrels, but slips when Worf, who asks him what he's doing, and a security team enter. He kicks a barrel into one of the suspension beams, making it overcompensate and slice open the cocoon. As the captain, Briam, and Riker enter, the cocoon slowly falls to the ground and melts before their eyes, revealing a beautiful woman, while Worf pulls Qol away to his quarters, where he will be under guard. She approaches Picard, and gives herself to him, thinking he is Alrik .

Act Two [ ]

Her name is Kamala , and she is an empathic metamorph , a woman with the genetic aptitude to meet the desires of any man she is with. She has the ability to sense what a potential mate wants, what he needs, and what gives him the greatest pleasure and then to become that for him until she reaches the final stage of bonding, during which she must imprint upon herself the requirements of one man, to serve as his perfect partner in life. From birth she has been reared for this event and is thus being presented as a gift to Alrik, to seal the peace agreement between Krios and Valt Minor. By the symbolic act of wedding this perfect mate to the leader of Valt Minor – Chancellor Alrik – Ambassador Briam hopes to end the longstanding conflict that has been plaguing both their worlds for centuries.

Commander Riker escorts Kamala to quarters. She warns him about her elevated pheromones . This is due to her being in finiis'ral , the final stage of her sexual maturing process , during which her body produces an unusually high amount of pheromones which are very provocative to members of the opposite sex. Because this is the final stage of her sexual maturation, she must also bond with whoever she wishes to be the most like for the rest of her life in a very short time. Nevertheless, due to her empathic nature and elevated hormone levels, Kamala cannot resist briefly responding to Riker's inner desires and even attempting to seduce him. Fortunately, Riker shows himself to be disciplined enough to resist her advances (insisting that he has a policy "not to open another man's gift"), though he is clearly severely tempted. After staggering out of Kamala's quarters, Riker taps his combadge and calls the bridge, informing them he will be in Holodeck 4 if they need him.

While they are having breakfast in his cabin, Dr. Crusher objects to the Enterprise crew essentially facilitating the "sale" of Kamala, a sentient being , into "a life of virtual prostitution ." Picard rejoins that arranged marriage has been a diplomatic tool for centuries, including on Earth . Crusher does not relent, and Picard sarcastically suggests that they throw the Prime Directive to the winds, stop the marriage, and allow the two cultures' war to continue. But Crusher has the last word, informing him that Briam has confined Kamala to her quarters like a prisoner. Picard is taken aback, and disturbed, to hear this.

Picard decides to pay her a visit. Although she turns the heads of many men, including that of Riker, she herself develops a very particular interest in Picard. During that visit, he already feels himself being affected by the things she does with men and asks her to stop doing whatever she is doing. However, Kamala states that this is her nature and that her wishes and her needs are fulfilled by what she gives to others. She tells Picard that he knows her better than he realizes, for she is independent, forceful, brilliant, and adventurous – exactly as he would have her be. A very uneasy Picard makes his way quickly out of her quarters and in an effort to protect both himself and Kamala from the effects that she has on men. He says he'll talk to Briam about her confinement.

Act Three [ ]

" The reason your empathic powers do not perceive anything is because as an android, I have no emotion. "

Picard tells Briam he won't let Kamala be confined, despite his warnings of trouble, the same as Kamala mentioned earlier. Picard is aware of this however, so he assigns Data as her chaperone . However, Kamala causes quite a stir around the ship, for wherever she goes she stirs feelings of affection, adoration, and even downright lust in the hearts of male crew members and visitors. When Kamala and Data arrive in Ten Forward sometime later, her effect is immediately apparent in the miners the Enterprise had picked up at Harod IV . Riker, who is having a drink with Worf, leaves to avoid what he knows is coming. Kamala and Data go up to the bar , at which point one of the miners begins harassing Kamala. Data tells the miner that his behavior is extremely rude, before the other miners begin bothering Kamala as well, though she takes it in stride and is comfortable with it. When Worf steps in, however, the miners stop. Data escorts Kamala out of the bar to take her to the ship's arboretum . Just before they leave, Kamala growls at Worf suggestively and Worf instinctively growls back, before composing himself.

