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Ménage à Troi (TNG episode)
Encyclopedia
"Ménage à Troi" is the title of an episode from the third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation
.
following a trade conference on Betazed, Counselor Troi
argues with her mother, Lwaxana Troi, about her insistence that Deanna get married and raise a family. At the same party, Lwaxana is approached by the Ferengi
Daimon Tog of the ship Krayton, who is interested in Lwaxana in a sexual way, but also explains he would like Lwaxana to use her telepathy to help him make business. Lwaxana rejects him flatly and later remarks that she would rather eat Orion wing-slugs than date Tog.
Afterwards, at the urging of Captain Picard
, Riker
and Deanna decide to take a quick shore leave on Betazed, while the Enterprise heads out on a routine mission studying a nebula
. Lwaxana tracks down her daughter and Riker, with intent to encourage romance between the couple. She is just getting started when Daimon Tog arrives stating that he has come for Lwaxana. When he is again rebuffed by Lwaxana, Tog has himself and the others transported aboard the Krayton, leaving a confused Mr. Homn to wonder where his employer had gone.
The three awaken in a cell aboard the Krayton. Tog then has Deanna and Lwaxana beamed into the lab of Farek, a Ferengi doctor who hopes to study Lwaxana's telepathy using mind probes. In the process of transporting them he leaves the women's clothing behind, saying that women are not worthy enough to wear clothes. Lwaxana pretends to be interested in Tog, and gains Deanna's return to the cell with Riker by agreeing to discuss with Tog a proposal to use her telepathic abilities in trade negotiations.
Riker entices a Ferengi guard into a chess
game, and once outside the cell quickly overcomes him. Once freed, Deanna and Riker attempt to send a message to the Enterprise and learn that the ship's communication system is secured by access code. As Lwaxana seduces Tog by rubbing his ears, she receives a telepathic message from Deanna asking her to try to get Tog's access code.
Lwaxana has nearly gotten Tog to tell her the code when Farek walks in and catches her in the act. Farek threatens to humiliate Tog by revealing his incompetence to the Ferengi, but offers to forget the incident if Lwaxana is turned over to him for experimentation, despite the fact that the proposed tests may be lethal.
Meanwhile, the Enterprise leaves the nebula, which has been interfering with communications, and learn from Betazed officials that Riker and the Trois have been kidnapped. Returning to Betazed, the Enterprise crew discovers flowers indigenous to a Ferengi planet at the spot where Deanna and Riker were last seen. Picard orders a frequency scan to see if Riker has somehow sent a message, but are unable to pick up anything discernible. In fact, Riker has tapped into the system on the Krayton that suppresses Cochrane distortion from the ship's warp field, and modulated it to generate a signal using unsuppressed distortion... into a pattern he hopes the Enterprise crew will recognize.
In the midst of the search, Wesley
is in final preparation to depart to Earth
for his second attempt to pass the Starfleet Academy
entrance exam. Just as he is about to leave, Wes realizes that the modulated interference itself may be the signal, and he rushes back to the Bridge, missing his transport back to Earth. Decoding the signal, Wesley finds Riker has provided the heading of the Krayton, and the Enterprise heads out in pursuit.
In the meantime, Deanna is experiencing great pain as she senses the mind probes being used on Lwaxana. Riker, having finished setting up the modulation of the Cochrane distortion, arms himself, and bursts into Farek's lab to free Lwaxana, but a standoff ensues when Tog enters with a phaser. Just then the Enterprise arrives, and Lwaxana buys the release of Troi and Riker by agreeing to stay with Tog, and serve him both as a lover and a business partner. After Riker and Deanna are returned to the Enterprise, Picard begins to play the role of a jealous lover - telling Tog that if he can't have Lwaxana no-one will and threatening to destroy Tog's vessel and all those on board. Fearing for his life Daimon Tog hurriedly returns Lwaxana and leaves the area post haste. So convinced is Lwaxana of Picard's "love" for her that she takes her place on his lap in the command chair causing Picard to quickly tell Wesley to "set course for Betazed," almost whispering "warp
nine."
Wesley is told that he will be allowed to reapply for entrance to Starfleet Academy in one year, and Picard gives him a field promotion to full Ensign in light of his contributions to the ship and crew.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
.
Plot
At a reception aboard the EnterpriseUSS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)
The USS Enterprise is a 24th century starship in the Star Trek fictional universe and the principal setting of the Star Trek: The Next Generation television series...
following a trade conference on Betazed, Counselor Troi
Deanna Troi
Commander Deanna Troi is a main character in the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and related TV series and films, portrayed by actress Marina Sirtis. Troi is half-human, half-Betazoid and has the psionic ability to sense emotions. She serves as the ship's counselor...
argues with her mother, Lwaxana Troi, about her insistence that Deanna get married and raise a family. At the same party, Lwaxana is approached by the Ferengi
Ferengi
The Ferengi are a fictitious extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. They first appeared in "The Last Outpost", the fifth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987, during which they made first contact with the United Federation of Planets in 2364 on the planet Delphi Ardu,...
