5.21 — “The Perfect Mate”
Plot: The Enterprise’s delightful cargo this week is a female in stasis, bred to mate with a disgusting orange man as an inducement for him to stop waging war against the other planet in the system. Picard meets this woman cargo and determines that she is so good at sycophancy and ego suppression that he would prefer to claim her for himself, instead of ceding possession to the other strong man on the ship. This is very sad for Picard (mainly), but duty and masculine honor require that the chattel be delivered to its purchaser. Because patriarchy!
Thoughts: Do I have to review this one? Instead, I’m going to spend the time rewatching “Elaan of Troyius” (TOS 3.13), which is clearly the model for this episode.
Wow, what a contrast! Episode thread here: http://tinyurl.com/h94actc
“The Perfect Mate” proves that TNG is still terrible at female-centered stories. Gene Roddenberry also invented characters with intoxicating sexual allure–Ilia the Deltan, Nona the Witch Doctor, Elaan herself. Mastery of the sex drive is part of the human condition and a suitable topic for Star Trek. It’s when the topic is served with a heaping side of misogyny that can’t imagine the woman as a separate being or anything but property to be bartered or controlled that it becomes intolerable.
I mean, seriously. “Elaan of Troyius” has this My Fair Lady/South Pacific thing going on with a woman who needs to be tutored or civilized which is uncomfortable to modern sensitivities. TNG won’t make that mistake! But Elaan is comparatively a feminist, who rails against the duty and responsibility imposed on her because of her station and sex. Kamala, who is defined as a sex object by the title of the episode, is all, “How can I please you, Captain?” “You better control me, though, because bless me if I won’t throw myself at the first man I see.” It’s what she was born to do, just like she was born with mood lighting and a makeover that looks like she stepped right off a modeling photoshoot.
Patrick Stewart makes the best of bad material, and watching him remains a pleasure. I think Famke Jansson does her best as well, but her character’s motivations are impossible to parse. Jansson would appear as Bond girl Xenia Onatopp in 1995’s Goldeneye (about which IMDB quotes her as saying “Looking back, boy, has there ever been a stigma in being a Bond Girl. That’s what my mission in life is, just to prove them wrong”) and has had an active and varied career in film and television, including playing opposite Patrick Stewart in the role of Jean Grey in several X-Men movies. Like Michelle Forbes (Ensign Ro), she was offered and turned down the role of Jadzia Dax in Deep Space Nine.
1 of 5 awkward breakfasts with Beverly.
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