The Enterprise attends the closing of a trade conference on Betazed, which allows Troi a chance to reunite with her mother, Lwaxana (Majel Barrett). Also in attendance are the Ferengi, who - as a Betazoid delegate observes - "made a profit and behaved themselves," representing progress in relations with them. But the Ferengi Daimon, Tog (Frank Corsentino), has set his sights on Lwaxana. When she spurns his advances, Tog tries an even more direct approach: Abduction! And since Riker and Troi happen to be with Lwaxana at the time, they get to go along for the ride..
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: The episode's climax allows Patrick Stewart to indulge his hammier tendencies as Picard imitates a jealous lover by quoting random poetry lines at the viewscreen. Stewart appears to be enjoying himself, but I did not find his enjoyment to be contagious. He's much better in the more subdued scene that follows, in which he rewards Wesley for his service to the ship. I think underplaying suits Stewart's acting strengths a lot better than ham does. He is not William Shatner, nor should he try to be.
Riker: Trapped in a cell with both Troi and Lwaxana in danger, he focuses intently on escape. When Troi reports what Lwaxana is doing with Tog, his response is pragmatic: Lwaxana is buying them time, so they'd better make use of it. Unable to bypass the Ferengi security systems to send a direct message to the Enterprise, Riker comes up with a subtler way of achieving the same end.
Troi: Remains eternally exasperated by her mother, and is impatient at Lwaxana's endless pushing for her to get married. Still, when alone with Riker on Betazed, she shows a distinct inclination to enjoy herself in his company... at least, until Lwaxana's piercing, glass-shattering voice is heard not very far in the distance. Despite the aggravations caused by her mother, once they are captives of the Ferengi, she remains in constant telepathic contact with Lwaxana and is highly protective.
Lwaxana Troi: In possibly the first truly positive note the character has struck at this point in TNG's run, she is even more protective of Deanna than her daughter is of her. She is willing to do whatever it takes to secure her daughter's safety, a character beat that goes a long way toward offsetting the many intentionally obnoxious moments she's given in the first and last Acts of the show. Unfortunately, a recurring problem of Lwaxana Troi is that, though she may be intentionally obnoxious and irritating, the fact that it's intentional doesn't really compensate for her being obnoxious and irritating. Still, this episode does represent positive development for her, even if she's still well short of the kind of genuine character material she would get when stuck with Odo in a turbolift on Deep Space 9.
Ferengi: This episode establishes the Ferengi practice of oo-mox, in which they are manually pleasured by stroking their earlobes. Meaning that this episode, to the best of my knowledge, features the first televised handjob in the history of US network prime-time television. Beyond that, there's not much new here. The Ferengi are greedy, lust-filled, and cannot be trusted. But at least they make up for it by being stupid. It is amusing to see Ethan "Neelix" Phillips playing a sort of Ferengi Josef Mengele, eager to experiment with Lwaxana and potentially dissect her, but these Ferengi remain caricatures rather than characters.
THOUGHTS
Lwaxana Troi returns - and to add to the joy, it's a Ferengi episode too! All that's needed is a German-accented Laurence Olivier with a pair of pliers coaxingly asking, "Is it safe," in order for the picture to be complete.
In fairness, Menage a Troi is a substantial improvement over the previous Lwaxana episode. But given that her previous appearance came in the dismal Manhunt, that still isn't saying much. The first Act is surprisingly tolerable, even entertaining. Then the Ferengi kidnap Lwaxana, Riker, and Troi, and it rapidly degenerates.
The biggest problem is that there really isn't enough story here to sustain 45 minutes. The writers attempt to deal with this by using a subplot involving Wesley Crusher's imminent entry to Starfleet Academy, in scenes that are marginally more entertaining than the Lwaxana/Ferengi ones. But since we know Wesley isn't going anywhere, the resolution of this subplot is mostly a given - though the story does refreshingly and unexpectedly advance Wesley's position at the end, making the Wesley subplot ultimately more satisfying than the "A" plot.
That's right. The Wesley storyline here is the good bit.
The scenes aboard the Ferengi vessel begin amusingly enough, but rapdily become tedious. Once Riker bluffs his way out of his cell, there's nothing for Riker and Troi to do except tread narrative water for the next 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the plot connives for Lwaxana to act to keep her daughter safe by performing sexual acts for a man who disgusts her. The stuff of horror and nightmare, surely? But no - It's all played for laughs, complete with comedy music and exaggerated facial expressions. Sexual blackmail as comedy relief is just about forgivable in 1960's Trek, where it was part and parcel of the time period (heck, Sean Connery's Bond does much the same in Thunderball, albeit with a more willing victim). But in 1990's Trek, it's not only bad taste, it's significantly out of step with society.
It's also just not very funny, certainly not as funny as the actors and music seem to think it is. And in an already slow-paced episode, that's the final nail in this one's coffin. Season Three has moved the series' average quality significantly on from where it used to be. Unfortunately, this one plays for all the world like something from the last, horrible stretch of Season Two.
Overall Rating: 3/10.
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