In Picard's ready room sometime later, Picard is informed of the incident in Ten Forward. Picard tells Kamala that he has confidence in his crew members' self-control, but there are guests and civilians aboard the Enterprise . Kamala then displays her knowledge on a variety of subjects, including Shakespeare 's work and Picard's origins in France . Kamala tells Picard that some of her knowledge of Picard's origins came from help from Data. The more Picard surrounds himself with Kamala, the more he talks with her and the more he gets to know her, the more he feels himself drawn to her, while at the same time recognizing the impossibility of such a union. He even tries to convince Kamala that he is actually pretty dull, falling asleep with a book in his hand every night. However, Kamala does not give in, for she knows that some part of Picard wants her to continue pursuing him.

Meanwhile, the Ferengi Par Lenor and Qol make their reasons for being on the Enterprise known; they want to buy Kamala from Briam. They offer up to twenty thousand Ludugial gold coins. Briam is understandably offended, and, after thanking the Ferengi for sharing the information, promises to tell Picard, but the impulsive Ferengi attack Briam and he falls, striking his head on a glass table and falling into a coma.

Act Four [ ]

In sickbay sometime later, Crusher tells Picard and Kamala that if they're lucky, Briam should regain consciousness within a few days. Kamala, however, tells Picard that the peace negotiations can't wait that long because of her premature removal from stasis, so the responsibility falls with Picard who – while having diplomatic experience – is not quite familiar with all the ceremonial requirements of the treaty and requires the assistance of Kamala who knows about the rituals and ceremony of her people. After Kamala tells Picard about her childhood, she finds it rather ironic that on the eve of this ceremony, which she has spent her entire life preparing for, that she should meet a man like him.

Finally, Chancellor Alrik arrives on the Enterprise and quickly establishes himself as not particularly interested in either Kamala or a mate, only in trade agreements. However, he is willing to accept Kamala as it furthers his aforementioned ambitions. Picard himself is apprehensive as to what Kamala will become when she is joined with Alrik.

Picard pays a visit to Kamala in her quarters. He informs her that Chancellor Alrik is on board and that the next morning she will meet him at last. Kamala begs Picard to stay and talk to her as she loves the sound of his voice and she doesn't want to be alone. Kamala says she will turn out the lights and just listen to him. After some thought Picard gives in, on the condition that the lights stay on.

Act Five [ ]

During morning tea, Picard confides in Crusher that he can't help thinking about her being with a man who cares more about trade agreements. He says jokingly that this is all Crusher's fault, as she was the one telling him he needed to check on her and now he has fallen in love with her.

Shortly before her wedding ceremony, Kamala confesses to Picard, who is now in his dress uniform , that she will never truly love Alrik, for she has bonded with Picard. Who she is today, she will be forever. However, her empathic abilities will allow her to please Alrik and continue the facade in order to keep the peace. After having bonded with Picard, she also has learned the meaning of duty. " I only hope he likes Shakespeare " she adds with a smile. Picard then escorts her to Alrik.

The wedding is a simple, yet elegant affair. Alrik meets Kamala in the holodeck reproduction of the Temple of Akadar, she repeats the ceremonial line which defines her existence, " I am for you, Alrik of Valt, " and they kiss. If Alrik is moved by Kamala's beauty, he does not show it. Picard, standing nearby, appears distraught.

When Briam is recovered and preparing to leave the ship , he asks Picard's permission to ask a personal question. Briam knows full well why he was chosen to escort Kamala on this peace mission: as a very old man of over two hundred years , her pheromones don't affect him as much; however, he'd be lying if he said they didn't affect him at all. Briam is astonished that Picard worked with her for days, side by side, and cannot help but wonder how Picard could possibly resist her. Picard merely responds by wishing the ambassador a safe trip home. Picard stands in the transporter room long after the ambassador transports off, and the two ships depart, going their own, separate ways.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2368

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Mr. Worf, assign the Ferengi to quarters. Not too close to mine. "

" This has been very educational, but I make it a policy never to open another man's gift. "

" I am for you, Alrik of Valt. "

" Riker to bridge, if you need me I'll be on Holodeck 4. "

" Grrrrrrrrrr "

" Kamala, you are one day away from an arranged mating. Why would you want me to visit you in your quarters? " " I said a visit. I didn't ask you to make love to me. "

