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Creating Counselor Troi

The character of Deanna Troi, and her relationship with the ship’s first officer, Will Riker, was modeled on Lieutenant Ilia. The bald Deltan had been intended as a permanent addition to the Enterprise crew in Star Trek: Phase II but appeared only once, when that series was turned into The Motion Picture . (See Creating Lieutenant Ilia .)

Like Ilia, Troi is an empath. Like the Deltan, she hails from an alien world with liberal attitudes to sexual relations.

The last part came later. Denise Crosby, who ended up playing security chief Natasha Yar, told Entertainment Weekly in 2007 that, originally, “Troi was this cool, Icelandic blonde. Almost Spock-like.” Marina Sirtis was reading for the role. Crosby was auditioning for Troi.

Somewhere, about the second or third audition, Gene Roddenberry had this idea: Let’s just switch them and see what happens.

Tasha, who was written as a Latina, became Caucasian. Troi became first quarter- and later half-Betazoid.

Makeup and accent

There was a suggestion to give Troi three breasts, but Dorothy C. Fontana, a veteran of the original Star Trek series and once again the only female writer on the show, objected:

I felt women have enough trouble with two. And how are you going to line them up? Vertically, horizontally, or what? I was like, please, don’t go there. And they didn’t, fortunately.

To make the Betazoid Troi exotic, Sirtis wore black contact lenses and a hairpiece. She also spoke with an accent.

Sirtis, who was born in England to Greek parents, is quoted in James Van Hise’s Trek: The Next Generation as saying,

I didn’t want anyone to pin down my accent to any particular country.

In a commentary for the 2002 DVD release of Season 1, she elaborated:

It was an Eastern European accent, which kind of started with the Tasha Yar auditions, ’cause she was supposed to be from Eastern Europe. Then, when they told me to make an accent up, from Betazed, I kind of just modified that Eastern Europe accent a bit. I based it on a friend of mine, who’s actually Isreali.

The accent would wane over time to the point where Troi sounded American in the movies.

Troi wore a “skant” (unisex skirt) in the pilot, “Encounter at Farpoint”. It would be years before she appeared in uniform again.

Sirtis told Starlog in 1988 that, after the first episode,

the producers decided that the look didn’t suit the character the way she was originally envisioned. They wanted something a bit more elegant and contained.

The actress was given various dresses to wear, a new one every season.

The downside, Sirtis lamented, was that the more cleavage her costumes revealed, the less cerebral her character seemed to become.

When Captain Jellico (Ronny Cox) told Troi to put on a uniform in Season 6’s “Chain of Command”, Sirtis was thrilled, telling the BBC :

First of all, it covered up my cleavage and, consequently, I got all my brains back, because when you have a cleavage you can’t have brains in Hollywood. So I got all my brains back and I was allowed to do things that I hadn’t been allowed to do for five or six years. I went on away teams, I was in charge of staff, I had my pips back, I had phasers, I had all the equipment again, and it was fabulous.

Sirtis’ Season 7 publicity photo is the only one in which she appears in Starfleet uniform.

Non-threatening

In her 1988 interview with Starlog , Sirtis said the women of The Next Generation were getting a “pretty fair crack”.

The chief of security is a woman, the captain takes my advice very seriously and Dr Beverly Crusher is the only one who can declare the captain unfit.

Four seasons in, she was more critical, telling Cinefantastique in 1991:

The women on this show are very non-threatening. I don’t think it’s realistic. It’s not realistic for the twentieth century, so it’s definitively not realistic for the twenty-fourth century. Ever since Denise [Crosby] left the show, the two women that are left are both doctors in the caring professions. You don’t see women in power positions.

Jeri Taylor, who joined The Next Generation at the beginning of Season 4 and remained the only woman on its writing staff (Fontana had left at the end of Season 1), agreed, telling Cinefantastique in 1993:

They had been put in caretaker roles. It’s hard to find stories that break them out of that mold.

It didn’t help that some of the male writers didn’t see much use for a counselor at all.

Brannon Braga is quoted in The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years as saying,

A therapist on a ship full of characters that supposedly had gone beyond human foibles and no longer succumbed to petty jealousy and anger?

