star trek tng metamorph actress

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.

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Published Apr 5, 2018

Catching Up with Riker's Minuet, Carolyn McCormick

Riker, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode " 11001001 ," asked the sexy and uber-aware Minuet, "What's a knockout like you doing in a computer-generated gin joint like this?" Carolyn McCormick embodied the holographic female in that first-season episode, and she returned to TNG three years later to play Min Riker, a variation on the character as created by a lonely alien named Barash, in " Future Imperfect ." McCormick was a busy, talented actress pre- TNG and she remains so three decades later, with credits spanning from Enemy Mine, Spenser for Hire, Whatever Works and every iteration of Law & Order , to Madam Secretary, Billions, The Post and the upcoming drama, Mapplethorpe . StarTrek.com recently caught up with McCormick for a long-awaited interview. Here’s what she had to say about her Trek experiences and her recent and current projects…

How on your radar was Star Trek when you won your first role on TNG ?

Star Trek was on my radar because my husband was very excited, as he has always been a huge Star Trek fan and watched the first series as a boy all the time. Minuet was in the first season, so we were both hoping the show would be popular like The Original Series .

What do you recall of your audition for "11001001"?

I don’t remember much about the first audition -- except that I had a really fun time with the people in the room during my reading.

What did you make of the scenario involving the holodeck, Riker and the Bynars that resulted in the creation of Minuet?

I loved the whole idea of the holodeck and the idea that I was getting to play "the computer-generated version of the ideal woman.” Opportunities like that don’t come along very often. And my brother is a computer engineer, so it was fun to tell him what I was playing.

You were playing a holo-character who was hyper-real. What was the challenge in bringing her to life?

I didn’t find playing Minuet to be that much of a challenge once they got me all dolled up with makeup and big hair and a fabulous red dress. I just thought it was so much fun to enter that make-believe world and make it real. I also speak French, so I loved to opportunity to say a few lines in French.

What do you recall of the shoot?

I remember how much fun it was to hang out with Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart. It was the first season, so no one knew whether or not the show was going to be a hit. Everyone was just working very hard and was eager to make the episode as great as possible. But, it was wonderful working with Jonathan. He is such a gentleman. So compassionate and talented and considerate. The entire experience was a joy.

How pleased were you with the finished episode?

I loved the final episode and thought they managed to pull of the entire holodeck idea off beautifully. The Jazz music, the set, the lighting, everything was fabulous to watch.

How surprised were you to get the call three years later to do "Future Imperfect"?

I was so happy to get the call about “Future Imperfect.” By then, the show was a huge success and it was great to go back and see everyone again. No big hair, though, second time around. I had just finished playing Saint Joan in George Bernard Shaw’s play, so my hair was very, very short.

It wasn't the world's biggest role, but it was pivotal to Riker's arc in the episode. What were your feelings about how the writers turned to Min to develop Riker further?

I loved how Min helped evolve Riker’s character. I am a firm believer in “Behind every great man is a great woman,” actually an “ideal woman.” What is not to like there?

How quickly did you pick up the chemistry with Jonathan Frakes?

Jonathan and I had great chemistry right away because we are both extremely playful and neither of us takes ourselves too seriously. We’re both just happy to work and be appreciated for what we do.

If someone reads this article and wants to check out some of your previous work, what are a few of your credits you'd suggest they watch?

Most people know me from Law & Order , where I played Dr. Olivet for many years -- and still reprise the role whenever they ask me. A film I am really proud of is with Sam Elliott, on TNT from years ago, called You Know My Name . I played his wife, and I think it is a beautiful film.

Let's talk about your recent and current projects, of which there are many. Give us a quick sentence or two each about returning soon as Dr. Olivet for Law & Order: SVU , and appearing in The Post , which earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, and Mapplethorpe , which will premiere later this month at the Tribeca Film Festival…

My episode of SVU aired in January. It was great getting to revisit an old character. It felt like getting to spend time with an old friend. The Post was a wonderful film. I had a very small part, but I was thrilled to work on it. Mapplethorpe is a movie about the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe -- played by Matt Smith, from The Crown and Doctor Who -- and I play his mother. The film explores his life and all the complexities behind his artistic expression. I adored working on it and found the entire cast wonderful to work with, and I particularly liked the director, Ondi Timoner.

And you were just back on the stage, right?

I did a play called Levity , by Stephanie DiMaggio, that had a short run in Big Sky Montana in January. My character had a deaf son, so I learned sign language, as the entire play was signed and the actor playing my son was hearing-impaired. I loved working on it and found the entire process of signing and acting challenging and exciting.

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The 10 Best 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' Characters, Ranked

These might be the best characters in the Star Trek franchise.

Star Trek would not be the franchise it is today without Star Trek: The Next Generation . It proved that the adventures of Starfleet officers didn't have to be limited to Kirk, Spock, and the other crew members of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Picking up a hundred years later, the crew of the Enterprise-D were now going boldly.

The series' popularity would be significant enough to spawn further spin-offs set in the same era, four movies featuring the Next Generation cast, and would even have a direct sequel with Star Trek: Picard . The crew of the Enterprise-D would become just as iconic as their predecessors.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's 5-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

10 Lieutenant Tasha Yar

Played by denise crosby.

Played by Denise Crosby , Tasha Yar's life was marred with tragedy. She was raised on a planet terrorized by gangs. Orphaned at a young age, she left her horrific home planet to join Starfleet, becoming Chief of Security on the Enterprise. Not even a year into the Enterprise's mission, she was killed by the alien Armus in a display of power.

