Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Deanna Troi
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00:00 Hey folks, before we start, just want to say a really quick thank you to Squarespace, who
00:03 are sponsoring this video.
00:05 She's everyone's favourite Betazoid, and she's actually just a little bit deadly.
00:10 She's Deanna Troi, and today we're going to go through all these cool little tidbits
00:13 about her.
00:14 But, before we watch this video, make sure that you check out the original article by
00:18 the wonderful Jack Kiley.
00:20 Yers are stunning, yers are wonderful, I'm Sean Ferrick for Trek Culture, and here are
00:24 10 things you didn't know about Deanna Troi.
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01:58 Number 10.
01:59 The role first went to Denise Crosby.
02:01 Before filming began on Star Trek The Next Generation, the producers were set on casting
02:04 Denise Crosby in the role of Deanna Troi, and at the same time, Marina Sirtis was reading
02:09 for the part of Masha Hernandez, who later became Natasha Yar.
02:13 Crosby admitted that she had difficulties with her fit for the role, not quite grasping,
02:16 as she once stated, the gobbledygook and weird concept of a Betazoid.
02:20 It was Gene Roddenberry who eventually swapped the roles.
02:22 It was decided that Sirtis was a better fit for the part of the empathic Troi.
02:26 In Crosby's words, citing Roddenberry however, she, the actress, was "just this kind of
02:30 American golden girl compared to the more exotic, otherworldly element that was wanted
02:34 for Troi."
02:35 In any case, the switch happened not a moment too soon.
02:37 When Sirtis got the call confirming she'd got the part, her US visa was due to expire
02:41 that very day.
02:43 The actress was packing her bags, a little dejected, for a return to her hometown of
02:46 London.
02:47 Thankfully, the rest is history.
02:48 Had Roddenberry not changed things, perhaps Troi, and not Yar, would have met her end
02:52 at the hands, gloopy pseudo-appendages, of the grumpy old prank-mate, Armas.
02:58 Number 9.
02:59 Character Constructs, Not a Total Recall What you may not know is that the character
03:03 of Troi first took reference from prior Trek, and Aylea in particular from the motion picture.
03:08 Think Deltans and Betazoids and their mental capabilities.
03:12 The latter was already a carryover from the abandoned Project Star Trek Phase 2.
03:16 Aylea's relationship with Will Decker was then the model to build that between Troi
03:20 and Riker.
03:21 Both Marina Sirtis and Denise Crosby also originally considered Troi to be Spock-like.
03:25 The character description for Troi in the TNGC's Bible does make passing reference
03:30 to Spock, but this is merely to flesh out the counsellor's telepathic abilities.
03:34 Troi was ultimately meant to be her own person, her role nonetheless second in importance
03:38 only to the Captain and First Officer, according to the series Bible once more.
03:42 There seems to be some confusion surrounding the original intent for the character, however.
03:46 In conflicting descriptions of Roddenberry calling Troi both "the brain" on the show
03:50 and "sexy and not very bright", it is difficult to know what to think.
03:53 Apparently Roddenberry initially wanted Troi to have three, or even four depending on the
03:57 source, breasts before DC Fontana thankfully convinced him otherwise.
04:02 Sirtis would later note that, with the costume changes of Season 1, when Troi got cleavage
04:07 she lost her brain matter, and only really gained some back when she regained the uniform.
04:13 She nearly didn't make it past Season 1 of TNG.
04:17 Given the pandemonium behind the scenes, it is a wonder anyone made it past the first
04:20 season of TNG.
04:21 We all know what happened to Natasha Yard, Denise Crosby, and Dr. Crusher Gates McFadden.
04:25 What you probably didn't know, however, is that it was Troi who was originally on
04:28 the chopping block.
04:29 Several fairly significant changes had already been made to the character between the pilot
04:33 and the rest of the season.
04:34 The extent of Troi's "powers" was reduced with regards to her telepathic capabilities,
04:38 and she also changed outfit and hairstyle.
04:40 No longer was she dressed in that god-awful Cosmic Cheerleader uniform, with the "ugliest
04:45 go-go boots ever designed" as Marina Sirtis herself famously described it.
04:49 The writers struggled with the character and empathic abilities.
04:52 According to Sirtis, she was often simply written out of scenes where Troi's presence
04:55 could have been problematic for the plot, as Captain Jemmy once said, "What I wouldn't
04:59 give for a Betazoid right now."
05:00 This led the writers to consider nixing the character before the end of the first season.
05:04 It was only with the departure of Crosby and McFadden from the show that Troi was given
05:08 leave to remain.
05:09 Sirtis found this out straight from the horse's mouth at Jonathan Frakes' wedding during
05:13 the break between seasons, when Gene Roddenberry approached her to announce that the first
05:17 episode of season two would focus on Troi.
05:20 7.
05:21 Marina Sirtis Hated All That Chocolate
05:23 In TNG at least, Troi seemed to accumulate a lot of serious and dark scenes, some of
05:28 which we've already discussed.