" Nothing, nothing lies beneath. I'm really quite dull. I fall asleep each night with an old book in my hands. " " When a metamorph finds you interesting, do not take it lightly. " " Oh, I'm not taking it lightly, I'm just trying… to be as dull as possible. "

" Even the walls of Jericho fell, Captain. "

" Do you find me unattractive? " " I find you unavailable. "

" Now that I know that you are listening to my voice, I find that I can't think of anything to say. "

" A starship captain must encounter all sorts of lifeforms. Am I one of the most unique you've ever met? Please say yes. " " Yes. " " What a nice thing to say. "

" Haven't I done my best to discourage this? " " Maybe that's the perfect way to attract a metamorph. "

" Penny… " " What? " " … for your thoughts. Penny for your thoughts. " " Do you have one? " " I'm sure the replicator will have one on file. " " Beverly, may I take off the uniform for a moment? " " Captain! "

" Perhaps I just needed a shoulder. " " Well, it's there for you, Jean-Luc. It always has been. "

" I will never truly love him. " " You've not even met him. " " It no longer matters. I wish I could convey to you what it's like to be a metamorph; to feel the inner strength of someone; to realize that being with him is opening your mind and heart to endless new possibilities; to hear yourself say "I like myself when I'm with him". " " Kamala… " " For a metamorph, there's no greater pleasure, and no greater wish, than to bond with that kind of mate at the end of the finis'raal as I have bonded with you. " " With me? " " Who I am today, I will be forever. "

" Would you ask me to stay? And ask two armies to keep fighting? Having bonded with you, I've learned the meaning of duty. He'll never know. I'm still empathic, I will be able to please him. " I only hope he likes Shakespeare! "

" Ambassador, have a safe trip home. "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Third draft script: 24 January 1992
• Final draft script, and storyboards by Dan Curry : 10 February 1992 [1]
• Production meeting: 11 February 1992 ("Cost of Living" call sheet)
• Filmed: 14 February 1992 – 25 February 1992
• Premiere airdate: 27 April 1992
• First UK airdate: 10 May 1995

Story and script [ ]

• Of the story, Michael Piller commented, " We have Beverly argue the point that Kamala 's mission amounts to prostitution . And we have Picard taking the other tack: that whether or not we approve, we can't change or interfere with the way these people are. And if you accept Roddenberry's vision, which we are built on, you have to respect that. " ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 200))
• The script was revised by a number of writers. According to Piller, the central issue was that the relationship between Picard and Kamala wasn't working. He remembered, " In a long memo to René Echevarria , I said this show does not work if the audience, at least the men, do not fall in love with this woman too. She must be fully rounded, bright, engaging, with a great personality and the audience should say, 'I see the problem for Picard.' If there's no magnetic electricity between the two of them and it doesn't happen for me as a man watching her, then the audience will not accept for one second that Picard would even give her a second thought. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 245)
• " Gary Perconte " was a pseudonym for Piller's friend Reuben Leder, who disliked the rewrites to his draft script. This was the only time that a writer requested a pseudonym during Piller's time on The Next Generation . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion  (2nd ed., p. 200))
• An alternate ending proposed by Piller during production showed Picard intervening during the ceremony to stop the wedding, only to reveal that his abrupt intervention was only in his imagination, as the ceremony continued. Although Patrick Stewart liked the idea, Piller was overruled by Rick Berman . ( Star Trek: The Next Generation 365 , p. 256) This scene is included as an extra on the TNG Season 5 Blu-ray .
• Two additional endings were considered, but not filmed. One of these had Kamala interrupting the ceremony to decline both Alrik and Picard. Piller remembered, " She says through Picard's influence she's been enlightened and is going off in search of adventure, leaving both men standing there. I was overruled. I think that those who overruled me would say that her leaving was not justified by anything else in the script, but I would argue with that. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 245)
• Rick Berman recalled that there were a number of heated discussions about the choice of ending. " None of us will ever know which of the four would have been best. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 245)

Production [ ]

• "The Perfect Mate" was filmed between Friday 14 February 1992 and Thursday 25 February 1992 on Paramount Stage 8 , 9 , and 16 .
• On Monday 24 February 1992 the sets were visited by people from Premium Advanced Sales and on 25 February 1992 the cast and crew celebrated "Surfer Pants Day", where the wearer of the most unique pair of baggy surfer pants was awarded with a prize. ("The Perfect Mate" call sheet)
• The production meeting for this episode took place on Tuesday 11 February 1992 at 3:00 pm. ("Cost of Living" call sheet)

