Weekend Trek “Man Of The People”

Well, we have another Troi episode.  It’s not Marine Sirtis’s fault these are often lackluster.  It’s the material she was given.

Still, Jimmy and Tom are dedicated unpaid professionals, and they still covered this episode no matter who is was about.

“Man of the People”

Troi’s behavior changes after she befriends an alien peace envoy. 

jimmy:  They really chewed through the “Make up to make people look old” budget on this one.

tomk:  And you didn’t realize Trio’s hair wasn’t real.

jimmy:  In this one I did…

tomk:  To be fair, I didn’t realize it either until fairly recently, but this is Troi on TV:

And here’s her in a movie:

Lot less body to her hair on film for some reason.

jimmy:  They have product for that.

tomk:  Riker probably stuck his face in it.

jimmy:  All seriousness aside, regularly watching the show, you’d have no reason to suspect Troi and Beverly were wearing wigs.

tomk:  Yes, but in Troi’s case, once I realized it, I could never unsee it.

jimmy:  Let it go, Tom.

tomk:  Fine. Didn’t realize you were turning old and nasty all of a sudden.

jimmy:  I’m not.  Have some Sour Patch Kids.

tomk:  You have a lot more gray hair and wrinkles than you did ten minutes ago. Plus, these Sour Patch Kids are Werther’s Originals.

jimmy:  Damn.  Maybe you’re right.  I knew I shouldn’t have done that stone ritual with that stranger.

tomk:  The same guy who just negotiated that peace treaty between Watson and the Moose?

jimmy:  The same.

tomk:  Well, it is nice to have those two stop arguing in the break room. Especially since the Moose doesn’t talk.

jimmy:  lol

tomk:  Does that seem like a fair trade to you?

jimmy:  I’m in agreeance with anything that shuts Watson up.

tomk:  Even as you develop crippling arthritis?

jimmy:  That was bound to happen anyway.

tomk:  You sure do take things in stride.

jimmy:  I’m Canadian.

tomk:  So, you would sacrifice your life for that peace and quiet?

jimmy:  Picard and Crusher would save me in the end.

tomk:  They don’t work here.

jimmy:  Uh oh. I might be in some trouble.

tomk:  Well, at least you aren’t turning mean.

jimmy:  I am Canadian, maybe this is me being mean.

tomk:  You also have that national healthcare.

jimmy:  That will help with my rapid aging.

tomk:  You’re doing better than Troi. She’s going to be getting awkward looks from various crewmen for a while after this one.

jimmy:  Ensign Janeway was transferred immediately after this episode.

tomk:  I heard she hooked up with Lt. Hookup.

jimmy:  She had a busy episode.

tomk:  Good thing for that fresh-faced lad right out of the Academy that Riker isn’t the jealous type.

jimmy:  Not this week anyway.

tomk:  Troi did seem to be asking for some action, or at least a nasty reaction.

Meanwhile, Barclay was kicking himself that he was on vacation this week.

jimmy:  Lol. He’s still getting over the transporter slug incident.

tomk:  He had to be away somewhere. Even Data noticed Troi changed her hair and wardrobe.

jimmy:  He is fully functional.

tomk:  Also: he’s not blind.

jimmy:  That’s part of being functional.

tomk:  Huh. Smart observation.

jimmy:  That negotiator guy didn’t seem too concerned with the trail of old bodies he was leaving in his wake.

tomk:  Well, you know, a handful of dead old-before-their-time types that allow him to negotiate peace treaties that saved bazillions seemed to that guy to be a fair trade-off.

jimmy:  The Enterprise, and Deanna in particular, don’t have much luck transporting those negotiator types.

tomk:  At least he managed to finish the negotiations before he turned to dust.

jimmy:  Luckily.

tomk:  Those people down there were sharp.  They disarmed Worf while barely trying.

jimmy:  You just know he let them.  This is the MVP we’re talking about.

tomk:  As MVP, he does know the importance of not doing violent things at a peace negotiation.

jimmy:  See?  Exactly.

tomk:  That or he was so worried about Troi that…wait, I can’t finish that sentence.  If Worf was that worried, he just woulda killed the guy like he did when Duras killed his babymama.

Or he was worried Picard would ruin Christmas again.

jimmy:  Worf does love Christmas.

tomk:  Meanwhile, Troi was evil, so she probably hates all holidays right now.

And her new boyfriend is rather questionable as well.

jimmy:  Ugh. That guy is the worst.

tomk:  Worse than the alien who makes people old and evil?

jimmy:  Yes.  That’s better than evil and douchey.

tomk:  Well, you do have strong opinions on that.  Must be because we didn’t reverse your own aging and crankiness until ten seconds ago.  We didn’t even have to temporarily kill you this time.

jimmy:  Good.  Being temporarily killed is the worst.  Though not as bad as untemporarily killed.

tomk:  That negotiator knows about that.  He saw Worf, realized the gig was up, and just died on the spot.

jimmy:  Would you mess with Worf?

tomk:  Well, no.  But I don’t think I’d just die if I saw him.

jimmy:  Let’s hope you don’t find out.

tomk:  I don’t intend to.

But I think I see a problem with this episode.

jimmy:  Do tell.

tomk:  It’s about Troi.  I don’t think the writers ever really knew what to do with her.  Other characters are more popular in part because she seems kinda wimpy and really only has one plot where some visitor does something to her that makes her sick or evil or both.

jimmy:  It’s definitely a reoccurring theme.

tomk:  You know how we might get some evidence?  Bring in a beloved guest star that the writers treated right over the years.

jimmy:  Troi’s mom?

tomk:  Well, no.  But aren’t you curious now?

jimmy:  For an Alexander episode?

tomk:  Are you giving it all you’ve got?

jimmy:  I don’t have the power.

tomk:  That’s right.  We have He-Man up next.

jimmy:  lol, Star Trek and He-Man crossover…we’ll never see that.

tomk:  Or maybe someone else.  Ready to move on?

jimmy:  Aye.

Next:  “Relics”