Tracy Tormé, who also served as story editor during the first season, argued the character was too “soft” and “touchy-feely”. But then, Tormé, who wrote the episode “Conspiracy”, thought The Next Generation was too “timid” altogether and he left after two seasons.

Writing Troi

In the beginning, Sirtis struggled with how much emotion to show, telling Star Trek: The Magazine years later:

I didn’t understand what I was doing. I had the impression that Troi was an open sore of emotions, but I wasn’t aware that you didn’t have to show emotion to get the message across.

The writers weren’t sure either.

In “Encounter at Farpoint”, Troi communicates with Riker telepathically, a skill she would later use only with her mother. Sirtis told Starlog the producers decided too much ability would be “too limiting” to the character.

So they changed the level of Troi’s powers. Now, when I experience something, it’s a very strong emotion and that frees my character up to have more substance and scope.

But it was seldom exploited. Sirtis told SFX for a special Star Trek edition released in 2013 that Troi was written out of several Season 1 episodes because her ability to sense feelings would have killed the drama. She feared she might even lose her job, but then Crosby quit and Gates McFadden was fired, leaving Sirtis the only woman of the first season to make it into the second.

Sirtis told Star Trek Monthly in 1997 that it wasn’t until the third season that Troi became more grounded. “She became less decorative and more interesting.” But there was still some way to go.

Michael Piller, who joined as a writer by then, confessed in a 1990 interview with Cinefantastique that he struggled with writing Troi:

The trouble with Troi is that because she’s an empath, you think she walks into a room and says, “I feel pain.”

He knew that was a cliché:

She is a total woman who has feelings of her own with a job to do on the Enterprise . She’s the captain’s most trusted confidant, valuable in dealing with strategic issues.

But his colleague Ronald D. Moore also had a hard time finding things for Troi to do:

It is difficult, because you run into a double trap of how much does she know and when. Especially when dealing with powerful aliens. It’s unfortunate, because the things she’s had, she’s been wonderful in.

Sirtis herself had no desire to get involved in writing, telling Cinefantastique ,

My basic theory of acting is you learn your lines and try not to bump into the furniture.

She would meet the writers for lunch once or twice per season to talk through Troi’s development.

Taylor made a conscious effort to inject more life into the character, telling Cinefantastique in 1992:

She was underutilized, somewhat one-dimensional. She did one thing: she sensed things. The actress is just too good not to let her stretch herself. I tried to broaden her role.

In an attempt to strengthen Troi’s character in Season 4, the writers chose to develop an often-pitched story in which she loses her empathetic powers. This became “The Loss”.

“This basic idea has been pitched to us every season,” Piller told Cinefantastique in 1991.

Finally, because we needed a Troi show, we said, let’s do it here.

Author Sara Century writes for the official Star Trek website that the episode showed a tremendous amount of growth “by targeting and suspending the thing that Deanna relies on for everything — her intuition.”

By inhibiting her ability to empathize, the threat of the week showed us how the generally brave and calm Deanna deals without her own supreme inner harmony. The answer is, not great, but isn’t that more relatable?

“Man of the People” gave Sirtis another opportunity to act out of character. Troi becomes a receptacle for the negative emotions of a peace envoy and undergoes a dramatic metamorphosis.

“Face of the Enemy” (which was also directed by a woman, Gabrielle Beaumont) put her in a position where her empathic abilities weren’t relevant at all. Troi wakes up looking like a Romulan and discovers she must safely transport a defector to the Federation.

The writers had finally figured out Troi could do more than probe the intentions of the alien of the week. Toward the end of the series, Piller told Cinefantastique :

Marina is one of the great talents and nobody really knew it when this whole thing started. The more we give her to do, the more she seems capable of doing.

Troi’s brief and late-series romance with Worf confused and even upset some fans, but Century believes it was the better parts of both of their character arcs. Troi and Worf might appear to have little in common, but their relationship put an emphasis on their “substantial emotional common ground.”