Sets, props, and costumes [ ]

• According to composer Jay Chattaway , the Kriosian musical instrument was represented by a Balinese Gamelan instrument. The producers brought in Balinese musicians to provide the piece of music heard in the episode. ("Memorable Missions Year Five – The Perfect Mate", TNG Season 5 DVD special feature)
• Costume Designer Robert Blackman found creating the wedding gown particularly challenging, as in the script it was merely described as " the most incredible gown a woman has ever worn ", giving no indication as to what it actually looked like. ( [2] ; Star Trek: The Next Generation - The Continuing Mission , p. 163) Blackman was proud of his work on this episode, commenting, " I thought the clothes in 'The Perfect Mate' were interesting. " ( Star Trek Monthly  issue 32 , p. 77)

Cast and characters [ ]

• Marina Sirtis ( Deanna Troi ) does not appear in this episode.
• Patrick Stewart and Famke Janssen later worked together again in the X-Men films , playing Professor Charles Xavier and Jean Grey , respectively. Janssen's character in this episode also introduces herself as an "empathic mutant", a description also shared by the character of Jean Grey from X-Men.
• Famke Janssen was offered the role of Jadzia Dax for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . When Janssen turned the role down, actress Terry Farrell took her place. When initial tests with the original Trill make-up from " The Host " were unsatisfactory, the make-up crew remembered Kamala's spots and decided to use them on the Trill as seen on Deep Space 9. Hence the revised Trill makeup very much resembles that of the Kriosians with the characteristic spots. ( Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion  (p. 7))
• Max Grodénchik later appeared on Deep Space Nine as the recurring character Rom , another Ferengi, using similar prosthetic teeth with the prominently visible crooked tooth.
• Michael Snyder later appeared in TNG : " Rascals " as another Ferengi, Morta .

Continuity [ ]

• The premise of this episode has resemblances to TOS : " Elaan of Troyius ". In both episodes the Enterprise transports a female with unique properties (see Elasian tears ) for an arranged marriage for diplomatic purposes, she becomes attached to the captain but eventually they part ways.
• Kamala's statement in the Ceremony of Reconciliation , " I am for you, Alrik of Valt " mirrors Losira 's statement from TOS : " That Which Survives ", though in the latter case, it was delivered prior to an attack, not marriage.
• Dolphins are revealed to be aboard the Enterprise . In " Yesterday's Enterprise ", an alternate timeline version of the ship was said to have a Cetacean Ops facility. It wouldn't be until the Star Trek: Lower Decks season 2 finale " First First Contact " that Cetacean Ops would be featured for the first time.

Reception [ ]

• Director Cliff Bole commented, " [I]t showed that Picard has a flaw, you can cut into his character […] that means you can continue to make that character work. I think this is a real case for Picard, because normally he wouldn't have allowed himself to be so vulnerable. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 244)
• Rick Berman opined, " I'm very pleased with it. [Famke Janssen] is about as beautiful as any woman any of us have ever seen and she gave a delightful performance. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 2445)
• This episode is listed as #47 of io9's The Top 100 Star Trek Episodes Of All Time!
• A mission report for this episode by John Sayers was published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 21 , pp. 27-29.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 61, 15 March 1993
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 5.7, 2 December 2002
• As part of the TNG Season 5 DVD collection

Broadcast and Reruns [ ]

• interestingly, when aired on Pluto TV 's Star Trek channel in the US, the original standard-definition version of the episode is used rather than the HD remaster.

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
• Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William Riker

Also starring [ ]

• LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
• Michael Dorn as Lt. Worf
• Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data

Guest stars [ ]

• Famke Janssen as Kamala
• Tim O'Connor as Briam
• Max Grodénchik as Par Lenor
• Mickey Cottrell as Alrik
• Michael Snyder as Qol

Co-stars [ ]