Despite only appearing in 24 episodes, Yar established herself as a loyal and capable officer. Her impact on her fellow officers would last for decades, with Data-- with whom she'd had a one-night stand-- recalling her lovingly nearly forty years later.

9 Ensign Wesley Crusher

Played by wil wheaton.

Wesley Crusher ( Wil Wheaton ) was a precocious teenager upon arriving at the Enterprise with his mother. With his high intelligence and dedication to the ship, he was given the position of Acting Ensign, eventually receiving a field commission and manning the helm.

Wesley served as a point-of-view character for many young fans of Star Trek . His intelligence and enthusiasm were geeky but endearing. Eventually, Wesley left the Enterprise to become a Traveler, a group of people who protected the fabric of space and time.

8 Counselor Deanna Troi

Played by marina sirtis.

Deanna Troi's alien heritage as a Betazoid gave her empathic powers, which helped with her job. She guided the crew during emotional problems and acted as an advisor to Picard. She frequently dealt with her overbearing mother and her former romance with Commander Riker .

Troi's empathy made her a trusted confidant for the entire crew. She would display several surprising traits, such as wanting to play the mysterious, shotgun-wielding stranger Durango in Worf and his son's Holodeck Western and getting drunk with Zephram Cochrane, the inventor of Warp Drive.

7 Lieutenant Commander Geordi LaForge

Played by levar burton.

Geordi LaForge started as the helmsman on the Enterprise-D but was quickly promoted to Chief Engineer. Blind at birth, LaForge used a VISOR device that allowed him to see in several spectrums, including infrared and ultraviolet. His closest friend on the ship was Data, playing Watson to Data's Holmes on the Holodeck.

LaForge's understanding of the Enterprise-D was unparalleled , even being able to recreate the crashed ship over 25 years. His abilities as an engineer even impressed Montgomery Scott.

6 Lieutenant Worf

Played by michael dorn.

Worf was a symbol of the alliance between the Klingons and the Federation, being a Klingon orphan raised by Humans. When Yar was killed, he took up her position as Security Chief. Worf's devotion to Klingon practices would conflict with his Starfleet career, such as when he killed Duras for assassinating Worf's lover.

Worf's sense of honor was unwavering . Despite a prickly demeanor, he developed a close relationship with Deanna, even having a brief romance with her. He was deeply respected by both the crew of the Enterprise-D and on his next posting on Deep Space Nine.

5 Doctor Beverly Crusher

Played by gates mcfadden.

Beverly Crusher was Chief Medical Officer. She was the widow of Picard's best friend but had an unresolved romantic tension with Picard that spanned the length of their time on the Enterprise. She struggled as a single parent to a genius child, Wesley.

Crusher dealt with not only all the medical problems the crew suffered from -- including saving Picard from the Borg-- but also served as a night officer on the bridge. She was one of the few confidants Picard had among his crew.

Played by Whoopi Goldberg

Guinan was a centuries-old El-Aurian who worked as the bartender in Ten Forward. She had a long history with Picard, which from her point of view, started when she met the time-traveling Picard in 19th-century San Francisco. With her long life, Guinan offered a different perspective to the crew.

Guinan was a complex character. Despite the wise calm she showed, her violent dislike of Q and the Borg deeply colored her judgment. While officially only the bartender on the ship, her sage advice was considered in every situation , from dealing with the Borg to the trial over Data's humanity.

3 Commander William Riker

Played by jonathan frakes.

William Riker fulfilled the Kirk role as the swaggering romantic adventurer. A lover of jazz and women, Riker had a more personable relationship with the crew than the standoffish Picard. He was a devoted First Officer, turning down promotions to Captain because he didn't want to settle for a ship he thought was less than the Enterprise.

Without Riker's leadership, the Borg would have conquered the Earth , and Picard would have remained assimilated. Riker was such a force he could not be contained in one person, having a transporter accident duplicate named Thomas.

2 Captain Jean-Luc Picard

Played by patrick stewart.

Jean-Luc Picard was a diplomat, scholar, and adventurer. From a family of French winemakers, Picard easily could have pursued his interest in archeology but was drawn to the stars. While somewhat aloof-- especially with children-- Picard was always respected by his crew and developed bonds with everyone on his crew.

Picard's skills as a captain would make him a living legend on the same level as Captain Kirk. Picard saw his crew through hundreds of dangerous conflicts and first contacts with alien species. His crew achieved greatness because of his leadership.

1 Lieutenant Commander Data

Played by Brent Spiner

Data was the most sophisticated android ever built. Data's incredible positronic brain would save the Enterprise many times, but it was his journey to understand humanity that formed a majority of Data's life. Without the ability to feel emotions, Data struggled to understand the living beings around him.

Data would have to fight for his personhood when Starfleet claimed he was their property. He fought — and deactivated — his evil twin, Lore. Eventually, he saved the entire crew of the Enterprise by sacrificing himself.

KEEP READING: 'Star Trek: The Original Series': The 10 Most Powerful Characters, Ranked

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Recap / Star Trek: The Next Generation S5E21 "The Perfect Mate"

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Original air date: April 27, 1992

The warring planets of Krios and Valt Minor, once two halves of one civilization, have finally decided to bury the hatchet and reunite. The Enterprise is to serve as the site for the historic peace treaty signing and reunification ceremony. Kriosian Ambassador Briam boards the ship along with a good bit of cargo, among them a strange glowing egg-like thing. Not too long after, the Enterprise takes on two unexpected guests, a pair of Ferengi rescued from a damaged shuttlecraft.