Both are incredibly loyal, prideful and easily angered, but both are also deeply gentle spirits that struggle with violence on a profound and often unspoken level. Though he isn’t always forthcoming, Worf is easily one of the most emotional people on the crew. Troi’s light pushing of Worf to be more open, honest and communicative about his many feelings helped Worf. Meanwhile, his passion and sense of honor gave Troi the stable foundation she needed to express her interest in him.

The romance was short-lived, but Century argues it allowed viewers see the characters through a new lens.

Of course, the more permanent love interest in Troi’s life was Riker. After a few close encounters early on, the two settled into a friendship where they would often seek out each others’ counsel, notably when Riker was attracted to a member of an androgynous race who identified as female in “The Outcast”.

Sirtis told fans on the 1991 SeaTrek cruise that they should not expect the romance the blossom:

Forget about it! It’s not going to happen! Jonathan and I play a lot of stuff that ends up on the cutting room floor. We would like to see the characters have a relationship, but the producers want him to be “stud of the galaxy” to boff the “bimbo of the week”.

Taylor put it more diplomatically:

It’s not anything we have any interest in developing, because it leads you into constricting traps. We acknowledge that there was a relationship between Riker and Troi. They have a profound friendship. I don’t think you should close any avenue off in a series that may go on for many more years. We draw on that relationship for subtext.

It wasn’t until Star Trek: Insurrection that the characters were drawn back together by the rejuvenating influence of the Ba’ku planet. In early drafts, they merely flirted and kissed. It was at the studio’s suggestion that Piller, who wrote the script , developed the relationship more seriously.

In the next and final movie of The Next Generation , Nemesis , the couple got married.

Radical empathy

Looking back on her role in a 1995 interview with Star Trek: Communicator , Sirtis said Troi was always the “nicest person aboard the Enterprise ” for her, “because, instead of being wacky and zany, she was always understanding and sympathetic toward people.”

Century argues this “radical empathy” was Troi’s strength. In a lot of fiction, she points out, women’s emotions devour and destroy them. Female empaths and telepaths are frequently portrayed as unstable and prone to losing control. “That’s never the case with Troi.” She “shows that people who are guided by their hearts actually have a bit of an edge in life.”

We live in a society that views compassion as a weakness, particularly feminine compassion. The message that to care is to give up your strength is instilled through media, culture, even in the mechanics of our very language. Allowing yourself to feel the world with one or two degrees less of a protective layer around your heart takes courage, and courage takes power. Like many highly sensitive people, Deanna Troi is regularly underestimated and her importance reduced. Through her patience and understanding, Troi insists that forcing yourself to view the world with empathy makes you a stronger person, not a weaker one.

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Deanna Troi: Star Trek’s Most Underrated Health Professional

Star Trek: The Next Generation (ST:TNG) fans often remember Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) for her wacky outfits, her habit of stating the obvious, and that one time she maybe crashed the Enterprise. If her profession is brought up in conversation, it’s usually to state that, at best, she didn’t need to be a part of the senior staff, and at worst, she was just plain bad at her job. With her upcoming return in Star Trek: Picard Season 3 , we look back at Star Trek’s Most Underrated Health Professional.

All it takes is a rewatch of some important episodes to see that Deanna does not deserve the reputation she has. Counsellor Troi is not only an incredible counsellor but is also one of Trek’s best health professionals. Simply put, Deanna Troi is better than you remember.

She Talks the Talk

Did Deanna have less-than-stellar dialogue throughout ST:TNG’s run? Absolutely. But her habit of stating an alien race’s emotions and paraphrasing what other characters’ have said aren’t examples of this. They are, in fact, therapeutic techniques. Therapists use these techniques, known professionally as rephrasing and emotional labelling, to ensure understanding and assist others in recognizing and comprehending their feelings. So, in short, Deanna Troi talks like a therapist. 

Troi uses many real-life therapeutic techniques with great success throughout ST:TNG . The way she pauses and waits for Ensign Brook’s response before putting her arm around her in ST:TNG season four’s “The Loss” is a rare example of appropriate therapeutic touch. Additionally, Deanna uses techniques popularized by cognitive behaviour therapy to help Worf connect with Alexander in ST:TNG ‘s “New Ground”.