05:29 She loses her empathic powers, is rapidly aged by a malicious alien ambassador, has
05:33 her body taken over by a criminal imposter, is transformed into an amphibian, must do
05:37 the acting job of her life aboard Romulan starship, and that's not to mention having
05:41 to negotiate the difficult relationship she has with her mother.
05:43 Of course, her role as counsellor requires her to be more earnest than most, but there
05:47 are lighter moments for Troi.
05:49 One now-famous example is her adoration and borderline addiction to chocolate.
05:53 Well, it is a galaxy-class starship.
05:57 In the episode "The Game," Riker finds Troi tucking into a bowl of chocolate upon
06:01 chocolate upon chocolate.
06:02 She proceeds to explain to him, in the minutest of detail, the fine art of the confectionery's
06:07 consumption.
06:08 Remember, it's the whole experience.
06:10 What you may not know, however, is far from never having met a chocolate she didn't
06:14 like, was that Marina Sirtis hated having to eat it.
06:16 Contrary to the popular belief, the actress does like chocolate, but eating that much
06:20 take after take would be too much for anybody.
06:22 Apparently, she would ask the crew to use a type of chocolate she didn't like, and
06:25 then she would spit out what she ate into a bucket.
06:28 Number 6.
06:29 Her Changing Accent Has an Origin Story
06:31 The original casting call for Troi, not without a few uncomfortable of-the-time aftertastes
06:36 and cliches in all its pan-European vagueness, states that Diana is probably foreign, anywhere
06:41 from Italian, Greek, Hungarian, Russian, Icelandic, etc., with looks and accent to match.
06:46 Marina Sirtis, who was born in London, East and then moved North, to Greek parents, is
06:50 fluent in Greek, is skilled at accents, and was tasked at creating a Betazoid one for
06:55 Troi.
06:56 She opted for a mixture of Eastern European and what she drew from the accent of an Israeli
07:00 friend.
07:01 The reason for this is that when we met Troi's Betazoid mother, Lwaxana, she sounded, for
07:05 want of a more precise description, American.
07:08 Sirtis was then told that Diana got her accent from her father, but when we meet him, he
07:13 also sounds generic American.
07:15 The actor hails from Texas, so that didn't fit either.
07:17 Understandably a bit frustrated, Sirtis eventually just switched to something more mid-Atlantic
07:21 as the series and films progressed, at times closer to her native North London, and at
07:26 other times more American.
07:27 The actress stated that if she could change one thing about her time on TNG, "I wouldn't
07:31 give Diana a foreign accent, even though her mother is a Betazoid."
07:35 Number 5.
07:36 She might have married Riker in Season 7 of TNG.
07:39 All good things must come to an end, naked on Betazet, or it could very well have turned
07:43 out this way before the series finale.
07:45 In the actual Season 7, we got to see a relationship between Troi and Worf, but it was all a bit
07:50 weird and never really went anywhere as Worf was transferred to Deep Space Nine.
07:53 The two were married with kids in a parallel universe that Prime Worf stumbles into, and
07:57 Troi even killed Worf in an empathic hallucination that mirrored events which took place when
08:01 the Enterprise-D was under construction.
08:03 In an interview, Marina Sirtis shared her views on the relationship.
08:06 "I didn't like the fact that he totally became Un-Klingon-like when he was with Troi.
08:10 I liked better the relationship he had with Dax over on Deep Space Nine."
08:13 Furthermore, she felt that Troi-Riker made a much better couple, and I think we can all
08:17 agree with that.
08:18 In fact, the idea of the pair tying the knot in TNG's final season was popular among
08:22 the writers until producers Rick Berman and Michael Piller phased the suggestion down
08:26 in flames.
08:27 And while Troi-Riker wasn't emotionally ready enough to be parted with his beard at
08:30 that stage, to paraphrase the Beatles, all you need is metaphasic radiation.
08:35 Number 4.
08:36 Marina Sirtis was directed by Jonathan Frakes in an episode of The Orville.
08:39 Seth MacFarlane's The Orville is a great piece of science fiction in its own right.
08:43 Season 4, anyone please?
08:44 MacFarlane makes no secret of his love for Star Trek as a source of inspiration.
08:47 He even appeared in Enterprise, and there was that hilarious episode of Family Guy when
08:51 the Next Generation cast.
08:52 These aren't Star Trek questions, what the hell?
08:55 Many veteran Star Trek writers and producers such as Branagh Braga, Joe Monoski, and David
08:59 A. Goodman have worked on The Orville, and Jonathan Frakes has called his show "Star
09:02 Trek with comedy."
09:03 Marina Sirtis appeared in The Orville's second season episode "Sanctuary" in the
09:07 role of a shipboard schoolteacher, directed by Jonathan Frakes.
09:10 It was hard not to see a bit of TNG reunion for the pair, or even for the quasi-return
09:15 of Troi in a different guise.
09:16 Sirtis said of the experience, "Just being on The Orville, everything looks like The
09:20 Next Generation.
09:21 It was almost like stepping back in time with Jonathan directing."
09:23 Frakes has also likened the directing style of The Orville to that of TNG.
