Counsellor Deanna Troi, played by
Marina Sirtis
With a new ship, a new series and a new way to look at things, TNG created the position of Ship’s Counsellor, a role that had never existed before. Basically part therapist, part almost nanny to the ship’s crew, it is Deanna Troi’s job to ensure the mental well-being of those who serve aboard NCC-1701D, and most crew members would schedule or have scheduled for them regular sessions. She is also very good with children, as she has to be, with the Enterprise carrying families into space. She is part Betazoid, a race of telepathic humanoids, and her telepathy gives her a unique advantage in her field, as she can sense when people are worried, not telling the truth, hiding something etc. She is however more than just a shrink, carrying the rank of Lieutenant Commander, and a bridge officer. Her talents are too precious to waste and so Picard makes use of them whenever he can. It’s always useful, for instance, to know if the ship facing off against you is actually going to risk opening hostilities, or if the captain is bluffing.
Troi goes down to the surface on away missions more than other female officers; again, she could be vital in any situation, as we see in the pilot episode when she detects the creature at Farpoint and its loneliness. She has been romantically involved with Commander Riker, though this seems to be in the past now. Nevertheless, when they are alone she often refers to him as “Imzadi”, or beloved, and it sometimes seems as if they have unfinished business. In the event though she falls for Worf, helping him to look after his son before he leaves the
Enterprise and finds love with Jadzia Dax. In the final “proper” Star Trek movie, “Nemesis”, she is shown as having married Riker. She is a strong female role model, but perhaps mindful of the miniskirt-and-boots era of TOS, the producers of TNG originally give her an unflattering tight bun hairdo and a purple catsuit to wear, before she is eventually allowed to gracefully blossom into an attractive but independent young lady later in the series.
She maintains a close but always platonic relationship with Reginald Barclay, a transporter engineer whose shyness she helps him overcome, and is one of Data’s friends. Picard values her counsel but rarely if ever uses her first name, and of course she is very friendly with the other strong female on the ship, its doctor and chief medical officer; they often work out together and have dinner. She has the dubious distinction of being the only person --- never mind female --- to have crashed the
Enterprise and destroyed its saucer section. Her mother in the series is Lwaxanna Troi, played by the late Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, who turns up from time to time in the various series. She learns, in the episode “Dark page”, that she once had a sister but that the child drowned, and her mother has or had blocked this memory out so completely that she had managed to convince herself she had only one daughter ever. Deanna’s father was a Starfleet officer, killed in action when she was little.