Unlike many television counsellors of her time, Deanna didn’t dish out advice and tell her clients what to do. Everyone’s favourite ST:TNG season seven episode, “Sub Rosa” is an excellent example. The counsellor tells Captain Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) that everyone has the right to make their own choices, whether or not they think they’re making the wrong one. 

Not Just a Fashion Icon

The fandom often singles out Troi for her, for lack of a better word, unusual attire. While her colleagues sported traditional Starfleet uniforms, Troi favoured colourful ensembles that made her stand out from her medical colleagues. One could argue that her outfits are impractical and influenced by a desire from the producers to attract male viewers.

However, mental health professionals often avoid wearing uniforms and traditional medical attire to avoid an institutionalized feel. Deanna’s use of colourful, unique outfits was most likely intentional. Deanna likely dressed as she did on duty to put everyone at ease and create a welcoming environment.

So Much More than an Empath 

You can’t discuss Troi’s prowess as a counsellor without mentioning her empathic abilities. Her gift of sensing the emotions of those around her aided her professionally, but not to the extent that she’d be unable to work without it. As ST:TNG ’s “The Loss” demonstrates, Deanna is a phenomenal counsellor, even without her empathic abilities and under extreme stress.

Troi used her empathic abilities as a bridge to enhance her reach as a counsellor and to connect in situations where traditional counselling may not be enough. Dark page, the wildly underrated seventh season ST:TNG episode, is an excellent example. Her unique abilities as a half-Betazoid allowed her access to her mother’s subconscious. Still, through therapeutic communication, Deanna could help her mother come to terms with the trauma she had repressed for years. 

Troi was an expert at using her empathic abilities to identify emotions and initiate conversations. However, her empathic powers took a back seat once the emotion was recognized and named. Her counselling training would then take over, using various therapeutic techniques to help tackle the problem.

The word “useless” is often thrown around when discussing Enterprise D’s counsellor, a descriptor she did nothing to earn. While Deanna Troi was often a victim of poor or misguided writing, her empathy, professionalism and determination showed countless people that counselling doesn’t have to be scary and that mental health matters. Oh, and by the way, she didn’t crash the Enterprise, either.

Star Trek: Picard  Season 3 airs on Paramount+ in the United States and on CTV Sci-Fi Channel and Crave in Canada. However, the series will be available on Amazon’s Prime Video service for most international locations in the following days. For coverage of Star Trek: Picard Season 3 , make sure to follow Trek Central!

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Star Trek: Infinite

Originally posted by Joie : How do i Diplomatic Missions to complete the Troi Mission?

Originally posted by Blindpatriot : This is badly explained, so of course its trial and error to figure out. However, remember that the Enterprise is both a warship and a science vessel. Any mission you do for another empire is a diplomatic mission. So any mission you request that requires a science vessel or military vessel, can be done by the enterprise and counts towards your diplomatic missions for Tori.

Originally posted by Moonael : Having similar issue i've spammed on 10 different minor powers for an escort mission and yet to receive one. I've already defeated the Borg and still yet to get a single diplomatic mission.

Originally posted by -=Sentor=- : Originally posted by Joie : How do i Diplomatic Missions to complete the Troi Mission?

Originally posted by secretagent902 : I seem to have better luck if the Enterprise is the closest vessel to the minor power I am requesting the mission from.

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Screen Rant

Every counselor troi love interest in star trek: tng.

Deanna Troi's true love may always have been William Riker, but she had her fair share of romantic relationships before marrying Will.

• Deanna Troi had multiple romantic partners throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, but her best love story was with Commander Riker.
• Troi's ability to sense emotions helped her excel as the ship's counselor and also aided Captain Picard in his interactions with new alien species.
• Troi and Riker's on-again-off-again romance lasted all seven seasons of TNG and continued through the films, culminating in their marriage and continued presence in Star Trek: Picard.

Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) may always have been Imzadi to Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), but she had her fair share of other romances on Star Trek: The Next Generation . One of TNG's most underrated characters, Troi became the heart of the show over the course of its seven seasons. Half-Betazoid and half-human, Deanna could sense the emotions of those around her. This not only helped her perform her duties as the ship's counselor on the USS Enterprise-D, but also helped her aid Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) with introductions to new alien species.