The two Ferengi don't waste any time making nuisances of themselves; one ambushes Briam just to annoy him and Picard while the other one pokes around the Kriosian cargo. He manages to break open the big egg, and the cargo inside awakens: it's a beautiful young Kriosian woman named Kamala, and she was meant to be in suspended animation until the ceremony began. Oops.

Briam explains the situation to Picard and Company. Kamala is an "empathic metamorph," a naturally-occurring, albeit rare, mutation from the Kriosian genetic norm. Metamorphs have the ability to sense the emotional needs of a potential mate and change themselves to suit those needs. She was intended to be a gift to the Valtese Chancellor Alrik as a token of good faith. It seems the original rift between Krios and Valt was caused by a metamorph so many centuries ago—two brothers fighting over a girl—and the gift of a metamorph is a symbolic gesture to heal the rift.

Picard and Beverly Crusher have a lively debate over the ethics of this arrangement. Beverly is furious, calling the arrangement little more than slavery. Picard hides behind the Prime Directive : this is how an alien culture does things , and a massive civil war hangs in the balance. Besides, Kamala is a mature, intelligent person who knows what she's getting into, so they really don't have any ground to stand on.

Unfortunately things are a little more complicated than that: Kamala is at a very delicate stage in her development, which is why she was kept in stasis. For a metamorph, sexual maturity means emotionally imprinting on a single mate, pair-bonding permanently with them (this was meant to be Alrik). A side-effect of this is that Kamala is awash with pheromones right now , driving any man who comes near her wild with desire. This includes Riker, Worf, and the group of rowdy space miners that have taken over Ten Forward. Realizing the seriousness of this situation, Picard assigns Kamala a chaperone: Data, the one man aboard the Enterprise immune to her charms.

The situation, however, soon escalates: the Ferengi offer to buy Kamala from Briam, but when he refuses, the argument turns physical, and Briam winds up in a coma—leaving Picard with no choice but to take over administering the ceremony himself, with Kamala guiding him through the nuances of Kriosian culture. Working together so closely means trouble, of course. Picard struggles to maintain his Stoic façade and diplomatic detachment while becoming genuinely attracted to Kamala. Kamala, meanwhile, finds herself fascinated by Picard, mainly because he's probably the first man ever to treat her like a person and not a living sex toy.

The day of the ceremony arrives, and Chancellor Alrik meets with the crew. Alrik, it turns out, is a humorless bureaucrat who's more interested in finalizing the details of the treaty than he is in the reunification ceremony. He views the ceremony, including his marriage to Kamala, as a tired formality. He has no interest in her as a person; she's just part of the peace offering. Picard is troubled by this, but then Kamala drops the big one: she has reached sexual maturity, and she has pair-bonded. With Picard.

Not to worry, though. Kamala retains her empathic abilities. She'll still be able to sense Alrik's needs and meet them. He'll never know that she hasn't really bonded with him. Picard tries to stop the whole thing, but she refuses to let him. You see, one of Picard's most attractive qualities to her was his sense of duty and willingness to sacrifice for others. It's what she learned from him as part of the bonding, and it's why she can't back out of the ceremony now. The peace is more important than their happiness.

Tropes found in "The Perfect Mate" include:

• When a Ferengi forcibly introduces himself to Ambassador Briam and Captain Picard intervenes, the Ferengi asks if Picard is the man who schedules the Ambassador's appointments.
• Kamala initially assumes Picard is Chancellor Alrik due to his air of authority.
• Altar Diplomacy : Kamala is there as a prized gift to seal the deal with Chancellor Alrik. It turns out that he's not all that interested, though he does seem impressed when he finally meets her.
• Armor-Piercing Question : When Kamala tells Picard that she can become the perfect companion to anyone she's with, Picard asks her who she is when she's alone. Her response is bewilderment; she's never thought of herself as anything more than what others require her to be.
• Aroused by Their Voice : Kamala finds Picard's voice very sexy.
• Becoming the Mask : In a way. Spending so much time in Picard's company means Kamala spends a lot of time embodying what he values in an ideal mate. And she actually likes being that person, enough to want to permanently become her. However she also takes on Picard's sense of Duty, so leaves him to become the wife of a man she doesn't love to ensure peace . Kamala : I only hope he likes Shakespeare.
• Blatant Lies : The (bald) Ferengi caught attempting to steal the metamorph claims he was there by accident while looking for a barber.
• Bodyguard Crush : Assigning Data as Kamala's chaperone is a deliberate plan to subvert this trope. It works, but doesn't prevent all her other admirers from crowding in.
• Bribe Backfire : Briam isn't even slightly tempted by the Ferengi's offer. They assume at first that he feels insulted by them offering a Comically Small Bribe and assure him that it's just a down payment on a much larger bribe, which doesn't help at all.
• The main source of conflict between Picard and Crusher. Arranged marriages for political purposes seem to be perfectly acceptable for the Kriosians. Picard isn't enthused about it, but won't interfere with their cultural practices, as long as all parties agree. Crusher explicitly equates it to slavery.
• And then there's the issue of Kamala herself. She gains fulfillment by becoming what men want her to be, a concept that Picard can't quite accept.
• The Ferengi don't quite understand Briam's " Screw the Money, I Have Rules! " attitude.
• Devoted to You : Kamala is already quite attractive, but she's putting out pheromones that entice every man on the ship that she comes into contact with. Also, because her stasis was interrupted, she can't help but adopt whatever traits a given man finds appealing, which just increases their interest in her.
• Distracted by the Sexy : Every guy near Kamala falls under her spell (save, of course, for Data). Our Starfleet heroes have enough discipline to resist; the miners, on the other hand, don't bother doing so.
• The Kriosian body markings were later repurposed as the markings of Trill, who didn't have them in their first appearance.
• The Ferengi are still using gold as currency rather than gold-pressed latinum.
• Gratuitous French : Dr. Crusher drops the common French phrase "coup de grace," though she makes the common mistake of mispronouncing the final word "grah."
• He Knows Too Much : When the Ferengi tell Briam that they have a ship coming for them, he tries to leave so he can report it to Picard; their subsequent attempt to detain him ends up seriously injuring him.
• Head-Turning Beauty : Everyone notices whenever Kamala enters the room.
• I'll Be in My Bunk : Riker, after a close encounter with Kamala, tells the Bridge he'll be spending some time in Holodeck Four. Considering Kamala's effect on people, Holodeck Four's gonna be awfully crowded that week.
• Imprinting : Kamala seems to have initially done this on Picard, thus wanting to be the perfect mate for him. Unfortunately, he has to fight his feelings for her in the name of interstellar diplomacy.
• Beverly is disgusted that the ambassador ordered Kamala to stay in her room, and Picard agrees that it's unacceptable. After one trip out in public, it becomes very clear how much chaos her very presence could cause on the ship.
• Alrik is seen as unreasonably cold because he's less interested in Kamala than he is in trade agreements and border concessions. Given his position, caring about about the details of a peace treaty that will end decades of war seems pretty damn responsible. Since the marriage primarily impacts him, and he's keeping his focus on the things that will impact his people , he should be seen more as a selfless leader than a cold-hearted jerk.
• Living Aphrodisiac : Kamala is this to just about every male on the Enterprise . Oddly, Picard is this to her ; he's so unlike any other man she's met that his uniqueness is intoxicating to her.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl : Deconstructed. Kamala exists to please her mate and derives all of her satisfaction out of doing so, yet over the course of the episode, she discovers her own needs.
• Meaningful Name : Kamala is based on the Arabic word for "perfection", and her power is to become the perfect mate for the man she will marry.
• Mythology Gag : When the Ferengi meet Briam for the first time and try to forcibly make their acquaintance with him, Geordi drags them away to "see the dolphins", which are canonically stated to have a room on the Enterprise . This room, which is also present on other Galaxy - and California -class starships, is called the Cetacean Ops and it's where they assist with the ship's navigation, but the actual room isn't shown until Star Trek: Lower Decks .
• No Bisexuals : It's not clear if Kriosian culture even has the concepts of bisexuality or homosexuality, but the people that Kamala works her mojo on are exclusively male. For what it's worth, when considering a chaperone for Kamala, Picard apparently never even considers a woman for the job. Only Data will do.
• Picard learns this about himself. He's not even sure if he's genuinely attracted to Kamala or if it's just her pheromones working on him... which in itself gives him pause.
• Kamala's enough to make even Worf turn flirtatious, though he's clearly embarrassed about it a moment later.
• Ambassador Briam admits as much at the end of the episode. He says he was selected to accompany Kamala because it was believed that his advanced age would lessen her effect on him. And it did, but he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel anything at all. And he's quite impressed with Picard's self-control...
• The miners in Ten Forward don't see Data as a threat (even though he could probably take them all on if necessary), but then Worf walks up and they immediately back down.
• The Ferengi are horrified when they accidentally injure Briam, probably not out of concern for him as much as realizing how badly they've screwed themselves.
• Picard is shocked when Kamala reveals that she's bonded with him instead of Alrik.
• Older Than They Look : Ambassador Briam appears to be in his 60s or 70s in human years, but is actually over 200 years old.
• Pygmalion Plot : Unintentionally on Picard's part. He doesn't deliberately shape Kamala into something appealing to him; it's just part of her abilities to do so. And Kamala finds that she likes being Picard's ideal woman: Picard's an intelligent, enlightened male, who doesn't want or need a woman who will cater to his every desire. His ideal woman is his intellectual and emotional equal, and being the equal partner in a relationship like that is something very appealing to Kamala.
• Relationship Sue : Played straight and deconstructed In-Universe . Kamala's superpower is to become this to any man. Which is what draws her to Picard, the first man she's ever met who doesn't want a Relationship Sue .
• The Smurfette Principle : Briam says that a large number of males of his species are metamorphs that automatically shape themselves to the females they interact with, but female metamorphs are exceedingly rare.
• Snipe Hunt : One of the miners tries to get Data away from Kamala by telling him that the replicator's malfunctioning. Data is just about to check it out before realizing that it's a trick and decides to stay put.
• Statuesque Stunner : Played by Famke Janssen , the beautiful Kamala is taller than most of the male cast.
• Styrofoam Rocks : A Ferengi 'struggles' to lift a plastic cargo container that is clearly empty.
• Swiss-Cheese Security : Despite having cargo that's explicitly described as "quite fragile and quite irreplaceable", Worf doesn't seem to have taken the slightest security measures, like posting guards or even locking the door. Which is particularly egregious since there are a number of civilians on board who he has no reason to trust (including two Ferengi who, it turns out, are there specifically to steal it).
• Unexplained Accent : Famke Janssen 's Dutch accent is completely different from the two other members of her species we see. To be fair it's reasonable to imagine that interplanetary civilizations might have different accents.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S5E20 "Cost of Living"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S5E22 "Imaginary Friend"

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Empathic metamorph

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Kamala , a Kriosian empathic metamorph

An empathic metamorph was a humanoid who had an increased empathic ability and a natural desire to please others. This was often perceived as being the " perfect mate " since the individual naturally changed its persona and behavior to meet another being's emotional requirements and sexual desires .