• David Paul Needles as Miner #1
• Roger Rignack as Miner #2
• Charles Gunning as Miner #3
• April Grace as Transporter Officer
• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• K.C. Amos as operations division officer
• Rachen Assapiomonwait as Nelson
• Joe Baumann as Garvey
• Steven Bosnyak as operations division ensign
• Michael Braveheart as Martinez
• Cameron as Kellogg
• Denise Deuschle as science division officer
• Gunnel Eriksson as science division officer
• Melba Gonzalez as command officer
• Gregory as alien miner
• Grace Harrell as operations division officer
• D. Kai as sciences officer
• Mark Lentry as science division lieutenant
• Lynch as alien miner
• Debbie Marsh as command division ensign
• Greg Poole as command division officer
• Jackson Sleet as alien miner
• John Tampoya as operations division ensign
• Théyard as science division officer
• Christina Wegler Miles as command division ensign
• Wilson as alien miner
• Plix Tixiplik
• Ten Forward waiter

Stunt doubles [ ]

• George Colucci as stunt double for Michael Snyder
• Erik Cord as stunt double for Tim O'Connor

Stand-ins [ ]

• David Keith Anderson – stand-in for LeVar Burton
• Cameron – stand-in for Gates McFadden
• Keith Gearhart – stand-in for Roger Rignack
• John – stand-in for Michael Snyder
• Tim McCormack – stand-in for Tim O'Connor and Brent Spiner
• Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Famke Janssen and Gates McFadden
• Randy Pflug – stand-in for Charles Gunning
• Keith Rayve – stand-in for David Paul Needles
• Joycelyn Robinson – stand-in for April Grace
• Richard Sarstedt – stand-in for Jonathan Frakes
• Thor – stand-in for Max Grodénchik
• Dennis Tracy – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
• James Washington – stand-in for Michael Dorn

References [ ]

2168 ; 2260s ; ability ; Aldorian ale ; ambassador ; ancestry ; arboretum ; archaeology ; arms merchant ; arranged marriage ; art ; ballpark ; barbershop ; breakfast ; Ceremony of Reconciliation ; chancellor ; chaperone ; cocoon ; companel ; containment field ; craniosacral display ; croissant ; day ; dinner ; dolphin ; drawing ; Earl Grey tea ; emissary ; empath ; empathic metamorph ; empire ; expression ; Federation ; Federation Constitution ; Ferengi ; Ferengi ship ; Ferengi shuttle ; Ferengi Trade Mission ; Ferengi tricorder ; Finiis'ral ; firstborn ; freedom of movement ; Galaxy class decks ; garden ; Garuth ; generation ; Harod IV ; heart ; history ; holodeck ; holograph ; hour ; ingot ; " in the ballpark "; Kamala's companions ; Kamala's mother ; Klingon ; Krios ; Krios 1 ; Krios Prime ; Kriosian ; Kriosian musical instrument ; Kriosian ship ; Lapeongical period ; leader ; Les Eyries ; Ludugial gold ; logic ; long range transport ; " make love "; mate ; Milky Way Galaxy ; miner ; mutant ; number one ; orchestra ; Paloris colony ; Par Lenor's shuttle ; penny ; pheromone ; piano ; Picard, Yvette ; political alliance ; Prime Directive ; prostitution ; puberty ; reactor core ; recital ; replicator ; servant ; sentient being ; sex ; sexual allure ; sexual maturing process ; Shakespeare, William ; Shakespeare's sonnets ; slave trader ; Starbase 117 ; stasis ; Targhee moonbeast ; Temple of Akadar ; torze-qua ; Transporter Room 3 ; turbolift ; tutor ; unnamed shuttle ; Valt ; Valt Minor ; Valt system ; Valtese ; Valtese horn ; Valtese ship ; Ventanan archaeology ; Ventanan thimble ; Ventanan woven art ; volume ; Vulcan ; walls of Jericho

External links [ ]

• "The Perfect Mate" at StarTrek.com
• " The Perfect Mate " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " The Perfect Mate " at Wikipedia
• " The Perfect Mate " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "Perfect Mate" script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• " The Perfect Mate " at the Internet Movie Database
• 2 ISS Enterprise (NCC-1701)

Screen Rant

X-men's famke janssen changed star trek: ds9's trills, says dax actress.

Dax actress Terry Farrell explains how the Trill changed on Star Trek: DS9 thanks to X-Men's Jean Grey actress Famke Janssen's guest spot on TNG.