Deanna's best love story was with Commander Riker , and their on-again-off-again romance lasted throughout all seven seasons of TNG and continued through the four films that followed the series. Since TNG's writers refused to put them permanently together on the show, both Deanna and Will cycled through various romantic partners. Deanna Troi did not always get the best storylines on TNG , but she was always a welcome presence on the show. Troi briefly returned to the franchise in Star Trek: Picard season 1, before playing a more significant role in Picard season 3, where she finally got to be the one to save the day.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast & Character Guide

8 robert knepper as wyatt miller, star trek: the next generation season 1, episode 11 ("haven").

Deanna Troi's first romance on TNG comes in the show's first season, when Wyatt, a man Deanna was promised to as a child, comes back into her life. Deanna and Wyatt both try to make this arranged relationship work, but neither one can really put their heart into it. Before meeting Deanna, Wyatt had been dreaming of a different unknown woman, and when this woman shows up on a nearby ship, Wyatt leaves his life behind to join her. Troi, for her part, gives him her blessing, as she still harbors feelings for her former love, William Riker.

"Haven" also introduces Deanna's mother, Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett), who goes on to appear in several more episodes of TNG and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .

7 Howie Seago as Riva

Star trek: the next generation season 2, episode 5 ("loud as a whisper").

When a renowned ambassador and negotiator named Riva visits the Enterprise, he and Troi embark on a sweet, budding romance. Riva is deaf and he is intrigued by Troi's telepathic abilities as well as her beauty. After Riva's interpreters are killed during the negotiations, he struggles to find other ways to communicate. Troi helps him work through his newfound difficulties and come up with another way to continue the negotiations. While Riva is clearly interested in Deanna, her feelings about him are never entirely clear, though she does seem to enjoy his company.

6 Matt McCoy as Devinoni Ral

Star trek: the next generation season 3, episode 8 ("the price").

When a supposedly stable wormhole is discovered, the Federation and several other interested parties bid for the rights to manage the wormhole. Devinoni Ral is a negotiator for one of the opposing groups, and Troi immediately finds herself attracted to him. Their relationship grows serious very quickly, but Troi begins to grow uncomfortable when she discovers that Ral is an empath and has been influencing the emotions of the other bidders. In the end, Troi reveals that Ral had been secretly manipulating the proceedings, ending their passionate romance. Devinoni comes across as sleazy and not particularly likable, so it's no real loss for Troi when he leaves the Enterprise.

Two Ferengi vie for control of the wormhole, and they travel through it to see where it goes. When the wormhole unexpectedly closes, the two Ferengi find themselves stranded in the Delta Quadrant. The Star Trek: Voyager season 3 episode "False Profits" reveals their ultimate fate.

5 John Snyder as Aaron Conor

Star trek: the next generation season 5, episode 13 ("the masterpiece society").

Aaron Conor is the leader of a genetically engineered colony that keeps itself closed off from any other civilizations as a way to preserve its supposedly perfect society. When their colony is put in danger by a stellar core fragment, the Enterprise tries to intervene to save the planet. As Troi works with Conor to encourage the people on the planet to evacuate, the two begin to fall for one another. The presence of Troi and the other Enterprise crew members brings change to the isolated civilization, and, while some of the inhabitants leave on the Enterprise, Conor stays to rebuild his "perfect" society.

4 Chip Lucia as Ves Alkar

Star trek: the next generation season 6, episode 3 ("man of the people").

In what is her worst and most problematic "romance," Deanna finds herself initially drawn to the visiting Ambassador Ves Alkar. Unbeknownst to Troi, Alkar lies about his traveling companion and manipulates Troi into performing a ritual with him. This ritual actually links the two, allowing Alkar to channel all of his negative emotions into Troi. This causes Troi to behave erratically and age rapidly. Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) manages to save Troi's life, and Alkar dies when he is flooded with all of the negative emotions he has channeled through others. "Man of the People," as an episode, is not particularly kind to Troi, robbing her of all agency and control of her own emotions.

3 Jonathan Frakes as Thomas Riker

Star trek: the next generation season 6, episode 24 ("second chances").

