Star Trek Profiles
                Taken from the public domain

            Profile of Marina Sirtis/Deanna Troi

The character of Deanna Troi represents probably the most radical
departure from the established format of the original Star Trek
series - her role as ship's counsellor would have been unthinkable
in the Sixties; in Kirk's day, if you had a problem you either
dealt with it yourself, or else Dr McCoy gave you a quick jab with
his trusty tranquilliser hypo...

Now that Star Trek: The Next Generation has moved us onward into
the 24th Century, and the thinking behind the series has moved
into the 'caring' Nineties, much more attention is being paid to
the mental welfare of the crew - especially since there are now
families and children aboard.  Deanna's primary job is to provide
psychological and emotional support for the crew - and especially
for the captain and his senior officers.  On more than one
occasion she has felt it necessary to advise Picard on matters of
shipboard policy, although she has enough tact and diplomacy not
to do so in front of the crew!

Deanna Troi is only half-human, her mother being a highly
respected (or so she tells us!) member of the Betazoid race, known
for their highly developed telepathic skills.  Deanna has not
inherited all of her mother's full-blown telepathy, but does have
certain empathic skills which allow her to sense the emotional
responses of those around her - even via a viewscreen, across
several million miles of Space, it seems!  These empathic skills
are ideally suited to her position aboard the Enterprise, and she
is often able to detect and tackle a problem before it turns into
a crisis.

In later episodes we get to meet Deanna's mother, Lwaxana Troi,
and find out much more about both of their backgrounds.  From what
we have seen in her three stories to date, Lwaxana (as played by
Majel Barret, wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry) would
seem to be one very good reason for Deanna's original decision to
leave Betazoid and join Starfleet!

The pilot story reveals that before they both joined the
Enterprise, Deanna was involved in a short-lived, but highly
passionate, affair with first officer Will Riker.  They still have
a very special relationship, although it is always kept firmly
platonic and above board.  As with the relationship between Picard
and Beverly Crusher, it is frequently hinted that the pair
secretly wish that circumstances had been a little different.

One problem with the Deanna Troi character is that the writers
don't seem to have decided quite why she's there; apart from the
occasional comic relief, and the odd session of shoulder-crying,
her main function seems to be to sit on the bridge and 'feel' what
the adversary of the week is thinking, we've seen very little
actual counselling from her.  This is a great shame as the basic
need for psychological counselling of the problems encountered on
a Deep Space voyage is an intriguing one.


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