Menage a Troi by: Fred Bronson and Susan Sackett and directed by: Robert Legato

 

“Menage a Troi” is written by: Fred Bronson and Susan Sackett and is directed by: Robert Legato.  It was produced under production code 172, was the 24^th episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3, the 72^nd episode overall, and was broadcast on May 28, 1990.

 

Menage a trois is a French term for a polyamorous relationship between three people.  “Menage a Troi” is the season 3 appearance of Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation and it is very likely that Fred Bronson and Susan Sackett started the script with that pun and decided to go from there.  The title is also a clear in joke to being connected to two of Gene Roddenberry’s long term partneres.  Lwaxana Troi may be a maligned character in fandom, but now at her third appearance Majel Barrett’s mastery of camp has just won me over completely that I look forward to her appearances.  Barrett brings this great energy to every scene that she is in and much of this episode is written just to show off her performance above practically everything else.  Every moment she is on screen Barrett makes big acting choices but now with her third appearance she is given a script that actually gives her just a little bit more depth.  Some of this is in part due to earlier episodes this season having Troi mention her in different contexts, but there are quite a few moments that really explore the Trois’ relationship with one another.  Lwaxana has had multiple husbands and is very confident in her sexuality while Deanna is less so.  Lwaxana sees that Deanna and Riker are clearly in love and should be together and she will tease her daughter.  Deanna has her own insecurities about her mother treating her like a child, while Lwaxana for her part is a deeply caring woman who wants the best for her daughter.  Lwaxana is also a very good diplomat.  Adding this little bit of depth goes a very long way for the episode struggling from a lackluster plot.

 

“Menage a Troi” has a plot that clearly wants to lean into farce, bringing back the Ferengi as part of negotiations in a trade conference for the Federation.  The conflict of the episode is that the Ferengi Daimon Tog, played by Frank Corsentino develops an intense attraction to Lwaxana and inserts himself between her, her daughter, and Riker, kidnapping them until Lwaxana agrees to marry him.  The farcical aspects of the episode feels like a throw back to a specific style of comedy popular in the 1960s, not screwball at all because the threat is taken far too seriously, but close enough to be Star Trek: The Next Generation doing a sex comedy.  Sex comedies aren’t my particular genre of film so it is very possible that my analysis of this episode is being influenced greatly by being a tribute to a type of story that I generally don’t like.  It also might just be my dislike of the Ferengi in general, and the performances of Corsentino and Ethan Phillips are slightly lackluster.  Phillips is fine, though his character is the subordinate and not so much on screen but Corsentino I found to be almost too reserved which doesn’t play as well against Majel Barrett’s very big performance.  The first act of the episode is great, Barrett playing Troi as completely standoffish towards the Ferengi and is disappointed when Picard refuses to give her an out from interacting with them.

 

Bronson and Sackett also do keep up the A-plot/B-plot structure and this B-plot is actually quite strong for Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher who is preparing to leave the Enterprise for Starfleet Academy.  He doesn’t in the end, but as consolation Picard promotes him to full ensign, a position that by this point is fully earned as Wesley has grown from much of his early appearances.  He brings plenty of value to the crew and has evolved into a fully formed character that by this point is just a lot less annoying.  Bronson and Sackett do tie it into the rest of the episode, Wesley is responsible for finding where the Trois and Riker have been taken, and actually seeing Wesley in a proper uniform at the end of the episode is just a really nice image.  There is also this subplot involving Riker playing chess against the Ferengi, able to use a mix of brains and brawn to stay help.  The farce of trying to escape the Ferengi is particularly fun even if some of the ideas are just a bit tired at times.  The real crowning moment of the episode is Picard’s impassioned pleas to get Lwaxana back, pretending to be her lover and quoting Shakespearean sonnets among other things at the Ferengi before escalating to violence.  The trick here is that it means Shakespearean actor Patrick Stewart gets the treat of performing Shakespeare badly.  It is intentionally an over the top scene and is just a ridiculous enough conclusion to work.

 

Overall, I feel as if the scores that Lwaxana Troi’s appearances do the character justice.  Majel Barrett is just one of the best additions to Star Trek: The Next Generation even if she is in episodes that are generally held back by being quite light, though each with a different host of problems.  “Haven” had the problem of still not knowing how to write the main cast and deciding everyone needs to be stiff, “Manhunt” being padded like much of Season 2 was, and now “Menage a Troi” just needed a couple stronger guest cast performances and some better timing with the jokes.  They are slowly improving and I have the feeling that her next appearance may push the trajectory of the character out of this range.  6.5/10.