When the Enterprise visits the planet Nervala IV to gather scientific data that had been left by Starfleet officers years before, they encounter an exact duplicate of Commander Riker . This Riker chooses to go by Thomas and he is the result of a transporter malfunction that happened eight years ago. Thomas has been living alone on the planet for the past eight years, giving him a very different life experience than Will Riker. Because of this, Thomas reminds Troi of the younger Riker she first fell in love with, and he remains in love with her. The two briefly rekindle their romance, but when Thomas leaves for an assignment on another starship, Deanna chooses to remain on the Enterprise.

2 Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf

Star trek: the next generation season 7.

In TNG season 7, episode 11, "Parallels," Lt. Worf finds himself traveling through various parallel universes. In one of these universes, Worf and Deanna Troi are married and have two young children. Prior to this experience, Worf had never considered pursuing Deanna romantically, but he soon becomes more open to the possibility. After "Parallels," Worf begins to pursue Troi in his universe, and the two eventually embark on a romantic relationship. While their romance proved to be divisive among fans, it was nice to see the characters happy, and Troi developed a sweet, motherly relationship with Worf's son, Alexander (Brian Bonsall).

Star Trek Picard Season 3 Hilariously Concludes Worf & Troi’s TNG Romance

1 jonathan frakes as william t. riker, star trek: the next generation through star trek: picard.

Will Riker was always going to be Deanna's final love. The two had dated and fallen in love before the beginning of TNG , and they danced around each other throughout its seven seasons, often referring to one another as Imzadi . Although Troi and Riker both had other partners over the course of TNG , they never quite got over one another. Riker's desire to climb the ranks of Starfleet caused him to prioritize his career over romance, until he finally realized he could have both. In Star Trek: Insurrection , Deanna and Will finally rekindled their on-again-off-again romance before eventually getting married in Star Trek: Nemesis . When Riker gets promoted to Captain of the USS Titan, Troi joins him.

After the Star Trek: The Next Generation movies, Riker and Troi remain together years later in Star Trek: Picard . Despite the tragic loss of their son, Thad, and some rocky moments in their marriage, Deanna and Will remain very much in love. When Riker finds himself facing death on a Borg Cube, his last thoughts are of Deanna and these thoughts are what end up saving him. She senses him reaching out to her and pilots the USS Enterprise-D to his location just in time. At the end of Picard season 3, Riker and Troi, who have a daughter named Kestra (Lulu Wilson), set out for a much-needed vacation, prepared to face whatever their Star Trek future holds, together.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

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Was Troi hot?

Discussion in ' Star Trek: The Next Generation ' started by STIntergalactic , Sep 6, 2009 .

STIntergalactic Captain Captain

I recently engaged in a discussion with somebody in which I contended that Troi was one of the "hottest" characters in Star Trek history. To my dismay, though, I was unable to support my claim. I was working off vague memories in which I recalled that Troi was very often hot on occasion. I was hoping that people here could post pics/links/examples of Troi at her hottest, so that I shall be able to use these examples as proof in my arguments to this person. Thank you  

RyuRoots Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

It's probably a lost cause trying to point out the faulty logic in trying to "prove" or "back up" one's opinion of a given character's attractiveness, so I'm just going to disagree. She was alright, but yech. Her hair and outfits never did her any favors. And even after Chain of Command , she's still outdone by Dr. Crusher and the DS9 girls if you ask me.  

Trekker4747 Boldly going... Premium Member

"Hot." Ehhh, no. At least not in my definition of "hot." Beautiful, gorgeous, lovely, comely... many things. "Hot," Stictly? Probably not.  

Pemmer Harge Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

Yes. Especially after Chain of Command.  

Too Much Fun Commodore Commodore

Yes, but only in the later seasons and movies. The older she got, the better she looked. She looked terrible in the first few seasons.  

jhouston6 Commodore Commodore

I always thought she was hot. I'd have to put Jeri Ryan as the hottest girl from trek though. Diana muldaur was the least hot.  

Agenda Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

She was stunning, especially when she lost a little weight in season 2 and beyond and then further changed her hairstyles and clothing. Some women are actually more attractive with more weight, but not her.  