• Famke Janssen's role in X-Men influenced the change in the Trill makeup on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
• Terry Farrell's character, Dax, originally had the same makeup as the Trill on Star Trek: The Next Generation, but the design was vetoed.
• The makeup change caused a delay in the filming schedule for the pilot episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

The look of Star Trek 's Trills changed on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine because of X-Men actress Famke Janssen, according to Terry Farrell, who played DS9 's Lt. Commander Jadzia Dax. Trills are a symbiotic alien species that originated in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 4, episode 23, "The Host", in which Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) falls in love with Trill ambassador Odan (Franc Luz), before Odan's untimely death necessitates transferring the symbiote possessing his memories into a new host. Odan's Trill makeup was typical of TNG 's weekly aliens, with a prominent forehead piece designed by makeup legend Michael Westmore .

On The Delta Flyers podcast, beginning its coverage of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine after a long run focusing on Star Trek: Voyager , Farrell reveals to hosts Garrett Wang and Robert Duncan McNeill that Dax originally had a very different look , using the makeup design for the Trill that was on Star Trek: The Next Generation. The design was vetoed for Farrell, so Westmore substituted the spots used on the empathic metamorph Kamala from TNG season 5, episode 21 "The Perfect Mate." Kamala was played by initial Dax pick Famke Janssen, who would reunite with TNG 's Patrick Stewart in X-Men as Jean Grey. Read their quotes below.

Farrell: "The original makeup they tried to give me [was] the Trill makeup from the Next Generation. [When] the Trill was first seen [in "The Host"], he had quite a prominent forehead. And so they tried to do the same thing on me, and [producer] Kerry McCluggage called [and said] ... no rubber on my head. ... They wanted Famke Janssen to play Dax, and Michael Westmore took the spots from the character that Famke played on The Next Gen to put on me. I think they were a little different, but that's where the inspiration came from." Wang: "Famke was a Trill on TNG?" Farrell: "No, she was a different character." Wang: "A different alien." Farrell: "A different alien, but she had spots, and they thought those were sexy ... we shot for a day, they saw the dailies, then said no, get rid of the forehead."

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast & Character Guide

Star trek: ds9's dax reinvented trills, the tng trills were never seen again in star trek.

When Star Trek: Deep Space Nine included Trill character Jadzia Dax as part of its main cast, the Trill were just one of many single-episode aliens encountered by the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation, but Trills evolved thanks to Dax on DS9 . The new, spotted Trills blended the symbiont's memories with the host's to create a distinct individual, instead of the symbiont's taking over like Odan's did on TNG . The DS9- style Trills are the predominant ones in Star Trek , as new shows feature Trill characters like Gray Tal (Ian Alexander) on Star Trek: Discovery and the unjoined Ensign Barnes (Jessica McKenna) on Star Trek: Lower Decks .

When Captain Benjamin Sisko asks if there's "any word on our science officer?" in "Emissary," it's a reference to the character of Lt. Jadzia Dax not yet being cast, even as cameras roll on the episode.

On The Delta Flyers , Terry Farrell also explained that the makeup change further delayed an already tight filming schedule for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's pilot episode, "Emissary." Farrell was the last person cast among DS9 's primary actors, and had to play catch-up as her scenes for the two-hour episode were compressed into roughly a week, after filming had already begun. After retooling the Trill makeup to resemble Famke Janssen's spots, Farrell had to do another makeup test and then re-shoot the scenes that had already been completed. The delay was worth it, though, as the Trill spots have become iconic as a marker of this symbiotic species.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is available to stream on Paramount+.

Source: The Delta Flyers

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star trek: the next generation.

Kamala Lopez-Dawson

Series: Voyager

Character: Tincoo

Kamala Lopez-Dawson played the role of Tincoo on the Star Trek: Voyager sixth season episode “Virtuoso”.

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T he star-studded dinner is a celebration of the First Amendment at its core, but media outlets always manage to sneak a few A-list celebrities onto the guest list

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At the 2024 WHCD, Saturday Night Live 's Colin Jost was tapped to deliver the roast of President Joe Biden — and he'll have plenty of entertainment peers in the room to watch. Aside from the president, vice president, first lady, second gentleman and all your favorite news anchors, here are the biggest stars attending this year's White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Molly Ringwald

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Da'Vine Joy Randolph

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Keri Russell

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Rosario Dawson

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