Kriosian empathic metamorphs, through random genetic mutations, were relatively common, but the vast majority were male . Females appeared once in every seven generations. As a result, such females were highly-prized as mates; they were forcibly adopted by the state from age four and put through a rigorous educational program to further increase their value as mates. Kriosian metamorphs went through a complex three-stage sexual maturation process. The third stage was called the Finiis'ral . Soon after, the metamorph "bonded" with the person nearby, imprinting only their desires. Putting the metamorph in stasis could prolong the maturation process.

Garuth was a female Kriosian empathic metamorph who was loved by two brothers, Valt and Krios . Their fight over her started the Valtese -Kriosian war. Centuries later in 2368 , another metamorph, Kamala , was given to Alrik to end it. ( TNG : " The Perfect Mate ")

Star Trek The Next Generation: The Perfect Mate

4 comments:

Nice review, Billie. I especially like the reverse situation that you posited. Having a female being beautiful and desirable to men in almost any situation is not a big deal, it's expected...but if Kamala had been a man and did the same things she did, it would be creepy. I don't know how Kamala is going to be happy in her new life. I would think that she would be repulsed by her husband and long for Picard. That's sad.

Thanks, Mallena. At least Kamala won't be alone. A lot of us have longed for Picard. :)

Nice comments...but consider this before judging Kamala. Kamala is amazingly sincere and vulnerable.. yet very strong...she is who she is and no comments through the prism of a human prejudice (male or female) is valid. It is not different from being who you are because you are gay. I find the end logical yet unexpected. She elects duty over love, a trait that, as she states, is defining a ship's captain. Picard's influence is thus of the highest ethical quality proving that "pleasing a man" is of the most important meaning, at a non-trivial level for Kamala. A brilliantly tragic episode played to perfection. Sergiu G., NEW York

What a disturbing episode!!! I find the most weird (sexist) plothole is... when Riker and the Captain find out she's hard to resist, why the heck don't have women talk to her instead? They try data, ok, but wouldn't it be refreshing to find out whether Kamala has a personality or not by having her talk to doctor Crusher (or the conveniently absent counsellor)? Anyway, what's disturbing is the ending. It's suggested here she chose to bond with Pickard - interesting. Watching the episode I assumed it was an error, that her bonding time simply came earlier. Either way, there's no fucking way to know whether it is really a pleasure for her to acquire the kind of personality he wishes her to have, or whether she's just saying that to please him! How disturbing. We don't even have that much comfort. The way they send her off to perform 'duty' without a single look at whether or not she can actually live with that decision, ugh. I mean. Nice parallel to the way relationships work (malfunction) sometimes. Nice to see the captain's complete fuck up. But how they could do this to her, just makes me stare in disbelief and my stomach turn in disgust. (P.S. Roles reversed might not turn out so terribly weird actually. He might be charming and thoughtful, open and adventurous for Diana, practical and gentleman-like for dr. Crusher, might be able to sit in silence with or listen to Guinan. Why not?)

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Star Trek: The Next Generation: 10 Famous Guest Stars You Forgot

With some big names like Kirsten Dunst and Stephen Hawking, there are also a few surprising guest stars in Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Star Trek: The Next Generation went off the air in 1994, well before today's crop of famous faces made their mark on television. But as old as the series may feel today, there are some cameos that still feel fresh. Here are ten guest stars that took part in that brave, new mission that fans might be surprised to rediscover.

Ashley Judd

The Next Generation provided Ashley Judd with her first on-screen experience. The star and activist earned her stripes playing Ensign Robin Lefler in two Season 5 episodes, "Darmok" and "The Game." Though her role in "Darmok" is small, the episode is a memetic fave that untangles a linguistic riddle through Picard's Shakespearean flair. But Judd gets a taste of the spotlight in her second appearance, where Lefler and Wesley Crusher struggle to resist the lure of a dangerously addictive video game. Wil Wheaton gives Judd her first on-screen kiss by the end of the episode, a charming beginning to her healthy career.

Tony Todd adds a feverish intensity wherever he appears. His starring role in the cult horror classic Candyman  is an example of him at his best. It's a talent that also made him one of the greatest recurring Klingons in The Next Generation , appearing as Worf's ferocious brother Kurn. Kurn first arrives on the Enterprise as part of a practice exercise, quickly going toe to toe with the crew. But his goal is to get close to Worf. Kurn was raised by another family, his lineage a secret due to the cloud over their dishonorable father, Mogh. Kurn appeared three times in The  Next Generation  and returned once in Deep Space 9 's "Sons of Mogh." Todd also played an aging Jake Sisko and, once in Voyager , unrecognizable as a mysterious Alpha-Hirogen hunter.