Ryan Thomas Riddle Vice Admiral Admiral

Beyond Antares said: ↑ She was stunning, especially when she lost a little weight in season 2 and beyond and then further changed her hairstyles and clothing. Some women are actually more attractive with more weight, but not her. Click to expand...

middyseafort said: ↑ Beyond Antares said: ↑ She was stunning, especially when she lost a little weight in season 2 and beyond and then further changed her hairstyles and clothing. Some women are actually more attractive with more weight, but not her. Click to expand...

MeanJoePhaser Admiral

At times she was hot, others she was just lovely. Even with her 1st season hair in that bun, she was a like gift begging to be unwrapped.  

Wingsley Commodore Commodore

Well, there's Marina Sirtis and then there's Deanna Troi. Sirtis is an obvious B-movie sexpot. If you like Greek girls with somewhat voluptuous figures (natural, that is), then Sirtis is the ticket. She looks like a lot of fun to spend time with. Troi is a Hollyweird caricature of some elite Ph.D. in psychology on a mission to psycho-analyze the world. And like Elizabeth Dehner before her, she could easily let her emotions get in the way of her "work", witness how Cmdr. Remmick handles her in " Coming on Age ". Marina Sirtis was a Hollywood natural to be hired to play Deanna Troi. She looks perfect for the part, and that's part of the problem. The Great Goddenberry's sexist legacy lived on long after he died through Sirtis as Troi, the first in a line of Berman-era D-cupped young women in tights. If that kind of thing tickles your fancy, then yes, she's "hot". It has limited appeal for me. I've often wondered what it would've been like if Troi had been written as a more serious, interesting professional character. Forget all the psycho-babble, what if Troi had a more sophisticated and meatier purpose about the Enterprise-D? Maybe some kind of civilian liaison to Starfleet, or some kind of Starfleet mission monitor, or some kind of special diplomat like Robert Fox ... Put Troi in a 24th century business suit, and show her as a real professional who maybe could occasionally be a thorn in Picard's side. That would've been more interesting and potentially more fun. The only question would be if the "hot" Marina Sirtis' acting abilities would've been up to delivering the goods. I'd like to think she could. Kind of an "all this and brains too" deal.  

tomalak301 Fleet Admiral Admiral

In the movies and Voyager, yes she was. Before that, not as much.  

Shazam! Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

Too Much Fun said: ↑ Yes, but only in the later seasons and movies. The older she got, the better she looked. She looked terrible in the first few seasons. Click to expand...

^ Is this a knock on 80's hair, or just the overall way Sirtis looked/acted on TNG as it evolved?  

CaptainStoner Knuckle-dragging TNZ Denizen Admiral

Wingsley said: ↑ Well, there's Marina Sirtis and then there's Deanna Troi. Sirtis is an obvious B-movie sexpot. If you like Greek girls with somewhat voluptuous figures (natural, that is), then Sirtis is the ticket. She looks like a lot of fun to spend time with. Troi is a Hollyweird caricature of some elite Ph.D. in psychology on a mission to psycho-analyze the world. And like Elizabeth Dehner before her, she could easily let her emotions get in the way of her "work", witness how Cmdr. Remmick handles her in " Coming on Age ". Marina Sirtis was a Hollywood natural to be hired to play Deanna Troi. She looks perfect for the part, and that's part of the problem. The Great Goddenberry's sexist legacy lived on long after he died through Sirtis as Troi, the first in a line of Berman-era D-cupped young women in tights. If that kind of thing tickles your fancy, then yes, she's "hot". It has limited appeal for me. I've often wondered what it would've been like if Troi had been written as a more serious, interesting professional character. Forget all the psycho-babble, what if Troi had a more sophisticated and meatier purpose about the Enterprise-D? Maybe some kind of civilian liaison to Starfleet, or some kind of Starfleet mission monitor, or some kind of special diplomat like Robert Fox ... Put Troi in a 24th century business suit, and show her as a real professional who maybe could occasionally be a thorn in Picard's side. That would've been more interesting and potentially more fun. The only question would be if the "hot" Marina Sirtis' acting abilities would've been up to delivering the goods. I'd like to think she could. Kind of an "all this and brains too" deal. Click to expand...