09:27 In this standout episode of the program, the parallels are evident, and Sirtis, as schoolteacher,
09:32 plays a counselling role to the young Moklin Topa and parents Bortus and Clyton.
09:37 Number 3.
09:38 We don't know much about Picard season 3, but Troi will be in it a lot.
09:42 Now, warning, these are very possible spoilers ahead.
09:45 Troi was often sidelined in The Next Generation as the "captain there hiding something"
09:49 character.
09:50 Worse, in the films, Sirtis was relegated to an almost bit-part role.
09:53 The actress has admitted that she was often "decorative" and was ultimately fine with
09:57 that, wishing nonetheless that she had suggested more storylines, particularly between other
10:01 women, for Troi to the writers.
10:03 In an interview for the Blu-ray release of the films, Sirtis also laments that she tried
10:06 and failed to make Troi funny during TNG's run to the point where she even asked her
10:11 agent only to find her dramatic roles after the series ended.
10:15 Fortunately, she was delighted with the now legendary drunk scene in First Contact, and
10:19 changed her mind about doing comedy.
10:20 What can we say?
10:21 The limited amount of information that we have is that Troi will be a big part to play
10:25 in the third and final season of Star Trek Picard.
10:27 In the words of Sirtis herself during a red carpet news interview, "We are in it.
10:31 We are in it.
10:32 A lot."
10:33 The actress has also stated that, having felt discarded by Nemesis, the cast was "cherished"
10:36 on Picard.
10:37 And, whilst executive producer Terry Matalas has ominously warned us that the safety of
10:41 the characters is not guaranteed in season 3, Sirtis says she would gladly return to
10:46 the role in another spin-off.
10:47 Death of a character is certainly no hindrance in any case, especially with the multiple
10:50 time periods of the shows.
10:52 And temporal investigations has just arrived.
10:54 Number 2.
10:56 Marina Sirtis had a few mishaps on set.
10:58 The character of Deanna Troi was accustomed to witnessing disaster, destruction, and injury.
11:03 After all, she did, under orders, fly the Enterprise-E at full impulse into the scimitar.
11:07 She also unexpectedly found herself in command in an episode quite literally called "Disaster."
11:11 The woman behind the role, Marina Sirtis, equally had a couple of noteworthy accidents
11:16 on set which you might not be aware of.
11:17 One on-set mishap befell Sirtis during the filming of Generations.
11:20 During the battle scene with the Klingons, consoles were blowing up left and right.
11:23 When Troi goes to replace an injured officer at the con, Sirtis actually sat on a piece
11:27 of degree from the explosions and burnt her bottom.
11:29 Thankfully, she wasn't badly hurt.
11:31 Another such incident occurred during the filming of the Next Generation episode "Power
11:34 Play."
11:35 In a scene on the surface of the planet, O'Brien, Riker, Data, and Troi are thrown violently
11:39 backwards by an EM discharge just before they can be beamed back onto the ship.
11:43 Whilst the other three actors had stunt doubles perform this for them, Sirtis wanted to do
11:47 the stunt herself, with the encouragement of the director.
11:49 She committed to it so much that, when she landed on her back, she damaged her coccyx
11:52 and was in pain for months.
11:53 Fair play to her.
11:54 Couple of rounds of Frère Jacques won't make you forget that.
11:57 Number 1.
11:58 She has appeared in five series, four films, and on a stamp.
12:02 One of the most prolific characters of the franchise, Marina Sirtis starred as Troi in
12:05 the Next Generation and has appeared in Voyager, Lower Decks, Picard, and Enterprise, whatever
12:10 your thoughts on that last one.
12:13 She is beaten only by Jonathan Frakes as Riker in that regard, who also appeared in the episode
12:17 Defiant of DS9.
12:19 Sirtis is the only woman to appear as the same character in as many series, however,
12:23 she is among great company as one of only six actors to appear in two series finales
12:28 (we'll let you figure that one out for yourselves).
12:30 Troi was, of course, in each of the TNG movies.
12:34 A recent highlight, aside from Picard, are her appearances in Lower Decks, where she
12:38 is often the foil for the bombastic Riker.
12:41 What you may also not know, unless you are already a fabulously fidelious fellatist,
12:46 is that Deanna Troi is one of the 18 characters, including the likes of Janeway, Kirk, Picard,
12:52 Sisko, Archer, Spock, Reed, Burnham, to have been commemorated on a set of UK first-class
12:57 postage stamps in November 2020 as a celebration of Star Trek.
13:01 You'd be mad to post them, of course, but it would make for some epic snail mail.
13:05 That's everything for our list today, folks.
13:06 If there's anything else that we missed, let us know in the comments below.
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13:21 Thank you so much for watching, and of course don't forget to check out Jack's original
13:25 article over on whatculture.com.
13:27 You can catch us on Twitter @trekculture, you can catch us on Instagram @trekcultureyt,
13:31 catch myself @seanferric on Twitter, @sean.ferric88 on Instagram, and @seanferric on Hive.
13:38 Look after yourselves, don't talk to you again, make sure that you live long and prosper,
13:41 have a wonderful few days, make it so.