Daimon Tog of the ship Krayton, who is interested in Lwaxana in a sexual way, but also explains he would like Lwaxana to use her telepathy to help him make business. Lwaxana rejects him flatly and later remarks that she would rather eat Orion wing-slugs than date Tog.
Afterwards, at the urging of Captain Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
, Riker
William Riker
William Thomas Riker, played by Jonathan Frakes, is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe primarily appearing as a main character in Star Trek: The Next Generation...
and Deanna decide to take a quick shore leave on Betazed, while the Enterprise heads out on a routine mission studying a nebula
Nebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
. Lwaxana tracks down her daughter and Riker, with intent to encourage romance between the couple. She is just getting started when Daimon Tog arrives stating that he has come for Lwaxana. When he is again rebuffed by Lwaxana, Tog has himself and the others transported aboard the Krayton, leaving a confused Mr. Homn to wonder where his employer had gone.
The three awaken in a cell aboard the Krayton. Tog then has Deanna and Lwaxana beamed into the lab of Farek, a Ferengi doctor who hopes to study Lwaxana's telepathy using mind probes. In the process of transporting them he leaves the women's clothing behind, saying that women are not worthy enough to wear clothes. Lwaxana pretends to be interested in Tog, and gains Deanna's return to the cell with Riker by agreeing to discuss with Tog a proposal to use her telepathic abilities in trade negotiations.
Riker entices a Ferengi guard into a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
game, and once outside the cell quickly overcomes him. Once freed, Deanna and Riker attempt to send a message to the Enterprise and learn that the ship's communication system is secured by access code. As Lwaxana seduces Tog by rubbing his ears, she receives a telepathic message from Deanna asking her to try to get Tog's access code.
Lwaxana has nearly gotten Tog to tell her the code when Farek walks in and catches her in the act. Farek threatens to humiliate Tog by revealing his incompetence to the Ferengi, but offers to forget the incident if Lwaxana is turned over to him for experimentation, despite the fact that the proposed tests may be lethal.
Meanwhile, the Enterprise leaves the nebula, which has been interfering with communications, and learn from Betazed officials that Riker and the Trois have been kidnapped. Returning to Betazed, the Enterprise crew discovers flowers indigenous to a Ferengi planet at the spot where Deanna and Riker were last seen. Picard orders a frequency scan to see if Riker has somehow sent a message, but are unable to pick up anything discernible. In fact, Riker has tapped into the system on the Krayton that suppresses Cochrane distortion from the ship's warp field, and modulated it to generate a signal using unsuppressed distortion... into a pattern he hopes the Enterprise crew will recognize.
In the midst of the search, Wesley
Wesley Crusher
Wesley Crusher is a character in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is Beverly Crusher's son and is portrayed by actor Wil Wheaton, the character was a regular for the first four seasons. Afterwards, the character appeared sporadically. The character also appeared briefly in...
is in final preparation to depart to Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
for his second attempt to pass the Starfleet Academy
Starfleet Academy
In the fictional universe of Star Trek, Starfleet Academy is where the future's recruits to Starfleet will be trained. It was created in the year 2161, when the United Federation of Planets was founded...
entrance exam. Just as he is about to leave, Wes realizes that the modulated interference itself may be the signal, and he rushes back to the Bridge, missing his transport back to Earth. Decoding the signal, Wesley finds Riker has provided the heading of the Krayton, and the Enterprise heads out in pursuit.
In the meantime, Deanna is experiencing great pain as she senses the mind probes being used on Lwaxana. Riker, having finished setting up the modulation of the Cochrane distortion, arms himself, and bursts into Farek's lab to free Lwaxana, but a standoff ensues when Tog enters with a phaser. Just then the Enterprise arrives, and Lwaxana buys the release of Troi and Riker by agreeing to stay with Tog, and serve him both as a lover and a business partner. After Riker and Deanna are returned to the Enterprise, Picard begins to play the role of a jealous lover - telling Tog that if he can't have Lwaxana no-one will and threatening to destroy Tog's vessel and all those on board. Fearing for his life Daimon Tog hurriedly returns Lwaxana and leaves the area post haste. So convinced is Lwaxana of Picard's "love" for her that she takes her place on his lap in the command chair causing Picard to quickly tell Wesley to "set course for Betazed," almost whispering "warp
Warp drive (Star Trek)
Warp drive is a faster-than-light propulsion system in the setting of many science fiction works, most notably Star Trek. A spacecraft equipped with a warp drive may travel at velocities greater than that of light by many orders of magnitude, while circumventing the relativistic problem of time...
nine."
Wesley is told that he will be allowed to reapply for entrance to Starfleet Academy in one year, and Picard gives him a field promotion to full Ensign in light of his contributions to the ship and crew.