Deanna Troi actress Marina Sirtis revealed that one episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation hit very close to home.
Summary
- Counselor Deanna Troi actor Marina Sirtis found an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Haven,” personally relatable to her own life.
- The relationship between Deanna and her mother Lwaxana in the show reflects the complex dynamics of a realistic parent-child relationship.
- Over time, Deanna and Lwaxana work through their conflicts and past trauma, resulting in a stronger and more authentic bond.
Counselor Deanna Troi actor Marina Sirtis discusses an early episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that mirrored her own life. Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG introduced Star Trek fans to an entirely new crew of Starfleet officers, including the half-human, half-Betazoid Deanna Troi. Although Troi was originally conceived to be the Spock of TNG, she later became the show’s heart, serving as the ship’s counselor and using her empathic powers to help the captain.
Star Trek: The Next Generation season 1, episode 11, “Haven,” was the time the spotlight was given to Counselor Troi, as she became the central figure in an arranged marriage storyline. “Haven” also introduced Majel Barrett as Deanna’s mother, Lwaxana Troi, who visited the Enterprise to help plan her daughter’s impending wedding. It turns out this particular storyline hit very close to home for actress Marina Sirtis. In the Star Trek oral history, The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Sirtis reflects on “Haven” and its similarities to her own life. Read her full quote below:
It was very funny—when I read the script, I said to Gene Roddenberry, how did you know all this about me, because this all happened to me in real life? An arranged marriage situation. That was the background of the story, and being Greek, my parents tried to do that to me once. The relationship between me and Majel was so similar toward the feelings I had toward my own mother. It was wonderful to do. There was a feeling about that episode where you could hear a pin drop on set.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Cast & Character Guide
Star Trek: The Next Generation has one of the most beloved cast of characters in all of science fiction. Here are the major characters of the classic.
Lwaxana And Deanna Have One Of Star Trek’s Most Realistic Parent/Child Relationships
There are few mother-daughter portrayals in Star Trek.
Counselor Deanna Troi may have found her mother Lwaxana exasperating on occasion, but the two clearly cared deeply about one another. In Lwaxana’s first appearance, TNG’s “Haven,” she encourages Deanna to go along with the arranged marriage but implies that she will support her daughter either way. In her subsequent TNG appearances, Lwaxana shared many touching moments with Deanna and each one revealed more of the actual person hiding beneath all of Lwaxana’s flamboyant outfits. Although Lwaxana often criticized Deanna, she slowly began to accept her daughter’s choices and became less critical of her over time.
Majel Barett Roddenberry also voiced the Enterprise computer on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Since her introduction, Lwaxana has been a polarizing character, but many of her best scenes come in quiet moments with Deanna. In TNG season 3, episode 24, “Menage à Troi,” Lwaxana and Deanna get kidnapped by a Ferengi and must work together to escape, which ends up bringing them closer. Over time, Deanna learns more about her mother and comforts her when she’s hurting. By Lwaxana’s last appearance on TNG, she has a much stronger relationship with Deanna, as they have worked through much of their past trauma and conflicts. Deanna may not always see eye to eye with her mother, but the relationship between the two feels realistic, especially as it grows and develops throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation.