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Diedrich Bader

Diedrich Bader is still known to many as one of Drew Carey's close buddies in The Drew Carey Show , although his turn as the invasive neighbor Lawrence in Office Space is arguably his most enduring moment. Today he's a popular voice, slated to appear as King Randor in Kevin Smith's take on Masters of the Universe . But 1989's "The Emissary" was his first television role, giving him a little background time on a standout episode that dug deep into Worf's heart. It's not a big role, and Bader's credited only as a Tactical Crewman. But it's still a great bit to have in the resume, as appearing in Star Trek is still a bucket list wish for many actors today.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was one of the modern giants of physics, reshaping the scientific understanding of general relativity and becoming a bestselling author with his layperson-approachable text A Brief History of Time . Hawking was also, like many in his high-tech fields, a big fan of science fiction. According to Stephen Hawking: A Life Well Lived by Kitty Ferguson, it was Leonard Nimoy who discovered that Hawking wanted to guest star on Star Trek , and Nimoy reached out to make it happen. Hawking is the only person to play himself, appearing in the sixth season episode "Descent" as a member of Lt. Cmdr Data's poker game against some of history's greatest scientific minds.

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Famke Jannsen

Famke Jannsen became a hot topic as a Bond Girl in 1995's GoldenEye  and later endeared herself to X-Men fans as the face of Jean Grey in the 2000 film franchise. But Jean and Professor Xavier actually had their first encounter three years before her breakout moment, when Jannsen played the empathetic Kamala in "The Perfect Mate." As a Kriosian metamorph, her destiny was to marry for diplomatic and political purposes. But Kamala falls in love with Jean-Luc Picard. She imprints her personality on his desires instead, though she still marries her arranged partner. It's a terrific episode. Although seeing Jannsen in a gentle, mentoring relationship with Patrick Stewart almost a decade later can be surprising for Star Trek fans.

Mick Fleetwood

Fleetwood Mac's eponymous frontman famously loves two things: his beard and Star Trek . Fleetwood was willing to do anything  to earn a cameo on  The   Next Generation , so long as whatever character he played got to take a jaunt on the transporter. In the second season episode "Manhunt," Mick got his wish. Playing a fishlike Antedian ambassador in prosthetics that required Fleetwood to temporarily sacrifice his beard, his diplomatic contingent beams aboard the Enterprise. The Antedians face-off with Lwaxana Troi, who, in between her vivacious hunt for her latest mate, foils their plans to bomb a diplomatic conference.

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Stephen Root

Stephen Root is the beloved character actor behind O ffice Space 's infamous Milton. He's also the voice behind dozens of today's cartoon characters, heard everywhere from Gravity Falls to Amphibia . He's an unlikely figure to think of when talking about Klingons, but he plays the hostile yet good-natured Klingon captain K'Vada in one of The  Next Generation 's most acclaimed two-parters, "Unification." He's integral to getting Picard and Data behind Romulan lines to search for Ambassador Spock. He even allows Data to access his ship's database to fox the Romulan spies seeking to disrupt their mission.

James Cromwell

James Cromwell is an actor and activist with an extensive film career. For at least one generation, he's the human heart of Babe , and for Next Generation fans, he's Zefram Cochrane, the engineer at the heart of 1996's Star Trek: First Contact . But Cromwell was a Star Trek veteran long before his big-screen hours with the Enterprise crew , first appearing in Season 3's "The Hunted" and returning several seasons later, unrecognizable as a wrinkled Yridian named Jaglom Shrek, in "Birthright." Polite and private, it's unknown how big a science fiction fan Cromwell actually is. However, with dozens of appearances in the genre, it's clear he's put his heart into the work.

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Bebe Neuwirth

Bebe Neuwirth is an Emmy-winning actor best known for playing Frasier Crane's spouse, Dr. Lilith Sternin, on both Cheers and Frasier . She's also a Broadway staple and a reliable fixture on Madam Secretary . But in 1991, she took a quick break from Cheers to appear in the fourth season episode, "First Contact." A huge fan of the franchise, she plays Lanel, a nurse and xenophile who offers to help the transfigured Commander Riker escape hospital imprisonment -- for a sexy price.

Kirsten Dunst

Kirsten Dunst became a sensation at age 12 as the too-young vampire Claudia in 1994's Interview with the Vampire  and later built her career on taking chances on films like Lars von Trier's Melancholia . She's best known to many as the Raimi Spiderverse's Mary Jane Watson , long-time true love of Peter Parker. But just one year before her breakout role, Dunst guest-starred on Star Trek in the season seven episode "Dark Page." She plays an alien girl named Hedril, a telepath and one of the first of her species to learn to speak aloud. Her tutor, Lwaxana Troi, has unconsciously connected the girl with her deceased first daughter, Kestra. The experience leads to a traumatic shock for Lwaxana, and eventually, the first steps toward healing.

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Famous People You Didn't Know Were On 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

For the uninitiated,  Star Trek: The Next Generation  might just seem like a dated sci-fi show from the late '80s and early '90s. But true fans know the series was easily one of the  Star Trek  franchise's best , and rewatching the series to catch some surprise guest stars makes watching the sci-fi staple - which was often directed by its actors - even more fun.  Star Trek  cameos run the gamut from then-unknown actors like Teri Hatcher to seasoned stage and TV veterans like Kelsey Grammer.