T'Girl Vice Admiral Admiral

MeanJoePhaser said: ↑ At times she was hot, others she was just lovely. Even with her 1st season hair in that bun, she was a like gift begging to be unwrapped. Click to expand...

c'mon guys...no one's got pics. I'm trying to win an argument here.  

STIntergalactic said: ↑ c'mon guys...no one's got pics. I'm trying to win an argument here. Click to expand...

Plecostomus Commodore

Yes. Very hot. The main reason that I watched the show.  

seigezunt Vice Admiral Admiral

Hot-ish.  

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The counselor's office aboard the USS Enterprise -D

A counselor was a position aboard Starfleet vessels and installations, usually held by a senior Starfleet officer with training in psychology and psychiatry , with the intention of helping their patients with overall mental wellness.

Qualified psychiatrists served aboard starships during the 23rd century . ( TOS : " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", " Dagger of the Mind ") Occasionally, the role of chief medical officer and counselor were combined in the 23rd century, with medical officers also having expertise in space psychology ; an example of this is Doctor Leonard McCoy . ( TOS : " Court Martial ")

By the mid- 24th century , starship and starbase crews included a counselor, who was responsible for the mental well-being of the crew and civilian staff. The position was considered vital enough that it warranted inclusion in the senior staff of the Federation flagship ; in that instance at least, the ship's counselor also had a diplomatic role, advising the captain in first contacts and other situations.

As with the chief medical officer , the ship's counselor has the power to relieve other officers and crewmembers of duty if he or she feels that their patient is suffering from a condition that may hinder their ability to perform their duties effectively, including the ships captain.

At the captain's discretion, the ship's counselor may be allowed to wear something other than their normal Starfleet uniform . This was the case with Deanna Troi , the ship's counselor on the USS Enterprise -D , who preferred to wear colorful, casual clothing while on duty. Troi elected to wear a standard uniform permanently after being told to do so by Captain Edward Jellico . ( TNG : " Chain Of Command, Part I ")

Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hobson of the USS Sutherland remarked that no one would ever suggest a Klingon to be a good ship's counselor, as he considered them unsuited for such a position. Some Starfleet officers, such as Captain Lisa Cusak and Chief Miles O'Brien , disliked the concept of a designated ship's counselor, preferring to seek advice about their problems from friends. ( TNG : " Redemption II "; DS9 : " The Sound of Her Voice ")

Counselors [ ]

Deanna Troi trained in psychology before joining Starfleet. She served as counselor aboard the USS Enterprise -D and the USS Enterprise -E before transferring to the USS Titan with her husband, William T. Riker . ( TNG : " Encounter at Farpoint "; Star Trek Nemesis ; LD : " No Small Parts ")

Deep Space 9 had several counselors during its time in operation, including Telnorri and Ezri Dax , who was previously an assistant counselor on the USS Destiny . ( DS9 : " Hard Time ", " Shadows and Symbols ")

The USS Voyager was not originally assigned a counselor, as the nature of its mission didn't require one. ( VOY : " Phage ", " The Cloud ") Later, Neelix appointed himself morale officer , a position of his own invention, to take on the responsibilities of a counselor. ( VOY : " The Cloud ") The Doctor later began developing a psychiatric subroutine to make himself "even more valuable" to Captain Kathryn Janeway . ( VOY : " Repentance ")

Benbasset was a counselor assigned to Starbase 235 in 2375 . ( DS9 : " It's Only a Paper Moon ")

Jenzo , a friend of Deanna Troi, was a counselor in 2376 . ( VOY : " Life Line ")

In 2380 , Doctor Migleemo served as the counselor aboard the USS Cerritos , though he was regarded by Ensign Beckett Mariner as "the worst counselor in the fleet". ( LD : " Crisis Point ")

In 2402 , Captain Seven of Nine appointed Ensign Jack Crusher as her special counselor. ( PIC : " The Last Generation ")

In 3190 , Doctor Hugh Culber was serving as both a physician and ship's counselor of the USS Discovery , something which Captain Michael Burnham noted could not be easy for him. ( DIS : " Choose to Live ")

External links [ ]

• Counselor at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Mental health counselor at Wikipedia