John Tesh In 'The Icarus Factor' (Season 2)

ET  host John Tesh was open about his enthusiasm for  Star Trek: The Next Generation  even before the show aired. On June 20 and 21, 1987, the unabashed fan hosted a two-part series on  Entertainment Tonigh t promoting and diving into the upcoming series.

Tesh landed a cameo as a Klingon in "The Icarus Factor," an episode during which Worf (Michael Dorn) celebrates the anniversary of his Rite of Ascension, and chooses to run the gauntlet in a painful Klingon ritual where Holodeck warriors (of which Tesh is one) hit him with cattle-prod like devices.

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Kirsten Dunst In 'Dark Page' (Season 7)

Dunst has had a prolific acting career, and it started at a young age. In this TNG episode, Dunst played Hendril, a Cairn child raised by a single father, at the age of 11.

The Cairn people don't speak, but they do use telepathy as a means of communication. When Hendril and her father visit the USS Enterprise-D , she reminds Federation diplomat Lwaxana Troi (Majel Barrett) of her long-deceased sister. The experience puts Lwaxana into a coma, but fortunately, with the aid of Counselor Troi, Hendril is able to dive into her subconscious and bring her back.

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James Cromwell In 'The Hunted' (Season 3) And 'Birthright' (Season 6)

In 'The Hunted,' James Cromwell plays Prime Minister Nayrok of the planet Angosia III. The  Enterprise  has made its way to the planet to consider its involvement in the Federation, but before they can get to it, Nayrok asks them to hunt down a dangerous escaped criminal. Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew learn that this prisoner is a genetically modified soldier that the government has deemed too dangerous for traditional society. Captain Picard does not take kindly to Nayrok's abandonment of his soldiers, and when an insurgency arises, Picard refuses to help Nayrok stop it.

In the two-part episode 'Birthright,' Worf (Michael Dorn) learns that his father might not have perished in combat. Yridian information broker Jaglom Shrek (Cromwell again, but, this time beneath layers of alien makeup) claims that Worf's father is alive at a Romulan prison camp. Even though he doesn't initially believe Shrek's intel, Worf makes his way to the Romulan camp to see for himself.

Cromwell, a prolific character actor,  went back to the Trek well a couple more times , playing Minister Hanok on the Deep Space 9 episode 'Starship Down' and prickly warp-technology pioneer Zefram Cochrane in the feature film Star Trek: First Contact .

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Teri Hatcher In 'The Outrageous Okona' (Season 2)

The USS Enterprise comes across a small cargo ship that seems to be struggling. They contact the ship, helmed by Captain Thadiun Okona (William O. Campbell), who then requests repair help. When Okona boards the Enterprise, he isn't discreet about his interest in the women on board. He first lays eyes on Transporter Chief Robinson (Hatcher) and decides his ship doesn't have to be fixed so quickly after all.

Hatcher, who would go on to fame a few years later as Superman's partner and reporter Lois Lane in Lois & Clark , reportedly asked  not to be officially credited for the role , as much of it was cut out of the final episode.

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Famke Janssen In 'The Perfect Mate' (Season 5)

As a peace offering to the Valtian, Kriosian ambassador Briam (Tim O'Connor) offers Kriosian Kamala (Janssen) to a Valtian representative. But Kamala isn't just any Kriosian; she is an empathic metamorph, meaning that she can perfectly modulate her behavior and release pheromones to attract men. Her presence causes some tension, but some, like Captain Jean-Luc Picard, are able to resist the temptation. Kamala falls for the Captain and permanently bonds with him, but still marries the Valtian to help her people.

The Dutch actor would go on to play Jean Grey in the X-Men films.

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Ashley Judd In 'The Game' (Season 5)

In 1991, Ashley Judd (who, by decade's end, would be one of the top box-office stars in the world) stepped on USS  Enterprise-D  as Ensign Robin Lefler.

While on board, Lefler develops a short-lived romance with Wesley Crusher (Will Wheaton) and helps him unravel a sinister virtual-reality game on which all of the ship's crew are quickly becoming hooked. Wheaton has said that this was Judd's  first onscreen kiss .

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Bebe Neuwirth In 'First Contact' (Season 4)

Broadway and film veteran Bebe Neuwirth - best known to TV fans as Lilith from Cheers and Frasier - plays Lanel, a nurse who takes care of Commander William T. Riker after he is injured while performing an undercover "first contact" mission on her xenophobic homeworld.

Nurse Lanel is very candid about her openness towards alien species - and also hints that she wouldn't mind getting intimate with one. She offers to help him escape the medical facility in exchange for a quick romp.

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Kelsey Grammer In 'Cause And Effect' (Season 5)

Although Kelsey Grammer only makes a brief appearance in this episode, it is impactful. The crew of  Enterprise  discover they are stuck in a time loop that always ends with a catastrophic collision with another ship. At first, they are unaware of this, but then some crew members begin to experience deja vu and piece together what's going on.

Data (Brent Spiner) is able to short-circuit himself and send a message to his next looped self to avert the collision. Once they get out of the loop, the crew realizes they've been there for 17 days. The other ship, helmed by Captain Morgan Bateson (Grammar), had lost 90 years - hence Bateson's nifty Star Trek VI -era uniform.

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Lawrence Tierney In 'The Big Goodbye' (Season 1)

When  Star Trek: The Next Generation  decided to do their version of a noir, they cast Lawrence Tierney, one of the most famous 1940s gangster actors (and known to younger filmgoers as the boss in Reservoir Dogs ), to play the villainous Cyrus Redblock.

Captain Picard tries out a new Holodeck program, in which he plays the Raymond Chandler-esque detective Dixon Hill, and has entirely too much fun locking horns with Redblock.

David Warner In 'Chain of Command' (Season 6)

Character actor David Warner has left his mark on the Star Trek universe with  three separate roles , including Star Trek Generation's Cardassian Gul Madred.

In this two-part episode, the  Enterprise  crew discovers that the Cardassians are in the midst of creating a genetically engineered virus on an empty planet. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) attempts to covertly wipe out the bioweapon but is taken prisoner by the Cardassians. He subsequently undergoes a harrowing interrogation at the hands of Gul Madred. The episode is often regarded as one of TNG 's best .

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Stephen Hawking In 'Descent' (Season 6)

Legendary theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking is the only person in the  Star Trek  universe who has cameoed as himself. The cameo also marked the late Hawking's  first foray into TV cameos ; he later appeared on shows like  The Simpsons , The Big Bang Theory , and  Futurama . 

In 'Descent,' Hawking is one of three revered scientists recreated by Data on the holodeck for a poker game. The others are Sir Isaac Newton (played by John Neville) and Albert Einstein (Jim Norton).

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Ben Vereen In 'Interface' (Season 7)

Ben Vereen was already a seasoned Broadway, TV, and film actor before making his cameo on  Star Trek . The veteran entertainer plays Commander Edward M. La Forge, father of  Enterprise 's Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton). The commander tells his son that his mother's ship has been officially declared lost, and all of its crew is assumed to have perished. 

Determined to find his mother, Geordi connects the VISOR circuitry in his brain to a remote probe, ignoring the risk of neural damage to himself.

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David Huddleston

While David Huddleston is not a household name, Coen Brothers fans will easily recognize the man who played the eponymous character in  The   Big Lebowski .

In this episode, Huddleston plays a holographic character in the holodeck called the Conductor, who is presumably from the holodeck's Orient Express program. He is one of several holographic entities that the  Enterprise  crew discover the ship is creating by itself.

Paul Sorvino In 'Homeland' (Season 7)

Worf (Michael Dorn) grows concerned about his foster brother, Nikolai Rozhenko (Paul Sorvino), who is posted on a planet experiencing atmospheric dissipation. Worf requests to go down to the planet to check on his brother. When he gets there, he discovers that Nikolai broke the Prime Directive and did everything in his power to save some of the native Boraalan from suffocation.

Sorvino is probably best known to filmgoers as the formidable mobster Paulie Cicero in Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas .

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Corbin Bernsen In 'Deja Q' (Season 3)

Bernsen makes a brief appearance as a Second Q entity, or Q2, after Q (John de Lancie), who has been stripped of his powers, altruistically decides to leave the  Enterprise . Q2 says that since Q did such a selfless thing, he will be permitted to rejoin the Q Continuum and regain his powers. 

When "Deja Q" came out in 1990, Bernsen was best known for his role as divorce attorney Arnold Becker on NBC's  L.A. Law . According to  The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , "Corbin Bernsen has said he took the role of Q2 not so much as a fan of Trek but to be a part of its legacy and its humanistic outlook."

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Daniel Benzali In 'Samaritan Snare' (Season 2)

While Captain Picard is off-ship for a personal medical matter, the rest of the crew encounters what they believe to be a harmless, broken-down ship. When Geordi boards to assist the seemingly developmentally disabled Pakled crew, he is taken hostage, learning that all they want is to take Starfleet's technology and his own expertise. 

Meanwhile, as Picard struggles with a medical crisis, a Starfleet surgeon (Benzali) nearly loses the Captain before Chief Medical Officer Katherine Pulaski (Diana Muldaur) steps in to save his life.

Joe Piscopo In 'The Outrageous Okona' (Season 2)

In this 1988 episode, Captain Picard must deal with some political drama between the planets Straleb and Atlec. During this squabble, Commander Data (Brent Spiner) decides to research the human concept of humor. As an aid, Data creates a virtual comedy club in the holodeck, complete with a tuxedoed MC played by Piscopo.

Unfortunately, Data finds that his simulation isn't giving him any useful feedback - but he does manage to inadvertently get the human crew laughing at the end of the episode.

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Matt Frewer In 'A Matter Of Time' (Season 5)

Matt Frewer has never been one to shy away from tech-heavy or futuristic roles. He is most famous for his genre-breaking role as Max Headroom, a cheeky, stuttering AI that was supposed to come from "20 minutes into the future."

Frewer's character on  TNG , Berlinghoff Rasmussen, also claims to be from the future. He tells the crew of the  Enterprise  that he is a scientist from the future - when, in reality, he is from the past and happened to commandeer a 26th-century scientist's time machine. Captain Picard and his crew realized something's off about their futuristic guest and unmask his ruse.

Vincent Schiavelli In 'Arsenal of Freedom' (Season 1)

Character actor Vincent Schiavelli had a prolific career in film and television as a " sad-faced actor ," appearing in everything from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest to Better Off Dead . 

Schiavelli plays a Minosian peddler who promises the Enterprise crew the greatest offensive tools Minos has to offer. The crew quickly realizes that the peddler is a hologram and one of the few shadows of life left after the planet's population wiped itself out with its high-tech gadgets.

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